When I started this writing blog, I did not use any pictures to go with my posts, just because I did not know the value of using them. However, as I got more familiar with the world of blogging, I noticed that a lot of sites used images with their posts, and it added a nice touch to them. Maria Schneider has a site called Editor Unleased, and she did a post in which she said that images can be an inspiration for your writing, as well as add an interesting element to what you write about. She uses Flickr as a source for her images. The images under the Creative Commons license can be used at no cost, but credit must be given to the photographer.
I find that it can be a tedious process searching for just the right picture and some pictures that come up on Flickr do not seem related at all to what you are looking for. This got me thinking about building my own photo gallery of pictures that I can use for inspiration or in a future post. I looked around my house for things that caught my eye and took a picture of it. I also looked back at pictures I took on past trips, scenic pictures (fall, snow, spring, palm trees, moon, clouds) flowers, animals, etc. I uploaded them to Flickr and now have 106 pictures in my photostream and it is a work in progress. I still have to tag the pictures and get a Creative Commons license for them. You can take a picture of any number of things and be as creative as you want. The main thing is to take a picture of something that catches your eye, or that you connect with. I am having a lot of fun with this project since I love taking pictures.
One of the blogs I follow,Pictures, Poetry and Prose, posts an image daily and you are prompted to write anything you want about it. You can find other sources for images here as well.
What source(s) do you use to get images for your writing?
Flickr photo: ipodfan1
Posts
6 comments:
Hey! Thanks so much for checking out epiphanizing! And great post, I have actually been trying to figure out how to incorporate pictures on my blog. I really like what Pictures, Poetry, & Prose does for using pictures as prompts, and I like the idea of just taking my own pictures. I haven't found a good source of free images myself yet, but for thought provoking images That Unreliable Girl has some good ones, and I always like museum websites like MoMa
I'm very visual when I begin to write my poetry. Sometimes I will get inspiration from something I notice when I'm walking outside. Nature inspires me often. I also love to pull images and thoughts from studying favorite paintings. Pictures, Poetry and Prose has been a great catalyst for my writing lately. I think that I may start to look for photographs to help stir some new poetic ideas.
Thank for referring those two sites for images. Besides, Flickr, I have heard of Photobucket, but I am not too familiar with it yet.
Septembermom: I love the blog, Poetry,Pictures and Prose too. I like the idea of looking at a picture and getting inspiration from it. Have you posted any of your poems on your site?
What beautiful images you have there. I love the sea. So when are you starting to incorporate them?
I go crazy with taking photos for my blog and web site. My husband pokes fun at that all the time: "you just bought this (and that) to take photos of it for your web site". Taking photos is another creative outlet, right? And I like to use my own, because I like the whole product to be my creation alone.
Lori, I love taking pictures and like you said it is also a creative outlet. I also "staged" a few pictures, like a pen/notepad and took a picture. I have used a few pictures on this blog, like the cover of Writers Digest and the Attention All Writers sign. I like the pictures you use on your site too. Basically, you are creating your own images to go with your writing ideas.
Post a Comment