Author: timothyblake

Introducing Web Design Feed: A Hub for Modern Web Design and Web Development

Posted on by timothyblake

After running Creative Nerds for over 16 years, stepping away left creative void. When you spend well over a decade actively contributing to the online digital designer and web development space, that itch to curate, share, and stay connected with the community never truly disappears.

I wanted to build something new to keep a footprint in that community a platform built from the ground up to solve a problem: finding genuinely valuable design and front-end development content without having to sift through algorithmic noise.

That is the website Web Design Feed.

What is Web Design Feed?

Web Design Feed is designed as a one-stop destination for anyone building for the modern web. It brings together hand-picked articles, tutorials, and practical insights spanning:

  • UI & UX Design
  • Front-End Development
  • **Web Design Resources
  • Business

Rather than relying on automated scrapers or social algorithms, every single post featured on the website is hand-selected from trusted industry publishers, individual blogs, and active practitioners. The objective is simple: highlight work that is genuinely worth your time to read.

Key Features Built for Readers

To make browsing and reading as frictionless as possible, I focused on utility right out of the gate:

  • Instant Bookmarking: While exploring the feed, you can save any article with a single click. Bookmarked posts are collected on a dedicated page in your browser, allowing you to build an easily accessible personal reading queue.
  • Blazing Fast Performance: Browsing should feel instantaneous. There is virtually no loading friction between pages, offering an experience closer to a native app than a traditional content archive.

Built with Astro and Sanity

Performance and a reliable editorial workflow were the top priorities when architecting the site:

  • Astro: Powers the static frontend. By generating pre-rendered HTML and delivering zero unnecessary JavaScript by default, the entire site loads with near-zero latency.
  • Sanity CMS: Handles content management and structured data. The flexibility of Sanity’s schema makes curating, categorising, and publishing new items rapid and straightforward.

Combining Astro with Sanity delivers an efficient authoring workflow on the backend while serving visitors an ultra-fast, lightweight static build.

What’s Coming Next

Web Design Feed is already live, but several key additions are currently underway:

  1. A Monthly Curated Newsletter: A once-a-month digest bringing together standout editor’s picks, top tutorials, and practical resources directly to your inbox.
  2. An Original Editorial Blog: Alongside curated links, I will be writing original, in-depth articles and tutorials focused on front-end workflows, accessible design, and modern tooling, aiming for at least one original piece each month.

Exploring Malaysia

Posted on by timothyblake

Looking back a few months, one journey stands out as a genuine trip of a lifetime: an unforgettable adventure across Singapore and Malaysia.

The journey kicked off with a whirlwind day exploring the sleek streets and vibrant energy of Singapore, setting the stage before crossing into Malaysia.

First stop was Kuala Lumpur, a capital city buzzing with contrast. The towering skyline gives way to incredible landmarks, from the towering limestone cliffs and vibrant steps of the Batu Caves to the historic grounds of Merdeka Square, where Malaysia’s independence was first declared.

From the capital, the route led north to Penang, Malaysia’s undisputed cultural and culinary hotspot. World-renowned for its heritage architecture, striking street art, and legendary street food scene, it is a place where every alleyway reveals a piece of history and every meal is memorable.

The absolute pinnacle of the journey, however, was heading deep into Borneo. Cruising along the jungle waterways offered an incredible immersion into one of the planet’s richest ecosystems. Getting to see iconic wildlife in their natural habitat from wild orangutans swinging through the canopy to rare, endemic pygmy elephants grazing near the riverbanks was breathtaking.

Between the vibrant urban culture, the rich history, and the untamed wildlife of the rainforest, it was an adventure that exceeded every expectation.

Check Out more about my Malaysia trip

Exploring Skomer Island: A Paradise for Wildlife and Puffins

Posted on by timothyblake

This month, I’m reflecting back on an incredible experience visiting Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a specific focus on the famous Skomer Island.

Skomer is renowned for being home to thousands of Atlantic puffins that arrive during the summer months to nest and raise their pufflings. It was truly an incredible experienceI had the chance to see so many puffins up close, captured some fantastic close-up photos, and even found myself literally within touching distance of these remarkable birds!

Check Out the Photos

Introducing the my photography website

Posted on by timothyblake

I am excited to finally share a project I’ve been working on my new photography website, photography.timothyblake.com.

This site was created as a dedicated space to showcase my travel experiences and the diverse places I’ve visited. My focus is on two passions: travel destinations and wildlife photography. From the local wildlife in England to my travels across Japan and Thailand, the site features a rich mixture of different environments and species.

A Technical Look Under the Hood

  • Built with Astro: The site is built using Astro, a modern static site generator. This makes the website incredibly fast, ensuring that high-quality images don’t compromise the user experience or load times.
  • Flickr API Integration: To keep the site easy to manage, I utilized Flickr’s API. Instead of manually uploading images to the site’s repository, it dynamically fetches albums from my Flickr page.
  • Dynamic Galleries: Whenever you navigate to a gallery page, the site surfaces those images directly. I’ve also implemented a lightbox feature, so you can click on any image to view it in full detail and browse through the collection seamlessly.

Exploring the Galleries

The site is a growing collection of my work. You can currently explore:

  • Wildlife Experiences: Highlights from my time in the UK and my trips through Asia.
  • Travel Destinations: Street and landscape photography from Japan, Thailand, and beyond.

I’m really enjoying the process of adding more content and interactivity to the site. It’s been a great way to bridge my professional work in web development with my personal passion for photography.

I hope you enjoy browsing the site! Feel free to check out the galleries and let me know what you think.

Reaching 100 Species: Building My Digital Library

Posted on by timothyblake

Over the past year, I’ve really been focused on birding and have spent several weekends visiting various locations photograph birds. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have had some amazing photography experiences from exploring urban parks in Singapore to travelling through Borneo, which was just a breathtaking experience. I’ve been able to capture some incredible animals along the way, ranging from proboscis monkeys to red deer. While I’ve done a lot of globetrotting, I’ve also spent plenty of time visiting local nature reserves right here in England.

Recently, I hit a massive milestone: my 100th bird species. To clarify, I’ve seen far more than 100 birds, but this marks 100 species where I’ve managed to get really nice, clean photographs. Throughout this process, I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge about these specific birds. I’ve captured a broad range of species, from waterbirds and waterfowl to birds of prey and wading birds.

The Tranquillity of Birding

There is just something truly special about birding. The tranquillity it brings standing in one location for hours, just staring into a forest is unmatched. There’s nothing quite like it for emptying your mind, disconnecting from the world, and surrounding yourself with woodlands while listening to the sounds of the birds. As a hobby, it is one of the best life experiences you can have to disconnect and reconnect with nature.

Conservation & A Legacy Project

I feel that birds play such an important part in our world and ecosystem. It is genuinely sad sometimes to see how birds and their environments aren’t respected. We are losing a lot of species; vultures, for instance, are a prime example of an animal currently on a rapid decline.

The aim of my new website is to serve as a central library to capture all the birds I’ve seen and photographed. More importantly, it serves as a legacy project to build awareness of different bird types and encourage people to protect them, ensuring these species can live on well beyond my lifetime.

Alongside cataloguing the birds, the website features a blog section. I will be posting monthly entries detailing my trips and experiences whether that’s a write-up from my local reserve in Sandwell Valley or a deep dive into a birding adventure in Borneo. Please check out the website here.

Check out some of the photos I’ve taken

My Unsplash Journey: Milestones, Motivation, and the Joy of Sharing

Posted on by timothyblake

Unsplash is a platform I’ve become very passionate about, and through it, I’ve achieved some great milestones. When I first started working on building my library, I was simply uploading photos I’d taken. However, over time, a clear purpose emerged. My focus now is on uploading photos related to travel and animal photography, which aligns more with my interests.

Looking at my own profile and achievements, I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. To list a few highlights:

  • I’ve accumulated 3.7 million views across my profile since my first upload back in 2017.
  • I reached my first 1 million views in 2020.
  • My images have been downloaded over 20,000 times.

It truly is a great platform that allows me to express my creative photography work and provide valuable resources for others. It’s rewarding to see people download my photos and incorporate them into their own projects. My profile serves as a showcase of my work, even if the photos featured aren’t always my most personal favourites. The ability to share and contribute to a global creative community is what makes this journey so fulfilling.