Memories: Leather Trousers

This isn't the blip I was asked to do by one of my subscribers, but it will do for now!

I love the creaky noise leather makes ads the smell of it when it's new, but that's a long time ago for these trousers. However I still have vivid memories of when I wore them, the surprise of friends seeing me in them for the first time and the friend's husband who moved to a different seat in the house because women in leather trousers scared him!

I got a huge surprise today when I found that my local paper had actually printed a report about my 1000th blip when they'd previously seemed as if they wouldn't. They didn't mention the 1000 or put in a photograph, never mind, the BBC did that in their online article. I want to keep a blip record of the report so I've put it here for my benefit but read on if you want to.

New hobby brings life-changing experience into focus for Sue.

Greystoke resident, Sue Kane, has found getting involved with a picture based social media platform a life changing experience. Sue, who runs her own jewellery and mineral shop - The Gem Den - first got involved with Blipfoto two and a half years ago and has not missed a day since.

The platform allows members to keep a daily "photo diary" by capturing an image every day and writing about it. "I had been in the position of watching a very good friend deteriorate and die. My spirit was low and in the days following the funeral I was glad of the distraction of looking through various journals on Blip." said Sue.

"I was overwhelmed by how one of the members had made a work of art out of a cork in the neck of a bottle. That was the day I made the decision." She added: "Very soon after subscribing to Blipfoto I realised this was the best hobby I had ever had. It makes me look, it makes me notice, it makes me think, it makes me learn new techniques - and it gets me out in the fresh air at weekends. "

Her involvement with Blipfoto has also allowed Sue to build up her photography expertise.

"I began by submitting shots taken on an inexpensive "point & shoot" camera but soon I realised that I wanted to experiment with slower shutter speeds. "I purchased a bridge camera, was delighted with my newly learnt editing skills, then moved onto a DSLR to give me more manual options and a choice of lenses. I'm now keen to help others take this step."

"The year after joining Blipfoto I started selling my framed images. One of them was bought by a local hotel for a conference room during its refurbishment."

The friendly advice from other Blipfoto users has encouraged Sue, and fellow "Blipper" Richard Harrison of The Wood Workshop, Penrith, to print their work and create their own website - www.artbycamera.co.uk. They have also mounted exhibitions of their photographic work at The Crown Inn near Southwaite and High Head Sculpture Valley, Ivegill.

Blipfoto was launched in 2004 as the online photo journal of Edinburgh photographer and designer Joe Tree. It now connects people in 160 countries.