Hows your Health?

It’s flu season and the office I work in is gripped by it. We all know it is important to look after your health but I wonder what employers think of that. Do they support their staff when they need time off or work with the attitude of “if you arn’t here I can save some money and not pay you”.

Yeah, we all know that many fall into the latter and suffer the high turn over they deserve for it. That being said for the many freelancers looking to keep themselves healthy (it won’t work your doomed but this should make you feel better) here is my 2 pence worth of input on the subject.

EATING,

Remember to eat. HA! bet you thought I was going to say ‘eat healthy’ first, didn’t you!

Your body uses food for energy. When you stop eating your work will suffer and so will you. Creativity doesn’t do well on an empty stomach either so pay attention to your bodies nutritional needs.

Eat well. A healthy balanced diet will mean you have more energy and help just about every other aspect of your life.  One very serious piece of advice here…for god sake vary what you eat! Nothing kills good intentions like gripping boredom!

Reduce the stimulants. Blasphemy, I know but too much coffee can lead to anxiety, dependence and, a lot of other bad stuff. Be sensible about your intake of these things and remember that extremes will ALWAYS have a bad effect on you.

Remember this old Army phrase:- Shit in, shit out.

EXERCISE

Urg, get off your arse and walk/run/cycle/climb/swim…you get the idea. The thing to take away from this is to keep moving! Especially if you are not during most of your day. Find a way to incorporate movement into your day to day and stick to it. Good intentions do not change people, habits do.

Whatever your habit for movement becomes you will have to reinforce it with repetition until it becomes a habit. An easy one to start with is stretching at your desk. This wonderful activity takes a grand total of 2 minutes if you really take your time and does your body the world of good.

Exercising proper ( something that gets your heart rate up) also helps a lot with……

SLEEP

6 to 8 hours….the studies on how monumentally important this is are pilling up. I know its not always possible, I have sleepless nights too but I do things to make them few and far between.

1 hour before bed I avoid screens. Spend 8 hours in bed…doesn’t matter if I can’t sleep, I just spend 8 hours resting, that is good for you too! I avoid eating 2 hours before going to bed, mostly because I get bad indigestion but because it also can muck around with my sleep pattern. I try to separate the work area from my sleeping area. Take a partner, not a phone, to bed. If it is your alarm clock….buy an alarm clock!! Leave your phone on DO NOT DISTURB and anywhere else other than your room to charge.

MEDITATION

This sounds like the most hippy dippy one by far but don’t leave just yet. Forget all the spiritual stuff that is associated with this for a second and instead look in to at the science-based physical effects of meditation. Meditation is there to essentially calm you the fuck down! Deep, slow breathing acts to reduce heart rate and lowers cortisol levels which means less stress and anxiety. Focusing on your breathing allows your mind to focus on something very simple and improves attention spans. There are other positive effects as well but I recomend giving it a bash to find out how it can benefit you.

Hope this helps. Remember you don’t really notice your health until its gone.

Be polite.

Be efficient.

Have a plan to shoot everyone you meet.

cyberpunkonline:

December 17th 2018… the day the porn died.

‘Show your working’ was possibly the most annoying thing I heard at school. Oddly enough, I now love the act of taking notes and do it on a daily basis.

While it might seem like extra paperwork, the note-taking process for me has become a massive part of my workflow with every idea I have been written down in some manner so it can be preserved clearly later.

One of the great advantages of writing down these ideas is the freedom to express any thought in a form that is private. Regardless of how bad an idea I might have it really helps to be able to look at it without the need to worry what someone else might think. It can also let you dissect bad ideas for nuggets of genius and helps develop it into something useful. This really takes the pressure off and while these ideas, in reality, might not be any use at the moment it may have some use in other plans I put together.

This flow means I have a resource to go back to again and again when I am putting together a shoot. A resource that really only gets more detailed with time. My notes play a vital part in just about everything I do and keep me focused on the task at hand.

BUT, it also allows me to write down any tangents that I might want to explore in later shoots. This again only give me more to draw from later and keeps me on task.

While the initial notes that I take really aren’t that much use to anyone, the more advanced plans can really help when I try to communicate my ideas to others before or during a shoot. Any drawings, clippings and, diagrams also help if I am trying to communicate a mood, pose, theme or feeling to people.

A great book to read if you want to understand the importance of note taking is ‘Nude photography Notebook’ - the work of Allen Jenkins by Eddie Ephraums. When you read it you actually get a solid understanding of what Allen was doing, how he got the results he did and why he did it.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/504636.Nude_Photography_Notebook

One last thing, if you are like me and really only shoot digital the act of note booking and scrapbooking may feel a little odd. I exclusively only do these 2 things with real books and pens. Contact with art supplies!

The tactile loss from analogue to digital is actually something a lot of people lament in the creative industry. Being able to utilise the digital and analogue not only helps me create better work it also makes my work more enjoyable and therapeutic.

Enough of my chat, what about you. Share with us your thoughts on note taking and scrapbooking.

Do you have any tips for anyone starting out?

Landscapes - What’s the fucking point?

They are everywhere.

Instagram is chock-a-block with lovely, over HDR (high dynamic range) style images that seem to get endless ‘likes’ and almost every wanna-be influencer, including myself, is posting pretty pictures of every time they stop to tie their shoelaces.

It is just a fucking tree!

With that in mind, we have to think about our reasons for taking these kinds of shots an whether or not, in this age of mass content we live in, if there really is any point to it and are we losing our wonder of what is all around us?

f8 and be there!

If you are a photographer, you will have heard this said about landscape photography. And to a certain extent, it’s true. Small aperture and be where you want to be. Surely that’s all there is to it.

Well, it wasn’t. Aside from the obvious tabbing (TAB = Tactical advance to battle/Bath/Bar…whatever it means 'to walk with a purpose’) to where ever you need to be it used to be the case that map reading skills would be required, maybe even (SHOCK HORROR) a tent and camping skills. That of course, is all gone. A nice Sunday morning walk and a quick iPhone shot of your significant other guiding you to where ever is an Instagram hit every time.

Nowhere is new!

Everywhere has been photographed (or so it seems). Nothing is new. A prime example of this is Edinburgh. If you do actually find a lovely spot in the hoards of tourists with ‘better’ cameras than you I would put money on there being a small plaque on the ground where you are standing from the City of Edinburgh Council letting everyone know this is a great spot to take a photo.

This too has another negative effect besides ruining your chances to get the ‘origonal’ image. That plaque will have been geotagged by the City of Edinburgh Council and as such, it guides literally millions of people to that location which cities and countries are now coming to terms with the fact it is significantly damaging our environment. Not just with erosion but travel pollution and waste created from the hospitality sector is becoming a very serious concern.

So wait, what is the fucking point?

1) Self-exploration is good.

Travel helps you understand and define who you are and the world around you. Even if it is just a walk down the beach. People actually make money on Instagram not from original locations but from original ideas. What I mean is, you might be in the same place as 100 other people are today but there is an original angle to what you are seeing. find it!

Travel is good for you, they said.

2)Hone your skills.

f8 and be there…and everything else too. Learn composition with one of the most unforgiving tutors and models around. Earth. Add to the difficulty of finding a location that you only have a 30-second window in your day to get specific shots in specific light in specific weather and you will learn timing+ patients.

The be there part is actually overlooked a little too often. If you want that shot at the top of the mountain you could try to get a helicopter there I suppose, more likely you are going to have to learn to hill walk, camp, map read and about half a dozen skills of field craft just to get to where you need to be. Or you could just go for a walk outside. Same rules still apply.

Had to learn to Ski to even attempt anything like this.

3) Not everywhere has been photographed.

And if it has been, it has changed since someone was last there…I think…you should go find out. Also, maybe not geotag where it was taken. Preserve nature and reward your skill and endurance with a little exclusivity not to mention saving the planet from image hunters.

Everyone else was shooting the horizon, I just looked off to the right for a second and caught this

4)What the fuck else are you going to take a beautiful image of!

Seriously, Earth is stunning (for the moment). capture that.

5) Remember my rant about people destroying the planet?

Well, sadly it’s true. One of the best ways to combat this is to show people how this destruction is happening. Show the world how their casual pursuits are causing real damage.

Yeah, its a bit green peace but we are the first generation to KNOW they are destroying the planet but seem to willfully ignore it. Beauty can also be tragic too.

David has something to say about this too…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/03/david-attenborough-collapse-civilisation-on-horizon-un-climate-summit?CMP=soc_568

Be polite

Be efficient

Have a plan to photograph everyone you meet

And

-Sometimes you actually can’t do the job without it! Have you ever tried to do an underwater shoot without an underwater camera? Maybe you could try a UV shoot with no means of generating UV light?

My point here is that in some cases it is absolutely mandatory to have the kit you actually need to functionally take a photograph but for the rest of this post I will be trying to focus on gucci kit that can dazzle us all. The question really is  ‘can really make a difference to your photography.’

THE ARGUMENT FOR KIT

• The better your kit, the faster you become.

This is actually true. I know, it’s annoying to hear but with the more expensive kit you (should) be getting more manual control of your system. With that control comes speed and with proper practise, you will be able to utilise a camera system intuitively with the help the almighty button!

Yes, it’s true. The more you pay the more buttons you get.

• It becomes easier too.

See the above statement about speed. That also means using your kit gets easier (with practise) as you are fumbling through menu after menu just to change the ISO setting.

• It looks more Pro when your gear looks shiny.

Ok, so this is tenuous but unfortunately when you rock up at whatever shoot your doing and pull out your point and shoot it looks weird and a little unprofessional.

That is not to say the results will be, oh no, if its what you use to create your epic work then that’s what you use. Having bigger gear is simply helpful to shut other people up. that’s it.

Lets face it, in a world of camera phones and muppet instagramers, a DSLR user looks like they know what they are doing….right?

THE ARGUMENT AGAINST KIT

• The best camera you have is the one you have on you right now.
  

Seriously, no camera no photo. It’s that simple. While new and shinier kit will become available it’s absolutely irrelevant when it’s not there to take the photo or provide for the image in some way.

Learn with what you have and make it work for you but, most importantly, KEEP IT ON YOU. You keep looking for the next piece of gear you don’t understand how your current one works and as such will lose out when its time to take that all important image.

• Kit does NOT grantee a good image.

A crap image is a crap image. Doesn’t matter if it came from a phone or a Hasslblad medium format camera.

If you don’t understand the craft you will never take a great image. Frankly, you will be lucky to take a good one.

• Too much gear is heavy.

Do your back a favour and only have what you need. Being prepared for every eventuality under the sun is great and all but take it from someone who had to lug their crap around with the Army and learn to take the images you want with the least amount of gear. Your back will thank me.

As a point to how serious that is, I was 33 at the time of writing this and was acutely aware of how little punishment my back is now able to take after years of abuse from both the army and photography. Really, look after yourself.

• Kit costs!

A friend of mine once told me that while this camera/photographer lark I did looked 'fun’ it’s more expensive than drugs and occasionally less socially acceptable.

Yeah, well…on the money issue he may have a point. At the time of writing, my head is being turned a little by both a new Mavic Pro 2 drone and the new Nikon z7. That’s £5000 ($6000) dropped right there.

There are more important things to spend your money on. Maybe travel to get you to a location. Hire a car or a guide. For 5k I could stay in a top-notch hotel for quite some time or travel the world for 5 months!

Think about it! Do you really need this bit of kit your after? Or do you just want it? (yeah I want it too…the struggle is real)

• Kit is addictive

I think you might have gleaned that from the above paragraph.

Kit is seriously addictive.

Magpie syndrome, as it has been called, can lead you down a dark path of forever upgrading your equipment and treating like it was a jewel rather than getting equipment that is right for you and treating it like a tool to create.

• The kit is a distraction to your craft

These things are your paintbrush or your chisel. They are to be used. You can spend a long time looking at equipment and it won’t help you take a better image. Sadly, that’s all on you and how you apply the craft. More importantly, it comes down to practice.

So go practice.

IN REALITY

Kit is both vital and irrelevant. It both helps and hampers image creation. It can either be vital to the making of your art or it can be a crutch for the incompetent.

Street photographers, for example, will often go out with a camera and a lens that suits their style. Sports photographers…well have a look at the size of the lens next to a football field! The size of the gear they use!

Find what you want to do and find a style that works for you (not others….you!).

SO WHAT DO YOU DO??

Erm, well…awkwardly I have a confession. I am really only able to preach about this because I have too much kit. I attempt multiple different styles and techniques and as such have accumulated a lot of guff over the last 15 years. The annoying thing is I actually use it to create so throwing it out can be difficult.

This will not deter me from continually trying to reduce my kit and streamline what I have.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to plan my Black Friday shopping.

Be polite, be efficient, have a plan.

2018 Book List - Shit you should read

1-

“Tribes, we need you to lead us.” - Seth Godin

https://www.waterstones.com/book/tribes/seth-godin/9780749939755

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

ISBN: 9780749939755

A former dot-com executive turned author in 1993 and has made his mark creating and selling very insight books about…well…doing things. Not how to guides but more a series of books that could be best described as “shut up and go do it NOW!” with a series of reasons why and what not to do.

This book I found rather interesting reading as (with most of his book) it doesn’t need to be about the creative industry but it does help if you are creative. The book ACTIVELY pushes the reader away from falling into the trap of “management” and instead tries to put forward the case for being the heretic, for being the unicorn. If that isn’t a reason to read it I don’t know what is.

I found this book to be a great source to call on for both work and life. While we might not all (currently) work in an environment that would allow his ideas to come forward it does inspire a lot of ideas of what could be and asks the important question “why not you?”.

2-

Neuromancer - William Gibson

https://www.waterstones.com/book/neuromancer/william-gibson/9781473217386

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

ISBN: 9781473217386

This has really helped me visualise my Search.er project and falls into one of two fiction books I am recommending.

William Gibson’s cyberpunk imaginings came out the same time as Blade runner in 1982. It is for that reason he claims to have re-written the first two-thirds of it 12 times!

The resulting neurotic attention paid to this book allows the reader to fall deeply into the urban wasteland that is described and really get involved in the story.

If you want to start to understand the world of cyberpunk, you start here.

3-

Steal like an Artist

https://www.waterstones.com/book/steal-like-an-artist/austin-kleon/9780761169253

Publisher: Workman Publishing

ISBN: 9780761169253

I should say from the start that this book isn’t actually about stealing. Far from it. It is really about the cycle of research-practice-adapt-repeat that an artist goes through in order to create there work. It advocates the idea of learning from other (and why the fuck not!) to better ourselves and our craft.

I am heavily influenced by images from Blade Runner, Akira and Ghost in the Shell to name only a few. From these ideas, I attempt to practice the visual concepts and then adapt upon them to suit my vision. Then repeat, always repeat. 

You are never done.

4-

Nude Photography Notebook - Works by Allen Jenkins and written by Eddie Ephraums.

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Nude-Photography-Notebook-by-Allan-JenkinsEddie-Ephraums/9781902538433

Publisher: Argentum

ISBN: 9781902538433

Its a notebook with notes. Odd as that may sound it is extremely helpful to see how acclaimed photographer Alan Jenkins organises a project for his own use.

It is even more helpful to read the insightful remarks and pointers Eddie Ephraums who has followed this process capturing everything from notes right through to test prints and sketches.

5-

Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis Darick Robertson

Strap in. This will be epic.

Transmetropolitan is a comic book following the…er…adventures? of gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem as tears this future city of corruption, incompetence and, any arse with so much as a shred of authority.

This comic ran from 1997 - 2002  covers an array of topics all of which are influenced by the surroundings of the time…recognise that smile? It just could be taken from Tony Blair.

Again, it’s cyberpunk and it’s fantastic! It predicts twitter and the effects of social media nine years before its creation all while taking a long-running kick in the balls at what is shitty about our society.

Happy reading.

and remember….

RULE 1

Don’t rely on inspiration.

I can’t, as professional people don’t pay me for my inspiration. They pay for my experience, reliability and, the results that come from that.

My inspiration is for me. My projects and ventures. I will take risks on these because from these risks I grow and develop which becomes experience.

I seek it out everywhere I can.

Work can be a good place for that though, it’s a draining place. It can more sap creativity and ideas more than inspire them. But sometimes I see a shadow or a scene where I look down the office and can pick out a face from the crowd. I find being open to new ideas is difficult when I am there but I still try. Forcing it never works however and its important to understand sometimes it just ain’t gonna happen.

I recently started climbing. Bouldering to be precise and I learnt 2 things very quickly.

1) I enjoying it! A lot. I think I am hooked!

2) So many weird angles! So many great ideas for photographs.

The people hanging off at odd angles with funny coloured walls, padded ground, strange alien shaped holds and, perspective issues really gets the creative juices flowing.

But nothing like reading. Reading allows me to slip into any world I want and visualise it however I deem. Interestingly, people can be read to and visualise a scene very differently from the person next to them. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations. From this idea, I suggest you don’t just read about your topic of interest. Take inspiration for other fields beyond your own and see how that affects your craft.

What about movies! I love a good movie. Sometimes ones that didn’t do so well at the box office can provide you with a wealth of inspiration. Blade Runner is a great example of this for me. A visually STUNNING film with such mind-blowing attention to detail. Everything from the jackets used through to the neon signs that were each made by different signage manufacturers so they don’t all look the same or have the same style.

Travelling helps a lot too. Seeing new places and cultures drastically alters my perceptions of just about everything. From my breakfast through to public transport and nightlife. It all changes when you see it for the first time again and again. All the same but always different.

 I could fill a book on this but these are the most important places that I hunt inspiration. Now go out and find your own. Even it is just sitting somewhere listening to music watching the world go by.  

Also the coffee shop, I get inspired when caffeinated!

Photography tips:-

Be polite

Be efficient

Have a plan to shoot everyone you meet.