Today is my blog’s first birthday! π
This post is to thank my readers, old and new, for giving me a great first year on WordPress. I’d also like to thank WordPress for making this possible (if they are reading…)
In the last few months, I had an ambition to reach 9,000 hits for the year. It was looking a close-thing until Tuesday… when I logged on Tuesday night, I saw I’d had 90 hits for that day taking me comfortably above the 9,000 mark with a day to spare π I’m afraid I probably woke the neighbours with a bit of a joyful whoop! It’s now 1 March and the total is 9,068…
So, in thanks, I’m going to inflict a few photos on you of a mountain coward (there aren’t many – when you see them, you’ll probably see why π )
The Early Days (I wasn’t a coward back then) – being dragged up the hill by my parents – as you can see, I didn’t mind too much but my brother didn’t seem too impressed π
With my Dad and brother on Cadair Idris…
And my Mum and brother on the same mountain…
Up to the present… indulging in my other favourite hobby – stuffing 2 desserts one after another (Fort Augustus cafe) – my walking buddy Richard calls me ‘Greedy Edie’
With my poor faithful, hard-working, mile-weary Sunny – sometimes my accommodation on trips too…
Celebrating with some famous Scottish clootie dumpling and cream at the end of a good trip… with the trusty Zenith and taken by the long-suffering Richard…
Thanks again folks! π
The Adventures of a Mountain Coward 
Happy birthday π
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Thanks – the only kind of birthday I like – I don’t celebrate my ‘getting older’ one LOL!
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Congrats on year one! π
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Thanks Tessa – think you’ve got your first Munro in this year before me! Hopefully my first of the year should be in the next couple of weeks…
Carol.
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Congrats on the first year. I’m coming up for 6 months. My father started me off on hill walking when I was a kid, and my wife and I did the same with ours. I think my son was five when he insisted on getting to the top of Ben Nevis. My first visit to your blog – I’ll be back.
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Ha ha, I don’t remember insisting being taken up a mountain when I was little – we just got taken! π But, when we were going up mountains, we did like to have little competitions with other walkers on the hill, especially soldiers so we obviously enjoyed ourselves some of the time. I don’t remember ever hating it but I don’t remember asking to go either.
Blogging’s great fun isn’t it π
Carol.
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Sorry – you got two comments there !
Hahaha … that’s three now π
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A tip on the ‘number of hits’ thing… If you feel you have a post with particularly good quality of photos, ensure you put a ‘photography’ tag on it. That is a very hot tag on WordPress for searchers! You can end up with new followers that way too π
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Never know that!!
Useful – thanks! I’m off to tag tommorow’s (Monday) post π
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Hi Carol, and congratulations on a great achievement β Iβm still lagging behind you on number of hits β must try harder ο
Iβve also got an affection for Wales β Chris grew up there, but moved away when she went to University. Weβre moving there shortly to a village between St Asaph and Prestatyn β views of the sea and the hills! Da iawn! ο
Great posts, keep βem coming.
On a different but related subject, I see you still are using a film camera. I’ve got an old Olympus I should use more often – when I send the film for processing I just order a CD with the digital images, and if I want prints, I print them myself.
Is this what you do? If so, who do you send them to for processing?
Recent results I’ve had aren’t always as sharp as the digital images I get with my inferior digital camera – is that just the way it is, the same way that a music CD sometimes sounds a bit, well, digital?!!
Or perhaps itβs the photographer ο
Any tips on getting good digital images from a film camera would be very welcome ο
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I get prints delivered and scan them onto my PC rather than have the stuff sent on CD (although I could do it that way). Then it’s up to me what resolution I scan the photos at as to the quality. I scan mine at a very low resolution as they are mainly to be viewed on PC screens which themselves are pretty low resolution. That also makes them tiny file sizes so they don’t take up much allocation on my disk drive and also on my blog – typically each print is around 300 KB as opposed to digital photo files which I think are around 2 MB?
However, I’ve noticed that, as they are ‘compressed’ when being put on my blog, yet more definition goes missing. I don’t think it would help to up my scanning resolution as I think they would then get more compressed by the blog. You can see the true definition of my photos if you click on the Word version of my ‘Midsummer Bivvy on Snowdon Summit’ post and view the Word document with the photos in. Those photos are sharper and better quality as they haven’t been compressed for the blog (so digitally processed twice in other words).
Digital cameras are possibly sharper than film and I think they are set up to automatically somehow give a better depth of field so that the background is as sharp as the foreground. But I prefer the tonal quality of film much better. Digital camera photos seem cold and ‘bluey’ to me.
I also don’t want to shell out the price of a DSLR and wouldn’t consider using other than an SLR. I can’t keep my hands steady enough for the non SLR digital cameras where you hold them at a distance (not the drink honest) and also can’t see what’s on the screen with any clarity unless it’s up against my face (ageing eyes).
Also, I’m a luddite π
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Useful ideas – thanks Carol π
I love the ability to see the pic just taken on digi, but I miss my old Olympus – must use it more this year
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Great achievement Carol! Iβm lagging behind you at the moment on number of hits β Iβm going to have to try harder ο
Iβve also got an affection for Wales. Chris was brought up there, but she never went back after leaving to go to University. Weβre now planning to move there, to a village in the north between St Asaph and Prestatyn β views of the sea and the hills! Da iawn! ο
Keep the posts coming Carol β every one a gem ο
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Wow! moving to Wales – nice – I’m jealous. Mind you, won’t you have to start going to chapel every week if you do? I’m being quite serious on that – I think you do have to in many areas of Wales to fit in, otherwise you can end up getting ex-communicated!
When I finally ‘compleat’ the Munros, I’ll be heading to my climbing club cottage in Nant Peris more often so won’t be too far from you guys.
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Should be there in the next two or three months all being well. I expect to be invaded by friends i haven’t seen for ages π
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Nice to see you didn’t give up sharing your experiences and congratulations on the 9000 hits.
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Yeah, have to say I’m enjoying the blog a lot more than where I was before! π
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That,s a good mountain to start on Carol.Cracking ridge up there.Hope this summers weather is kind to all hillwalkers in the UK. Happy first.
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Hi Bob,
Thanks. We spent a lot of time in Wales as my Dad was there for 5 years in his early youth and I think he feels half-Welsh – he’s certainly fluent in the language (he’s taught me bits too π ).
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Congratulations – look forward to reading more of you exploits. Regards, John
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Thanks John – and I yours π
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Congrats…good for you!!
Thank you for all the wonderful stories and pictures of your beautiful homeland. π
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Thanks – lots more to come. Just got 2 more films back today and they’ve come out okay π
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You’re very welcome…and can’t wait to see them!
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