A Thousand Tiny Diamonds
Out by the truck stop, work camp, and oilfield equipment yards — trucks have cracked the pavement to hell, yet when it rains, water will pool in those little splits in the asphalt, and once the sky parts and light strikes it just right, the road will appear paved with a thousand tiny diamonds.
Bumbling
I sort of embody something infuriating — an average person doing something. The combination of being run-of-the-mill and doing something creative is a frontier.
Virtual Movements
With enough resolution, we can crop in, move a frame around, and simulate a view camera’s movements in post, including rise, fall, and shift.
Basic Editing
Pull the contrast slider down to -100 and then set the tonal curve to strong contrast in Lightroom.
Big Bend
A plan to construct a physical barrier across Big Bend would be unpopular.
Nikon F Lenses
Nikon’s manual F lenses are worth considering because they’ll mount to just about any mirrorless camera today.
Going to Town
A black-and-white picture of small-town Texas is sort of what western swing music looks like — if that makes sense.
Film, Post 2020
Put film photography to rest. Digital is better.
Traveling Kindly
Go without want.
Poetry
If music is older than language, then that’s probably a large part of it.
Makeshift Rangefinder
By most metrics, we’re lousy photographers, and that’s fine. 50mm might be the best focal length, and 35mm the best lens if we crop in a little.
5600ºK
If sunlight’s temperature sits between 5000ºK and 6500ºK, then 5600ºK is a good custom choice.
Taken Seriously
If a picture is good enough for a view camera, it’s potentially good enough for a series, seriously. I love getting lost under a focusing cloth.
Aspect Ratios
Focal lengths and aspect ratios correlate. A 50mm needs a narrower 4:5 to emphasize relationships between foregrounds and back grounds, and on the other side, a 28mm does better with a wider 3:2 because it emphasizes side-to-side relationships.
In the Moment
It transitions from play to art as we age, and in learning, it continues.
Lightweight
The less we make photography about something, the more it accommodates.
Taking or Making
In photographing landscapes, places, and found environments, perhaps the difference between making and taking lives in the focal length, where a 35mm takes, and a 50mm makes.
Enjoying the Day
Interesting places exist wherever we look long enough. Odessa is a real place, nothing touristy about it, so thoroughly palpable that it’s utterly clueless about itself in a good way, and that’s why I stay.
Keep Going
If you think it’s bad now, it used to be worse. That’s why I’m not too worried. You are a part of the change you would like to see.
Broken (please use other door)
A sign at a convenience store says, “broken, please use other door,” and then apologizes for the inconvenience.