All photos in this article are courtesty of Christelle. All Rights Reserved.
The blogging world a crazy. You can find just about everything and anything you would want.
Blogs can range from one specific subject to many different thoughts. That is the zany world of bloggers.
A couple of years ago as I looked for bloggers in Montreal, I came across Christelle. Her blog entries were often just quick peeks into her life. Some were longer than others and sometimes there were multiple posts in a day. She took you through shopping, cooking, school, the process of training a Mira dog, travels and everything else that happened. She invited you to be part of her life through her blog.
I was hooked.
Ever since I first stumbled across her blog, I’ve been a follower. I read daily, comment as often as I can and feel like I know her — even though I’ve never met her. I’ve had e-mail exchanges with her and now want to visit her hometown of Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, because of how she portrays it.
“It’s become part of my life,” Christelle says of her blog. “When something happens, good or bad, I enjoy writing about it. For others, but mostly for me. I also love being able to go back to a specific time and see what happened exactly.”
That’s what Christelle’s blog is all about — a place where you can see a view of the world from one person.
She started her blog in 2004 to allow family and friends a way to follow her on a trip to Australia. But that part of the blog was eventually removed and she started from scratch in April 2005.
The reason? She started the blog after a breakup to give her a spot in which to talk.
If one were to look at the definition of a personal blog, Christelle’s would at the top. She said there’s no real target audience and she just likes to share things that are going on in her world.
“Anyone who cares to read me, really,” Christelle says about her audience. “Young, old, woman, man, Quebecer or not, doesn’t matter. It’s just nice to have an audience, regular readers and people who leave comments.”
There’s no specific schedule, either. Christelle said she originally tried to post every day, but now it’s every few days or whenever she’s got something to share. There are times where she’ll post two or three times a day. That’s one of the best parts of her blog — it’s random at times and she really keeps her readers in tune with what life is like in the Northeastern part of Canada.
Or, on her travels to such places as Australia and Iceland.
Mountain Rescue Hut in Iceland
Her blogging experiences have been nothing but positive, either.
“The best blogging experience would be the links it has allowed me to make,” she says. “Not only virtually. For example, I’ve attended events such as the Montreal “Yulblog,” where people with blogs meet up at a bar once a month to have a drink (and) chat. Some of the people I’ve met there are very good friends now.”
Photos are also a big part of her blogs. She does have a photo blog as well, but she shares a lot of images on her regular blog as well. It’s not easy for most to juggle having two blogs, but Christelle does it well.
“There’s a lot of down time in Blanc-Sablon,” she says. “Bad weather often keeps you inside. … There’s not many opportunities for social and cultural events, so lots of time to blog!”
Her photographs range a variety of subjects — from whales and snow, to city life and her dog happy. She shows craft projects she works on, remodeling her home, people in her world and anything else she can turn a camera on.
“A post with a photo is 200 times more interesting than without,” she says. “It’s a visual to help tell the story. It attracts the reader’s eye.”
Happy trying to get ice pieces
One of the ongoing subjects that Christelle touches on often is her dog, Happy. Originally a Mira dog, Christelle ended up getting to keep Happy when she didn’t pass through the final exam. Through Christelle’s blog, readers had the chance to see how hard it is to become a Mira dog and also the difficulty in becoming attached to a puppy.
Now, Happy is with Christelle for good and the pup is often featured in photos or on the blog.
“Happy is a part of my life,” Christelle says. “It was fun raising her as a Mira dog, taking her absolutely everywhere. She sure did attract attention! And it made for fun blog posts and still does. I love making video montages of her funny and cute moments. She’s a good blog topic!”
Dettifoss in Jökulsárgljúfur National Park, Iceland
She’s a talented photographer (she says a dream job would be as a travel photographer) and has a way to tell stories. Her blog is entertaining and a fun daily stop.
As for the future? Who can tell. But for now, Christelle’s blog will be a good place to follow one person in this world.
“Sometimes, I think maybe I should take my whole site down because it’s a lot to take care of and update,” she says. “But without it, I wouldn’t have my special place to share things. So, I’m keeping it. I’m happy with how it is now. More readers would be nice though!”
To see more from Christelle, visit her weblog or her photo blog.
Spotlight is a weekly feature that runs Wednesdays on A ‘lil HooHaa. If you have an idea for someone to be featured on Spotlight, please let me know.
