Shoot Cool Retro Photos | Stoke-Ness
I write the intro last.
Usually I use the entire newsletter to collect my thoughts and sort out what I want the theme or message to be. It’s worked well, but after a 3 month break in writing to you all I know what I want to say before I’ve started here.
It’s good to be back. There is nothing like creating and sharing what’s exiting to me. Taking a break only heightens the feeling of the creative release and accomplishment. Thanks for being part of it.
In this month’s issue, I share why I finally got GoreTex, a video that got me excited about using GoreTex and 68 pieces of (great) advice from author Kevin Kelley.
Be stoked,
Isaac
Photo/Video Technique
Shooting with a Flash
I bought a cheap on-camera speed light flash a few years back. My intention was learn flash photography so that I could shape light when light conditions were not ideal. It turned out to be a steep learning curve, but it is also so much fun and will level your photography up as you learn how to shape and notice light.
A good starter flash is this one from Neewer. It isn’t super powerful, but is simple enough to learn quickly and cheap enough to buy on a whim.
Here is what you need to know:
Use Manual mode to set the power or brightness of the flash. The easiest way to get started here is to start in the middle and the adjust your brightness after a few test shots.
Cheaper flashes are not “high speed synch” which means that if your shutter speed is faster then 1/160 the light will not be fast enough to illuminate the whole image. Part of your image will be in shadow and part in light. Set your shutter speed slower than 1/160 to avoid this problem.
Adjust the exposure of your image with your aperture.
Most flashes come with a diffuser and a bounce card. These will help make the light a little less harsh.
Starting out you will find that the images can look high contrast and low fi. That is a look I like when I use flash, but you can make it softer by bouncing the light into a white ceiling or a white reflector.
I love to take the flash out for parties or friend gatherings where I want portraits but need more light.
Gear
Hornstrandir Goretex Pro Shell
I’ve never owned a piece of GoreTex. Or I hadn’t owned a piece of GoreTex until last fall.
It’s just sooo expensive and I’ve always been in the camp that I dont need the best, just reliable outdoor gear. So I used 2L shells or 3L shells always with a proprietary name that promised waterproof breathability and never quite did both. It was fine and I think it’s still fine.
But then I got the 66 North Hornstrandir Goretex Pro Shell. The first thing I noticed was that it didn’t have pit zip vents. You won’t need them because the fabric breathes. It also its 100% waterproof. I had the chance to use it in a 100 year record rainfall storm in Hawaii last month and I was perfectly dry.
66 has made this shell slim but not Arcteryx slim and it feels much more robust than their jackets. The zippers are what my friend Alex calls “Johnstar Grade” which is a reference to my heavy handed use of gear. They are sturdy and so is the rest of the build, but it still packs down into even the smallest daypack, so I have been bringing it everywhere.
Now as I said this jacket is crazy expensive, but it comes with repairs for life so hopefully it will be one of the last jackets I’ll buy for technical outerwear. If you need top of the line gear for your adventures than this is the jacket to get.
Check it out Here (it comes in both Women’s and Men’s fit)
Who I am Following
Nikolai Schirmer
Skier and Filmaker, Nikolai is a force. Not only is he a professional big mountain skier, but he also creates insanely well done videos about his adventures. On top of that he has made some of the best documentaries I’ve seen about other skiers for the Black Crow ski brand. He does it all with the most low key attitude without all of the big mountain bravado you’d expect from the accomplishments. It’s likable.
He is an ambassador for more than just skiing, sharing his experiments with adjusting his lifestyle to be less impactful to the environment. I appreciate the way he changes himself and shares his experiences without shaming folks who don’t yet have the same understanding he has.
Give him a follow on IG or YouTube. (his youtube videos are so good i’ve shared them here before)
Music I'm Diggin'
Desafinado by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto
It’s nearly backyard dinner party season and a good playlist makes the mood even better than warm weather.
I always come back to this song. It’s got a feel that makes me want to drink wine and relax with my friends.
Listen to it on Spotify Here
Videos, Movies, and TV
Mediocre Amateur
A channel about the epic adventures you can have if you love suffering. Its aspirational but also nearly unattainable. This group of friends summits peaks, bikes hundreds of miles and crosses wilderness so vast it would take a mortal weeks. They do it all in one blistering push that usually takes them less than a day.
Its a binge worthy channel that makes me want to get out and do more.
Reads
68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice by Kevin Kelley
Wired magazine founder Kevin Kelley gave some advice on his 68th birthday. I found it fun to read and valuable advice for my life.
Here are a few of my favorite bits:
• Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points.
• Everyone is shy. Other people are waiting for you to introduce yourself to them, they are waiting for you to send them an email, they are waiting for you to ask them on a date. Go ahead.
• Don’t take it personally when someone turns you down. Assume they are like you: busy, occupied, distracted. Try again later. It’s amazing how often a second try works.
Read all of the advice Here
Parting Thought:
Injustice and inconvenience are not the same thing.
Before roasting someone or a company for treating me poorly or bad product I ask myself:
Am I assigning malice to what is probably incompetence. "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence." - Napoleon Bonaparte"
Is it better to reserve my passionate fight against injustice for systemic injustices I am uniquely positioned to fight? (we cant fight all the battles after all)
By allowing my inconveniences to be called injustice am I making my life better or worse.
Am I misplacing my feelings towards inconvenience with the outrage I feel towards the real injustice I see and hear around me, diluting the power of labeling actual injustices?
Be stoked and have a great month,
Isaac
This newsletter, my photography and my videos are all free, but not cheap. If you want to help me continue to make things you can buy me virtual coffee.
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