Happy New Year!

Friday 1st Jan 2016 (1224)

Happy New Year to all my Blipfriends! 

Help save blipfoto today, time is running out. If you haven't already done so, please join the crowd funding initiative. 

So, the start of a new year. I wonder what it will bring! We went out for a walk around the nature reserve at Golden Acre that we discovered the other day. It was lovely and peaceful. My dream came true when we were able to sit and watch the kingfisher for quite a while. We could just see him through the branches and he kept diving down to fish then returning to the same branch. It was magical. 

I decided to try and find photos beginning with the letters of blip but I couldn't leave my kingfisher out! 

I joined blip at the end of August 2012 after a week at Lakeland Photographic Holidays. I didn't think I would be able to take a photo a day and never intended doing so, but at the time you had an "L" plate for the first 10 shots and that encouraged me during my first week. Of course, like many others, at the end of the first week I was hooked and I haven't missed a day since. 

Blip has helped me to improve my photography. It has made me search for photos and experiment with lighting and special effects. I have undertaken projects and had fun, simply to provide a blip. Searching for one photo or deciding on one photo out of many taken in a day helps me to look at things differently - what is a good picture, what represents my day most? It is a great discipline to take a photo a day and I often find it very spiritual. Blip has really fueled my passion for photography. 

But it is more than the photography, it is very much about the community ... a bonus I never dreamt of when I started. I have made friends, online and in person, and I really value those friendships. As a single person I know that whatever my day has been like I am not alone once the door is shut at night, I can share my day with people in the blip world and receive some positive and encouraging responses. I feel loved and supported by the community and that has been a lifeline. I can't imagine life without blip now and, if we don't manage to save it, it will leave a big hole in my life. 

Thankyou to everyone who has been there through the highs and lows. You are all brilliant and I hope we can continue to share in this blipworld for many years to come.