Name Dianne
Age 31
Location London
Blog URL www.diannetanner.co.uk/blog
What is your blog about? I’m a photographer shooting on 35mm film. I like to take my camera on adventures around the UK and the world and share the photographs I capture on my blog. Primarily I focus on lonely moments and darker subject matter, dusty museums and empty grave yards. I also share a slice of my life – home and studio updates, adventures, things I have seen around the internet and want to share. I like to think of it as a hub of nice imagery for your eyes, with a bit of history and interesting real life thrown in for good measure.
Is this your first blog? Not by a long shot. Do we count Livejournal? I’ve had many. This is the second incarnation of my photography blog – previously found at www.icefloe.blogspot.com – I moved it when I started my business in September 2014 to bring everything under one umbrella.
When did you start your current blog? I started ice floe in 2011/12 (I think!) and this is just a continuation of that really so I think that counts.
What made you do it? When you shoot on film it’s quite easy to end up with a pile of photographs that no one ever sees. I wanted to have an outlet to share this work, and also to share things that I like in general. I’m big into history and museum stuff, and wanted to have somewhere to talk about that stuff.
What was your first blog post about? Probably about someone who died a long time ago.
What do you think is the most useful tool to you as a blogger? Google Calendar is invaluable for scheduling and planning things, Twitter for sharing and talking about things. I don’t think I ever talk to people in the comments anymore, the conversation is very much on twitter!
Do people in your real life know about your blog? If yes, has your blog helped you career wise? Yes. I’ve had a few adventures because of my blog and business but not really. The two aren’t linked at all – although I am trying very hard to move into an industry more aligned with my interests shared on the blog.
What has been the one thing (blog post, project, etc) that you have been really proud of? I launched my online store selling handmade clutch bags and purses featuring my museum and cemetery photography last September. I’m super proud of the product – sometimes I can’t believe I make them with my own hands – and I’m super proud of getting the store up and running. People seem to really love them and it has been a really fun ride. I love that I found a way to make photographs generally blogged and forgotten about into something functional that people can use and show off, and most importantly, love. I love them and I love getting to share them with the world via my blog and website.
Where do you see your blog in a year? Hopefully not just as a promotional tool for my store. Its easy to slip into that, because it is basically the best opportunity I get to talk to my customer base about what I do and why they should shop with me. I want to keep it as a way to share my photography as well as share my product. Maybe with contributors, and collaborations with other artists I love.
What do you wish you knew when starting your blog? That blogging would be such a big deal!
What do you wish you know more about now? SEO. Boring but practical!
How do you keep motivated to post? Taking photographs. Its kind of a two way street – if I’m not shooting, I’ve got nothing to blog. If I don’t blog, I have no real outlet for my photographs.
Anything else you’d like to add? You can buy my clutch bags and purses at diannetanner.co.uk/shop – they are really cool especially if you are a secret goth who likes dead things.
