December 2019 Archive

December 2019 Archive

Faulkner House

2019-12-01 06:50:32

While traveling through Pirates Alley by Jackson Square in New Orleans, I finally discovered the Faulkner House, a literary landmark where future Nobel Laureate William Faulkner penned his first novel. Other authors such as Ernest Hemingway were known to have stayed there for a time as well. Now the landmark also serves as a bookstore featuring a wide variety of titles, including rare books. It was as inspiring as visiting Hemingway’s home down in Key West, Florida and I wish I could have stayed longer.

110mm

2019-12-01 11:38:03

I’ve been looking for another analog film format camera to compliment my 35mm and instant film cameras and I finally found a solution I cannot wait to try. The Canon 110ED can produce high quality images and I love the James Bond-inspired design of this camera. It sports a fast 26mm f/2.0, rangefinder-coupled lens that can be adjusted from f2 to f16. As soon as it arrives in the mail from auction I will then be able to finally purchase the LomoChrome Metropolis 110 film that will be released into the United States in December.

We Were Made For This

2019-12-01 13:56:17

A man’s true delight is to do the things he was made for. He was made to show goodwill to his kind, to rise above the promptings of his senses, to distinguish appearances from realities, and to pursue the study of universal Nature and her works. -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Never

2019-12-01 16:30:20

“Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul”

100 Word Story- Eviscerate

2019-12-03 13:36:04

Clint logged into his account and began to pour out his thoughts and feelings that consumed him that day. After reviewing this draft he decided it was time to share with the world and pressed “send.” After awhile Clint received notifications from the site that users were responding positively. Mixed in with the positive responses were mean, spiteful and rude commentary regarding the story that Clint decided to share. What these trolls failed to realize was that Clint was also a programmer and was capable of finding them. After uploading his //EVISCERATE program he then enjoyed their public shaming.

Blog Death Is Greatly Exaggerated

2019-12-03 14:05:12

“RIP blogging we all tried real hard to make the internet good and then corporations and rich idiots destroyed everything a generation of writers tried to build” And “there’s almost no space for writing anymore that’s joyful or an attempt to be creative. hardly anyone is playing around with form or even just trying to entertain. so much of the joy has been sucked out of the internet unless its crowdsourced by platforms from ppl who aren’t paid” Pffft! Blogs and websites are still around. The good ones have been around for 20 years(!) and there are more, undiscovered websites as well. Ignore posting your content to Facebook or Twitter or anything social. Fire up a blog aggregator like Feedly and they will help you find good websites regarding topics you are interested in. There is nothing stopping us from writing to the web. Have fun with it. Be entertaining or be informative, push boundaries. We choose the web we want. A lot of good people are creating good content out there. Don’t say that the blog is dead. Encourage them and I encourage others to contribute and make it better as well.

Film Photography 101

2019-12-03 15:12:32

It has been a long time since I step foot into a darkroom to process my 35mm film rolls (high school!) and I have forgotten just about everything. I do remember enjoying the way my hands smelled of developer and toner as I watched my images magically develop. So, it’s back to the darkroom/classroom for me because I just signed up for a local workshop that will refresh my memory. Honestly, this is even more exciting than breaking in a new camera because this is a process. The process will allow me to slow down, think and appreciate each frame shot so I can’t wait to see what will…develop.

Perfectly Imperfect

2019-12-07 10:57:40

Ever since I switched from film photography to digital (2001) it seems like there was this mad desire to shoot the sharpest, balanced images. New cameras carried newer sensors to help compensate. Shortly after the conversion though, a lot of us played around with digital filters, fake grain and distorted images all in an attempt to emulate film photography. Ever listen to clear digital music and then long for the hiss and pops of an old vinyl record? Still notice that advertising relies heavy on customer’s nostalgia? Why do so many mobile photography apps try to emulate old film? What is is about the tiny imperfections that make us want to see more of it? Because somehow they are more tactile than a clean, perfect photograph. For clients, I want the sharpest, cleanest images possible. But when it comes to my hobby I appreciate and look forward to the unexpected surprises. I love the light leak, the color variation and textures from film photography.

Daily

2019-12-07 13:42:55

Lifestyle

2019-12-08 08:54:55

New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. A lifestyle is not an outcome, it is a process. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.

Enter The Darkroom

2019-12-08 10:29:24





Camera: Canon Sureshot

Film: Ilford HP5+ ISO 400 35mm

Processing: C-41

New Perspectives

2019-12-09 03:18:26

Career
How can I maximize job satisfaction and enhance employability?

Health
Boost meditation, exercise, diet, sleep (MEDS)

Finance
Shift from standard of living towards quality of life

Relationships
Focus and attention towards those that need it most

Contribute
Wherever I can

Fun
Planet Earth is the best playground with great opportunities

SAD

2019-12-09 03:57:48

Right around that first hint of cold weather in early November and then the time change I decided I would have to learn to work around the seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that typically effects me. Because I currently live in a state where the dormant grass turns yellow and the leafless trees look abandoned and depressing, I have come to terms that there is nothing I can do about it being winter and freezing and to accept it. Except to change myself. This time of year I can be focusing on enjoyment and appreciation instead of complaining about the cold, the ice and the possible snows. The days are shorter but I can still focus on the things that inspire me, are beneficial and will bring me joy. Sleep is huge these past few weeks. Bundling up in warm clothes and blankets has been relaxing. I’m reading more and I love the sensation of knowing there are more books that I want to read after the current one. More reflections and contemplation about who I am and what I want to accomplish for myself and for others. Soups are excellent for my cold bones. I’m writing more on my novels and short stories. I’m cataloging my photography archives slowly and deliberately. When possible, take advantage of the warmer days of winter by hiking or photo walking. My birthday was sunny and in the 50’s and don’t think that wasn’t lovely. I’m learning to appreciate the longer, darker hours by noticing the clear sky that cold winter nights bring. They make the stars seem brighter. I want to be in harmony with the seasons, not the man-made clocks and the concepts of time. Maybe the idea of winter is something to be enjoyed and not endured? This shift in my mindset may just be the cure to my SAD.

36

2019-12-10 05:13:17

One roll of film, 36 black & white exposures and one hour to shoot it in. Chasing after light, shadows, textures, shapes and anything else of interest. Memories of a lifetime ago in the high school darkroom came flooding back as I blindly loaded the spent Ilford roll into a spool and tank in the pitch black room. Hand-agitating the negatives for forty minutes was both time consuming and time flew by at the same time. Washing, drying and stretching them out into a contact sheet over the light table and deciding which frames were worthy of enlarging them into prints. The excitement while watching the images appear like magic in the developing solution and the smell of fixer chemicals on my hands as the final images were dried. I had forgotten this feeling because it had been so long. I promised myself my next visit will be much sooner. I had missed this.

Walk It Out

2019-12-10 08:44:37

Simply walk. The earth is a big place and there is plenty of walking to be done. I belong here. It is who I am. There are many different ways I try to incorporate walking. I am walking to work more frequently. I would walk up and down the stairs but there is blocked access to most floors. So, I walk around my floor; a lot. I walk to the cubicles, to the beverage stations. Lately I’ve been walking around inside the skywalks to the adjacent buildings. Mindful walking happens any time and any place I need to think, work out issues or meditate. Walking with a companion. Talking, sharing, laughing. Photo walking is huge for me. Combing two passions is to be taken advantage of. Day hiking takes preparation and is a challenge but worth it. Extended hiking could include overnight stay in the wild and appreciating the exhaustion of a great day. This also includes a bonus walk by returning.

The Warmth Of December

2019-12-15 23:17:04

December is a cold, dark and depressing-looking month for me here in Oklahoma. I’m expected to maintain a busy schedule at a time when energy levels are low. So I am finding it important to let go over this year’s past burdens. While I’m at it, why not the decade since we’re coming up on the year 2020? When I say burdens I mean past feelings, mistakes, guilt and resentment. So I’m taking some downtime to create a space in my home office by reorganizing and prioritizing. What is essential and what can wait? This space also doubles as a space for mindfulness, contemplation and even silence. This quiet time will be used to reflect this past year and the new year. To work out achievable Groundhog Day resolutions. To plot and scheme words to paper in my writing. To plan and prepare desired photo shoots and projects. This Winter season is for retreat and reflection. So what will it look like? Not only does this mean reorganizing the office space but organizing my time. I know I can devote at least two hours a day during the work week and even more during the week end to create the space/time I want. Now I am free to talk to loved ones, walk or hike, practice yoga at home, pray, meditate, journal with pen and paper, journal here, focus on photography techniques, whatever I need to contemplate and reflect on. So now that I have this space I have to designate this place as sacred. This is devotional time. The idea is to use this sacred time for reflection, gratitude, mindfulness, contemplation, solitude. This is the time in solitude to be replenished and to heal. This past year I had too many goals and aspirations. Let them go. Stop trying to please everyone or compare myself to others. Let go of resentments, bad judgements and anger. Time to focus on letting go of expecting too much from people and consider them instead. Focus on eliminating procrastination and doubts. How are these affecting me? What can I let go of so I can be free? Already I feel as if my spirits are lifted. Maybe it doesn’t look so bad outside after all.

December Downtown

2019-12-16 02:05:48

Trying out the new black and white 600 film during a photo walk. 2019-12-15 C:Polaroid F: 600 B&W A: F8 S: 1/1000 L: Landscape

Upgrade

2019-12-16 02:10:38

Looks like I’m in the market for a new Polaroid. My current is perhaps too old. The lens is scratched and the lighting is unbalanced. I expect a little bit of surprises but not to the point where the images are almost unviewable. Drat. 2019-12-15

Little Room

2019-12-27 07:46:45

Well, you’re in your little room and you’re working on something good but if it’s really good you’re gonna need a bigger room and when you’re in the bigger room you might not know what to do you might have to think of how you got started sitting in your little room!

Rest

2019-12-29 07:45:58

I slept most of the last weekend of 2019. It was cold, wet and dreary with even a tornado warning for the area. But I did have time to reflect on the benefits and variations of rest. I remembered that rest can mean different things to different situations including permission to be “unproductive” without guilt, a break from responsibility. Or solitude to recharge. Stillness to decompress. A safe space in bed while the grey skies fall or cozied up in the office chair reading. Getting permission to not be helpful and then connecting with dead poets and authors. However we find rest it is essential and beneficial once we take advantage of it without thought or guilt.

Time Well Spent

2019-12-31 08:04:59

It is almost the end of the year and the end of another decade. But for me a new day starts when I wake up, not at midnight. Nothing changes except the time. My memorable time stamps occur during meaningful, personal moments. January 1 is a work holiday where I get paid to not show up. Cool. Valentine’s day is a great day for candy and cards but is arbitrary. I prefer to express love for friends and family with time spent, not obligation. The last Thursday of November is not the time I am most thankful. I don’t wish for peace on earth and goodwill towards men just within the last week of December. Forcing these celebrated dates disconnects them from the meaning they are supposed to celebrate. And it’s thoughtless and again an obligation. I prefer celebrating meaningful time stamps instead of calendar dates.