Photos
- I forgot my camera’s charger at home, and it’s too old for the local CVS to have the right USB cable 😖.
- My photography skills are rusty. I can see the “spirit” of the photo and the reason I took it, but it’s not quite there.
Take more photos. Make better memories.
I’m not a professional photographer. I’m barely a hobbyist. My advice is aimed at those who wish they had taken more photos but don’t.
Here it is: keep a journal on your phone.
I used to keep an analog journal, and maybe one day I will again. These require that you print your photos, and if you don’t have a good printer and the right combination of time and patience to print and put them in your written journal, most likely you’re not going to bother. Even if you absolutely must have a written journal, there’s room for that you will see in a minute: keep your notes with your photos on your phone, and your written journal separate.
I’ve been a long advocate of Journelly, a beautiful app that allows me to save said notes in org-mode (now also in markdown) format, which I can later edit at ease at my computer with Photoshop at my side. That last bit is key. Not because of Photoshop and the stuff it does, but the concept of going over my photos. You can do that with any other software.
OK, let me take you behind the scenes so you get what I mean.
The above picture was taken last night with my iPhone. It’s what you’d call a snapshot: a photo you take quickly to capture an experience rather than a subject or a narrative or the golden ratio. These are all nice and good, but we’re not talking about those right now.
All pictures that go into your journal should consist of snapshots, just like the notes you take with them: quick mentions of places and people, maybe a word about why you’re there and what you’re doing. Beyond that, you’re going to sit somewhere and write, and then you’re not capturing anymore, you’re reminiscing. That’s nice and all, but while you sit on your ass and contemplate, you’re not capturing what’s going on around you and you’re missing out. Do that later.
Snapshots mean I don’t ask my friend (in the picture, he had no idea) or my nieces (earlier that evening) to sit up and smile while I take the photo. That’s not an experience: that’s make-believe. And while we’re on the topic of what’s real and what’s manufactured in those moments, here’s another tip I’ve learned: if the person (or pet, or even a plant) you’re taking a picture of is posing on their own, or smiles on their own when you take their picture, go with that. That’s authentic and part of the experience. That also means that if they cover their face and call you a “jerk,” you can still take the photo. You should know where the line is in your relationships. Being a jerk sometimes is OK; being an asshole is not.
OK, now it’s time to turn everything I said on its head:
The above picture is what is now in my journal. What? In the journal? Didn’t I just say it’s all about snapshots?
Yes, I did. I captured the experience, it was on my phone along with the location and a mention of what we did (it was a movie, and by the way, it sucked), and this morning, sitting at home in front of my photos, I worked with that experience to polish it into a memory. If you have a digital journal, you should go back and edit those photos and, yes, what you wrote. Reflect on it. It’s worth it.
The photo is cropped and zoomed in above is the sign, which captures the name of the location we were in. To me, that was the essence of what we did, and that’s the memory of it. It’s a location that remained basically unchanged for the last 20 years or so - It’s where I spent some of my high school years, and my sister and I were both happy it was still standing pretty much unchanged. That’s also why there’s a bit more grain in it, making it look older. It’s manufactured. It’s not raw anymore. I transformed it.
If I were walking around thinking about how to capture the memory, I’d waste time. Besides, I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, because I was too caught up in the moment. I just grabbed my phone and took a picture.
Here’s another example. It’s not a photo, but it’s a good example (and maybe another reason why having a digital journal can be better):
I took this video when I stepped outside one evening when I was away from the city. I closed the door behind me and I let myself get washed away in the sounds of the loud crickets all around me. It’s something I don’t get to hear too often in the city.
Then, back at home, a few days later:
Get it?
The visuals were not even the point. Capturing a video with my phone is something that is a second nature to me. I didn’t think about it and I also knew where my phone saved it for later. If I were to look around for the right app to record just the audio, I’d waste time, and I’d be thinking of the memory, not living the experience. Even though I had a good idea it’s about the sound, it was in the back of my mind. I didn’t know it then; it was cooking for later.
Hello guys, enjoying your quick breather? Me too…
On a trip to Connecticut last weekend, we saw plenty of mushrooms 🍄 and a few frogs 🐸. 📷
Vegan meat, vegan cheese, vegan… tomatoes. The sauce was way too watery (got the wrong ingredients), but I managed to save it somewhat. 🍝📷
Feels like this vacation ended before it even started. We still have some time to spend tomorrow, and we’re planning on pizza1 at some point before we head back.
It took me too long to stop thinking of work. I haven’t realized how deep I’m in. It helps to have this understanding though. As always, I’m glad to be going back home to my little cave, where Hedwig the second - my Pop OS desktop - is waiting with my games, after the latest issue seems to be resolved.
Turns out I can take pretty good photos 📷 with the iPhone. I know, not a huge shock there. In the past, I used my camera for “the serious” stuff; this time, all the photos you see from the last couple of days on the blog are taken with my phone. I only took a couple with the camera that ran out of battery quickly. Considering the ease of use of syncing these… well, we will see.
Footnotes
1 : Since I stopped eating cheese, Pizza has been one of the top things I miss. Fortunately there’s a good place here that has vegan options.
Between the shops, there was a green space, a shed, and plants for sale in the yard. The owner was attending to the various plants, apologizing continuously for the long hose that was snaking around the visitors' feet.
I enjoy industrial buildings since I ever seen one I think. Not sure why. Another iPhone picture of opportunity 📷.
After the thunderstorm, the heat broke to a cool breeze. We had a nice walk next to the water 📷.
Attempting to take photos 📷, I realized two things:
of motorcycles and he-mes
I’m currently at a motorcycle cafe. I just sat my butt down 20 minutes ago. The music is good (90s rock, punk and such). There are motorcycles for sale inside, parked next to the tables, shelves with helmets, and other riding gear hanging from hooks. I’m enjoying a good cup of almond milk cappuccino.
Some version of me in an alternative dimension owns a motorcycle. Probably a Suzuki or a Kawasaki, maybe a Ducati (my this-dimension self doesn’t know much about motorcycles). He-me went on a couple of roadtrips earlier in life, but nothing in the last couple of years. He’s reflecting on some of those moments right now, sipping coffee.
Like me, he read Zen and That Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but earlier in life, and got interested in motorcycles enough to get one. I started my career with computers around the same time. He had different jobs in different locations for a while and eventually settled working at a cafe in a small town like this one. His organizational skills and trustworthiness worked in his favor to eventually manage the cafe, with the owners' blessing. He probably got involved with one of the regular customers or maybe even one of the younger baristas, but only that far. He-me are not monogamous, and even if he got comfortable for a time, it was probably more of a temporary arrangement.
Some of the emotional energy can pass between dimensions. Deja-Vus that are not mine, memories of scents I’m not sure I smelled before, faces of people that I’ve seen before and can’t place.
I think I found my new avatar🦉📷
Yesterday, I went to see The Muppets Take Manhattan at the Museum of the Moving Image. The Muppets are ageless and always relatable, as were the people who came to the viewing - all ages, colors, and sizes - just like the muppets themsleves.
As Pete said, “We’re all just people.”
I haven’t used this coffee ☕️ beaker in a while. Very fitting when I’m writing about org-mode experiments.
This morning, made Seitan tacos as part of improving my cholesterol intake. I don’t know that I’ll go full vegan, but I’ll go back to “my roots” and past it. 📷
Spotted on a weather appreciation walk.
Nature takes over… good day for a walk today. 📷
One of the things I realized (again) on this staycation: I am curious and my hunger for technology didn’t go anywhere. It was just squished under layers of workload.
Captured this guy this weekend 📷. We’re enjoying “hunting” birds: Nat identifies them using the Merlin app, and I try to capture them with the camera. It’s not easy, and I’m rusty, but it’s fun!
I’m visiting my mom, who lives with her boyfriend of several years. As a New Yorker, this place is huge - a garage for two cars, two showers and a half, a dining room separate from a kitchen and a foyer, and more space that I don’t know how to name correctly. I’d say it’s a big house, not a huge house, somewhere in Pennsylvania where you can afford something like this on a mortgage without robbing a bank, I guess.
I’ve lived in NYC for over a decade, and I’m used to small spaces. My new bedroom is huge compared to anywhere else I’ve lived before, but the apartment itself is small, but not in a contrasting way, it’s comfy. I don’t understand why people need all this space.
Most people my age (40s) have a family and kids, so a few more bedrooms make sense, two bathrooms and showers, sure, but let’s say you only have one kid, or maybe the kid moved out, or maybe you just don’t have kids. I think (and I may be wrong?) most people live in houses, and these houses have space, and, well, what do you do with this space?
Over here, they love plants: 📷
And then there’s the art they like to get, and the basement has a lot of tools and additional storage, and then there’s another old fridge in the garage, and the dining room has a table, but you can also eat in the kitchen - but why? I feel like I’m criticizing and not coming from the angle of “this is wrong,” I just don’t get it. Maybe if I were to live in a place like this for a while, I would. What do you get out of the extra space and extra stuff?
