People of interest #5 – Meet Shaun from Clockwork Clouds

I have enjoyed being a guest blogger a number of times and recently decided to start a new feature on my blog to share some interesting people with you my interesting readers. I’m sharing these posts each week on Tuesdays.

Everyone has a story to tell. Yes, even YOU!

It’s true, everyone has a story and sometimes we just have to ask the questions to find out that story! Luckily I’m a sticky-beak and love asking questions 🙂

So what I’ve done is invite my guests to answer a set of 10 questions and I used their responses as a guest post while I was away recently. Although I’m now home from my travels, I have many more interesting people to share with you, so I figured I’d just continue on.  It’s a great way to share the love around and introduce interesting people to other interesting people.

I started with my sister Sharon  from Musings from the Cold. Sharon responded the next day with a post from the guest’s point of view, it’s a great read so here’s the link, in case you want to pop over and have a look for yourself: Life’s Like that: on being a guest blogger

My guest posts continued with interesting people including my blogging friends Donna from Retirement Reflections; Louise from The Year I touched my Toes and Miriam from Out an About.

Meet Shaun from Clockwork Clouds

This week it’s time to meet Shaun from Clockwork Clouds.  I’ve followed Shaun for a while now and enjoy his creative and thought provoking posts.  His comments are always welcome, as he has one of the best styles of commenting that I’ve ever come across.

Recently I was featured on Shaun’s Work in Progress Wednesday series in which I discussed the 52 week photography project I’m a part of.  As Shaun’s also an accomplished photographer, I always appreciate his thoughtful comments on my photos.

A1: It’s got to be the community hasn’t it? The people, the readers, the commentators, the followers, the likers, the supporters, and most of all the friends you make. Just seeing someone take an interest in what you write is such a heartwarming feeling.

I also just generally enjoy writing and making sense of my own head. I started blogging as a method of keeping a journal; something I’d been doing on and off since I was younger. I used it to tackle my more difficult emotions and get my thoughts down on paper… Though my blog has changed dramatically since then (read below), it still means the same to me, it’s still a place for me to write and think, but now it’s also a place for collaboration. I’ve always loved writing, ever since I was little, but combine that with having a community that shares and supports as well? Well, what’s not to enjoy!

2. Your blog is called Clockwork Clouds – where did this description come from?

A2: That’s actually a good question right now, as my blog has evolved in the past few months. At its heart, Clockwork Clouds is about ideas, creativity, inspiration and positivity, they’re its main pillars, but beyond that, it’s about sharing with each other.

Like in my answer above, one of my favourite things about blogging is the community; it’s the advice we receive, the love and support we share. When I see other people’s work, whether it’s blogs they’ve written, photos they’ve taken, or anything at all really, I can’t help but feel inspired by it. The more I became absorbed in this highly creative world, the more I realised that I wanted Clockwork Clouds to be about that; I didn’t want to write anything negative, negativity has an all too prominent place in our daily lives as it is, and I wanted to help shine a spotlight on everybody else and what they do. I find creativity in all its forms very inspiring and I wanted to promote that. It’s the reason I’ve started this with Work in Progress Wednesday (which, I’m ever grateful for your contribution to, Deb!).

3. What plans do you have for your blog in the future?

A3: As I mentioned above, Work in Progress Wednesday is a spearhead for the change I’m bringing to my blog; that of making it about sharing. I’m hoping to find other ways of encouraging other bloggers and artists to show off their work. That said, from a personal perspective I also want to add a bit more intimacy to my blog.

My Monday Posts (which are my most frequent posts) tend to be written more formally and deal with a subject everyone can benefit from; they’re a somewhat evergreen post aimed at my audience. They’re still very much posts about my way of thinking, or something that’s been playing in my mind recently, and I still include stories about myself within them, but I want to start writing the odd post that was actually about myself and my life, so people can see the man behind the Clouds!

As a side note from this, I also have a second blog hardly anyone knows about, Play Positive, which has laid dormant pretty much since it’s conception. I’m hoping to breath some life into that at some point; making it a place for the geekier things in my life, like film and game reviews.

4. What’s your favourite post on your blog and why?

A4: This question has taken me a long time to answer, I’ve had to come back to it as, put simply, I just didn’t know. On reflection, my favourite posts are my series, either My Lens or Entertainment vs Technique. These are my favourites because I think I have a genuine message there, and I’m proud of writing three considerably long posts and tying them into the subject. My Lens is probably my favourite of them all though, it’s one of the ones I reference most.

You can read them here: My Lens: Part 1 – Seeing the World in Pictures and Words, My Lens: Part 2 – A Happier Perspective, My Lens: Part 3 – The Power of a Lens

 5. What’s your biggest achievement in life to date?

A5: Wow that’s a tough question. I have a few, which is good! Going to University is one of the most life changing experiences I’ve had, it brought me out my shell, I made some amazing friends, and I left with a 2:1 BSc in Psychology; so if that isn’t an achievement I don’t know what is.

I’ve also set up my own company this year, Level Up Photography, where we do Weddings and Events. We’ve had on OK turn out so far, no profit but a bunch of happy customers and that’s really our aim right now. I’ve also got my blog, which is obviously why I’m here, and we can hopefully say that’s going well: I recently hit 500 followers, which I was pretty chuffed about.

Last but not least, I’ve recently got engaged! Whilst not an ‘achievement’ per se, it’s definitely something I’m pretty pleased about! Bring on November ‘18! (Congrats to you both – it’s a huge achievement! – Deb)

6. What do you like to do outside of work/blogging?

A6: Outside of blogging you’ll find me either reading, writing, out with my camera, or, as is most common, sat in front of some sort of game. I’m a big advocate for games, and enjoy spending my time, either on my own, with Kirsty, or with my friends playing them. That’s anything ranging from the latest video game, to a session of Dungeons and Dragons around the table.

I spend what remaining time I have watching TV and Film; I love going to the cinema to catch the new releases. I find the creativity behind books, games, movies, and everything, really, completely inspiring… I couldn’t live without some access to some sort of creativity.

7. What book are you currently reading?

A7: At the time of writing I am not actually reading anything! I’m in between books right now; having just finished one and deciding on the next. In terms of what I enjoy, I am a big fan of Fantasy or SciFi, with favourite authors from Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Mark Lawrence, and Scott Lynch.

I’m a big believer in expanding your horizons though, and occasionally dipping into a genre you normally wouldn’t. I actually ran a book club earlier this year between friends (oooh, this could be one of my achievements! Pretend I wrote this above!) where we each took it in turns to pick a book we wouldn’t usually read. It was a great way of opening ourselves to other genres and reading outside of our comfort zone… I still reverted to Fantasy and SciFi again though!

8. Where’s your dream holiday destination and who with?

A8: My dream holiday is Rome, with Kirsty, and if all goes well we may head there for our honeymoon next year. A different holiday I’d like to go on, is to see the biggest Comic-Con style events in America, either PAX or SDCC. Though, they’re probably better kept as dreams as I imagine how hot, sweaty, and busy they’d be might ruin the real illusion. It’s nice to dream about though and, who knows, maybe when I’m a big famous author I’ll be invited there anyway!

9. List 5 things you won’t leave home without?

A9: I don’t leave home without my phone (does anyone these days?), my keys (how else do I lock my door?),  my wallet (need to have money on me!), my kindle (for the rainy lunch times), and, depending where I’m going, my camera (for the shots you might miss otherwise).

I normally always have my backpack too, though it’s often empty. I’m really not sure why, since I tend not to have much to carry, but I suppose it provides a sense of comfort. In fact, on our first date, Kirsty recalls thinking to herself “Why has he got that bag? What’s in it?”… I’m surprised there was a second date!

10. Who’s the most interesting person you’ve ever met and why?

A10: Everyone is pretty interesting in their own right, everyone has a story to tell if you ask them for it. My friends all interest me, my work colleagues have stories of their weekends, there’s bloggers on here who live such absolutely fascinating lives and I feel honoured to be associated with them on here. Everyone, really. That’s the great thing about the internet, for all its ills it really does open you up to a variety of stories and experiences.

In terms of a ‘celebrity’ though, which is how I think a lot of people would take this question, I’ve met a few old school singers (David Essex, Leo Sayer, Donnie Osmond) when my parents won a luxury trip to South Africa to watch the World Cup and I had to use their tickets to go see a tour so they didn’t go to waste! That was quite the experience and is always an interesting anecdote of my own.

Thanks Deb, for asking me to be a Person of Interest! I’m incredibly honoured I’ve made the cut. If anyone would like to know more about me, they’re more than welcome to come drop by Clockwork Clouds. I’m always looking to make new friends, share new guest posts, or just generally bask in the creativity of another person!

Links:

Shaun blogs at Clockwork Clouds

Facebook: Level up Photography

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I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Shaun is a very interesting and talented person and a great addition to my new series.  We also have Leo Sayer in common – Leo performed at our music festival called Tumbafest in our little town of Tumbarumba!!  How many degrees of separation??

I really encourage you to check out his blogs, his writing and his photography.

Thanks for joining in, please feel free to leave a comment below and Shaun and I will respond. We love comments 😊

Stay tuned for more interesting people.

Make life the adventure it was meant to be.

Deb xx

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