May 2025 – Richard Schulz

Progress.

I haven’t invested a lot of time into photography over the past few weeks. Sundays most but nothing serious.

Last night I decided to change the status quo and headed out for a few minutes. My weapons of choice: Canon 1300D and 50mm f/1.8 lens. Shutter speed set to 25 seconds and an aperture of f/8.

An apartment complex with lights on in the windows. — Light trails.

This was the first photo I took and it was only when the camera was busy capturing light when I saw two people walking in front of the building using their mobile phones as torches. No idea what they were looking for but it was a great addition to the image.

I usually wait for cars to past by for straight light trails. White and red ones. The image above has a more human element. The structure of the windows and the lines of the complex VS the squiggly lines drawn by human hands searching for something in the darkness.

I’m so happy with this image that I have uploaded it to my Paystack shop front. If you’re interested in owning this image you can purchase it here.

In the process of…

When I started to consider selling images I was hesitant to sell physical copies of my images. Mostly because shipping them to the States or UK was something which would cost me perhaps a kidney.

I was reading up on local couriers and I found a business which does ship to the UK & US. I have signed up for an account and if all goes according to plan (which includes the cost of shipping) I might be able to ship prints to the US & UK soon.

Looking forward to see where this endeavor takes me.

In closing.

A few more people have subscribed to my newsletter and I’d like to say thanks and welcome to my journey. There has also been some more discoveries of other interesting photography related channels which I’ll share more of over the weekend.

Thanks for reading : )

If you’re interested in supporting my work you can do so in the following ways: My Paystack store front where you can purchase some of my photos. My Paystack payment page where you can make a once off donation {subscriptions are in the works} OR lastly you can subscribe to my newsletter on Substack.

Apartment photos, journaling and other notes

Everything that’s created comes out of silence. Your thoughts emerge from the nothingness of silence. Your words come out of this void. Your very essence emerged from emptiness. All creativity requires some stillness.

06:32 AM.

I woke up earlier but it’s cold this morning. I did however mention I wanted to get some photos early. And once you type it online it is set in pixels. Outside didn’t feel cold but as I stood there, waiting for the shutter to close on a 25 second exposure, I started feeling it. I also felt the quiet. The sheer silence of a Sunday morning. After a few minutes some birds woke up. A car passed by on a nearby road, the revving engine disappear to the south. An someone started playing music and this transported me to a different place in my mind.

If this reads more poetic or eloquent than what I usually write you’re right. It feels like it, né?

Today emphasized what I, and many others, have know for a long time – mornings tend to be a very creative time. I am unsure whether this is because we are fully rested. Or perhaps thoughts and mental notes fermented into ideas overnight. Like opening a window and morning light streams in to reveal all things in the room.

Apartment complex early in the morning. — Just before sunrise.

These photos were both taken early this morning. The first one still has two starts in the top left corner. Without all the lights on in the evening this complex might look like just another normal set of buildings.

I also noticed the spots and marks I from earlier images are still there so it might be another issue but I’ll keep looking for it as I shoot more.

Journaling

After 103 days of not writing in my journal I opened it again.

I started penning a few things about how the past 103 days have been difficult. How most of my days are spent just feeling meh. Going through the motions. Eat, sleep, rave, repeat.

But I don’t rave.

From tomorrow I think I will open my day with journaling again and see if it sparks more thoughts, sparks more reasons to keep doing what I do. Gain more inspiration from the challenges I find on my path. Instead of thinking “wtf” when I see varies things of sheer stupidity, try so think “this doesn’t bother me”. I’ve been trying this for a few days since reading a Substack article and I have to say I now care about a lot less small bullshit annoying things than I used to : )

Other notes

I read an Austin Kleon post as well and he mentioned analog zines.

Just before the start of autumn (fall for my American readers) I made a decision to take as many photos as possible in the three months which the season spans. It’s almost the start of winter, based on the calendar and what I learned at school about 35 years ago.

Those photos have to be sorted, picked, repicked and then placed into some form of story. The purpose thereof is to share with readers the mornings of autumn here in South Africa. I used mostly two cameras – my mobile phone and my Kodak compact. Once I’ve done all the hard yards of making my shaky snaps look pretty I will share it online.

In closing

Tomorrow it is back to the grindstone. The proverbial meatgrinder called Monday. I hope to carry this ‘happy’ mentally a bit further into the week. And I wish you a great Sunday and a better Monday.

Thanks for reading : )

If you’d like to support my work you can do so by following this link to my Paystack payment page. Support from readers will enable me to put more time into the things I truly enjoy. In doing so I can share more of these things and thoughts around them with you : )

Alternatively you can subscribe to my newsletter on Substack which you can read here.

A round up of the week.

It’s Saturday night, round about eight o’clock.

It’s been a rough week. As most weeks are for me. Long hours at work tend to take their toll on all of us.

Working long hours ~~tends to~~ drains me. I’d like to get down after work and sit down, strap in and start to write at least for an hour but I can’t be bothered. Just too tired. This is why Saturdays & Sundays are my most creative times. No work. I have a rule which I enforce once I get on my bicycle and start my trip home: no shop talk at home. This is a separation for me. My line in the sand.

Perhaps I should stop writing about it as well 0_O.

I have been working on a topic for a future newsletter. A culture of sharing. I remember when the first mobile phones arrived in South Africa back in the 90’s. The size of a brick. With the battery life of a brick. And how amazed we were by sending SMS’s. We don’t do those anymore. We use WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal or whatever your poison is.

We don’t share photos like we used to. It was always in an envelope, sitting around a table or in group, taller people looking over your shoulders as you sorted through the images. Now we just click “share” and it’s away. It feels like the connection is lost.

What I’ve been reading

I’m not a film photographer for a variety of reasons. Prime one being cost. So while film and the development are still out of reach I enjoy reading about the subject as much as I can. If you’re interested have a look at this post plus some great photos by Suzi.

My Journey with 35mm Film by Suzi

A New England Road Trip – NYC

Read on Substack

What I’ve been photographing

As I think more about my project about an apartment complex I take more photos – this one taken today and a lot earlier than the others I previously shared.

I got the idea to try and capture cars driving by with the long exposure and today I captured 3/3. I like the reflections in the windows of the apartments on the left. This block is different, probably because of the angle at which they are built.

Tomorrow I’m planning to get up at 5 and take a few photos in the early morning to see what these buildings look like when most people are still sleeping.

I cleaned my sensor the previous time but I still notice a mark appearing in the upper left corner. Will have to take another look at this today or tomorrow.

A set of apartments in a complex. — The sun sets in the west.

In closing

My next newsletter is going to be out on the 1st of June. In the edition I will be posting an interview with @okayphoto. Dan writes his newsletter on Substack and if you’re looking for interesting reads about film photography have a look at his newsletter. There is box on the right hand side just below the search bar if you’d like to subscribe to my newsletter. Currently every second Sunday but this might change in the future.

If you’re interested in supporting my work please have a look at my Paystack page. Here you can leave a tip, make a donation or consider a subscription based option.

Thanks for reading : )

Barbershop, 18-55mm and auto-focus problems.

The title is perhaps clickbait but it complements my thought process.

I had a haircut this morning and as I sat down one word came to mind: professional. Two young men from I think Algeria running a small barbershop at the local mall.

The barber recognized me from my previous job and we started discussion food, businesses and he told me about his brother who operates the local branch of a franchise selling vetkoek.

The idea of being professional in your job, whether you work for yourself or someone else is an important concept. A lot of people I worked with during the years tended to stop caring about this aspect because they didn’t like the job. My thinking was always you never know who is watching.

When you are professional at work it tends to [hopefully] trickle into other areas of your life. You manage your situation at work and so to your photography business. You manage your website or newsletter professionally and feel inspired to apply this approach to other pursuits.

Being professional has a knock on effect which we don’t always see or understand.

An image of four windows in an apartment complex. Image is taken at night and the light is visible from the outside. — Shapes.

The past few nights I used a 18-55mm lens to capture images for my Apartments project. The focal length here is 55mm, f/6.3 and a shutter speed of 25 seconds. It has been cropped to a 1:1 ratio.

I like this image because of the primary colors and the shapes. The big square formed by the smaller squares draws my eye to these specific windows in the complex. In the top left hand corner is another sliver of light. It’s the bathroom window of the apartment at the very top on the left.

I don’t like this image because of the angle of the roof. Nothing can be done about it but with a tighter crop I could remove it but it adds some type of perspective on the building. Without it I think the windows might just ‘float’ in the darkness. Similarly the window to the left is a bit distracting. A better crop could probably also solve this issue.

Auto-focus problems.

I was out early this morning with my Kodak camera. It struggles with auto-focus when there aren’t enough light. These ‘mistakes’ do however make for some interesting photos.

Blurry image of a few lights. — Specular.

Perhaps these aren’t as much problems as they are me just not waiting for the auto-focus to find its spot. I could play around with it in future, see it as an increase in shutter speed?

This finishes of my post for today. Wishing you a great Sunday and a blessed week ahead. The latest edition of my newsletter is out today and I talk about a fog filled morning in April. If you’re not a subscriber you can find my Substack here.

Thanks for reading : )

Almost weekend.

‘Weekend’ has no meaning for me.

This is probably the only thing I miss from my time at school – having two days in a row off.

Windows from an apartment block. — Photo from my project around apartments.

I’ve spent a few evenings this week taking some photos for my Apartment project. This is one of my favorites. I like the left side of the photo. The open window with a blueish tint and the orange & red windows next to it. Asking questions like what is happening here tonight. Or winding down for the evening.

I was fortunate to capture these images as the government is sponsoring power outages in the form of load shedding. If you aren’t familiar with this and you’d like to see the reaction of South Africans to this check out their X profile.

This is a photo I took back in 2022.

I’ve been spending a lot of time looking through my photos I took a few years ago. Mostly for sentimental reasons but also to see what I did back then when I got started with photography.

I took some photos during the COVID pandemic and I’m busy with something around those images. I’d like to see other photographers work around this – not the popular ‘togs but the snapped-this-on-my-phone type stuff. How the everyday Joe & Jane experienced it. If you’ve got something in this line I’d like to see it, feel free to share a link here or on Substack.

Thanks for reading : )

Slow and steady.

It’s been a while since I went to a gym.

Somewhere in April 2024 I went for the final time [ based on my gym contract ]. A two year path had come to an end. I started lifting weights and training at 16. Nothing too serious but I was in fairly good shape.

Going to the gym was another one of those “out of the comfort zone” things for me. Introverted person going into a space where extroversion is the name of the game. The guy with the biggest muscles standing in his tank flexing. The three guys I see each morning working out together – motivating one another to get that final rep in.

Long story short I started lifting weights again yesterday. Just bicep curls and single arm rows.

But my story isn’t about gym or exercises. Nope. It’s about starting.

Starting [ your thing ] is a difficult thing. Uncertainty. Will I succeed? What will my friends, family think? I will look like a complete beginner. People will laugh at me. All these are thoughts which go through the minds of tons of people starting out. I know because they went [ and still do ] through my mind when I went to the gym three years ago.

They went through my mind on the first morning I went out with my camera to start taking photos of the streets. They taunted me as I started my Substack. And when I bought my domain earlier this year and launched my website.

Birds sitting on a telephone line. — Birds of a feather.

Looking back.

The best thing about starting is the part where you look back.

Hundreds of hours in the gym. Thousands of reps. More than 100 newsletters published. 38 posts. Thousands of photos taken. It is quite possible that you won’t believe how far you have come. We don’t really consider the journey, although we should. We tend to think about goals and achievements as a two part race.

A woman busy on her phone. A man is walking past her and looking into a shop. — Morning traffic.

The beginning and the end.

The part in between is just a important. It is where you reflect and look back. Where you take stock and look forward. These things, exercise, photography, writing they don’t really end. It’s a continuous thing. You summit one mountain and then see another in the distance.

Rinse and repeat.

Take a look at your own journey. No matter what you’re doing be glad you started. Keep putting in the reps. Day by day, line by line.

It will pay off.

Thanks for reading : ) If you felt inspired, motivated or enjoyed what you read consider supporting my work. I have a Paystack payment page in the side bar on the right. Alternatively please share my work or follow me on Substack.

Drying chili, growing herbs and chilling.

“The best teacher is experience and not through someone’s distorted point of view”

Another Sunday.

Hope is has been a good one for you. For me it hasn’t been too bad. Spent the morning doing a few chores, finished the next edition of my newsletter and as I type a chicken curry is on the stove.

A photo of a shadow pattern on a gate. — How many shapes in the shadow?

I enjoy spending time in the garden. I’ve grown chili quite a bit in the past. A few seasons back my yield from four plants added up to +/- 2 pounds. Doesn’t sound like a lot but it was – for the whole year I didn’t have to buy chili at all. I even shared a few with my friends and former co-workers.

Next season I plan to grow some again. Chilis tend to make the soil acidic and I’ve left the soil where they used to grow empty for the past year or so. I have a few varieties I want to try once Spring rolls [no pun] around – serrano peppers, thai chili, Habaneros and some cayenne peppers.

A photo of some chilis. Habanero, Thai and cayenne. — Hot stuff

I plan to take out the seeds and dry the chili for some chili flakes. I’ve eaten all of these peppers before and I’m looking forward to some freshly grown chilis. In small quantities obviously.

Other plants in my garden at the moment as thyme and rosemary plus some flatleaf parsely.

A photography of a thyme bush. — More thyme please.

A photo of a small rosemary bush. — Rosemary.

The thyme was bought at a local nursery and the rosemary I grew from a cutting.

The next edition of my newsletter is about a Sunday morning a few weeks ago when we had some nice fog on the morning. If you’re curious to read about it you can subscribe to my newsletter on the right side of the page.

The photo project I am working on is coming along nicely. I went through some old photos today and found shots of the apartment complex from a few years ago. I’ll post some of these during the week on Notes.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your Sunday : )

Apartment photo & week ahead.

It is cold outside tonight.

57F according to Accuweather. A low of 39F tomorrow morning. It has been a busy week. Not much time for morning photography or writing. I did however manage to write the next edition for my newsletter which will be out next Sunday.

An apartment block with lights on in the windows. In the front a long exposure light trail. — Lights and trails.

I took a few more photos this evening for my Apartment series. I’m starting to think about this project more often. I ask more questions around the subject. What. Who. Why. I feel this is as important as the images I take.

Tomorrow is Sunday (yay). Another opportunity to unwind from a work week. Another opportunity for writing and photography. My writing has taken a bit of a back seat lately. Mostly due to long hours at work. Getting home I usually find myself drained and I tend to eat, burn an hour on YouTube and then head to bed.

For the coming week I’m going to substitute my YouTube fix with writing. A pen, some paper and just scribble down ideas and thoughts. On the upside this is post no. 38 on my website which I’m impressed with. These small daily (kind-off) posts helps to keep building momentum and often spins into ideas for newsletter and more posts.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a splendid weekend : )

If you enjoy reading my work please consider supporting me via my Paystack page. I also offer some of my photos for sale.

Herbs, houses and photos.

My fault, my failure, is not in the passions I have, but in my lack of control of them.

Another glorious autumn Sunday. May the 4^th – Happy birthday brother : )

I went to town this morning on a few errands. Again reminded by the massive benefits of walking. Stoics often talk about walking and it’s power. I’m not talking about walking away just about taking a walk. Instead of driving or cycling, just go on the shoelace express.

A street lined with trees. On the right side of the image a palisade fence. — Make like a tree.

A 45 minute walk does wonders for the mind and I often miss walking to & from work. It was the time when I ‘solved’ problems in my mind. Time away from people trying to get your attention. Time away from troubles. Where you just walk and focus on the environment around you. Deep breaths. Smell the pine trees. Smell the freshly mowed lawns. Hear leaves crunching under your feet. Feel the cold wind against your face.

Herbs.

Today I picked more herbs from the small garden I keep. I have some flat leave parsley, rosemary and two thyme bushes.

I enjoy the value I get from plants. The peace and (mostly) quiet a garden gives. The same as walking it gives you a bit of time away from things troubling you. And the added benefit of being able to use what you grow. South Africa has a good climate for growing with plenty of sunshine during the summer months.

A building behind a palisade fence. A door is visible behind the fence in the center of the image. — Brickwork.

In the past we’ve grown chili, tomatoes, spinach, potatoes and pumpkins. I tend to focus on the simple stuff. And this season I’m putting more focus on herbs.

The rosemary plant was grown from a cutting. It took about a month of TLC but eventually started sprouting roots and in spring time I’m planning to make a few more cuttings so I can have at least three rosemary bushes. All the herbs in the garden we use in our food. It makes a big difference in whatever we cook plus the idea of “I grew this” is pretty cool.

Houses.

I wanted to study architecture when I was growing up.

A view of a building through a palisade fence. — Fenced in.

The love and interest in buildings never waned and a few years ago I stumbled up a great channel on YouTube. I won’t like to the channel because it’s simple enough to find but I will share the website here were you can find beautiful architecture. The photographs are really good and show you the level of detail in many of these buildings.

https://openspaceseries.com/blog/open-space-the-steve-mcqueen-residence-hugh-m-kaptur-1964

In closing.

For the rest of the Sunday I tend to take it easy. With a new work week ahead I want to go in as focused & relaxed as possible. The public holiday are finished for the time being so long weekends and short work days are something of the past. If you’re interested in purchasing some of my photos you can find my storefront here.

A telephone poles with lines diverging into different directions. A few birds in the background. — Segments.

Thanks for reading : )

A personal touch.

I was at work this morning and a regular customer entered.

He comes in every few months and orders portions of biltong to be vacuum sealed. Afterwards we started talking about him calling ahead to cut down on his waiting time. He mentioned he already had one of our businesses cards.

A window with letters written on it. The business sells platters, pies, cupcakes and birthday cakes. — Window dressing.

The words personal touch came to mind. It is what sets apart a small business from a big corporation.

A big business launches a new feature: membership rewards. It personalizes the hell out of things. “Shop your regulars”. “Specialized deals for you”. I had a problem with one of my orders a while ago – they sent me an item I didn’t order.

“Hello, [mystery brand], how can we help?”

The person on the other side of the line doesn’t know my name despite it being on my app. The same business didn’t care to respond to previous complaints I had. This same retailer makes an estimated R20.38 million profit per day. It tries to solve problems with refunds. Instead of addressing issues causing the problems.

A small business who doesn’t make an estimated R20.38 million profit per day needs to approach clients differently. You stick with it and become an institution. My previous job was like this – I saw children grow up. I saw people date, get engaged and then get married. I spoke to people about good things, bad things, politics, sports, etc.

In a small business – you need to get to know your customer. You need to become one of the family. Apart from a great product this is how you survive against the R 20 million a day corporations. You’re customer service, the one to one interactions needs to be above exceptional.

Coming from a background of working for small businesses I look at customer service a lot different than the average person. Is the cashier friendly? Are they talking to other people while serving me? Is the waiter attentive to what I ordered the previous ten times I drank my regular cappuccino at the establishment?

In a tight economy and customer service these small differences often helps to sell. It helps you to retain customers when you know how they like their food prepared or you ask about how their vacation was.

Food for thought.

This is a bit different from my usual writing but I often sit and wonder about these business related ideas. How do you incorporate something like this into your small business? How do you use these types of things to sell? I don’t think pushing something down someone’s throat will do the trick. Believe me I’ve tried.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. And tell me what you think about these business type posts? Yay or nay?

Thanks for reading : )