XmasWishes, originally uploaded by andyskelton.
With Winter Solstace past and Christmas Day nearly upon us – as is usualy this time of year, it’s time to take stock of the past 12 months; and what a 12 months it’s been.
I upgraded my standard Flickr account, which only allows you to have 200 photos available to view at any one time, to the Pro account and now have over 1230 photos uploaded. Spurred on by the positive feeback on my uploads, I set myself the goal of reaching 30,000 hits by the end of December. Having reached this target early in November, obviously I had to aim for a higher target, 40,000 hits. It did seem a little daunting to try and get an extra amount with the weather as bad as it was but I’m pleased to say I manage to attain this goal as well two days ago.
People have been so kind when commenting and I seem to have a regular crowd of people who stop by to view any new uploads. I’ve tried to email people where possible, but I’m sure I’ve missed a few a long the way – and so put this photo together as a way of saying thank you to everyone.
I originally started this blog in November 2009, and promptly forgot about it. With time on my hands during a medical leave of absence I decided to try putting my thoughts and actions down in print and once I got into the swing of things, got hooked on updating the blog. More over I’m also using it as my main website for the moment, and hope to add in more content, beyond blogging in the new year.
I finally capitulated and opened a Twitter account, having viewed it as a complete waste of time initially, I now use that as my main contact point for my photo exploits, and having linked Twitter to my Facebook account I can now disseminate any new photo activities from one source. I don’t have that many people following me as of yet but that’s something I’m hoping to change in the new year.
Of course, and you’ll be sick of hearing this, if you’ve read any of my previous Blog entries, I got a new camera and lens this year. Upgrading from my Canon 5d to the Canon 1D mark IV was a huge boost to my photography; coupled with a drain-pipe of a lens, the Canon 600mm f4 lens, I now have the ultimate setup for wildlife photography. Having used this combination in domestic situations, next year’s aim is to go out in the wild and develop my field craft. This will mean setting up hides, scrim nets or foliage to disguise myself and my gear so that I can get close to wildlife easier.
I’ll be setting other goals for 2011, photography wise, both for Flickr, this blog and a few other online projects that I have been thinking about for a while. More news as and when it happens. In the meantime, thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year should you celebrate it – Season Greetings to those who don’t.
Andrew Skelton: 
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