[ frangipani ] [ a life in tokyo ] [ photoblog ]

Looking around at things from a good vantage point is a nice way to get an idea of the big picture, and this picture from Sundays jaunt around Nezu (and the rooftop garden sculptures at the Asakura Choso Museum) suits todays post nicely.

January has been the busiest month yet for frangipani in terms of traffic and bandwidth and while some of it was caused by hotlinking, a lot of it was genuine interest in the site and in particular the manholes gallery which had some 125 000 individual visits alone. My hosts have been incredibly generous in allowing the sites crazy bandwidth demands and working hard to problem solve and keep frangipani live - it's only inevitable that we will have to design a new deal to cope with the growth and that I'll be sinking even more money into this beloved little pet project - now 3 years old.

So the sites been getting a little spring clean (has been for a while now), not that you would have noticed much of the activity because it's all background stuff like new stats programs (Mint) and tidying up crappy old code and trying to style the new gallery page (which is still not for public eyes)... sorry....

Something that you will have noticed, though, is the liberal sprinkling of Paypal DONATE buttons that now populate the busiest corners of the blog. The Google ad's are back up too but seems no-one finds them interesting/relevent enough to click on, myself included. Need to find out more about getting more specific targeted ads to improve relevency to the sites content.

I've been reading some of the pro-blogger sites about ways to make the site pay for itself and it looks like a feasible thing to achieve with a little time and effort. So there will be other little changes popping up here and there around the site. Hopefully none of them too invasive... One of the much needed changes is that I intend to spend a little more time and thought on what I'm writing, to make it more.. um... worthwhile, interesting and digestible to all, and a little less emotional. I envisage a kind of travel guide. Given my lack of interest in details that should be quite a challenge...

And then there's the photography.... I'm still not good enough to really cut it in the professional world. But the site offers me great training in that respect. I dream of a life of travel photography - getting paid to just travel, and take photos. As much as I love teaching, it is starting to wear me down. I do too much of it. (But the grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it...) So yeah, the photography side of things is starting to shift subtly... as my confidence improves, I believe the photos will too. And the money will come. Oh, to be able to do all this full time. It'd ROCK!

Anyways. The dreamer is growing up. But I doubt it'll ever get too real around here.... there's too much hippy in me.

In other news (catching up on old and new stuff here), The Album Leaf rocked a million times over, Sayuri (Memoirs of a geisha) sucked, and you can see pictures from our last Saturday night out at Pinku.

Post title from the Turin Brakes song Feeling Oblivion. Great writers, those boys.

And now for the shameless request: If you enjoy this site, feel free to make a donation by clicking on the button at th ebottom of the right sidebar (or email me with some suggestions on how to generate some cash flow...)!

frangipani wrote this on January 31, 2006 10:52 PM

Red Ruin said:

Hey, your donate link doesn't seem to be working at the moment. I was going to give you all of MY adsense revenues which would probably allow you to purchase more than one instant ramen, but probably not much more than two.

In any case, I think if you have the time, you could make a good deal of money by creating a photobook. Most people don't want to just buy prints cause they don't know where they would put them or what to do with them even if they really like your work, but when they see that they can get a great selection of photos in a book they are much more willing to shell out $20-30 and if you get orders in massive amounts you are doing well.

Maybe a few smaller themed coffee-table books like manholes of japan, or store-fronts of japan or temples, bridges, blah blah of japan. Your photography gives your subjects a really real feeling which I love. I would definitely buy a photobook if you had the time to publish one.

February 2, 2006 05:15 AM

Due to the proliferation of comment spam, I've closed comments on all older entries. If you would like to leave a comment for this post, please email me directly at martine {at} frangipani {dot} info and I'll add it manually. Thank you and sorry for any inconvience caused.

kowhai said:

Dont worry about being emotional. I like the tone just as is. But I guess with an increase in traffic you start to feel exposed in a way that you dont when less people are trucking through.......I have done my bit for traffic. I mail alot of my friends in NZ the link because a) you live in near me....... b) the photos are so beautiful it is a good way for people to see what I see around here, but of course they are seeing it through your eyes. Keep it up. No changes neccessary in the writing I think, just keep on keeping on and things will continue to grow organically methinks. Best of luck with your dreams.

February 1, 2006 12:18 PM

bill mollenhauer said:

I think your pictures are very good and I have been looking at your web for about 2 years. Just do as the pros do and go somewhere and shoot 10,00 pictures and you are sure to get 6 or 10 for a travel article. Since you are in Tokyo and know it so well why not try an article with pictures of some Tokyo neighborhoods and put them on your web. Bill

February 1, 2006 01:35 PM

Werner said:

"interesting and digestible to all, and a little less emotional"
Noooooo! Don't make it a run-off-the-mill blog! There are too many of these around already. If you take the emotion out of it it'll be the same as tearing out the soul of your site - the very thing which makes it worthwhile reading!
Please?

February 1, 2006 01:57 PM

Gaffey said:

I've been checking out your site and I'm really impressed with both the quality of images and enthusiasm of your writing. There's no shame in trying to convey emotion and I think there'd be a danger of making the blog a little too clinical if you moved towards a more guide based format. Having said that, you certainly know your stuff about Tokyo and there would be a lot of people who'd benefit from your writings and images just as they do now. Keep it real. Respect.

February 1, 2006 05:56 PM

prue said:

Hi martine, Thank you so much for all your beautiful photos of japan - your enthusiasm is contagious. I'm visiting for the first time next week, and have really enjoyed reading the blog over the past year or so. I hope i can do a bit of exploring and see some of the same wonderful places you've shown with my own eyes! I think your old tokyo walk was well timed - that's exactly what i want to see!!!
thanks again!!

February 1, 2006 06:51 PM

Uncle Don

said:

Laying ones self bare in text is not easy but I feel it is one of the chief attractions of your site. Vicariously your readers live your life with you. Any attempt to calculate or clothe your true feelings would detract from the spontaneity and warmth of your writings. Pictures are worth a thousand words but they cannot express the human condition as can a few paragraphs written from the heart.

"Where is there dignity unless there is honesty?"
Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

February 1, 2006 07:18 PM

ani said:

i've been reading and enjoying your blog for close to a year now definitely consider it one of my fave stops. your photography is fantastic and i would consider buying a print if you went that route.
but please don't change your writing style! your lovely personality shines through and i would always wonder what you were REALLY thinking about.

i hope that it all comes together for you!

February 2, 2006 02:39 PM

nicole said:

Please don't change your style, Martine. It's what makes this blog so fantastic - the way you convey your experiences and life in Japan is so engaging. I've learnt so much about Japan from your experiences, and I do get all natsukashii when you mention some of my favourite things about Japan. But most importantly, your photography is just superb, time after time, and so inspiring.

February 4, 2006 02:03 PM

Eric at Paris Daily Photo said:

I totally understand what you are going through.

Whether to advertise or not....
How to choose the right shot....
Keeping up with the comments and photos....

All I can say is that for me it's the comments people make that sometimes keep me going. I do a lot of this for myself, but people interacting make it all so much more worth it.

Keep it up! There aren't many good english written blogs in Asia so this is another advantage you bring. That and FANTASTIC photos!

February 4, 2006 03:56 PM

frangipani

Thanks very much for your input, all of you commenters and emailers . Your comments and suggestions have been taken onboard and are much appreciated. Cheers!

February 4, 2006 04:58 PM

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