The initial colors are muted and classy. They are simple gray and black, with a main image featuring the settings of a digital camera and title, “Tom Sheehan: A digital photo blog.” The title and image led me to expect a general photo blog, featuring a wide variety of unrelated images. I was pleasantly misled, however, because most of the images in Tom’s blog stick to one of a few themes. If you enjoy the images on the main page, you’ll probably enjoy all of his work.
The right column lists relevant information by topic, starting with Tom’s website, followed by a brief welcome and “About,” recommendations, archives, and so on. Archives are listed by subject, for example, “Abandoned Buildings.” This makes entries easy to browse, since images are integral to this blog. These entries, or articles, are then listed by description, and the reader can choose from among them. A thumbnail image accompanying each description would make browsing easier. Also, it would be nice to have an additional option for reading archives, such as a standard monthly archive, so that one could browse through archives chronologically.
The images are not all the same size, so while some images are large enough to view comfortably and appreciate the details, others are too small, and could leave a viewer straining and desiring to see more. Each photo has a border that is colored to compliment it. However, the blog itself doesn’t have a border, so that the title image and black entry backgrounds end abruptly where they meet the gray main background. More subtle borders there and in the right column would give this already shiny blog a more polished look.
The photos collect moments and spaces from historical and small town Massachusetts. Some subjects featured are landscapes, nature, architecture, and coastal towns. The images are peaceful, mood-evoking New England scenes. Posts contain descriptions and some contain thoughts or background information, particularly concerning images of historical buildings. Another great thing is that Tom includes the technical information about the shots, adding another dimension which other photographers will appreciate.
Tom Sheehan’s photo blog is the best kind of photo blog. It has images that can be enjoyed with or without captions, descriptive titles, and enough information in the posts to give readers fuller appreciation of the images. Images fall into one of several themes, so that his blog cohesive, focused, and impassioned. His passion for his subject matter shows in every entry.
NULL