Do you know why we have two ears and only one mouth?
Because we should be listening twice as much as we are talking.
I think this little piece of wisdom is fantastic. (Although perhaps not correct from an evolutionary standpoint)
Listening to others has helped me tremendously over the past few years. The initial design of my website was my idea, but it was the advice of my friend and webmaster Nick that helped me create something far better than I could have done alone.
Flickr is another example. It required the input of others for me to understand the usefulness of the Flickr ( “the best online photo management and sharing application in the world” ). I signed up to Flickr a couple of years ago, put up 4 or 5 photographs and pretty much forgot about it. At the time it seemed to be unnecessary to put my photos on another website when I had just spent so much time and effort creating my own. Meeting the computer gurus in Tokyo last month, was a good example of an instance when I really needed to listen. Their advice was that Flickr is too useful a tool to be dismissed so easily. Even if you have your own website, Flickr is a great way for people to discover your work, comment on your photos, and follow your Photostream as new images appear.
So over the last month I have been uploading images, joining groups and making contacts. It has been surprisingly successful. I get feedback on my shots, and can see what are deemed favorites, meanwhile I can check out everyone else’s photographs, and there are many fantastic images out there. The computer gurus were right, as rather than replacing my website Flickr brings in visitors who are interested in seeing more of my work or reading the features which relate to the images.
You can view my Flickr photostream here .
Even better, join Flickr, upload your photos and add me as a contact.
Another title in Rotovision’s The World’s Top Photographers’ Workshops series is
. For me this is perhaps the weakest in the series. My main niggle is that there are nine sports photographers and one wildlife photographer. Andy Rouse’s photographs are excellent, but they are completely out of place, especially when there is a separate and far superior book in the series called 
. 
where a well crafted image has far more impact than catwalks or television commercials.
Nakamura House is a traditional Okinawan house that dates back to the 15th Century. Its roof is covered with red clay tiles while the walls are made up of sliding wooden panels. The moveable walls can be opened to allow cooling breezes in the summer heat or closed and braced against wind and rain during typhoons. A shisa
On March 7th several friends of mine did the New Zealand ironman triathlon. John, Isla, Charlotte, Anna and Perry all swam 3.8 km, rode 180.2 km then ran 42.2 km. Impressive and inspiring stuff, but I am not even close to doing a full triathlon myself.
box set. I got mine on Amazon in a special sale for 75 dollars. (HMV in the UK had it for 50 pounds)
. The book is divided into ten sections each based around a particular photographer. Each section has an interview with the photographer, several pages of their best photographs and then a Tips for Success page where the photographer gives 10 nuggets of wisdom (or common sense). 
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 