Breaking 365

Wow, that came quickly! I guess that's because I've been enjoying myself immensely. I have probably made more shots this last year than in my entire preceding "career"!

Now, I'm really pleased to have reached 365 consecutive, daily blips. When Barrioboy, my Blip Godfather explained blipfoto to me when we met (by pure chance) in São Paulo one year ago, I thought that this was mission impossible. It has been tricky on a few occasions, and stressful on many, but that is part of the joy! If things are too easy, one loses interest, and I can promise you that I have not lost the slightest bit of interest.

Blip has in many ways changed my daily life, and not at least the way I'm observing my surroundings, physical and metaphorical. I'm not counting sheep to fall asleep anymore, I'm thinking about my next blip, what, where, with what, and how I can convert events in my life into images... Most of the time I fall asleep too fast and end up with a Category 4 situation the next day...

There are so many reasons for liking, or rather, loving blip: it offers a genuine purpose for practicing photography, it makes you strive for improvement, it records your life, it is great entertainment, it's an outlet for thoughts, and it is such an outstanding platform for learning (not only about photography) by observing others and getting feedback. It is also a privilege to be able to connect with such a wonderful crowd of people, I mean you!

There are so many blip friends I would like to mention today, but for the sake of not writing a novel I will point out only a few:

Onece again, a huge thank you to Barrioboy who introduced me to blip, and indeed to Ms. Barrioboy (digitaldaze) for the early encouragement! I also have to point out shearer69, the first one to welcome me to blip, and who also provides me with a healthy daily laugh! Then, aprecious is also a superb provider of laughs and she has taught me some very colourful expressions along the way. With Bo I have learnt that nice swedes exist (a complete revelation to a Norwegian). When it comes to candid feedback and detailed instructions, TiMPix is the man! It has also been a pleasure to meet a couple of blippers, namely Fotodiario, and BHPPhoto. I have recruited a few members, though some of them have taken a blip sabbatical. Those who have not, are Dagsy, my lucky cousin, and ChouChou my ex colleague, and GUlfsby (kind of) my two time best man! ...ooops, I almost forgot Eva, my patient wife, and Maria my willing model daughter.

Since this is just a small "sample" of friends, I have to thank all the regular visitors for all the encouragement over the past year, and the Blip Staff for their outstanding work (...and one SPOW).

Curiosity: I know 3 scots in Barcelona. Today I had lunch with one of them, and I will have dinner with Mr and Ms Barrioboy to celebrate one year of blipping!

A happy day indeed on the first International Day of Happiness!

(Thank you to Pool & Beer for letting me in at 7am to use the table, for lending me the batteries from their TV remote for my camera remote, and for a great breakfast... without beer)