I’ve been thinking about this blog for a couple of weeks and have decided to redefine it.

So far the blog has been about sharing new photos and random thoughts, along with group participation selecting photos, frames, etc.

I now want to make this blog more practical and stimulating for you. I have changed the tagline to “Brighten Your World with Photography.”

Really everything I’ve ever done with photography has had this motivation. The reason I take pictures is to share the joy of life with everyone. And that’s also why I offer cards and calendars and wallpaper in addition to prints. That’s why I write my newsletter. I want life’s rich colors to greet your eye on the wall, the computer screen and in your correspondence.

That’s what this whole website is about. Each product shares a ray of light.

But the blog can take this one step further. It will always be a place to see my new work. But it can also be a place for us to share how we use photography to make life brighter.

How do you use photography to brighten your world?

Here are two new topics that will be added to our discussions here:

1. How to Decorate with Photography
2. The Art of Correspondence

I will be asking interior decorators to help out with the first, and writers and designers to help out with the second.

I also plan to share the work of inspiring photographers here from time to time.

The result, I hope, will be a stimulation for you.

Last week, I announced in my newsletter that I am cutting back to one newsletter per month because I need to focus on getting more products onto my site (right now there are very few framed and unframed prints, and almost no wallpaper photos on the site).

Instead of creating new photos, I’m going to be busy putting up new products on the site using photos I already have, and trying to find new outlets to sell my work.

This will affect my blog activity as well. Instead of posting three times a week (as I have more or less been doing), I will be posting just once a week on Monday mornings.

You will enjoy seeing pictures here that you may not have seen before. As new products are added to the site, I’ll let you know about them here.

Three weeks ago the newsletter featured lotuses and water lilies. I didn’t get a chance to post all the photos here before I left for vacation.

Personally, I find lotuses and water lilies to be amazing. They are different from most other plants because they grow in the water… and their blossoms are fantastic.

Maybe it’s the fact that Monet glamorized them for us, or that the cultures of the East consider it to be highly auspicious. Maybe it’s the fact that to photograph them you have to wade through waist deep water and mud. Maybe it’s their wonderful aroma. I’m not sure what it is that makes water lilies and lotuses so alluring.

Do they have an appeal for you? What is it about them that catches your attention? Let me know in the comments below.

By the way, I am changing my blog schedule to Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday for a while. Let me know how this works for you.

This week’s newsletter features the town of Essex, New York, known for its history and its unique collection of pre-Civil War architecture. You can read the whole story in the newsletter.

The following images are available as a free wallpaper download until Tuesday ($21.78 value). They will be for sale after that time. In case you haven’t been downloading the free wallpaper each week, I added detailed descriptions for Windows XP and Mac OS X on how to set up rotating wallpaper on your computer. Take a few minutes to set up your computer today and take advantage of free photos every week for your computer. Here are the ones from Essex this week.

Since you, and all my blogging friends, have been so instrumental in creating this wall calendar, I’m announcing the 2010 Wall Calendar’s availability here on the blog first.

The news will go out in the newsletter tomorrow as well.

If you order now, your calendar will ship around Aug 5th–as soon as I get them from the printer.

Features and Benefits:

1. Bright colors will keep you inspired while you plan your days and weeks ahead.

2. You can tell your friends that you helped pick these pictures.

3. The calendar’s 12 x 12 inch (30.5 x 30.5 cm) size has plenty of room to write birthdays, vacations, appointments, etc.

4. Each page displays six weeks (with grayed out numbers to show days from next and previous months). Great for planning ahead or looking back. Holidays and moon phases show up on the grayed-out dates as well.

5. Moon phases (with timing) are included for every month.

6. Eclipses (four of them next year) are listed with the places they are visible on the globe. This is helpful if you are into astrology or astronomy.

7. Holidays include major Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim holidays.

5. Calendars are printed on recycled paper (10% post consumer waste) to help minimize your impact on the environment.

6. You get a 5% discount if you order 5 or more calendars (calculated automatically when you add to your cart).

Order yours today, while supplies last.