I bought the shutteria.com domain through Blogger yesterday. While Blogger does not directly sell domains, they do resell them on behalf of GoDaddy.com. It costs a mere USD 10 per year for the domain and some extras, which I think is money well-spent.
This blog (shutteria.com and the previous shutteria.blogspot.com) is hosted by Blogger, which offers free blog hosting. Blogger is owned by Google. So, if you already have a Google account, you can log into Blogger with your Google username and password, and create your own blog almost immediately. This is the route I took. It was simple, fast and risk-free.
However, the blog does not come with a custom domain. By default, it uses the blogspot.com domain. I believe that owning a custom domain is essential. It adds credibility to a blog and is absolutely essential for branding. Previously, the only way I thought that this could be done was to buy a domain, subscribe to a web hosting package and install the blogging engine and related software on my own. I wasn’t comfortable with this. Sure, many people claim that this isn’t as difficult as it sounds and I do believe that things will get easier once the ball starts rolling. Nonetheless, I still found the task to be too daunting and kept procrastinating.
I stumbled upon a solution as I was surfing through my dashboard on Blogger and came to the Settings Publishing section. There was the option of switching to a custom domain. When I selected that, I was led through the purchase of my own domain – shutteria.com. The domain costs USD 10 per year and was immediately linked to various Google Apps (e.g. email, calendar, docs and sites) for free. That was simple.
Another drawback about using free blog hosting services is the limited selection of blog templates that they have. I do think that some templates look pretty good, but they just don’t look very professional. Additionally, the size and dimensions are often not optimized for the blog content or its readers. I found an excellent solution for this – free blog templates. I googled around and found btemplates.com to have the most comprehensive collection blog templates. I downloaded two of them – one for this blog and another one for my Living in Munich blog. The templates came with a brief readme file that described the installation procedure. Once again, it was simple.
Simplicity works.
joel@shutteria.com
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
Me and photography
I thought I'd start off by writing about myself. My name in Joel and I'm living in Munich. I'm qualified as an engineer and working in the telecommunications sector. I tried picking up photography many years ago while I was still in school. My first camera was a second-hand Yashica FX-3, which my Dad got for me. Being in school and yet earning a paycheck meant that I had to be cautious taking shots. There was also an annoying glitch with the shutter that put me off. Nonetheless, I learned the fundamentals of photography from a good friend of mine using this camera.
My passion for photography didn't really take off then. Several years later I got a digital compact camera by Minolta. Some of the pictures I took on that camera were really good and digital photography was definitely revolutionary at that time. Digital SLRs back then cost a bomb and I was content taking good snap shots with my little Minolta.
My next camera was a Canon Ixus 70, which I still have and is serving me very well. From my experience with the Minolta, I wanted a compact camera that would slip into my pocket and still take great snap snots. My Ixus does just that. Once I took the time to study the manual and really understand its features and limitations, my shots improved further. Soon after that, I started thinking about getting a Digital SLR. I told my wife that I wouldn't get a Digital SLR until I reached a level where my Ixus was prohibiting my further development in photography.
I started reading a lot (especially from the Internet) about photography techniques especially composition. With a few basic techniques such as framing and rule of thirds, I was able to take my photography to the next level. I continued using my Ixus a little longer and then decided that I would invest in a Digital SLR. I got myself a Nikon D60 with a Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR. The picture below was taken with my Ixus 70.
More on my kit in the next post.
My passion for photography didn't really take off then. Several years later I got a digital compact camera by Minolta. Some of the pictures I took on that camera were really good and digital photography was definitely revolutionary at that time. Digital SLRs back then cost a bomb and I was content taking good snap shots with my little Minolta.
My next camera was a Canon Ixus 70, which I still have and is serving me very well. From my experience with the Minolta, I wanted a compact camera that would slip into my pocket and still take great snap snots. My Ixus does just that. Once I took the time to study the manual and really understand its features and limitations, my shots improved further. Soon after that, I started thinking about getting a Digital SLR. I told my wife that I wouldn't get a Digital SLR until I reached a level where my Ixus was prohibiting my further development in photography.
I started reading a lot (especially from the Internet) about photography techniques especially composition. With a few basic techniques such as framing and rule of thirds, I was able to take my photography to the next level. I continued using my Ixus a little longer and then decided that I would invest in a Digital SLR. I got myself a Nikon D60 with a Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR. The picture below was taken with my Ixus 70.
More on my kit in the next post.
Captain's Log
You've probably heard the phrase "Captain's Log" being used in movies before. It's sort of a diary that a Captain keeps while at sea. It helps the captain recall past experiences, encounters, discoveries and so forth. It's also a Captain's companion when sailing the lonely seas. On the hand, it also serves as guide for those embarking on similar journeys. Such a log allows its readers to learn from and share in the journey of the author. I expect the same from this blog.
I started picking up photography in the beginning of 2009 and truly enjoy it. I've been building up my camera kit, knowledge on photography and network of fellow enthusiasts since. I know I still have a long way to go but I'm getting closer everyday.
Shutteria is my diary on the Web about photography - my own photo blog. It is a log of my photo shooting escapades and lessons learned, a place for me to share my photos, opinions, advice, tips and tricks on photography, and a portal to just about anything related to my journey as a photographer.
This is the blog of a budding photographer.
I started picking up photography in the beginning of 2009 and truly enjoy it. I've been building up my camera kit, knowledge on photography and network of fellow enthusiasts since. I know I still have a long way to go but I'm getting closer everyday.
Shutteria is my diary on the Web about photography - my own photo blog. It is a log of my photo shooting escapades and lessons learned, a place for me to share my photos, opinions, advice, tips and tricks on photography, and a portal to just about anything related to my journey as a photographer.
This is the blog of a budding photographer.
