This has been a very hectic few nights getting this revamp organised, but I can safely announce that I now have a new logo and a new blog layout to go with it.

The flowery logo wasn’t really “me”, and this is much more me.  Huge thanks has to go to Tanya from Snapping Turtle Designs for  putting up with my endless changes until I got the logo I was happy with

As for the blog, it’s a major change too.  I wanted to move away from the standard photography blog layout that most photographers have, and I wanted something that was more like a traditional flash site, but wasn’t flash and was actually a blog.  So, IntotheDarkroom ended up being the theme of choice.

I must say, that it hasn’t been the easiest move in the world, mostly because I don’t read instructions properly!! But anyhoo, huge thanks to the ITDR team for their patience with me too!!

My new blog, which is also a portfolio site, is now live.  I still have to finish the portfolios, but in essence it’s now working

If you’ve come to the blog post from a reader, please press the “Home” button in the menu, and have a look at the home page that now exists.  It’s no longer an endless list of blog posts

Tell me what you think…

(PS.  My next change is going to be to my packaging… so gone are the filigree designed pale blue boxes with silver ribbon, and in their place are white or black linen boxes which I can’t decide on so let me know in the comments which colour you think I should go for)

I have a new favourite hangout on the web, it’s an social sharing, networking and image favouriting site called Pinterest.  I thought I’d share this stunning site with all of you, considering I now have a bit more time because I’m not doing a photo a day.

Pinterest is a social catalog service. Think of it as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can post collections of things you love, and “follow” collections created by people with great taste.

I followed a link to it from another photographer’s blog during December, and I’ve fallen in love with the concept.

It works just perfectly for image loving people, brides looking for wedding ideas, and photographers who draw inspiration from other blogs and websites around the world.

If you’re curious, go and have a look at my Pinboards that I’ve been creating over the last few weeks… My name is Jenty on Pinterest

Before I used Pinterest, I was very haphazardly storing images on my hard drive that I found inspiring, and there are a few problems with doing that…

1. I forget that I’ve done it, so I hardly look in my inspiration folders, and instead when I’m about to go out on a challenging shoot, I quickly search through my Google Reader for blog posts that I remember that inspired me… and that’s almost impossible to do quickly with the number of photo blogs that I follow.
2. I forget to download images that I like… and in fact, I don’t really like downloading images from other websites even if it is for my own use because of copyright.

So, this is the answer, and it’s so easy to use.  When you find an image that you like, press the “Pin it” button from your browser bar (you can download that very easily), and Pinterest asks you which image you’d like to Pin and it adds it to the board you’re building. It’s as easy as that.

The beauty of Pinterest is:

1. You can create multiple pinboards for different purposes
2. It’s so easy to pin an image
3. You’re not causing copyright issues as the link to the blogger still remains intact, and if anyone follows the image they get back to the original article… it’s perfect example of social content sharing.. and ends up creating more traffic to the photographer’s site!
4. It’s got an awesome social network built into it.  You can follow other Pinners that like similar images to you.  You can “like” their images, or choose to repin them.  So, in effect, they’re helping you find inspiration too!

What a win!

I’m not only using Pinterest to store photography that I find inspiring, but also to store images with home stuff that I like… and clothes that I’d like to buy.  It would also work so well for those who are not into photography or planning a wedding… especially if you’re planning a new home or going to redesign a room… or even if you’re a fashionista.

Pinterest is not completely open yet, but you can ask for an invite and they respond pretty quickly… or ask me in the comments and I’ll send an invite to the email address that you leave there

If you found this interesting, please let me know in the comments if you’d like me to do a few more posts like this… I’m always finding interesting stuff on the net… and this is where I learn… and I really like sharing my knowledge

PS.  I was not asked to write this review

I’ve had a quite a lot of requests for photobooks recently, and today I finally got the chance to take some photos of some of the books before I delivered them to my clients.

I received 2 orders of books today, but I’m going to only show you the one… because the other one is for a party and should really be kept a surprise

The Mayat family had their photoshoot a few weeks ago, and as soon as her full gallery was up, I got a phone call from naQiyah asking me to design albums… 3 in fact… one for them, and 2 as gifts for the grandparents.  Such a cool gift!

Anyhoo, I love them, and I’m sure they’ll love them too.  The photobooks are A4 portrait and have 30 pages in them.

In other news… I’ve decided to give the 365 Project a bit of a break… I may start another one from my birthday. Instead I’m doing an i365! It’s a photo-a-day taken with my iPhone4! I got the idea from Lotus (aka SarcasticMom), and think it’ll really test me cos it’s a simple, yet awesome camera.  I’m not going to be posting the photos on this photoblog, but instead will be making use of my Tumblr blog.

In case you’re disappointed about not seeing stuff on this blog daily… don’t fear!  I have other plans!

I’m going to be doing a 52 Project… that means taking a photo every week… and the subject will be my kids.  They’re the reason I’m giving the 365 a rest, they’re getting tired of being my almost-daily subjects… so I’ll subject them to that torture weekly now   In addition, I’m going to be doing some of the meme’s I’ve been eyeing out but until now never had the energy or time for

Oooh and I have another idea up my sleeves too!! You know a lot of you mommy bloggers and tweeters have been asking me to put together a simple photography course… well… I think I’ve discovered exactly what would work for me… and for you… so stay tuned for details

Ooh I love funky stuff!!

For my birthday a few weeks ago, my colleagues bought me the camera strap that I’ve been hankering after.  It arrived in the post a few days ago, and I got the parcel today…  I love it!! It’s just as nice as I hoped it would be.

I first saw the High Key camera straps on Secret Agent Mama’s blog a few weeks ago, and immediately added it to my wishlist.  I LOVED that they were so different, not that expensive… and you can design your own!! I decided that one of their normal stock items would do though, because I just loved the design so much.

I seriously love the fact that you can buy anything from any country online   There’s nothing like it in this country… so a little wait for the post is well worth it!

See the full set of 2010 photo-a-day photos on my Project 365 Flickr Set.