Hi Carl!!
I didn’t realize that you had posted a blog for feedback!
It’s hard to give solid feedback because it is still so empty. I know my own blog looked completely different when I first started it up than it does now. At this time, I like your old site much better – but I’m a sucker for images, and the text is easier to read.
I like what you’re doing with the brown paper, but you may want to think of laying another (lighter colored) piece of paper over it. You could make it a smaller piece so you would still see the brown behind it — almost like a frame. If you had a lighter piece on top, you could play more with your text colors. It’s very difficult to find text colors that work on a dark background — and the yellow is a little hard on the eyes. it might work better if you used yellow accents elsewhere and went with good old black, brown, or grey for your text.
Because you are a photographer, I can see why you might have chosen the dark background – I bet it will look beautiful when you post your photos. As it is now, though – with only text – it is a little difficult to read.
You might also want to visually separate your content from your sidebar – a shift in color perhaps? Or a paper overlay on just the content or just the sidebar side? Now, they seem to be running into one another.
I think it’s a fantastic start, and I’d love to look at it again when you have more content – especially once you get your artwork in.
Love your photography!!
Manda