Since nobody yet reads the blog, I get to ramble and write whatever I want.
What are my goals for this site, and why am I doing it?
Fame and fortune, of course.  Why else does anyone do anything?  🙂
I am building this for fun and to see what happens.  Photo sharing sites are great, but I feel that there is a lack of space to explain the idea behind the photo and add in other points of view to explain how the image finally was formed.  They are also difficult to show work in progress type images, and hard to show variations of the same image (for example, a Color and B&W next to each other) in an easy way.
My other goal is to begin to create a travel photography guide.  This is a longer term project.  What is this about and how is it different than other guides?  Most travel guides tell you the sites to see and the hours a popular location is open.  This guide will be different.  It will focus on when and where to be to get interesting images.
Let me use the Alhambra in Granada Spain as an example.  A normal travel guide will tell you “Operating hours are 10-6, and we recommend reserving your tickets ahead of time as the site can be very popular in the summer.  Daytime temperatures can run as high as 90 degrees F, so, plan appropriately”.  My guide would say “The site can be very popular in summer and the light is harsh.  Spring and Fall light, especially in late November in the evenings is very pleasant”.
The guides will focus on how to get to a certain place, what trail to take and when that trail might be open, closed, or washed out.  I plan on including the nearest airport, nearest major international airport (if needed), information on travel from the airport to the location (bus, train, car, other), and other relevant information to help you get there and get the good photos.  I do not plan on including much information about hotels or where to stay, unless it can be unusually difficult for an outsider to find an appropriate place (such as Miyajima, which I found to be quite difficult and I was not certain I had a place to stay until I checked in).  If you are staying in a major tourist location, the normal websites are simple enough to use.
Let’s see if these goals will be met.
-M