In The Limelight

Our guest interview for this month is Scriptor Senex from the United Kingdom. Rambles from my Chair is just one of many places you can visit him. 





Photography

When did the photo bug bite you?

When I was about ten.  My father, brother and uncle were all photographers and Dad allowed me to use his spare camera when we went on holiday to Scotland around 1960.



What was your first camera and what do you use now?

A folding bellows Kodak which took an unusual size roll film - 116 - which got progressively harder to purchase.



Have you ever taken any photography courses? 

No, but I have read quite a lot of photography books over the years.



What inspires you to turn on the camera, the gotta have it shot?

Principally natural history - butterflies, dragonflies, animals and so on.  I must have taken literally hundreds of photos of Red Admiral butterflies over the years.



What is on your equipment wish list?

Nothing.  I am fortunate enough to have all I want at the moment.



Can you recall the first photo you took that made you go WOW!?

Yes, It was a photograph of a bank of snow in the winter of 1963 - in black and white, of course.  Because of the difficulty of capturing snow on black and white I had not expected it to be as good as it turned out.




Blogging

Blogging since ..... 2005 on my natural history and holiday blogs but only since 2007 on my Rambles from my Chair blog.



Why did you start blogging?

Initially I wanted to use the blogs to keep a record of birds and insects seen in our garden.  From there it progressed to records of holidays and then on to 'Rambles' which is a total miscellany.



Is there a story behind the name of your blog?

I enjoy rambling and taking photos of the places I have been and the creatures I have seen there.  The process of then putting it on a blog seemed to call for the title 'Rambles from my Chair' which also gives a hint of miscellaneous nature of the blog by using ramble in the sense of meandering through different subjects.



What does blogging mean to you now?

At times - especially at this moment while I am having computer problems - an obligation which I could do without.  See next answer..



What advice would you give to a new blogger?

Blog at your own pace and what you want to blog - do not get into the situation where a day or a week of failing to blog (or failing to read other people's blogs) makes you feel guilty.  Blogging should be an enjoyable process used for your own satisfaction.  Also - don't take to heart adverse comments if you ever get them, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. 



Do you have a favorite time of the day to write posts?

Usually very early in the morning.



Have you set any goal about your blog? Anything you want to achieve with it?

No.  Other than, in the case of 'Rambles from my Chair', to make it random and fun so that all the people who kindly follow it enjoy coming back for more; and my word blog where I try to post a word a day.



What are you favorite places to visit on the web that aren’t blogs?

Google Maps,  BBC News, and sites that explain the meanings of some of our more obscure words and phrases.



Guest Interview Questions
From NanU:

Do you ever comment on a blog to disagree with it? If not, why not?

Yes but I always try to make my disagreement tactful and to make the point that just because I disagree doesn't mean I'm right.



From Mark:

What is the most difficult struggle you have had with something you didn't like about yourself and how did you overcome it?

Ouch.  That's a bit painful - it assumes I have overcome it.  I think my difficulty in suffering fools gladly.  If I haven't overcome it I hope that at least it doesn't show.




Personal

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

I am not a great traveler - I have never been outside the UK - but if I were ever to venture further afield it would probably be to Paris with the Grand Canyon a close second.



What would you like to teach others?

The fun and benefits of a Latin education.  I really regret its disappearance from the modern syllabus.



Which adjectives best describe you?

Perhaps someone else should really answer this but I suppose enthusiastic, caring and with a dry sense of humour are the ones I would hope they came up with.  (And no doubt pedantic would feature in there somewhere!)



What is happiness to you?

Getting so absorbed in a pastime - be it photography, watching wildlife, blogging or reading - that I forget pain which, regrettably, I suffer from constantly.



Do you have any special talents; such as singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument?

I can sing if there are 12,000 other members of the Kop (Liverpool Football Club's supporters) around me;  I seem to recall dancing, after a fashion, twenty odd years ago; I can play the first few bars of Beethoven's Fur Elise on the piano.  In other words - No.



What are your basic stats that you would like to share?

Male, age 61,  5' 9" and shrinking, slim, bespectacled, and with less hair than yesterday...



Is there a question you would like asked in the guest interview for the next person?

No - I think They have enough to cope with..



Besides blogging or photography, what is your favorite thing to do?

Reading and watching wildlife.



Favorite saying or quotation: (or any comment you would like to make)

The trouble with being punctual is that there is no one there to appreciate it.  Anon.


Comments

  1. I was to post this the 17th but had a slip of the fingers today!! so we have "In The Limelight" early this month.

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  2. I really enjoy reading about other photographers. It's interesting to know what makes them love this obsession so.
    Thanks for the insights....

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  3. I was really glad to see that this week featured Scriptor! His dry sense of humor, sharp eye, and -- yes -- even his pedantry, make his blog one of my favorites. I'm also glad I no longer have to feel guilty if I miss it once in awhile.

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  4. I enjoyed reading about Scriptor In the Limelight. As droll as ever! Love his advice to new bloggers - feel the same applies to old bloggers!

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  5. One of my favorites for sure. Is good to read a little more of 'close up' information. Pauline, I prefer 'experienced' blogger to 'old' but Scriptor's message is a good one. Remember your reason for starting blogging and hold true. Getting comments and making them can be fun but the real satisfaction is in meeting your own need to speak out.

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  6. I love this feature. It's so nice getting to know something about the blogger. Very interesting interview and I do like his advice. I tend to feel guilty sometimes when I miss reading blogs and miss commenting on them. But still, the blogging community is a very positive place for me to dwell.

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  7. I did so enjoy this. Sciptor I do not know really well but do feel I know and understand him better now. This is a nice part of the project. I love anyone that lives in the UK. That is from where my ancestry cometh. Love the Latin too.
    QMM

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  8. Wonderful interview..so fun to get to know folks better!! I always adore your posts Scriptor...wonderful post :)

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  9. You sound like a very interesting man, thanks for sharing. I like reading your blogs.

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  10. Enjoyed the interview. A couple of words which I would add to describe John or 'Scriptor' which would be; considerate; accepting and loyal.

    Jo

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