My Way

2022-07-01 15:36:48

I pay a web host for my personal website, my private emails, RSS, and photo services. I pay to support the products I enjoy using and that promise to not collect or sell my information.

If it’s “free” than I don’t want it.

A Better Way

2022-07-01 15:42:01

Do I miss Twitter or Facebook?

No.

I make better use of my time by following blogs and websites via RSS.

Map Quest

2022-07-04 01:05:02

Over the past couple of decades I have acquired a lot of images and have failed to document them properly. Now I want to take on the enormous task of mapping my finds.

There are three categories I want to photograph, map and geotag for future reference:

• Geocaches
• Murals, wall art and sculptures
• Neon signs

Geocaches

I’ve looked around a bit for an alternative to Google Maps and Google Earth but the fact remains- they have the best open-sourced mapping platform than anyone else. I can’t stand Google but damn, they make a good map system.

For plotting my found geocaches, I’ve downloaded all the .gpx files from geocaching.com and uploaded to Google Earth which can then convert to .kmz files for a map view of discovered caches. But, because importing and exporting data between two systems is hardly ever efficient as advertised, I am still doing some tweaking to format the data as I need to.

Murals, Street Art & Sculptures

I wish I was as organized as I want to be when out in the field. From here on out I promise myself to document names of the murals, artists, coordinates and any other bits of info to document. Because now I need to go in and add waymarkers to the map manually. This means going to Google My Maps, upload my image and plot it to the corresponding location.

Neon Signs

Just like the street art images, I need to plot the waypoints of my neon images on to a map by hand. I have almost 500 images of neon so this may take awhile.

Let's Take This Outside

2022-07-06 08:28:08

Due to a variety of interests, there has been less writing here in favor of being outdoors with a camera. I’ve been out and about capturing a variety of topics including urban art, neon signs and more. I’m thinking of capturing a few new things as well.

My philosophy when shooting urban art: If I see something that is .001% interesting to me, I’ll shoot it and figure out what to do with it afterwards.

This is a huge benefit to digital photography in that there is no downside to capturing extra images. Film photography has its own creative, artistic skill but leaves little room for error.

Errors are costly and time-consuming. If I am in a photo flow, I don’t want to think about it. I can shoot 10,000 shots of the same topic without repercussions when using digital.

So that’s where I’m at. Come along with me if you’d like at my photography website: Photo Denbow

I Disapprove This Message

2022-07-06 11:09:59

I need a new photo project. I figure that there will be a lot of photo opportunities between now and November, so, my new project is…

During and after the 2016 campaigns I swore off of news media and politics. I’m done. However, they are still so invasive and pervasive that it is difficult to ignore. I’ll start off this project with this:

Anti-Censorship

2022-07-06 15:25:19

Four years ago today I decided that I wasn’t having fun using Google anything, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram anymore, so I downloaded all my content from those platforms and promptly deleted those accounts. No Google products and no social media. If you’ve DM’d me, then apologies. It was unseen. Send me an email or text instead.

It just so happens that I have a lot to say so I’ve posted here and my micro site instead. My thoughts, my images, my words, no censorship.

These are the benefits of posting to a site I own for over twenty years..

I believe the more people that talk to each other is good and that the 280 character limit on those platforms rewards creativity. Buying and hosting your own website and email address should enable you to have your voice heard- just like it used to be on Web 1.0.

The Wild Wild Web

2022-07-06 16:08:36

Speaking about personal websites, I just screened this video about the early web. I can thankfully say my website was NEVER this cheesy but there was a sense of ownership back then. Much more so than we do on today’s social media platforms where there is zero control. The WWW is much worse as a result.

I wish personal websites were just as popular nowadays, the web sure was a fun place to be when they were.

Makes Little Difference

2022-07-16 12:58:35

The difference is almost indistinguishable when comparing portraits from a $900 mobile phone or a $2,500 mirrorless camera. Cameras are losing turf as mobile phones are closing the gap in technology and usability.

The Sun Also Rises

2022-07-18 10:37:17

Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?

Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

I’m re-reading this novel and it’s amazing how there are so many applicable quotes that hit me straight on.

Noble Superiority

2022-07-19 15:52:42

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

Ernest Hemingway

Never Enough

2022-07-21 16:36:15

… not enough ecstasy for me, not enough life, joy, kicks, darkness, music, not enough night.

Jack Kerouac

The Infinite Web

2022-07-21 20:34:19

From the short story of Jorge Luis Borges’ “Book of Sand,” there is an ancient book with no beginning and has no end. The narrator discovers this simple-looking book contains endless volumes of information that was good and evil.

“I realized that the book was monstrous. It was cold consolation to think that I, who looked upon it with my ten flesh-and-bone fingers, was no less monstrous than the book. I felt it was a nightmare thing, an obscene thing, and that it defiled and corrupted reality. I considered fire, but I feared that the burning of an infinite book might be similarly infinite, and suffocate the planet in smoke.”

He quickly deposits the terrifying, infinite book to the National Library and vows never to go to a library or bookstore again.

It’s strange to me to think that we open our very own Books of Sand every day without thinking of the consequences. The sheer infinite volume of the WWW is too difficult to imagine. It is our nightmare and distorts our reality. Like all tools, it can be used for good, but we humans do a frightening job of perverting even the best intentions.

Stop. Enjoy.

2022-07-22 15:54:36

I came to a point where I needed solitude and to just stop the machine of ‘thinking’ and ‘enjoying’ what they call ‘living…

Jack Kerouac

On Meditation

2022-07-23 10:30:10

The best meditation is being genuinely curious about the contents of your own mind.

Naval

Explore More

2022-07-23 10:32:55

For me to experience life I must explore. The insatiable urge to see what’s around the next corner must be satisfied or I will die, so it is for my own survival I must go. And so I go, typically with a camera as I have time and time again.

Micro Posts

2022-07-23 10:34:33

Did you know that I have a page on this site that is dedicated to micro posts? Think quick tweets or blurbs of whatever I need to post as opposed to long form writing on the main page here.

I Love My iPad Pro

2022-07-09 22:05:58

I’ve had the privilege of handling and owning a lot of personal computing and tech devices over the past couple of decades. My all-time favorite is hands-down the M1 iPad Pro and it’s companion, the Magic Keyboard.

The iPad has so much processing power and battery life that I can batch-process images, stream music and more for hours and it will not give out on me. The fact that it is ultra-portable with 5G data speeds, multiple inputs such as keyboard, mouse and Pencil still has my head shaking in amazement. This one stays with me until it dies.

Digital Contact Sheet

2022-07-10 21:36:48

One of my favorite tools on the iPad is importing my images to the Photos app. The simple act of sorting, organizing these photos like I used to do on a contact sheet of film negatives. Find the keepers and then develop them in the lab afterward.

The Romance of the Unusual

2022-07-11 08:26:35

Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the Romance of the unusual.

Ernest Hemingway

The Romance of the Unusual

2022-07-11 08:27:27

Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the Romance of the unusual.

Ernest Hemingway

Map Quest Revisited

2022-07-16 10:02:14

After amassing about a thousand images of neon, murals and geocaches it is past time that I curate them into a searchable database. This is one of those “shoulda done it sooner” moments but who knew my latest photographic passion would have carried on this long?

I’ve looked around for some inexpensive, do-it-yourself software but I’m coming up with a lot of fluff. For now, I’ve settled on Google My Maps and Google Earth. I hate this.

Every photo taken with a GPS-enabled camera is geo-tagged in their EXIF file. This helps tremendously when my memory fails. GPS coordinates are great when importing/exporting data to the map layer overlays.

My current issue is documenting these locations whilst at the same time snapping more images almost daily to the database. It is a self-inflicted labor of love that only I can appreciate but to me it is worth it.

Each My Map will have a separate genre for neon, one for murals and the other for geocaches.

After those are complete, I will export the .kmz files into Google Earth as a master database wherein all waypoints will be tagged, mapped and displayed.

Google Earth alternative suggestions are welcome. Please!

GASAAS

2022-07-16 12:47:08

Forget about SAAS (software as a service), I am more interested in GASAAS (Giving A Shit as a Service.)

I can buy products anywhere, but I require someone to give a shit. Someone who works hard, cares about their customer and provides the most basic service. Caring is as rare as common sense these days.

Unsubscribe

2022-07-16 12:53:34

The future of goods and services are subscription-based.

The latest BS is that BMW has built-in seat warmers behind an $18 monthly paywall. What a nightmare.

There is something fundamentally wrong with how companies no longer feel they are able to sell products at a sustainable price.

At some point soon, companies will charge subscriptions for the most minimal product or service and still throw ads at us.

Unacceptable.

Own Your Domain

2022-07-17 15:30:24

“Lastly, if there’s anything I can convince you of: you should build a personal site, you should obsess over it, you should meticulously document it, and you should have quite a bit of fun doing so. (It’s worth it.)”

Justin Duke

Why Ask Why

2022-07-18 10:34:39

“Do you ever know what the birds are singing? You don’t. But you listen to them anyway.”

Pablo Picasso

Picasso, when asked what his paintings meant.

Sometimes we create for the sake of creating and seeing what happens. There are times where I go out to shoot & don’t develop the film for months or post-process the digital photos in Lightroom for awhile. I do it just for the experience of creating and exploring.

There Is Nothing New Under The Sun

2022-07-19 21:53:48

“THE IMPOSSIBLE ATTRACTS ME BECAUSE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE HAS BEEN DONE AND THE WORLD DIDN’T CHANGE”

– Sun Ra

GC9XF0J

2022-07-20 13:12:27

After eleven years of geocaching, I finally have submitted my own hidden cache into the wild.

Geocache #6 (GC9XF0J) is located east of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma and is currently pending review on my submission. But it is placed and ready to go!

Lomo Turquoise Emulation

2022-07-25 09:58:14

Last year, Lomography teased the photo film community with images hinting that they were bringing back the Turquoise film. Development has been ongoing and is scheduled to release fall of this year, 2022. Pre-orders sold out and more have been pushed back until November. I can’t wait that long to experiment with this unique emulation. Below are the examples that Lomo gave us, followed by own attempts to duplicate the results.

Oh well, back to the digital lab to fine tune the process and get those gorgeous colors!

GC9XPFR

2022-07-26 14:03:17

I recently placed and submitted for approval a new geocache at Geocaching.com. This one is titled: “The One Dedicated To Tracy” at nearby Tracy Park. This is the second geocache, loaded with trackables, log, pencil and trinkets I’ve placed out into the wild and loving the interaction from the GC community so far.

**UPDATE**

Due to my cache placement being in close proximity to an Adventure Lab cache, one that is virtual, my submission was denied. I’ve had to relocate my hide and it was approved. Frustrating that my physical cache had to make way for a virtual cache.

Little Free Library

2022-07-26 15:28:10

When placing my geocache earlier today, I noticed that the hide spot, a Little Free Library stand was neglected. I checked the registration on their website and noticed it was no longer active. An FLF representative returned my email inquiry indicating that it was likely abandoned since nothing was registered on their charter list.

Part two of my inquiry , was to ask for permission to become a steward of the FLF stand and they were agreeable. I am currently waiting for a reply to my FLF request to be placed back on the map and when approved, I will become it’s new librarian. I’ll then stock the library with some donated books and make a few purchases at a local used book store. Stay tuned!

Keep On Keeping On

2022-07-26 15:53:27

All he needed was a wheel in his hand and four on the road…

Jack Kerouac