seasons, changes, and a new mini-endeavor

{sorry... this is another long post. there are several links in this post. they are the words that appear in gray.}

if you've been coming around here since i started this blog a year ago, you'll remember my first blog banner {below}.


i remember when i first set this blog up, i did not have a banner photo or anything fancy at the head. i only had the title {in one of the few fonts that blogger offers} across the top of my blog page. in just a short time, i realized that i needed to have something a little more interesting appear every time someone came to my space, especially since this is a photo blog. it's only fitting that my banner use one of my photos, right? so i created the above banner and never expected that i would change it.

i can still remember the first time i noticed another blogger change their blog banner photo. it was elk at red or gray depends on the day. i thought, "oh, what a great idea to change the banner photo every now and then." but it still took me a while before i thought of changing my own, because i felt like i should keep my original, as it is how my blog began to be known and recognized by my readers.

still, i was itching to change it, especially after taking a photo last winter of some birds that i loved and wanted to use. so then i thought, "i guess i could just change my banner art every time the season changes... to reflect the change in my surroundings, and to signify seasons of life." i thought it would be a perfect way to change it up and keep it fresh. so that is what i started to do.

because today is the first day of autumn, i'm changing mine again. from the one below {which was one of my favorites} to what you now see at the top of my page. i took the current banner photo last fall and wrote about it here.

i'm on my fifth banner design for this blog, and after five, i realized how much i enjoy doing this! SO much so, that i started thinking recently... "hey! i should offer this as a service... blog banner design."

not only have i done several on "it's just how i see things" and all of the banners on my other blogs here, here, here, here and here {the third one i collaborated with my friend chris on, the last two i collaborated with my sister on... she took the photos}, but i have also done some typography design/composition for three blogs of others' here, here and here.

not only did i design all of my banners on this blog, but i took the photos for them, as did i for my "...shhhh" blog. and since i love to use typography on my photo posts here and i love taking pictures, i realized that i would probably enjoy offering my services making banners for other people who need a blog banner or title treatment on their blog(s)—whether it be because of lack of time, or vision, or resources, or know-how.

like i said, i've done this already for friends {one of which i will be writing a little more about tomorrow or the next day} and always thoroughly enjoy it. and since i have been doing other freelance design lately anyway {like this birth announcement}, this will fit right in to my recent efforts. i'll probably call it "Jorjah-B banner design" or something like that. i'm not sure what i'll charge, but it won't be much, because it's not too time-consuming. i can even offer my own photography for blogs who may not have a photo to work with. {don't forget... there are a lot more blogs and bloggers out there than just our photography blogs and us photographers. *wink*}

so, long story short... i will continue to change up my banner here from time to time. {i've also added this new button in the side bar for these.}

and i will now embark on this little project of offering a bit of creativity to anyone who might seek it. i think it will be fun!

okay... whew! that was an "earful", hah? sorry. i get gabby sometimes. mostly i just want to say...

happy first day of fall! {well, tomorrow is the first full day, but it starts today.} it's my favorite season of all, and i'm glad it has arrived. i was hoping to do another one of my "goodbye, summer" posts like i did a year ago, but i did not get around to it. so this year, i only have time to say, hello, autumn!

{i'm hoping to get back to weekly synophotography posts starting next tuesday. it's been a while. now i just need to get my sister to play catch-up and join me.}