Thoughts
The thoughts in my head
The negative thoughts in my head about the work I am doing can be very damaging. They whisper to me all sorts of lies about who I am and what I want to be. These thoughts are the same thoughts that most creative people have. The ego playing ticks on us and telling us that if someone is better than there is no point in us doing it. Or worse that if people are better, then we should bring them down because it will be the only way to make us feel good.
These thoughts are the reason I remind myself that if it is important enough to do that I must do it regardless of the negative thoughts in my head and regardless of what people say. I have to remind myself that this is a journey and I will grow and get better the longer I stay the path.
Everyone struggles with these thoughts in life. The question is are you going to let them control you and stop you from living your dream or are you going to push back and do what is needed?
Today
Today it is hard to even write
Somedays I wake up, and I can write a blog post that feels good to me and other days I cannot. Other days it is just a struggle to get words on the screen. At night when I journal it is not hard to write 500-1500 words in a given sitting. It seems that the endless resistance to writing and publishing a blog are out there pushing me to stop, taunting me and telling me I am not good enough.
Those voices may very well be true, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. It is true, I may never become famous for my writing, photography or anything else I do in life. Yet, I do it anyway because it is not about being famous, it is about doing the work.
If the work is important enough to us, then it is important enough to do and keep doing.
Weather
I hope the weather changes
Photo by Todd Trapani on Upsplash
Today the weather is dark and grey, the sky keeps thinking about raining. This weather is hard to be motivated in and all I want to do is sleep. The gloom that lurks in weather like this can feel unbearable. I long for better weather, but it is winter time so that is a long way away. Time to buckle down and make the best of this time of year and still see the bright side of things.
This weather is not going to get me down.
Gear
There is so much gear out there and everyone says you need one thing or another
Photo by Pavel Kosov on UnSplash
There is so much gear out there for the hobby or profession that you may have. Someone is always out there saying that you need a piece of gear for just about everything out there. The question is hard to answer on what gear do you really need? I am not sure what gear you need, and it all depends on what you are doing. As for photography, there is less gear than you think you may need.
You don’t need all the gear that everyone says you need depending on what you are trying to go for. You can spend a lot of money chasing the gear that someone else says you need and end up never using a lot of it. The first thing and the only thing you really need, is a camera and a good lens. What classifies as a good lens? That depends on you and what you want to shoot.
Are you a landscape photographer? Then you may need a good wide-angle lens. How wide, you will need to figure out how much you want in the shot. Do you want a lot of landscape? Then you might need a wider lens. I shoot on a 35 mm, but that doesn’t make it the right lens or the best lens. The lens has to do with what you are trying to capture and how you want that to look. Get a camera, get a decent zoom lens and see what focal length you shoot at the most.
Get that focal length in a prime. Then work on getting a better lens at the same focal length. The lens will not make a difference if you are not learning to use your camera to the best of your ability. Yes, I set your ability because the camera and lens are just a tool.
I shoot portraits with a 50 mm lens and just like the 35 mm, it might not be the best or the fastest lens I can get. There are people out there that will fight over which lens, camera or flash are the best. To start get what is in your budget and practice. You can’t practice without a bit of gear and if you are waiting for the right lens or camera choice. Then you will never get one, and you will never practice.
If this is a hobby or profession you are thinking of getting into, get something you can afford. It doesn’t matter which make, model or what lens you have on it when you are starting. Go out and take a many pictures you can, learn from those pictures and make a choice for your next piece of gear that works best for you. Is it within your budget, does it fit your needs and does it have the feel that you want? Those are things you can base your choice off and go from there.
Do not forget about the post-processing aspect of it all and learn to use those tools as well. Please don’t let the challenge of post-production keep you from learning to do something that you love. Just like everything in life, everything takes time. If you want to know what my gear is and what I use it for, let me know in the comments or shoot me an email. Until then, please take care of yourself and each other.
Changes to my website
There have been some changes to my website and there are more on the way
Photo by David Lehman
I have been working hard on changing things on my website. I have changed who hosts it from GoDaddy to SquareSpace. There are a few reasons I have done this. I hope this was a change for the better. I am working on taking my freelance photography to the next level and I feel SquareSpace is the best route for that.
The main reason why SquareSpace was the choice I went with is because I am able to manage all the things I need on one site. I know I could have done that with GoDaddy or any other domain provider. I just felt that SquareSpace would be the easiest to set up. Furthermore, I have struggled with GoDaddy and that was a big factor in changing.
I hope you like that changes and I look forward to keeping you updated on how things are going with the new site. I hope you have a moment to check out my new store and keep coming back as it will be updated with more things. Not only that, but I just needed to set it up. As always take care of yourself and each other!
The Future
What does life have planned for us?
Photo by Tomasz Frankowski on Unsplash
The state of our world can make us wonder what the future has planned for us. We can think about it with every waking moment of our lives and be full of anxiety. The very thought of it can cause us to be stopped in our path and the very nature of it can make us think there is nothing bright around the corner. These thoughts are hard to shake, and they are endless if we continue to seek out the same information every day.
There are things I wish I could write about and publish to the world. Things that I think would help someone who is going through the same thing that I am going through. I am not talking about the pandemic that we are all going through. I am talking about things that I can’t talk about right now because of the situation I am in. Furthermore, I long for the day when I can freely talk about them, without the fear that goes along with them.
One day, I will be able to share with the world the current chapter that I am going through in life. I hope, until that day, that what I am writing now helps you in some way. I hope that you are reading this and are reminded that we are not along, that we are all struggling. We are all going through this life together in one way or another. We may be worlds apart, but we are closer than it seems to be. All we have to do is reach out and have hope that someone is out there listening.
Snow!
What is this white stuff on the ground?
Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash
It snowed yesterday in Austin Texas, something that doesn’t happen very often. Typically, when it does the roads can be very challenging to drive. They were this time too, but there were not as many cars on the roads. I don’t like driving in the snow or heavy rain. It takes a lot of energy to drive.
It is exciting though to watch my son play in the snow. He had a great time playing in the snow. Did you enjoy the snow yesterday? Do you get snow where you live? How do you feel about snow?
The Streets
There are so many things to see that we no longer look for because we are busy!
Photo by David Lehman
The streets call people for many reasons. Those reason could be anything and everything. The streets are more than just our world they are the homes to many, the livelihood of others and the gift for others. There is no end to what happens on the streets. Some of those things are good and some of them are not so good. Some of them walk the line of ethics and morals. To others, they are what drives them to create art.
What call me to the streets? What calls you to the streets? It could be running the streets and doing things of that nature. I could be shopping, eating and just living life. I could very well be your home and where you make your life. Yet for the creatives out there it is freedom. It is connection, the people, the flow and the life they see and create within those streets.
I have always had a draw to street photography and I have put off that calling for years. Some of that was because I didn’t have a camera or that I didn’t think I could take good shots with just my iPhone. However, today I have both an excellent camera and a perfect phone. The streets call to me now, and I find freedom in them. The freedom to create and to show the world how alive they are.
I have only been doing street photography for about four days and at first I was terrified to even get out of the car. I still have to fight that fear, yet each day it is easier and easier. The streets call me. They call me to see the art within everything that moves and lives on the streets. I must be out there taking photos and seeing what it is about this city that I have been missing.
What calls you to the streets?
As always take care of yourself and each other!
Life is full of changes
Change affects everyone, yet we feel that is only affects us.
Photo by Tanner Larson on Unsplash
There is so much change going on in the world does anyone have a clue what is going on? Do we really understand what we are doing to each other? We think that change only happens to us. There are personal changes that affect our daily life. What about the changes that affect the world? Do we even know how those changes will affect us, our children or the rest of the world?
Do we truly know what we say and what we do with have any effect on someone? We may have some idea of what we say or do will affect someone, but in what way? Does what we say and what we do have the greatest effect on people in the most positive way as possible? I don’t think that is the case.
How do we change that? How do we start living a better life for the people around us and the world? I am not certain the exact answer to this, but it starts with each of us. It can be as simple as treating people the way we want to be treated, but that is not the case in some parts of the world. That is not the standard most of us have grown up with. Most of us have been taught to do unto others before they do unto us.
Well, how does that solve any problems? How does that make us a better person and a better planet? It doesn’t and it has to stop. I can’t change the world, but I can change myself and how I react to the world. I can take a stand and choose to do what is right. Morally and ethical. I have that choice and so do you.
Happy New Year
What are your goals for 2021?
Photo by Tim Moosholder on Unplash
As the new year begins, many people set resolutions for the year. Things that want to change, they want to give up, they want to do better. Some of these goals/resolutions are strong in the first month of the new year and fade away in the later months. I can’t tell you how to keep these goals strong throughout the whole year. I don’t have that answer, and I am not certain if the answers I have worked for me in the years past.
The thing that has worked for me is to make a constant effort to grow daily and learn something new as often as possible. To never stop learning and to always try to grow. That growth can be in leadership, photography, as a person or anything at all. There is nothing stopping you from growing but yourself.
This is the year to make constant growth to become the person you want to be. These changes do not need to be big, and they don’t need to happen within the first month of the new year. Remember, big change comes from small consistent change over time. You can’t get fit in one day, you can’t learn something new in a short amount of time, and you can’t change a habit overnight. This is the year of YOU. Never stop learning and bettering yourself.
As always take care of yourself and each other!
Goodbye 2020
2021 What do you have in store for us?
2020 is about done and 2021 here we come. So many will be setting goals and resolutions on what they want to tackle in 2021. Is 2021 the year that you no longer put things off? Will it be the year to chase the dreams that you want? That is up to you.
Only you can decide how to start 2021 and how things will continue through out the year. Make 2021 a good year and lets get this. Start chasing what you want to do and at the moment you feel like giving up, kick that shit into the next gear. The moment you quit could be the step right before you make it.
Let's get to work. Take care of yourself and each other!
Searching
What am I searching for?
Photo by Katerina Kerdi on Unsplash
Have I lost what I have been searching for in all this quest to find what I am searching for? Has all of the reading I have done pushed me further away from my goal or closer? It feels like I am further away from my search then I was when I started searching. Have I lost sight of what I am searching for or have I found new meaning in what I was truly searching for?
Have I found what I am looking for and the reason I feel like I am further away from it is that I am seeking deeper meaning? There are so many things that we search for and sometimes it feels like we are more lost now than we where before. What am I searching for? Why can’t I find meaning in what I am searching for? Is it time to take a step back? Is it time to give up searching? Or it this the right time to dig deeper? Finder stronger meaning and maybe just maybe find what we are looking for?
The flow of the World
The world is always moving.
Photo by Matt Hardy on Upsplash
The awe of the world moving can be breathtaking and even during times like these seem never ending. They have been slowed but not stopped. The world continues above all other things to continue to move. People in the world and places in the world have always moved and still move. We can see our world moving by looking out the window. The cars driving along the road, traffic seems never to end and our world feels tiny in the scheme of things.
We rush everywhere and never seeming to stop to enjoy the world so remarkable around us. It is hard not to feel lost in all of this. With the holiday right around the corner is it time to start thinking about the way we see the world? Maybe it is just time to slow down for a moment, stop rushing places and enjoy the people in our lives.
As always, take care fo yourself and each other!
Holiday
The time for joy and happiness
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
With Christmas right around the corner and celebration in the year. There are so many thoughts around the holiday, some joyful and happy. There are also so very not so happy thoughts. Holidays remind some of us about the losses we have had in our lives and the people we miss.
This Christmas will be very different from years past, but feel very much the same for people out there. I am struggling with what to write on this post. The struggle is not what to think of regarding this holiday and what to write about for this blog post. The thing I struggle with is not to make the post dark.
I can go on about the people I have lost and the reason I am not a fan of the holidays, but I would rather spread something positive this holiday. There is someone out there in your life that you haven’t talked to in a long time, and I am sure they are sitting lonely waiting for someone to reach out to them. Are you willing to give them the best gift this year?
Are you willing to reach out to them and say hi? Ask them how they are doing and have a small conversation? Remember it is just time, something none of us have a lot of. Don’t let this seasons holidays go by without saying hi to someone that truly just needs someone to talk to.
As always take care of yourself and each other!
I dream of sleep
Life is something that happens when you can’t get to sleep
Photo by Peter Bucks on Unsplash
Sleep eludes me more often than not. There are countless times I have tired and failed at creating a sleep schedule. Why do you eluded me great sleep? Why must I live in a constant state fo tired? Is it all the caffeine I drink through out the day or am I doomed to live this life? While others are sleeping I lay in bed listening to the world around me. These great sounds of wonder from inside my room.
“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.” — E. Joseph Cossman
Is that a car that just past by? Who is out this late? Are they coming home to family from work? All the questions that now keep me awake even more. The wind was very loud last night. The animals crawling across the roof of the house. The world is more alive at night than some would think. Here I am listening to the world begging for sleep to come take me to dream world. Yet as always I will not see dream world tonight.
Personal Electric Vehicle
Photo by Liam Martens on Unsplash
With so many options for personal electric vehicles out there, it is hard to know which one is right for you. Some might be wondering what at PEV is. They are electric bicycle skateboard and unicycle among others. So, which is the right one for you? Well, that depends on something a little more personal. Bicycle could be the best option if you are used to riding a bicycle. Skateboard and unicycle follow the same suite. There is always the one that you want to personally learn to use.
For others out there a PEV is not anything they would ever think of using. The option that works best for you is all that matters. A PEV is an extension of who you are and what impact you want to have on the world. Do you want to do less damage to the environment? Do you want to have one for fun? You may live in a big city where one is better than a car? There are many reasons that go into choosing the mode of transportation. Only you can decide what is the best option.
I built an electric longboard, more like put together all the pieces. It wasn’t about owning an electric longboard for me. I wanted to see if I could actually put one together and learn to ride it. I am still waiting on parts to actually get a chance to learn to ride, but it is all together and confirmed that it works. Whether I learn to ride it or I do not, will be the next step. Until that time, take care of yourself and each other.
Empty
Photo by Daniel Tuttle on Unsplash
The building has been extra quiet lately. The halls are no longer occupied by people. The elevators are carrying only two people at a time. The people you are used to seeing every day are working from home. The place feels like an abandon building. How long will it look this way? How long will it feel like this? No one really knows with the way the world is right now.
This time of year, holidays, the building was less occupied and this year is not exception. Yet this year you can feel and see the emptiness even more.
Our World!
Photo by NASA on Unsplash
We may live in different parts of the world. Different city's around the same country or miles apart from each other. The area we live can be peaceful or total hell. It can be a beautiful building or a place left ruined from war. The world we live in can be gorgeous or a total nightmare. It could be amazing or it could be very dull.
We no longer see the reflections of the world we live in. We are blinded by how we see the world and no longer look for its beauty. The world has become so fast-paced, that we no longer stop, let alone look at the amazing things in our world. We see photos of these beautiful places that people are going to or been to. Some may think that they will never get to go to those places.
That could be very true, yet there are many beautiful things in our world, We just have to start looking for them. Have you seen something beautiful today? Have you taken a moment to seek out the amazing things in your world? It is time to find things that are amazing in your everyday life. They are there, you just have to seek them out. Let's play hide-and-seek, you know what is hidden and now it is time to find it.
As always take care of yourself and each other!
Amazing!
Photo by David Lehman
Sometimes what we see with our eyes is more amazing then what we can capture with a camera. Though the pictures that we can capture on a camera are beautiful, amazing and truly stunning. Nothing beats the experience of being there. This sunset means more to me then just the picture that was taken. There is a story behind it and when I look at it, that story is what I see.
The events of the day leading up to the pictures, the moments before I was able to take the picture and the risk it took to take it. All of this is what I see when I look at this picture. Does this picture remind you of a story? That is the amazing thing about photography, no matter who takes the picture, the story is ours and that is what matters.
Find your story in all that you see and you will see amazing things in everything. As always, take care of yourself and each other!
Through the Struggle
Photo by Ian Chen on Unsplash
I was thinking about the title of this post and how there have been a lot of struggles in my life lately. Even more so with the pandemic and the current state of affairs in the United States. Some of the biggest things I have struggled with is if I even have the right to compare what I am going through with anyone else. I know there are people in the world that are dealing with a lot more or even bigger struggles than me.
I think this is a human condition, we want to feel important, like our struggles matter more than anyone else’s. Yet do they really matter more than anyone else’s? Or are they just different struggles and because they are personal to us the feel like they matter more?
The more I read about living your dream and doing what you love, the more I realize a lot of my own struggles are because I am doing something right and the universe is trying to stop me from doing what I love or I am passionate about. If you think about it, that is enough to keep fighting and pushing towards your dreams. Remember never give up, you are just one more step, jump, failure, attempt away from having the life that you want.
Take care of yourself and each other!