So getting this blog set up was fairly easy — here’s what you need if you want to do it and if your site is hosted like mine. (GoDaddy is my domain service, and httpme is my host.)

I downloaded WordPress (free blogging software), uncompressed the archive and uploaded it to the /blog/ directory on my ftp site. Then I went to http://www.dreamtimeimages.com/blog/ and set it all up.

Next I downloaded ecto, a cool blogging program that lets me write posts while I’m offline. Then, when I’m connected, I can publish my posts. I installed that and started posting.

Then I downloaded a WordPress plugin called Postie, which lets me send an e-mail to a secret account, and those e-mails show up as blog posts. This post is one of them.

I needed a free POP account for that aforementioned secret account, so I got one at http://www.bluebottle.com. I also needed something to trigger a URL on my site on an ongoing basis, and URL essentially logs into my BlueBottle account and downloads any new mail. So I got a free account at http://www.webcron.org and set it up to hit that URL every half hour.

Easy!

Lately I’ve have a number of people ask me about the lenses I’m using to achieve that weird-yet-cool-can’t-put-your-finger-on-it look in some of my shots. The secret? Canon’s 85mm f/1.2L. The lens itself is like a work of art, and it’s considered by many to be the Holy Grail of bokeh; the background blur it produces is breathtaking. Here are some of the shots I’ve taken lately with it — it depth of field is so shallow that if you focus on someone’s eye, their eyelashes and nose will be out of focus!

Another thing that’s cool about it is you can take pictures in the middle of the night! Without a flash! Here’s some cool shots that were taken when it was almost too dark to see…

Of course, there are a few extra secrets behind the look of the 85mm, but it’s simply amazing and it’s a lot of fun.