The title of this post asks a good question. The answer is a little complicated.

Not that long ago, I had a blog where I wrote extensively on a variety of topics. I ended up taking that blog off the 'Net awhile ago. That decision was kind of forced on me by personal circumstances, which I don't really want to go into in this post. Suffice it to say that it wasn't a happy decision.

The circumstances have changed, but I still wasn’t thinking about putting up a blog until after I redesigned my personal web site. As soon as I finished the site I started thinking of new content that I might add to the site. One of the ideas I had was to add some photography tutorials based on personal experience. Another idea I had was to have an area to discuss poetry with my site’s visitors.

The tutorials and photo tips could have been placed in the articles section, but the poetry discussion wouldn’t fit very well anywhere on the site. I also had a few photography experiences that I wanted to share. These might be on-going tutorials that I would be adding to from time to time so a blog seemed like the natural place for them.

That last reason was the main impetuous for starting the blog. I had already setup and maintained a blog powered by the open source software b2evolution, so the work involved didn’t worry me. I am an experienced professional web developer, which helped make the effort seem less daunting. I also missed the fun of writing, which is one of my favorite pastimes. That all came together to make this blog seem inevitable.

So I guess the answer to the question posed in the title of this post is really simple. The blog is here because I wanted it. I know from my earlier experience that I will enjoy the writing and the interaction with readers. It will also give me a chance to share what may prove to be helpful tips to other photographers and poets. Perhaps they can learn from my mistakes, if nothing else.