Milestones

I have chosen this title and these images today because I like the images but mainly because today I have reached a significant milestone with regard to page views of my blog.

I started this blog 12 years ago on Thursday 18th September 2104 with the aim of sharing my photography with family and friends and with luck anyone who happened to stumble across my posts. I started posting daily but over time this reduced and in 2024 I didn't post anything on the blog I just shared pictures on Instagram and facebook.

Occasionally I would monitor the number of page views and I would be excited to see that my posts were being viewed, not just by family and friends but all around the world. I included a counter at the bottom of the page to see how much traffic the blog was getting and slowly, very slowly it ticked over. 

As the total number of page views increased I started to pay a little more attention until this morning in the early hours it ticked past 1 million page views, and as I write this it stands at 1,oo5,936. Given that that is spread over such a long time it might not seem all that remarkable however just two months ago at the start of August the total page views was 732,653, and then, for some reason things have really taken off with almost 275,000 views in just 7 weeks.

When I spoke about how close the total was getting to 1 million someone asked me "what do you get when it does?" and of course the answer is "I get nothing" this blog is not monetised and  no one is going to come along and give me an award but there is still a sense of satisfaction that images I have captured and created have been viewed and enjoyed so many times by people all around the world. At times I have been tempted to stop sharing but the recent increase in views tells me that what I am doing is worthwhile so I will continue and hopefully you will continue to enjoy what I share.

The first two images were taken in Triberg in the Black Forest in autumn 2021, I have shared similar images in the past but I created these new edits for this post. The final two photos were taken using my phones camera on a walk along the banks of the river Seine at a place called Grisy sur Seine last September. As I said at the start of this post they are old milestones to commemorate my milestone.

 

Making a Mark

 

These shots were taken in the Black Forest just outside of the town of Triberg. I had gone to see the waterfalls which are famed as one of the highest in Germany.

I had been once before in March 2015 with my son, however on that occasion due to the snow the paths to the falls were closed and I didn't get to see them. I had hoped to see them during my recent visit in November, before the winter snow arrived. However, following recent heavy rains the paths were once again closed. 

I was of course a little disappointed although the forest is so beautiful and the drive through the mountains to get there had been lots of fun. I was determined not to let that setback ruin my day and enjoyed a walk in the forest before heading into town for some hot chocolate and a piece of cake, and a little shopping.

I loved walking in the forest, surrounded by the variety of trees, I immersed myself in the sights, sounds and smells of the woodland in winter. I took lots of photos that captured some of the magic of the experience and along the way I spotted this mile marker a little way off the main path in the trees. I tried to imagine the people from years past who would have used this stone as a guide along their journey and wondered what life in the forest might have been like. 

The colours in the forest at this time of year were rich and varied and in these images I have used the masking tool in Adobe Lightroom to highlight the stone and separate it from the background using a variety of settings. I like all three images, not only because they help me recall a wonderful day out but also because they look good. As well as the richness of the colours I love the texture of the stone that has weathered over so many years exposure to the elements.

Triberg im Schwarzwald

After the difficulties I had yesterday things have been much more straightforward today and as a result you are being spoilt with a plethora of photos.

In total we have driven 1059 miles so far and we are in Triberg in the heart of the Black Forest. It's been sunny and warm but with plenty of snow on the ground. The scenery is spectacular.

Today's pictures are a mixed bunch, the first three were taken in the Black Forest Museum. Pictures 1 &  2 are of the very bizarrecostumes worn locally in the past to celebrate Shrovetide. Not a festival that I'm familiar with and the costumes are I think pretty scary.

The third picture is a little curiosity and I'll leave it open for comment to see if you can work out what it is... Please have a go!

I couldn't resist the picture of the berliner as it made me think of JFK... It also sort of fits with the other window displays I've posted this week. I couldn't resist the doughnut either, it was really good.

The snow rabbit was completely natural and I couldn't resist, again there has been a rabbit in one form or another in other posts this week.

The final image is a view of the apartment where I am staying, it's absolutely lovely, and probably a place I will come back to.

Well that's all for today, don't forget to have a guess re number 3