Month: August 2025

Sunday Round-up

An apartment block at night in the mist.
Foggy.

It’s been a few days.

Between work, writing and trying to take photos my days seem to blur into one messy things. The funk I found myself in a few weeks ago seems to be slowly going away and my energy levels are getting back to where they were. Perhaps the end of winter has something to do with it.

As I type this I’m working on a new interview, adding the final touches to a finished one and thinking of how I can change or rather improve on my existing writings for the newsletter.

A few thoughts have come across my mind surrounding my newsletter.

  • The idea of building community. I have less ambition to pursue the goal of getting paid subscribers. It would take away my pleasure I derive from writing. It has always served as an outlet for me, long before the idea of subscribers came into my mind. Switching from an outlet to an income based activity would most likely kill it for me.
  • Focus on interviews. Not because they get more view but because I find them to be an interesting process. Reading through the newsletters of photographers, looking through their photos. Approaching them and putting together the questions. This whole process is a good thing for me. In learning about other people I tend to discover more about myself. It sounds like a line from a self-help book but it gives me writing a purpose. I think it also fits well into the point above about community building.

Speaking of interviews, I’m leaving links below where you can find the last few I did with photographers on Substack.

Alicia from The Daily Film Project

Edition Fifty Eight by Richard Schulz

An interview with Alicia Paley from The Daily Film Project

Read on Substack

Berkay from Lightgrain

Edition Fifty Seven by Richard Schulz

An interview with Berkay from @lightgrain

Read on Substack

Suzi from Suziinframe

Edition Fifty Five by Richard Schulz

An interview with Suzi from @suziinframe

Read on Substack

Dan from Okayfoto

Edition Fifty Three by Richard Schulz

An interview with @okayfoto

Read on Substack

Steven from Out There

Edition 50 by Richard Schulz

An interview with Steven Thomas from Out There.

Read on Substack

Very talented people doing interesting things with their photography. And more importantly building the community of photographers on Substack.

tl;dr

Often we find ourselves in a place we don’t enjoy.

This can be a life situation, a work situation, a relationship. We want to solve this problem now. As I’ve discovered over the past month, sometimes it is best to let these things sort themselves out. Our propensity to rush towards solutions doesn’t always work out.

Thanks for reading : )

A day off.

Today was one of those great days for me.

A break in routine. A change up of the familiar. I had a day off from work. Initially I wanted to stay in bed. Catch up on as much sleep as possible (which we know isn’t possible). Get up late, spend the day drinking coffee and doing this I usually don’t have the option to do.

After some consideration and the fact that I needed a haircut I decided to head into town. But with a minor set of changes to my standard routine.

  • Slept until 7:50am. Usually up at 4:40am.
  • Cycled into town at a leisurely pace. Usually I speed in while dodging people in their steel cages with wheels.

After getting a haircut I went for a cup of coffee. As I left the barbershop I found this cool doormat in front of the business. The owner is from Algeria if I’m not mistaken and has a really chilled vibe to him.

A doormat with the words Hello You Lovely People printed on it.
Hello You Lovely People.

While having my coffee I spent some time scribbling and people watching. Looking at people going about their day-to-day is something I enjoy. As someone who is reserved and not too ‘extroverted’ this helps me understand people.

I have written this elsewhere but if you need to brush up your people skills, want to understand people better or just want to marvel at humanity then go into retail. You will learn quite a lot about yourself as well.

Here are some of the scribbles I made while drinking my coffee.

“The hustle of a coffeeshop. People in and out going about their day. Ambient music in the background designed to make you spend more. This is a far cry from the barbershop where I just spent about 13 minutes. Quiet. Just the noise of the electric trimmer turning me into a presentable human being.”

While I sat down there was a mother and young son having breakfast. He kept taking food from her plate and when he caught my eye I waved to him. He got shy fairly quickly and ducked under the table much to his mother’s delight. After finishing their breakfast they had the remained of the breakfast packed into a doggy bag and left the shop.

“turn
short
splashes
into
longer
pieces”

The piece above is more focused on my writing. Take the short pieces I write and expand them into things which have a bit more meaning. Write more descriptively and write more personally.

As I finish this post the clock says almost 2 pm. It’s been a relaxing day and I hope to take much of these ideas into the weekend as I try to get my writing back on track.

As always, thanks for reading : )

A view from the back seat.

I haven’t had the energy to write for a while.

There has been a slow decline in my “urge” to write. I don’t want to completely stop writing. I do get a measure of satisfaction from it. The scratching and scribbling in notebooks and on blank pieces of paper. Those still happen but as I return to these moments in history I find less and less things of interest.

I don’t know whether it is a type of burnout. Perhaps. I’ve been writing on Substack for more than two years. Then eight months ago I get a website. I’ve had it for a while but didn’t do much with it.

Looking back it’s been a rough year for me when it comes to my mental state. Lost my mother. Lost one of my best friends. Been in a job for a year which I have to do (money and all that). All these things feel as if they are tying my down. They aren’t all I focus on but when it gets quiet and my mind has a second to recover or stand still they are the main antagonists in my story.

A light blue house. In the foreground a sign indicating the two names of the streets.
The pale blue house.

I guess I’m stuck.

Writers’ block. Photographers’ block. How ever I want to phrase it I am at the juncture. The one where I know what I have to do (write and take photos) but I’m not motivated enough to do it. I’m thinking “why?” quite a lot when it comes to my photography and writing these days. Not because I want to stop doing it because it does give me some fulfillment. But does it provide enough? And once I get “enough” will that be enough?

Writing for an audience probably does this. Suddenly you don’t know what the audience wants. You’re uncertain if your writing is still valid or relevant. Like when your photos don’t hit the spots on social media.

I think I’m just uncertain at this point in time. About many things. I’ve put to rest the idea of living of my writing & photography. I haven’t ever considered this is idea to be plausible but at very least I thought “I might sell a photo or two“. For writing: the bar for entry is pretty much gone but making money from it, a lot more difficult than some hustle bro would like you to believe.

Two traffic signs in the foreground. In the background an orange building.
Turn ahead.

Am I a little bit jealous of those making money from their hobbies? Fuck, it’s difficult to say. The people I follow seem to be doing alright – I might be a little bit jealous. Mostly of the ability to do more of the things which I enjoy while I feel stuck in first gear. It’s almost like Facebook all over again. The highlight reels which turned so many sad people into really depressed people.

To Let. A blurry image of a sign in a shop window.
To Let.

tl;dr

Writing & photography is taking a bit of a back seat in my life at the moment. I’m still here, I’m still on Substack. I’m still taking photos but just not for public consumption. Hopefully I’ll be back to my old self in no time.

Thanks for reading : )

Being frustrated with the status quo.

A close up photo of a cup of coffee.
Afternoon coffee.

I recently moved my desk into a different room and as I type this the winter sun is right on my face. It’s a nice distraction and it helps to warm up the chilly afternoon. Sundays are mostly spent on distraction. YouTube videos, reading Substacks and browsing the internet.

This calms me down and gets me ready for the week ahead.

During the past few weeks the thoughts of taking my photography professional [or at least semi professional] has been on my mind a lot. I’d like to get into food photography. Today as I sat with a steaming bowl of instant noodles and a cup of coffee the urge to take photos of my food made me reconsider. You know the feeling when you get swept up in something? Rush to find a tripod, switching from the kit lens to a 50 mm with an extension tube. The sun light just perfect. No need for the external flash.

It’s the feeling we get when doing something we enjoy. So much we become distracted from everything else around us. For a few minutes or hour or however long we aren’t focused on the present. The problems. The difficulty.

I’m not under any illusions around this. Finding clients, taking photos under different circumstances and for money isn’t a ‘fun’ thing. It wouldn’t be how I normally take photos.

My biggest reason for doing this would be to effect some change in my life. At the moment things are fairly static. I have a routine set up which is strangling my creative side. Not enough creative outlet. Hence the urge to do something creative with my photography. Is this the only creative thing I could do? No. But it is also in part the idea of looking for a challenge. Can I do this? Is it possible for me to go out, find a client, take photos for them.

I’m looking for growth in my photography. Not the static, stagnant photos I capture on my way to work. I’m curious to see how my skills will match up in a ‘real world’ situation.

We’ve all found ourselves at a point like this. The urge to do something different. Being frustrated with the status quo in our lives.

I leave you with two more photos: the first one is a close up of the bowl of noodles which re-awakened this existential crisis and the second is another of the apartment complex which I photograph as part of an ongoing photo project.

A close up photo of a bowl of instant noodles.
Noodles.
A set of apartments in an apartment complex. A light trail runs in front of the buildings.
A motorcycle going by.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your Sunday : )

The importance of perseverance.

A photo of a street lamp in the foreground. In the distance a hazy horizon just before sunrise. The dark sky on top and the pink red and orange of the sun in the bottom third of the image.
Early mornings. Kodak M531 & Snapseed edit.

Another Saturday evening.

At the end of the work week I finally find time to write a little bit. I have not been as focused on writing as I’d like to be. Most of my evenings are spent watching a little bit of YouTube and then going to sleep.

Finding time for a hobby is often one of the more difficult parts of it. You might have more time than myself. Or less. Squeezing in a few paragraphs here and there might be all you have time for. Scribbling down new names for the character with a bio in short hand just so you don’t forget it.

Regardless of how much you do – it’s important to do something. To keep the momentum going. Today one paragraph. Tomorrow two. Or two pages. Put down a few ideas on what you’d like to write about in your next newsletter.

All the small sessions tend to add up. You find an idea in something you wrote earlier during the day. As you look back you discover a gem hidden away in your Keep notes. Or a post-it note stuck on the corner of your computer screen with a cryptic phrase on it.

These tend to keep us going. The bursts of excitement during a long idea drought. It nourishes our attempts. It says “stick with it. keep doing what you’re doing”. Perhaps it is for your latest novel. Or a newsletter. It might be nothing more than a hobby. An attempt to create a career as a writer / photographer / painter.

On consumption

I’ve slowly stopped reading Substack on my computer. Mostly because while the tab is open my mind tends to wander – first YouTube and then Pinterest. Then a myriad of other things which randomly jumps into my mind. I open Substack on my computer only when I write something [comment / note / newsletter].

I’ve cut down on my YouTube watching. The amount of “X things to do to make your Y better” videos I watched was too much. Honestly I didn’t learn as much from the as the creator hoped. All I managed to do was fall into comparison traps.

Reading is one thing I try to do but I curate a whole lot more. What value does this newsletter add? Can I gain some knowledge which I didn’t have before? A different insight into a problem I might be experiencing.

With that said, I think we should [on occasion] read / watch something which has nothing to do with our particular craft. It’s a reset for us. Like putting your camera down and not taking photos for a week. Or not writing. Blasphemy I know but sometimes the lack of something makes you see it with a renewed vigor when returning to it.

Thanks for reading : )