Photographing other people has changed ME!

Meaning ME, the photographer, not the little bird I blipped today. I didn't get out to the park today, so I am posting a little visitor to my "bird buffet." 

The title refers to a short photo essay I wrote today and posted on my blog about photographing people and how that practice has impacted me as a photographer and as a person. Several years ago I was inspired by the blipper Identity (who also has another identity), to begin posting pictures of strangers I meet when I am out with my camera. Every day he takes a picture of a different stranger and posts them on Blipfoto. I am in awe of that  accomplishment. I don't see enough people in a day to make one per day a practical goal, but I decided to try to post a picture of a stranger every week. That practice has taught me a lot as a photographer...and also helped me find some new friends and meet some very interesting people.  Today when I was thinking about what to post on my photoblog, I decided to post the two pictures of strangers that I took last week and to write about the experience of photographing strangers. My goal was to encourage other amateur photographers to step out of their comfort zone and give it a try.  If you have time to read the short piece, I would love to know if I achieved that goal. You can read it here. Thanks in advance for any feedback you have time to give me.