It’s the first morning in a few days which wasn’t overcast.
As winter approaches the moon flips on it’s back. Waning Crescent is the proper astronomical term.
Cold autumn morning.
No phone. No book. No podcast. No computer. No paper. No instagram. No X. No substack. No music. No one. Just me & Acre, a coffee (and a camera), listening to the birds, sitting in the sunshine. This is part of every day lately and in many ways the best part.
Sometimes you have to break away from tech. I used to sit in front of my computer before I went to work in the mornings. Then I decided “let’s skip today”. Which turned into I don’t sit in front of my computer in the mornings.
Am I missing out on some free time where I could be productive? Perhaps.
Do I have to compress each available second of time into a hobby or a passion project?
I don’t think I should.
Sometimes it is good to do nothing. Keep it super simple. Drop the phone somewhere. Set it to silent for a few minutes. Or an hour. Technology is really good. It has a lot of applications. Good and bad. But what did we do before the internet? What did we read before newsletters? What did we listen to before podcasts?
Many of us grew up without the internet to guide us in our formative years. We turned out alright. We didn’t spend hours with a phone glued to our hands. Time away from tech should be an important thing for anyone trying to get away from the fast paced rush of modern life.
I decided to capture a few photos for my Apartment series. With colder nights being clearer it stands to reason for me to get crisper photos.
It was an interesting thirty minutes. Cold evenings also tend to be much quieter. Fewer people on the street. Less cars, although I got one or two good light trail images which I plan to edit and add for sale in the next few days.
What are the neighbors doing?
The image on top has been run through Photoshop Express. I didn’t see them at first but the good thing about this image is the shadows of the tree against the walls. There is a house just opposite with a massive light in the drive way which is causing these shadows.
And when I thought it wouldn’t get better there was a fog rolling in about an 3o minutes after I took my last photo. This (obviously) prompted me to head out again and take a few more photos.
Foggy.
I shot with the same settings, F/2.0 and a 2 second exposure. I’m using an XE2 and if you put it in T mode on the dial it is supposed to give you the option to change the time the shutter remains open. I’ve tried it by rotating the command dial but it isn’t working as I expected it to.
The lens I am using is a XF35mm and it’s probably the sharpest lens I have.
What are you thoughts on shooting at night? Any interesting projects in the works? I’m looking for inspiration and interesting reads.
This morning was a great day for photography. Rain. You know those rainy day shots where the reflections of the road is just wow. The people with their umbrellas just all over the show.
It sucks if you’re walking in the rain and your raincoat decides to imitate a sieve. So there I was walking in the rain while the thunder rumbled around the sky.
I managed a few photos after I reached my usual hangout before work.
First photo is of the outside of a fruit & vegetable shop. The woman who works there arrives a bit later and opens the store for business. Sometimes we talk for a few minutes before I head to work. The lights, the orange / red from the wall and steel posts made a good composition. I did a b&w version as well but it doesn’t really capture the mood in my opinion.
Still closed.
Next image are two school children and their father walking to school. I see them each weekday morning and they often go into the shop, buy a few things and go on their way. I might try and capture a few more photos of them in future – as they leave & enter the store.
Going to school.
This is the opposite corner of where I stand. While I’m here I can often see the extent of stupidity in some road users. Speeding or just skipping the stop sign. Even seen an accident on this very corner.
I like this image because of the motion blur of the car. When taking a photo with the standard camera app I don’t always catch the blur. 9 out of 10 times I’ll freeze the car in the photo. No blur. The blur, the red car, the lights and the sign make this a interesting image for me.
Stop.
I’m busy working on a few things at the moment:
Getting a few more interviews ready. I enjoy the process around this – find out more about the photographer / writer / artist, looking at their work. Putting down a few questions to get some insights into them and their process. I’ll probably do this more in the near future.
Working on a post for me website. You might be tired of reading this but my time management is not good. The few hours I have after I arrive home gets divided up between a few things. I want to squeeze in “write for an hour” somewhere in there but at the moment I’m super tired so most evenings I don’t write. (I’ve forced myself to sit down and breath live into this post).
In closing.
A bowl of instant noodles with curry vegetables and a cup of coffee is waiting for me. I’d like to hear your feedback on these photos. Which one is your favorite? How do you spend your time after you arrive home from work, if you have a day job?
If you’re interested in supporting my work, consider a small donation on my Paystack page. One of the things on my to-do list is to setup a subscription plan via Paystack. I’ll link to it once it’s up and running.
Fog forms when the difference between air temperature and dew point is less than 2.5 °C (4.5 °F). Fog begins to form when water vapor condenses into tiny water droplets that are suspended in the air.
I woke up to lovely fog this morning.
Being a photographer my first reaction was to go outside. Snapped a few photos before heading into town. As I cycled & took photos (a compact camera plus quiet streets allows cycling and photography to take place at the same time) I felt the happiness I tend to feel around the colder months. Empty streets and misty mornings are right up there for me.
The photo below was taken at a local shopping mall. For an unknown reason they put a massive parking lot around the mall. It might get used if there is an event on but most of the time it is used by Bolt drivers or people learning how to drive.
Paved paradise.
Sundays are the most creative day of the week for me. This one even more so because tomorrow is a public holiday which means I can really do some creative work.
Here is a list of things which rolled around in my mind this morning as I sipped an overpriced coffee.
Write a second newsletter. Something shorter, more focused on what I read on Substack. A good way to build community.
Thought about the Substack app. How is the new layout for you? I skip the reels button completely (haven’t clicked it yet). The Subscriptions ‘page’ is my favorite in terms of layout.
I’d like to see more website links from the authors on Substack. One of my go-to is Seth Werkheiser’s website. A perfect example of building something for yourself outside the realm of algorithms.
This is perhaps a bit left field or it might not since I’m writing things down to an audience – what are your thoughts on documenting your life?
I won’t ever go a far as a reality show does where everything gets shown or shared but this is definitely more than I would have thought about a few years ago. Is this level of documenting normal? Is it small talk on the internet?
I’d like to read your thoughts here or on Substack.
I’ve been reading about photo projects for a while.
The urge to start something more concrete with my photography is a big one. I’ve mostly stopped posting on Instagram because we know it’s going to sh!t.
To an extent I did a lot of my photography with Instagram in mind. I used it as a portfolio although most of the people I photographed at one point or another rarely, if at all, found me through IG.
What are your neighbors doing?
A photography project isn’t only about going out and shooting a ton of photos. There has to be some type of thread which ties things together.
I live close to a large block of apartments. I haven’t been inside the area because it’s a gated community but I’d have to guess there is at least 100 apartments inside the community.
I can see these apartment blocks through the kitchen window. The lights in them have always intrigued me. I think about what people are doing or what is going on. Supper? Families spending time together? Dinner in front of a television or at a table?
I started doing some photography of these blocks over the past few years but nothing more came from it except the odd photo here and there which I liked. It wasn’t until the start of the year when I started to think about these photos and those apartments as having the makings of a photo project.
The apartment blocks in question.
And a few weeks ago I started to take long exposure photos of them. The street passing in front of the apartment blocks yield nice long exposures of cars driving past.
This is what I want to focus on for a photo project. Take photos at various times of day of these apartment blocks. Do a bit of writing around them. And if the photos are good enough put them online for sale.
I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. Have you started any new photo projects recently? Any ideas on your next one? If you’re selling photos online I also be interested in what your results and the journey has been like.
This morning was one of the first really cold ones. 64.4F according to the math. For Friday the expected high is going to be even lower.
This photo was the scene this morning as I stepped out the front door. Dark clouds lining the sky. Wind blowing in from the south east. A cold one.
My phone camera is the only camera with my during the morning. I want to leave my bicycle at home during the winter and take walks to work with my compact camera. Especially in the early morning when there isn’t a lot of light. I’ve taken some good photos in these low light conditions.
If you’re an Android user you’ll be familiar with PRO mode. It gives you an option to set the ISO, fool with the white balance and then adjust the exposure too. There is also a spot metering option. Something interesting which I might try in the next few days is the ratio option.
I like flipping the phone on its side and taking landscape shots. I will include the full landscape from the photo above.
I’ve tried the PRO mode a few times before. I don’t often use the exposure settings on my phone camera since it happens in the editing process. There seems to be a big difference in the two modes I think mostly related to the exposure. In the normal mode the scene seems a lot brighter.
I did some reading and one article mentions RAW files in PRO mode. I haven’t seen this option on my phone so it could be related to the Android version or perhaps the phone type.
In the past I’ve used the mobile version of Adobe Lightroom. It had the option to take photos using the app and this gave me some good results with longer exposure photos.
The phone camera is a great tool for me but I feel it is a bit of a crutch for me. Because it is always handy I often leave my other cameras at home and tend to fall back on this. It has it’s upsides but I don’t get the same experience (or quality) from the photos I take. And I feel disappointed in not opting for a proper camera.
Many photographers have made a name for themselves using phone photography. Nothing wrong there. For me, it’s not what I really have in mind for my work. I’d rather shoot with my Kodak compact camera and get a bit higher quality photo and a better all-round experience.
Sunday afternoons tend to bring out the creative in me.
It’s a day where I don’t have to put on a fake smile. It’s a day where I can be myself without all the pretending.
I thought about starting. If you’ve been reading some of my thoughts here and over on Substack you’ll know I want to start selling photos. The photo selling is one aspect I am looking at but realistically speaking I’d like to become financially independent.
A year ago, give or take a month or six, I had a bad experience with a business I worked for. TL;DR business got sold, staff didn’t want to work with the new owner so he retrenched everyone.
This (coupled with ten years of retail work) left a fairly sour taste in my mouth. And it left me with the realization of no job being a safe haven despite what I might think. By the same token I can say working for yourself is not safe either but at very least you’re doing something you enjoy.
So I sat down and started working through some ideas about how I can start earning additional income. It was natural for photography to fit into this plan.
Early morning.
Getting started.
The first steps in this, or any related journey, is to get started.
The level of your desire to become financially independent will not help one bit if you don’t start. And trust me, if you’ve never done this – the first steps are the most difficult.
A long time ago I did freelance website design & development. The search for clients took time. There was a lot of knocking on doors. After a few months I found my first client. The thrill of making money for myself, off my own efforts doing something I enjoyed is indescribable.
The first victory is the most important.
It sets you up for the next one. And more importantly it shows you what is possible when you work hard enough. You are responsible for the results you want. You might not succeed initially but trying is better than not trying.
Keep moving.
And it won’t be easy.
Wishing for things to be better only serves to make you more miserable. You sit and think about how you want to move to a different point in your life but you don’t do something to achieve it. This is a key ingredient for depression.
Think about what you’d like to achieve with your photography. Do you want to sell prints? Do you want to become a landscape photographer or a fine art photographer? Is it event and wedding photography which tickles your fancy?
Just start.
Take one photo of a landscape. Shoot with one model. Start looking at platforms where you can sell your work. Post online. Find a community. Get yourself out there. Make people aware of your work, what you can do. No one knows about the photos you want to sell. No one knows about your dreams unless you tell them about it.
Caveat.
As with most things in life it is best to be carefully optimistic. That’s my take anyway.
Does taking the first step mean your endeavor will be a success?
No.
Success isn’t a guaranteed thing. It isn’t promised to anyone. This is where the hard work comes in. Emailing potential clients looking for a website. Placing adverts. Marketing yourself. All these steps are going to make your successful. Even if you don’t achieve success you have gained the experience for your next attempt. Rinse and repeat.
If you got to the end I thank you for taking the time to read my work. Should you want to support me and put me a little bit closer to my goal of being financially independent please have a look at my Paystack page or consider subscribing to my newsletter on Substack.
I was reading this post about ethics in photography and it occurred to me how different photography has been for me in the small town I call home.
You can’t go full Bruce Gilden here. I promise you it won’t end well for you. I’ve seen people start fights for a lot less than someone pushing a camera in their face.
Baby.
People tend to think about cameras in two ways here.
First, as something used by people working for a newspaper. Perhaps a reference drawn from a movie or television series. When I went out with my camera a few years ago I regularly got the question: “Do you work for a newspaper?”
Two, cameras are ways of capturing indiscretion. Cameras are means to expose people. Used to make people pay for crimes or as tools to gather evidence.
Knowing this makes street photography here a bit more difficult than say New York. A camera draws attention. Not only for the interested or the curious but also for the potential thief. Theft is something which happens a lot. People stealing to eat or to feed a drug habit.
Having written all this – the ethics remain the same. Not matter where you take photos.
If you’re a hobby photographer, I think it weighs less on you than someone in a professional capacity. The photographer going into war zones, who has the mandate to document, is different. The photographer on assignment, looking to capture a gritty photo to share a different way of life.
When I go out I think about situations: if I see someone in a bad situation, do I want to take a photo to showcase & share their misery? Just because I can take the photo doesn’t mean I should. Will I lose out on a moment which could have made for a stunning photo? Perhaps. It is something I will have to live with.
Lighting up.
With these things in mind I adopted my approach and style to suit the conditions. I capture moments where I aim to show the subject but also leave them unidentified. I like the “back of the head” photos. Subjects walking away, subjects walking past. Subjects not ever looking directly at the camera.
If you’re interested in more about this topic please have a look at the newsletter I linked to, you’ll find it very enlightening.
As Winter keeps creeping closer we’ve been having some odd weather. The past few weeks brought us lots of rain. More than the previous years. And to many people this signals a cold winter.
A street lamp against a sky full of dark clouds.
This was taken a short walk from where I live. The wind tends to blow from the south east which is to the right in the image. The cold fronts come up from the Western Cape which starts happening in May and June. I’m looking forward to walking cold empty streets with my camera this year.
Fall.
This is my favorite image.
It’s a hall which is used for amateur boxing training & matches. It used to be in a terrible state a few years ago when illegal squatters moved in and took up residence inside the building.
In the two years it has been cleaned up and fixed. Boxing is a popular sport in the West Rand area. The two trees in the foreground are witstinkhout (Celtis Africana). The leaves on some of the trees are already turning yellow which makes for great photos.
For some time now I’ve been thinking about a certain topic: urban decay.
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay.
Looking around the town where I live there are some signs of urban decay. Infrastructure falling into disrepair mostly. Roads are disintegrating as no maintenance is done on them.
Another problem is refuse being dumped on corners. This morning I was on my way to work and took this photo.
Urban decay.
To the left you can see a few refuse bags lying on the side of the road. To the right of the image underneath the trees there was about ten or twelve refuse bags full of various sort of garbage.
It seems as a part of a town, city or country starts to collapse the people in the area follows suit. The mindset around keeping your city / town clean disappears. The morality seems to disappear.
This image is in one of the more “seedy” areas of town. I’ve been working here for about 10 years and I’ve seen some weird things here. People on drugs. Fist fights. Petty crime. ATM scammers. Sex workers, pushers, users. Guys on CAT, girls on meth. Police raids and mob justice. People getting killed and people dying from drug overdoses.
If nothing else, this place is interesting, at least from the perspective of a photographer and a storyteller.
