My favorite songs discovered (though not necessarily released) in 2023.
The 1975 – I’m in Love with You
All Time Low – Blinding Lights
All Time Low – Tell Me I’m Alive
Billy Joe Armstrong – I Think We’re Alone Now
Blue October – Shut Up I Want You To Love Me Back
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Bauhaus Staircase
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Kleptocracy
A Story Told – Better Than Heaven
My favorite songs discovered (though not necessarily released) in 2022.
Brimheim – Can’t hate myself into a different shape
Dave Hause – We could be kings
Ethel Cain – American teenager
Homeschool – Smartest Man (feat. Samia)
The National – Somebody desperate
Pronouns – I’m right back in it
Taylor Swift – All too well (Taylor’s version)
While I’m binge-watching Friends episodes (again) in self-isolation, I remembered visiting Central Perk in Beijing in 2015 (on my birthday, no less). Totally made my day. I never put the picture up anywhere, so here they are. The full gallery is here. Could the place BE any more awesome?
David duChemin – world & humanitarian photographer, best-selling author, and international workshop leader (his words, not mine 😉 ) – had written a blog post that I really needed right now:
You can generate idea after idea, fill your Moleskine notebooks so jam-packed with great ideas the world would fall down at your feet if only they knew how creative you were. But the trap lies in thinking that coming up with the ideas is where the value is. It isn’t. The value lies in your ability to execute. Forget all the hundreds of ideas. Pick one. And do it. Then pick another, and do it too.
We get paralyzed sometimes by too many options. A million ideas and we’re stuck because we can’t pick one. Stop it. Pick one. Move forward.
How does this apply? For working photographers or those who aspire to it – pick one project and do it. Finish it. Then do another. Which one? Who cares! Pick the one you most want to do, the one your dog wants you to do, or the one on the top of the list. But pick one, and do it. Because picking the “wrong one” and getting it done puts you in motion and is better than doing nothing at all. … Don’t stare at it, don’t whine. Just pick the thing at the top of the list – or better – the one you most dread doing, and begin. Just begin.
… That old adage about creativity being 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration? It’s true. Don’t let your piles of notes and your great-sounding ideas lull you into thinking you’re making progress. You make progress when you begin. Ideas are great, but they’re no substitute for the thrill of creation, of seeing that idea become real. All you need to do is begin. And then finish. But beginning is the hard part. There are a million excuses – we’re too busy is the best one.
oder auch hier: http://photoblog.ulrichsson.de
Finally, I finished post-processing (most of) my pictures from Halifax. I experimented a bit with very strong sharpening, too much proably for some pictures, but most are ok, I think.
Ich hab mal wieder den Wahl-O-Mat angeschmissen und aus Spaß ein paar der kleineren Parteien mit ins Boot genommen. Die Ergebnisse haben mich (wie bisher immer) in meiner Wahlentscheidung bestärkt. Allerdings fand ich es überraschend (erschreckend?), dass unter ferner liefen die NPD und die Partei Bibeltreuer Christen besser zu mir passten als die Union. Komisch, komisch.
Ok, würden wir statt mit unseren Fingern nur mit Fäusten zählen, wäre ich jetzt 100.000. Gar nicht so übel. Auch der Tag selbst konnte sich sehen lassen:
Unsere neuen Handys sind da! Und was für feine Geräte! Jetzt hab ich endlich wieder einen Grund, das Handy mit mir rumzutragen, d.h. man kann mich in Zukunft auch wieder außerhalb von Büro und zu Hause erreichen. Die neuen Nummern schicke ich die Tage zu!
