social media Archives - SAHARASPLASH

I don’t know if you know but today is World Photography Day! August 19th this year sees us welcome 177 years of taking photos- how incredible is that?! Photography is something that is close to all blogger’s hearts as without it I doubt social media would be the same, and our blogs would definitely take a hit without the beautiful imagery that defines our stories. We all spend every day looking at other people’s photos and videos so I think that it’s really important we all take a few minutes to appreciate what I’m talking about in this post- Let’s Celebrate World Photography Day!

The way we feel about photo taking

Our views and perceptions of photo taking has really spiralled outwards and literally taken over the world this past decade. Pretty much everyone you meet will have some sort of photo taking equipment, be it their phone, tablet or the DSLR camera strapped to their necks. We have taken photographing to such a place where I can’t think of a single day where I haven’t taken a photo, the evidence is right here in my iPhone camera roll! To put it another way, we are simply obsessed with capturing the image of the world around us. I think we have started to realise that life is so short and we must steal every second, every memory for later in our lives and for future generations too (who no doubt will get hours of happiness scrolling through all our selfies!).

The way we store photos

The way we store photos has also taken many turns. I don’t think we will be able to accept a photograph being stored in simply one place ever again. Gone are the days of having CD ROMS and USB sticks filled with photos- why bother when technology makes it so much easier for us with lovely clouds these days? My photo storage doesn’t stop there though; I store my photos on my phone, computer hard drive, my Google Drive, and then every 6 months I do a complete back up on my external hard drive too. I know there’s plenty of people out there who take photo storage as serious as I do- photos are precious right? I’d be devastated if a single album went missing and I think a lot of people feel the same way.

The way we share photos

So sharing photos. This can be anything these days from sending the ugliest selfie to your sister to sending your favourite photo with your nan to her on a birthday card. We have infinite possibilities when it comes to sharing photos with whoever we want, and sometimes with those we don’t want too if we’re not careful! Privacy of photos is a blurry subject, with copyrights being infringed probably every second of the day. This is a very sensitive subject for bloggers and photographers who make a living out of sharing their photos so do spare a few seconds to really appreciate each and every photo you look at today and understand that there is always a person behind that image.

Finding that perfect shot

I just wanted to say a little about finding the perfect shot. I think that the main reason behind taking so many photos is that we want each one to be better than the last. We want to somehow constantly improve on and be proud of every snap we take. Instagram really has set the bar for aesthetically pleasing imagery over the past 5 years and it’s made us look at photographs in a completely different way. We analyse, compare, edit with such ferocity that it is sometimes exhausting trying to strive for the level of perfection we see in other images. Don’t get me wrong, I love using Instagram, but make sure you are happy with your images before the filters are added!

Now to show you a wonderful innovation in taking snapshots from social media and making something new out of them, I’m going to hand you over to this short video which will explain everything:

Let’s celebrate World Photography Day today and remember to make each one count! Here’s one I took which really captures the moment!

Saharasplash X

Sponsored Post

Also this week I am celebreating National Afternoon Tea Week! Check my post on having a free from afternoon tea here

Out today in cinemas, I am doing a ‘never have I ever’ inspired by the brand new film Nerve. This one is hopefully going to be quite interactive, I want to know from all you readers out there the things you don’t have the nerve to do! It could be anything like going to the cinema by yourself for instance, I want this to be fun! Keep reading to find out what inspired me about the movie to do this post as it will make a lot more sense once you find out the summary of this particular film! Ok so here it goes:

Never have I ever… ridden a motorcycle by myself

Motorbikes really scare me, and I have never even had a go on a moped! I’ve been on the back of one as a passenger about fifteen years ago and really didn’t like it. I did however have the coolest pink electric scooter which was more than enough for the adrenaline junkie within me!

Never have I ever… been drunk!

Yes I know this is a very unusual one! I don’t have the nerve to get drunk, partly because I guess I wouldn’t know what to expect from myself. I wouldn’t want to be the friend who has to be put in a taxi home at the end of a night and not know how I ended up home! Of course I have no problem with anyone else drinking around me, and I do like a cocktail at a party, but as soon as I start to feel any effects I have to stop straight away and that’s me done for the night. I am proud to say that I have never been drunk though, and I hope you will raise a glass to that with me!

Never have I ever… truly experienced being single

This is also quite unusual I think. I had my first ever relationship when I was 14, and we stayed together until I was just about 20 years old. 3 weeks later, I meet my current husband to be Paul! So I never really had any period of time to get used to a single life. I didn’t plan it this way, it was just one of those things that happened but I don’t regret it at all. I’d like to think that I would have the nerve to be happy and single, but I hope that I don’t have to find out as I love my life with Paul!

Never have I ever…eaten shellfish

By shellfish, I mean any seafood with a shell like clams or muscles. I simply don’t have the stomach for anything fishy besides cod, tuna or salmon, maybe this is one thing I have to try soon or I may not ever face my fear! It’s definitely a mind over matter thing because I like the smell of lobster in a nice restaurant, so I think I just need to man up on this one!

So now the ugly truth is out the way, I want to share a little about the film which this post is inspired by. Nerve is a social media thriller which is right up any blogger’s google map app. Set on the streets of New York City, a secret and dangerous game has gone viral, much like pokemon go has! You can pay to be a watcher or become a player to win. Either way Emma Roberts and Dave Franco find themselves drawn into the game as players, and we watch them do incredible (and stupid) things to earn a lot of money. The more watchers they gain, the higher the stakes, and it really opened my mind up to the world we surround ourselves in on the internet and on our phones. Of course I use social media for positivity and would never consider being a part of nerve if the game did exist, but we all should be more aware of the danger the web poses and try to help fight against the darkness which we all know comes with the territory.

DAVE FRANCO Q AND A

Dave Franco was kind enough to stop by after the movie to talk to us about his thoughts and views on his role in Nerve. Dave does not use any form of social media which is why he was drawn to the role of Ian. He answered all our questions with a great thoughtfulness and we could see how much he loves doing what he does- I wish him all the best and no doubt his career has only just begun! I hope you all go and watch Nerve and let me know what you think of it!

Thanks for reading Never have I ever inspired by Nerve! Comment below for me with one of your own ‘never have I ever’ confessions!