Inside Out

It's interesting that many things are the opposite of what you'd think.

On my bike, for example, low gear is actually the big sprocket at the top of the gear cassette. High gear is down at the bottom. (I'm squinting my eyes and shaking my head as I process this.) Same with cameras. A high number, f/16, is actually a small aperture opening. But a low number, f/4, lets in more light. I know it's a math thing, but really?

I've learned that the lighter I travel, the more capable I become. How does that make sense? But the way it works is that I have more energy, think better, and approach challenges with expanded creativity... instead of digging through a bunch of stuff for an answer.

This is why judging things and people can be a waste of energy. What we see on the surface may be exactly the opposite behind the scenes. We're constantly amazed by plot twists in murder mysteries. But in reality, the clever author knows the sort of conclusions we typically jump to, then plays off those to surprise us.

In the Pixar movie, Inside Out, it's Sadness who saves the day. Yes, Joy was the driving force who never gave up on young Riley. But in the end her salvation was the opposite of what we'd expect. The family was reunited through their shared pain of missing their home, and their life, in the Midwest. It's a happy ending with tears.

We can bring these lessons to our artistic expressions. We can be the clever author who surprises the reader. If you go out with your camera today, photograph something that you've never attempted before.

And while doing so, if you encounter someone whom you'd normally judge harshly, just for a moment, consider them your peer.

You just never know how these things are going to work out.

-Derrick

If Change is Constant, Why Am I Still Wearing the Same Shoes?

Even though it's been years since I've reported to a cubical, and therefore was subjected to the cheerful HR posters that lined the hallway en route to the bathroom, a number of those cliches still rattle in my brain.

For example, "The only thing constant is change." This gets trotted out every time something new happens that we don't like. It's a thin blanket on a cold night.

Allegedly this wisdom was chiseled on to a marble HR tablet by the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. It has since been repurposed as a suck-it-up directive expressed prior to an unsavory job reassignment or termination of employment.

The reality is, however, that our daily routines are rather constant, only intermittently interrupted by change. My family, friends, and even source of income rolls along somewhat predictably. Yes, some months are better than others. And I've never had two tacos that tasted the same. Then, when lightening does strike, we act like this is an ongoing experience as we run for cover.

I've seen a lot of change this year. Yet, when I add up the biggies, I can count them on one hand. That's not constant. That's occasional. My experience with change is that it's uncomfortable at first, sometimes even frightening. Then I address the issue, recalibrate, and make the best of it. Sometimes I even initiate change.

The way I look at it is this: if you have your health, anything is possible. It's like when the doctor says, "this is going to pinch a little." That's code for it's really going to hurt. But then the pain subsides, and I get better.

So, I want to augment this centuries-old saying. Here's what I'm going to chisel on my tablet: "If Change is Constant, Why Am I Still Wearing the Same Shoes?"

Yeah. Drop that one on your coworkers the next time they whine.

-Derrick 

Why I Take My Bag to Breakfast

I travel light for many reasons. One of the most important is so I can easily carry my gear with me, regardless of where I am.

When I'm on the road, for example, I take my bag to breakfast. I do not leave my camera, laptop, and iPad in the hotel room. On road trips, I bring the Fastpack 150 AW inside for coffee stops and lunches. It doesn't belong locked up in the trunk. Where I go, so goes my gear.

On the surface, this sound materialistic, doesn't it? Anything but. I make my living with cameras and computers. They contain ideas, manuscripts, random thoughts, images, invoices, records, and memories. And when you think about it, they're easy to protect.

Carry one reasonably-sized bag, light and compact enough to accompany me as I navigate the world, and I am free. I can work anywhere at any time.

When I was a teenager, I saved for months to buy a Yashica SLR with three lenses. I was a stringer for the local paper and the yearbook photographer. During a Saturday afternoon at the beach, someone broke in to my faded blue VW bug and took everything. It wasn't even visible from the outside. They just found it.

A few years later, in college, my rented house was burglarized, and once again my gear was gone. The tools that I used to earn income and fulfill my class assignments were in the hands of an uncaring stranger.

People who steal from others suck. To them, these are just items to be cashed in for a few dollars. For those those stolen from, however, these things are part of our life. You don't steal a man's horse.

Being nimble has many advantages. And one of them is not having things taken from behind your back. I carry only what I need and limit my spending to what I can use. 

I'm sharing this with you from a bustling Denny's in Gilroy California. The waitress has just refreshed my coffee. The egg white omelet was excellent. And all is right with the world.

-Derrick

Independent Online Publishing

When I was let go from O'Reilly Media six years ago, I decided that I'd never work in a cubical again. 

It wasn't that I didn't like the regular salary, health benefits, nor paid time off. I did. But my view of publishing online was changing. And the approach that I wanted to take wouldn't mesh with a large company.

Bottom line: I wanted to be authentic.

I was tired of pretending to be smart, or to agitate conversations, or to follow the latest trend in social media thinking. I didn't want bosses who ran the marketing department. Instead, I wanted to tell the story of an evolving technology - digital media - in my own words.

Now, with both The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer, I'm able to do that. Yes, I have to be business minded or the rent doesn't get paid. But my overhead is much lower than that of a large company. And this is one of the keys to independent online publishing.

Quite frankly, the amount of money I need to generate to keep posting is less than my larger competitors. And as a result, I can think more about what I want to say rather than how I'm going to profit from it.

And there are others like me, independent online publishers who are passionate about their work and honest in the advice they share.

To honor this culture, I'm going to use the phrase, "Independent Online Publishing" to refer to the work that the community of bloggers, podcasters, and photographers do every day. This is our job. And to be honest, it's worth the pay cut.

I've also created a page called Become a Supporter. It provides a way for independent listeners and readers of The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer to show their support for this type of publishing.

I'm not sure where this idea is going to go from here. I secured the domain: www.independentonlinepublishing.com while I think about it. I may ask others to join this group.

In the meantime, I'm more motivated than ever to provide you with interesting, entertaining, and helpful content. I love having the freedom to write what I believe. 

And I'm lucky to have you to join me on this quest.

-Derrick

The Question I Receive Most Often

The current missteps by Adobe with Lightroom seem to have reinvigorated the conversation about photo management systems.  Those who are dedicated to Creative Cloud will most likely stay put. But there's a large group of disenfranchised photographers still looking for an answer in the post-Aperture era.

And many of them have visited my mailbox. "What is your go-to app?" is the most popular question I receive these days. And it's one that I don't have a solid answer for.

Like any working photographer, I need to deliver my product. And for those jobs I'm still depending on Aperture running on Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Yes, Aperture works on El Capitan, but many of its plugins don't. And when I'm striving to deliver the best images possible, I need every advantage.

But I'm also a technologist and teacher. In that world I'm testing Capture One Pro, Photos for OS X, DxO OpticsPro, and mishmashes including Perfect Browse 9.

No, Lightroom isn't a leading candidate at the moment. I use it, primarily in concert with Lightroom Mobile and for HDR and panorama stitching. It definitely has some wonderful features. But I don't love it. And that's the problem.

Passion is what keeps me going. I'm not motivated by wealth or fame. As long as there's enough traffic to pay the bills, I'm content. But if I don't love the camera I'm using, the subjects I'm shooting, or the software that brings it all together, I'm not happy.

And that's why I haven't settled on an application beyond Aperture. I haven't fallen in love yet.

I sometimes feel like Walt Longmire, the Sheriff of Absaroka County, who pines for his deceased wife. He pushes forward. Sometimes with her ashes by his side.

For now, it's Aperture on Yosemite. Because as much as we hate to admit, it's hard to part with the things we love.

-Derrick