Chris

Groundhog Resolution Day 2019!

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Its that time of year again. The 11th annual attempt at creating life-long habits for myself. I’ve discovered that because of the after the end-of-year holidays I am not mentally or physically capable of sticking with resolutions for the upcoming new year. I need a break so I take the whole month of January off to reflect and plan.

So the kickoff is today on 2/2! My resolutions, goals and life-changing habits are listed below. These are not to be confused with items on my “F*%k It List”.  I will check in every month and then review my progress. Next check-in is on March 3 (3/3). After that will be 4/4, 5/5 and so on. Here we go!

Physical

The immediate goal is to drop 25 pounds quick. Besides the typical
motto of  “Eat clean, train mean, get lean”, I’m throwing in some activities that should help.

  • Kickboxing/sparring with Tracy

  • Dance lessons. Something fun like Swing? Sexy, like Bachata? We’ll figure it out.
  • Disc Golf. Time to get back into it. Less expensive than golf and I don’t have to wear baggy, plaid pants. 
  • Yoga/Meditation. I had some moderate usage last year but not enough to form a habit. I did appreciate the quiet time to breathe, relax and focus on nothing.

Technical

  • Learn Python. Only one tech goal this year because I get scattered and end up not learning anything. No more. Time to learn and apply data science and machine learning applications.


Artistical

  • Sketch/Draw/Doodle. I bought an iPad and pencil last year and I want to be more creative.
  • Learn Spanish with Tracy.
  • Learn Chinese. For myself. 
  • Learn to play the ukulele. I grabbed one late last year but with the holidays in the way it took a back seat. 
  • DAM- Digital Asset Management, or, where the hell are my photos from that shoot last month?
  • Write short stories. I have a ton of ideas for these.
  • Write micro fiction. One hundred word stories.
  • Work on that novel. Its been ten plus years and I still can’t get all of this out of my head. 
  • 52 week photo challenge. 52 weeks in a year = 52 photos


Financial

  • Order a credit report and start settling some debts for less. 2017 was not a good year and it hurt me financially so I am slowly recovering. This year will be dedicated to resolving this and restoring my good name. 
  • Build credit with a secured credit card.
  • Automate savings and track investments. Yes, there is an app for that and it is called Acorns. 
  • Cryptocurrency. This year I will dip a toe into these unknown waters. Bitcoin? Ethereum? Research is crucial here.

Knowing myself all too well, I may end up adding or subtracting this or that. Either way, I’ll check back in here on 3/3 for the first review of how I do!

Life Change

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“You meet thousands of people and none of them really touch you. And then you meet one person and your life is changed forever.” – Someone

F**k It List

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Some people have bucket lists. Boring! These are the fun things I want to do this year (subject to change, add, subtract, multiply)

  • Another Tattoo

  • More skinny dipping
  • Route 66 trips. New Mexico to Chicago
  • Hiking new trails
  • Biking (need a bike)
  • Running/Hashing
  • Focus on urban erotic portrait photography

Procrastinate

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If at first you don’t succeed give up immediately. Move on to something else until that becomes unbearable. Then circle back to the first problem. By now, your subconscious will have worked on it and you are ready to go. 

What I Know

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I don’t know much but I do know…

  • Tomorrow is never guaranteed.
  • Make misteaks.

  • Make more mistakes.

  • Spontaneity.

  • Alcohol will never love you back.

  • Don’t gamble if you are pissed at losing $20.

  • Put your phone away.

  • Are people happy when you walk in or walk out?

  • If you wear cologne, it should leave when you leave.

  • Respect your parents.

  • Always carry cash. 
  • How can you ever grow old and wise if you were never young and crazy? 
  • Never stay out after 2AM more than two nights in a row, unless it is

    epic.

  • Ignore the people who shout you down. They’re probably coming from the cheap seats.
  • Don’t tell anyone that you hate working there. If you’re still there after three months, they’ll know you are ignorant for staying on.
  • Life is stressful. Be kind to others. 
  • Drunk and funny guy isn’t funny anymore. 
  • Tip more when it is deserved. 
  • You don’t have to know everything, but you should understand a little about something.
  • Don’t skimp on sunglasses. 
  • Learn how to play backgammon. 
  • Don’t stop dating your loved one. 
  • Your job does not define you.
  • Nobody cares where you went to school. 
  • Never wear another man’s jersey.
  • Have your drink order ready when the bartender asks. 
  • When a bartender buys you a round, tip double. 
  • Do meditation and sit-ups before you shower every morning.
  • Replace socks and underwear every six months. 
  • Earn their trust by keeping their secret.
  • Have at least one good joke ready to go.
  • Eat brunch with friends.
  • Act like you’ve been there before. Confidence. 
  • Don’t split a check.
  • Never cancel plans by text. 
  • Nobody cares if you are offended. 
  • Use your camera more, not your phone. 
  • Know how to defend yourself.
  • Don’t skimp on a razor.
  • Always bring something to the party.
  • Compare yourself to your past, not to others. 
  • Always have that go-to recipe. 
  • Get outdoors. Often. 
  • Eating out alone is great. Find a quiet place to think.
  • Use your luggage. 
  • Use your passport. 
  • Of course you buy her dinner. 
  • Short and sweet is always the best. 
  • Know when you are wrong and admit it. 
  • Monotonous, isn’t it?
  • Never be the first or the last one in the pool. 
  • Close friends over too many acquaintances.
  • Order the salad instead of the fries.
  • Share your dessert.
  • Read more.
  • You are still better off than most who have ever lived.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask.
  • Support artists by spending money on them.
  • You don’t need that last glass. really.
  • Open her door.
  • Go sweat with someone.
  • Buy local.
  • Find a favorite jazz artist.
  • Don’t stay angry.

A Simpler iPad Photo Workflow

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Following up on my previous post about editing photos with the iPad and VSCO workflow, I wanted to add some even more simple tools. The iPad and it’s Photos app have some very basic editing tools and help simplify your workflow.  

When I import my images to the iPad from the Lightning SD card adapter I like to think of it as a contact sheet just like we used to use for film and a darkroom. When I review the thumbnails of these images I can tell almost instantly which are kept or to be discarded. And speaking of importing, lately I have been shooting more jpeg file format as opposed to RAW. Again, simplicity. When these everyday photos are just for my use and storage, I want to minimize the file size. Faster importing and lighter on the storage. Now when I shoot for clients, I will almost always shoot in both jpeg and RAW for the sharpest, best results. Moving on.

Every photographer’s goal is to get the image right in camera. While that isn’t always possible, it is possible to have fun and play with the lighting and filter tools. 

Adjust the lighting, exposure, shadows, saturation, contrast and more. Just explore and experiment with what looks good to you. Not for anyone else. For you. This is your time to play.

There is no such thing as the perfect processing technique. When playing with the process, take a look at the offered filters.
For color filters, I lean more toward the “Dramatic” look. For black and white I prefer the “Noir” look. If these don’t do it for you, I’d suggest looking at the filters in the VSCO app.


Be sure to fine tune your image with a careful crop and rotation. These can help eliminate background clutter and even a different perspective.


Another handy dandy feature is the Favorite button. These help me sort the best from the rest. When you favorite an image it’ll go into it’s own folder. From there I can process my fave images.

When the images are finalized I will usually distribute them to various places online like my websites, Flickr, VSCO and EyeEm. But before I do that, I ensure I have access using all of my devices such as the iPhone, iPad and my laptop. Your experiences will vary but for me, I keep it simple. I use the iOS Files app, iCloud backup and Microsoft’s OneDrive. Because…Windows.  

To wrap this up, the iPad for me is quickly becoming my default device for photo production. I am constantly tweaking and refining my experience to simply my workflow. 

iPad + VSCO Workflow

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The advancement in digital photographic technology has come a long way, baby. When I acquired my first digital camera 18 years ago the post processing was minimal and the software was expensive. More recently, I’ve converted from a Nikon and Compact Flash adapter to desktop drive to an SD card to laptop situation. Why? Simplicity.

I am simplifying and tweaking my workflow all the time because I want to do more shooting as opposed to editing. Get me back out there!

Lugging a laptop around with all my photography gear is not ideal or even necessary anymore. With the technology improvements of the iPad it is becoming my go-to workhorse to catalog and process my images. Other benefits? 

– [ ] Speed. The iPad can load and process faster than a laptop and Adobe Lightroom
– [ ] Cost. A good iPad is cheaper than a laptop

So how do you get your RAW/JPEG images from your camera to your iPad?  Well, you could use the camera’s WiFi transfer feature. Or wait for them to load into your cloud drive and download them. For me? I prefer the $29 SD card adapter from Apple. This is one of the best, cheapest investments I have made. 

When I insert my SD card into the adapter and then into the iPad, the Photos Import module appears. You can choose to import all or select individual images.

To help keep me organized I add these photos to a new album such as this example here, After Dark.

VSCO, The Visual Supply Company

I am a big fan of this software. They have grown from a photo filter software app to a full fledged photographic community that could and should replace Instagram. They have both free and paid subscription model that allows them to avoid ads in their software. I pay $20 a *year* for their products as opposed to $10 a *month* for the Adobe photography plan. I just saved $100. Follow me there if you’d like: https://vsco.co/photodenbow

Now that I’ve opened the VSCO app to import my selected photos I can choose the presets to set the tone I want for my images. VSCO presets emulate actual film effects from Kodak, Fuji, Iilford, etc. They even have creative, fun presets.

After I’ve chosen the effects I can tweak individual settings such as saturation, hues, white balance etc. From there I will save to my VSCO feed or journal as well as download to the iPad. After that, do what you will with your finished product.


There is no perfect workflow for me because I am constantly tweaking it to keep it simple. Who knows? Maybe next month it will change again.

Wasted Time

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“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested.”

– Seneca

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Rules

Impossible Apologetic Unadventerous Convention Standard Fake Unproductive Dated Unacheivable Follow Conform Indifferent Settle Predictable Apathetic Bored Unaltered Subtle Unoriginal Disbelieve Compliant Adhere Timid Dispirited Quiet Obey Uncreative Passive Expected Tradition Norm Inauthentic Seen Unsustainable Average Done

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New Year Old Me

“ I wanted to start over. I wanted a new life. The trouble was, I brought myself with me.”

– Dean Ford

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The Best Knowledge Tools

I’m learning much more than anticipated when I am researching, preparing a novel and other short stories (still in progress). I have such an appreciation for those who are already published.

Something we readers take for granted is the research and preparation that goes into producing content we learn from (non fiction) and then enjoy (fiction). Reading a book is the ability to learn all of the insights and facts that an author has spent countless hours on. What takes them months or years only takes us a few hours!

This alone makes a book our best tool to acquire knowledge, years of knowledge at our fingertips. We owe it to ourselves to focus and apply what we are learning. Don’t just consume but to read for understanding and growth. I am slowly going through a book right now with pen and pencil in hand to highlight passages I want to follow up on or emphasize. I’m even having a one way conversation by asking the author questions that will probably never be answered by them.

When you think about all the hard work author’s put in to their writing it should make you appreciate it all the more. I know I do.