Two years ago…

July 7, 2014 by Mike Powell

Two years ago today, my photography mentor and dear friend Cindy Dyer sat me down at her computer and told me that I was going to start a blog. We had just returned from a photo shoot at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington D.C. and had taken lots of shots of waterlilies, lotus flowers, and dragonflies.

Cindy is a professional photographer and web designer and I had previously looked at her blog (which currently has had over 560,000 views), but I had never really thought about starting a blog myself. Inside I had all kinds of concerns about my inadequacies as a photographer and about not being ready to share my images with an audience broader than, but Cindy was undeterred and helped me choose a theme and a banner and set up my basic page.

My first posting was short, only 14 words and included a shot of a Blue Dasher dragonfly. I have reposted it below for your convenience or you can use the link in the first sentence of this paragraph.

Today’s posting is posting number 1,224. I never imagined that I would enjoy this blog as much as I have or that I would continue so faithfully to document my journey into photography. Thanks to so many of you readers who have encouraged and supported me along the way.

I may take a pause this week to reflect on that journey and possibly re-post some of my favorites from the last two years. Don’t worry, though, I be back to posting new images before long.

My first WordPress posting on 7 July 2012:

I photographed this Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens this morning.

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged anniversary, Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Pachydiplax longipennis, retrospective, Washington D.C. | 16 Comments

16 Responses

on July 7, 2014 at 5:43 am | Reply Victor Rakmil

Congratulations!
on July 7, 2014 at 6:45 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

That was quite a first shot! Congratulations Mike.
on July 7, 2014 at 7:29 am | Reply takomadonna

Congratulations
on July 7, 2014 at 7:30 am | Reply Dan Traun

Time flies when you are having fun.
on July 7, 2014 at 8:53 am | Reply judysbirds

I’m so glad you started this blog, Mike. I’ve learned so much from you and your photographs this last year. Are you thinking of any kinds of changes as you go into your third year?
on July 7, 2014 at 9:44 am | Reply joeleagle

Congrats on two years Mike! So glad our paths crossed via our photo blogs! I look forward to more of your great work in the days to come!
on July 7, 2014 at 9:45 am | Reply donna213

I started my other blog GWGT four years ago and have surpassed the half million mark too. It takes time to build a following but it is so rewarding. Even with four years under my belt, I am only at 735 posts to date on GWGT. So congrats on your diligence and frequent postings. 1,224 posts is a lot of work.
on July 7, 2014 at 9:59 am | Reply Dan Antion

Congratulations on the milestone(s) you’ve piled up. I for one will enjoy the older posts, as I only started following in the past year.
on July 7, 2014 at 10:07 am | Reply James Keegan

Congratulations!
on July 7, 2014 at 3:56 pm | Reply caleephotography

Happy anniversary, Mike! It’s been a treat to follow your blog these past two years. In a few weeks I’ll be celebrating two years as well. 🙂 Here’s to many more!!
on July 7, 2014 at 10:57 pm | Reply Lyle Krahn

That’s an incredible journey with a lot of photos and words. Well worth pausing to celebrate. It was interesting to read about how it all began. Good decision even if it was made for you.
on July 8, 2014 at 9:36 am | Reply joeschelling

It’s certainly been a treat seeing your updates for the last two years, Mike. Well done!
on July 8, 2014 at 3:32 pm | Reply Ed

Congrats! I’ve really enjoyed your blog since finding it.. 🙂
on July 8, 2014 at 3:51 pm | Reply Mjollnir

Happy Blogday Mike 😀
on July 12, 2014 at 6:49 pm | Reply nliakos

Very cool to see your first post, and it was a doozy! I really enjoy your blog, so thanks to Cindy Dyer for not taking “no” for an answer!
- on July 12, 2014 at 7:02 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. It really is nice to have a friend and mentor who both inspires and challenges me. The coolest thing we do sometimes is look through my photos after a shoot, which lets her see exactly how I framed my shots, how many shots I took, how good my exposures were, etc. It takes a lot of trust to share all of them with someone else and not simply the selected few images I share with a broader audience.