Journal

Reading Hacks

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I spent some time today to write a template script in Brainiac, my second brain, that will add metadata every time I want to review or take notes from a book. It’s simple but will save me a lot of time re-typing or cut/paste for every note.

I don’t know when Apple added a “Want To Read” option when looking through their book store but it is a must-have feature for me. In a physical bookstore I often take photos of the book covers as a reference for later. The problem with that is I rarely follow-up with those. Now I have a reference when I want to purchase or check to see if the library has a copy to borrow.

Lately I’ve been I’ve been reading about a page or two in bed and then quickly fall asleep.1or it keeps me awake for hours! This adds a few days to my reading habit. My goal is to read a minimum of two books a month this year, with a lot of novels stocked up waiting on me so I have a lot to look forward to and complete that goal.

Also, I need to work on updating The Library page of this website more frequently. 

April 13, 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [[Reading]] [[Blog]] [[CD.com]]

USPS Sucks

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My package went on vacation without me

“According to the tracking, this item was sent to the wrong location. We have taken steps to reroute your item. Tracking will reflect this. We sincerely apologize for the delay.”

– USPS

Thanks for the cut and paste response. USPS, with no responsibility for their actions, and no recourse, has eroded all trust and will not be used again.

Stratagem

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I understand there’s a guy in me who wants to lay in bed, smoke weed all day and watch cartoons and old movies. My whole life is a series of stratagem to avoid and outwit that guy

Anthony Bourdain

Top 10 Tips For Street Photography

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It is street photography season in this part of the world and I am jotting down ten top tips as a reminder to myself and anyone else that may happen to stumble upon this humble little website. There are some obvious tips but as always, user experiences may vary.

Gear

It doesn’t matter what you use, as long as you know how to operate the damn thing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen friends on photo walks struggling with their settings on the go. It’s frustrating. You miss shots, the shots taken are out of focus, or underexposed and sometimes a flash drive was not installed. Before going out, clean your equipment, ensure the battery and drive is installed. Fire some test shots to dial in your settings. You have to know when to compensate for lighting, shadows, motion and focus until your camera is a part of you.

Gear Pt. 2

Keep it simple and lighten the load. No, you aren’t going to use that zoom lens, nor the wide-angle. That 50mm is great if you are shooting portraits, but not for a street shoot so leave it. Get your adjustable lens and call it good. Again, keep it light, so any extra lenses and gear will weigh you down and that sucks if you are covering a lot of ground. On asphalt.

Grab Your Comfy Shoes

Did I mention that prolonged exposure to walking on asphalt can hurt? Grab your comfy shoes because if you forgot to lighten your gear bag, you will start to feel it in a few blocks. Blisters suck. Sore knees and back will suck. These issues will take away your ability to concentrate on your image taking.

Explore More

We work with what we have. But that doesn’t satisfy us. How many times will we walk the same path we did before hoping for something new? And we’ll do it again because THIS time will be different. It’s the possibilities that keep us coming back. The fact that we may have missed something the first few times. And we are right. I’s time to explore more. The light and shadows are different because we chose a different time of day. The angles are different. Composition is different. The people we encounter are different, or are wearing something different. A new shop opens up giving a chance to explore it with a camera. We are explorers and our camera is our passport. Explore more!

People Person

Photographers are isolated. We roam alone with nothing but our thoughts and our gear. Eventually we’ll come across muggles. There can be some interaction. You may want to photograph them. Be bold but courteous. Other times, you’ll come across someone telling you not to be there. Now’s the time to be courteous again. Develop your people skills as much as you develop your images. The adages are true: smile, be polite, and doors can open to you that have been closed. Remember, explore more.

Explore…and Observe More

Photographers move around and observe the world as it is. Notice the vibe of the area and integrate yourself. You are here to observe, not change. Observe people and surroundings in the habitat. Position yourself right in the middle of the action to take advantage of the opportunities in front of you. Then, you’ll be able to capture candid moments, a still shadow hitting a building just right, or how the area interacts with each other.

Tell A Story Instead of Documenting

I am just learning this myself and need to create opportunities to practice. Instead of looking for that one “banger shot”, create a series of images that tell a story. It is increasingly rare to find that one image that will go viral. Who cares? People will scroll through their social feeds even faster looking for more and more. No, best to find and capture multiple images that will bring you satisfaction overall. I’d rather come home happy with what I have, rather than be disappointed because I didn’t get that one shot.

Be Original

Yep, that town’s monument has been captured thousands of different ways. Now what? Try your hand at it but move on to something fresh and hopefully undiscovered by someone else’s lens. Focus on what you want to capture, not what everyone else has.

Enjoy It All

Take the pressure off right away. We’ll have some good days and some shit days. But we keep going back out. Expectations suck the joy out of photography. Work with what you have in your bag. If the shot isn’t up to your standards, either change your angle or change your standards. It’s a process to be enjoyed from stalking the shot to developing it in Lightroom behind your iDevice. Along the way, hop into that pub to relax and enjoy your day. Street photography can work up a thirst after all. Pop onto that public transit to stop and have a think, review your images. Get off at the 4th stop and explore there. Experience everything and enjoy it.

Anti-Boring

Boring images stem from boring subjects or a bored photographer. Change it up. Liven it up and expose yourself to something new, you are an explorer with a passport after all. Find the interesting, become interested and your images will be more interesting.

Conclusion With A Bonus

Running out of things to shoot? Try some of these next time you are out:

  • textures
  • patterns
  • color
  • shadows
  • negative space
  • minimalism
  • perspective
  • murals
  • neon
  • urban decay
  • humans
  • security cameras
  • utility poles and the graffiti stickers
  • shop windows

See this image and more street shoots on the photography website.

Offline

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The best times with people are best spent offline. Go public, go outdoors and share experiences and interact with people not algorithms.

Audio Denbow

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With some extra time on my hands the past few days, I’ve explored and played around with a few things like adding video to my photography website. Today, I played with GarageBand, the stock music -making app from Apple.

I don’t know what will come out of it, honestly, but it can be fun. As someone who appreciates music but can barely work the triangle instrument, I am learning a lot. The girlfriend, MissAdventure, can play any instrument she picks up, so maybe she can teach me a few things.

I digress. I discovered that I can add my music tracks to iMovie and create my own montage. Yes, I know they’ve been around forever, but I couldn’t be bothered until now.

“Neon Funk” is a combination of neon images I captured along with the newly created “Mojo Funk” soundtrack added.

Video Denbow

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When I am not capturing portraits with my camera, I am documenting where I have been, what I am doing and the people I am with.

I want to start focusing on creating stories. Sure, there are a few photos that tell a story in themselves, but what about a montage of photos documenting the times individually and as a whole?

Then I started to think about that montage and how to combine a photo series to tell a story. And since video is all the rage these days, what with short attention spans, I looked for inexpensive video creating software that is compatible with my ignorance.

That is when I remembered I already have it installed on the iPad- iMovie, Apple’s stock video software application.

Dropping images into iMovie was so simple even a dummy could do it. I threw a couple of images in and the proof of concept is complete.

Now I cannot wait to capture more images and combine them either into a digital zine or a video. Probably both if the images are worthy!

Click the link to the Video page of the photography website.