MGB-Blogger of the Month:: December!

It is December 1st, and that means it is time to announce our new Blogger of the Month!

I met Laurie last year- we both entered an Olympic Blogging contest through Microsoft Office and were named two of the five semi-finalists that were vying for THE ultimate prize- a chance to blog behind the scenes at the Winter OLYMPIC GAMES in Vancouver! Through months of waiting and writing and schlepping for votes we began emailing each other and commenting on the other's blog to offer support. If I did not win this contest, I was really hoping that Laurie would. Her blog is not only well written, it is choc-full of the most amazing photos I have ever seen. I knew that if she were to win, it would be such a treat to see the Olympic story told through the lens of her camera.

Last December (Christmas Eve in fact) we learned that neither one of us had been chosen to go to Vancouver. I will be honest. It sucked rocks. I did not win the contest, yet I still won. I gained a new friend,  a place to visit and catch up with a very talented woman! 

Please welcome Laurie, author of Taking the long Way!


Taking the long way

 MGB:  How long have you been blogging?

TLW: First of all let me say how honored I am to be featured on your blog. I'm continually inspired by you and what you're doing on Mom Got Blog. I've been blogging for a little over three years since the summer of
2007 when I was getting ready to move 3000 miles from Boston to Portland, Oregon. I was just emerging from a year of incredible highs and lows and realized the journey I was on was both unique and universal.

MGB: Why do you blog?

TLW: It started as a way to document my journey (literally and figuratively) and keep in touch with friends who I was going to miss dearly. At its core it remains that - a place to share what is unique in my experience and simultaneously universal to all of us. I am most in love with its ability to stretch conversations across tens,
hundreds and even thousands of miles.

MGB: Every photo you share on your blog evokes emotion when I see it. What photo has touched you?

TLW: Thank you! The photos that touch me the most are the ones when I capture people in moments that are unguarded and tell a story about them or that instant in time. The funny thing is that I don't post those on my blog nearly often enough.

MGB: Do you have a favorite camera to use?

TLW: My favorite camera is the always the one I have with me. I kick myself when I come upon something breathtaking - a particular quality of light, a color, a moment - and don't have anything to record it with. I bounce between film and digital cameras. I have a major crush on my iPhone 'cause it's always with me and is so versatile. I am at the beginning of a love affair with my Nikon D5000. We are still getting to know each other, but each thing I learn makes me love him even more. I'm trying to make up with my vintage Polaroid cameras. We had a bit of a falling out and are seeing if we can still be friends. The love of my life was the Canon G9. Though I lost him in a creek he was the best combination of ease and power and graced me with many of my favorite shots.

MGB: What do you see for your blog in the next year?

TLW: I'm constantly tinkering with its look and functionality and will continue to do so. I have a few ideas up my sleeve which I'll launch over the winter and early spring. One I'm most excited about is a link between my etsy shop and my blog. Stay tuned...

MGB: Do you have a favorite post?

TLW: Yes, and it's one that goes full circle to the adventure we shared. It took me a long time to build up the courage to write it, but when I did it flowed from my fingers like water. I had always heard writers talk about moments like that, but had never before experienced that level of ease and creativity. The challenge was to communicate a difficult story and do it in a way that wasn't cruel. Tricky for sure, but the Wizard of Oz metaphor came in to my head and worked beautifully. Here is the link to that post:  http://takinglongway.com/2010/02/06/behind-the-curtain/

I invite you to visit Laurie and stay a while. Take the long way around her fabulous blog. You'll be glad you did.

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