Photography

The Ideal Life

by

Lately, I’ve been thinking of the optimal lifestyle and how to get the best out of life.

How can I better my existence?

An ideal lifestyle is one you have to define for yourself. So if I wanted to focus on creativity and photography, I will need to build this up for myself. Surround myself with the proper tools and investing into this lifestyle. I currently have a great home office, but I need a studio in which to set up and host portraiture somehow. Something simple, minimal and easily accessible. For now, it isn’t feasible, but it is certainly a goal of mine. Truth be told, I really want to double down on this idea, but unsure of how to progress towards it.

I need to be active. To create, act, explore and this involves time outside my home office, whatever that looks like such as- on the streets, at the pub, hiking, road trips, etc. I am at my happiest when I am out and about with a camera, trying to maximize fitness at the same time. Everything improves for me with this, including more thinking, more problems-solving and more idea creations. The more mobile for me, the better.

Now and in the future, I need to invest in myself. I can invest in the future, but what about right now? What can I do to make my world better today? What can I attempt or pursue today that will pay off immediately, as well as the future?

I must become more focused on the self and prioritize my needs and wants before it is too late. I’ve been focused on pleasing others that I may be missing out. Time to make myself and my creativity a priority.

For years, I have been sharing and publishing my craft and my words to the WWW, with varying results. In the past, there was interaction and engagement but with the invention of social media, the interaction has been limited. Weird how that works – social media without the socializing. I need to find a way to bridge the gap and start interacting with others again. There are three ways I have created here that can do just that – subscribe to the newsletter (see below), subscribe to the RSS feed and email (say hello@chrisdenbow.website)

Homework

by

“Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life.”

– Lawrence Kasdan

This quote could also be used for any hobby endeavor we choose such as photography, crochet, micro electronics, Ham radio, etc.

A hobbyist is constantly researching techniques, going over best practices and learning how to apply them. You don’t just sit down at your keyboard and start cranking out paragraphs without research on the topic. You learn to see the world through the lens of your hobby and wonder how your craft fits into it, or what you can glean from the world to use it. A hobbyist is always shooting, writing, sewing, tinkering and noticing. A photographer is constantly tilting their head looking for angles and composition or color coordinating. Then act on it. A writer is frequently attaching verbal descriptions to a situation and then document it.

“To write, I first must world”

– Laurel Schwulst

Any experience that can be seen as possibly mundane suddenly has meaning, such as grocery shopping, sitting in traffic or walking through the streets. This means they are alert, focused, awakened and deliberately taking their findings to be applied later as homework. Though this homework is not graded, it does help advance our self-induced education, and we are all the better for it.

Technical Issues

by

If you think technology will solve your problems then you don’t understand technology – and, you don’t understand your problems.

Laurie Anderson

Find the best tool for a specific job and stick with it. This is better said than done for me since I enjoy trying all the new shiny tools to play with out there. I am getting better at this and narrowed them down to a select few for writing, post-process photography, etc.

A Few Thoughts On…

by

  1. Creativity and imagination needs to be constantly fed.
  2. Reading is an anytime, anywhere pastime
  3. Slow down.
  4. Excuses delay the inevitable.
  5. Make time for good conversation.
  6. Apply what you know.
  7. Chase the knowledge.
  8. Organize your desk.
  9. Make yourself so good that they don’t want to let you go.
  10. You are only as good to them as your last quarter.
  11. Do or don’t.
  12. Try.
  13. Your best effort wants to come out. Give it a go.
  14. Essentialism > minimalism
  15. Personal development > formal education.
  16. Learning > formal education
  17. Moderation in all things (sugar, salt, social media, alcohol, spending)
  18. Let the tools do their job. Your brain can take care of the rest.
  19. Pen to paper > fingers to keyboard.
  20. What is your origin story? Document your progress.
  21. Change is good.
  22. Willingness to change is even better.
  23. Laughing is a habit-forming drug.
  24. No one told you because they didn’t know either.
  25. Asking is free.
  26. Doing > over-analyzing how to do it.
  27. Your thoughts are clouded and stuck in high fructose corn syrup.
  28. Youth is a feeling, not an age.
  29. Call your loved ones.
  30. Forgive yourself.
  31. Forgive them.
  32. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness > whatever else you are doing instead.

Just Do It

by

“We learn by doing.”

This is the way you master your hobby, by getting on and doing it. Learn, practice, re-learn and practice some more. This goes for writing, sketching, photography, painting, or everything else. You don’t get good without practice, keep your head down and move onward.

There are no shortcuts to becoming a good photographer. Just go out and take photos. You don’t need a specific lens or a new camera because you cannot buy skill. It does not matter whether you share images to your website or Instagram because all the “likes” will not help you improve. If you want to take good photos, you have to take numerous photos first. The majority will be crap, and that’s okay. I’ve come back home with maybe 5 usable images and been happy.

With your writing, it does not matter what software application you use, what blogging platform or newsletter publisher or what type of personal computing device you do it on. If the goal is to become a better writer, then just write. A lot of it will be crap, and that’s okay too. I’ve cranked out possibly 5 good articles a month and been happy.

Consistency and constantly. If it isn’t worth the time and effort to put into it, then perhaps it isn’t relevant for you.

You cannot buy in and expect dramatic results with your new gear. The gear doesn’t make you better. Only you can make yourself look good by trusting the process. It’s time to go out there and get it.

I Want This

by

There are many things in my life that I don’t need. I don’t need half the technology I have, nor most of online services that I pay for. This includes the hosting for my website. I don’t need it, but it does serve a purpose deeper than the amount it costs me each year and gives me value.

My website(s) have been up for more than two decades (learning from a file error mistake, the earliest post I still have is from 2013) and it has been through various iterations. The most recent of which was going back to a personal web server host. The benefits and hours devoted to the setup and install outweigh the costs.

This website has been many things over the years such as, attempted portfolios, business ventures (photography) and a lot of design coding, but still provides an outlet for me. In reality, this website provides very little to me, it doesn’t receive accolades or followers as much as it used to, my life would remain unchanged if I didn’t have this outlet, but I still want one.

This is a journal, a hobby for sure, but writing gives me something that nothing else provides. I love networking with people and I enjoy journaling. Long form and short form both help me document my life as it is currently. Sometimes other people join me here and that is fantastic. Just because I receive nothing in return (on the surface), it doesn’t mean that this doesn’t have value. I believe everyone needs to have their own space on the world wide web.

No one or their website, should focus on follower count, advertising, tracking or page views. You won’t recoup your costs, let’s be honest. This is a personal website and are beholden to no one. You publish what you want, when you want and how you need to.

I don’t need this but I want this.

Top 10 Tips For Street Photography

by

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.

Video Denbow

by

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.

Consolidation

by

I am working toward keeping all of my web properties here under a single domain.

New long-form posts will be here. Previous posts (2022-2002) are now in the Archive. I don’t do social media anymore but I do like to fire off some quick posts, mostly to myself and they are now in the Micro page of this website.

The only web property not hosted on my web server is the photography website. I’m okay with that because I prefer the free hosting there and the way it displays images better.

Is this the perfect solution? I don’t know yet but the tinkering has been fun.

As of now, not everyone can see this website due to my domain name chrisdenbow.website being transferred from one domain registrar to another. 5-7 days they say, which is an eternity in tech time.

Post Process Photography

by

Lately I have been attempting to find a more efficient workflow for my photography processing and organization. I have been an Adobe Lightroom user since 2006 to help organize and edit images. A few years ago Adobe switched to a subscription model instead of a one-time purchase. This is disappointing. To save money, I have looked for a solution that can do everything Lightroom can and own it. It hasn’t been easy and I have tried them all. I’ve gone back and forth but somehow I keep coming back to Lightroom so why fight it? Shut up and take my money. A history of the back and forth below:

  • 01/01/2018 Lightroom is the best, I’ll never leave.
  • 05/01/2018 Why am I paying Adobe every month? I wonder what Capture One will do for me?
  • 05/15/2018 C1 trial expiring, do I want to invest $200 for something I am not too happy with?
  • 03/24/2019 Converted from Windows to Macbook. Adobe? Pixelmator? Both.
  • 02/02/2022 Cancel Adobe, hello again Pixelmator and Apple Photos
  • 02/24/2022 Don’t listen to me, I’ve resubscribed to Adobe Lightroom

The whole point of this is to stick with what I know, enjoy the process, appreciate the software solutions offered and pay the monthly fee. This time I went with the 1 TB Lightroom Only plan because I do not use Photoshop. Same cost, less software but more cloud storage. Perfect.

Version 1.0

by

I have had a need to simplify my websites and the expenses that come with them. Everything changed today.

A year ago I transferred this website to WordPress.com for simplicity and ease of use but I gave up too much control. Today, I transferred it back to my own web server and taking full control back. This move will save over half the expenses too. At the same time, I moved my photography website back and forth between web hosts, Adobe and my own server as well.

I signed up with a Adobe Photography plan again mostly because of their web portfolio hosting that comes with the plan. This is cheaper than hosting my portfolio on WordPress or my own web server.

Today is a fresh start for this site. I have moved all of the articles published previously to the Archives page. There was an unfortunate issue with migrating the data over resulting in the first ten years going missing or a corrupt .xml file. Now the records go back to only 2011. I’ll keep sorting that out as I don’t want to lose all those memories.

ChrisDenbow.com was rebuilt in an hour and it will take time to clean up the migration process, slap some paint on the walls and customize the site to my liking. For now, we’ll log this attempt at version 1.0