January 2012
1 post
4 tags
Analog Love
I got a classic Argus C3 for Christmas from my dad. At first, I didn’t know what to expect. It was old and clunky and the parts didn’t move so well. But it looked cool as hell. So I took it all apart and spent a couple hours cleaning the insides with q-tips and alcohol and then lubing it all up with baby oil. Voila!
Now that I’ve gotten my first roll of photos back, I’m...
December 2011
1 post
7 tags
Bergen in the Sun
After forever, there was a day of sun in Bergen. I think it happened the day after I caved and bought rain boots. I had the morning off so I decided to set out early and spend as much time outside as I could stand. Walking and taking pictures, that was the plan. I really wanted to take pictures because all my film cameras struggled in the low light of cloudy Bergen and my poorly lit apartment. I...
September 2011
3 posts
9 tags
Bit By The Polaroid Bug - Thoughts on SX70 and...
At the beginning of the summer I got myself a Polaroid SX-70 as a birthday present to myself. I also picked up a bunch of Impossible Project film when they had the super cheap “poor pod” sale.
I’d heard all sorts of stories about how difficult it could be to get a decent image with the experimental film, but I was up to the challenge. I decided to take a picture of all the...
10 tags
A Brief Moment on a Latvian Train Between Riga and...
Now we are sitting on a Latvian train to Jumala (or something). I bought another Zorki 4 camera just because it has lug bolts (for a strap). I also got this little notebook and pen.
The train bangs loudly on the tracks reminding me of an old wooden roller coaster I once rode. One door swings ajar on its hinges while one sliding compartment door supports itself on the floor.
I point out the...
4 tags
23
I’m at a stage in my life where I feel like I’m being pulled in many directions at the same time. There are so many possibilities that I’m afraid to do anything so I don’t close all the other doors. I feel that right now, I am at the point where I choose what I will do and what will define me for the rest of my life. I have to decide if I’ll take a hard, high-risk...
August 2011
1 post
8 tags
The Simple Life
In Norway, it is customary for people to own or share a cabin in the woods or by the sea where they can visit from time to time to get away from the daily grind. To the cabins, you can bring books or magazines, the kids bring Yatzee. You can pick blueberries in the woods. You can go for walks in nature. You can swim in the pond. You can sit and enjoy the feeling of being alive.
Most cabins...
July 2011
1 post
3 tags
Everyone Should Take Self Portraits!
Photographers are a dime a dozen these days. Everybody knows that. Give a kid a camera and internet access and he can have a million photography portfolios and just as many followers. That doesn’t make the kid a great photographer.
To me, a great photographer will show you something you’ve never seen, or shows you something you have seen in a new light. A great photographer will...
June 2011
2 posts
2 tags
1 tag
'That Guy'
Today I have the utter un-pleasure of being ‘that guy’ during my 22 hour journey between Europe and America. You know who I’m talking about, the guy who nobody wants to be near. The guy who sweats profusely from under his arms and half the airplane can smell the acrid over-caffeinated acidity of it. The guy who farts uncontrollably as he sleeps. His head lolls on your shoulder uncomfortably and no...
March 2011
2 posts
Moving at the speed of life
Things have been moving pretty fast ever since I finished school. That was almost a year ago now. Wow. To be honest, in the beginning I was afraid that things were moving way too slow. I was always waiting for something. Waiting to leave for Norway, waiting to get my visa, waiting to hear back from jobs.
Now everything is changing. I’ve gotten a job in the kitchen of a local sushi bar and...
3 tags
Be Awesome And Establish Yourself In A New Place
It’s been almost seven months now that I’ve been living in Bergen and I wanted to share a few things that I’ve learned that I wish I knew when I arrived here rather than all this time later. To be honest, I really can’t believe that the time went by so fast.
Back in August 2010 when I first arrived here, I only knew one single person in the entire city and that was my girlfriend Maria who was...
February 2011
1 post
6 tags
Five Days in Barcelona
I lost seventy Euros in Spain. That’s how I always start the story. I took the money from the ATM, and then I reach into my wallet about an hour later and the money is gone.
I suppose everyone who’s ever lost money before has a similar story, but mine’s made even more mysterious by the fact that my ‘wallet’ was a security wallet, tucked deep within the front of my pants. Unless...
January 2011
4 posts
5 tags
Happy Accidents
I ran across a dilemma while using my Zorki camera this fall. I swear I had taken somewhere around 30 photos on the 24 roll and somehow it just kept going. Obviously something wasn’t working properly, so instead of taking photos I may or may not ever see, I just decided to remove the film, but I didn’t get a chance to develop it until just yesterday.
Turns out, something had happened...
5 tags
Thoughts on Ebook readers after a couple weeks...
I have noticed some things I like about the Nook over a book and vice versa.
The Nook lacks:
- browsability. You can’t flip through an ebook like you can with paper.
- durability. Gotta charge it. Can’t drop it. Dust, etc.
- personality. Each paper book has a distinct look, feel, weight, and smell. Ebooks lack these. This is just personal preference, but I miss those things.
- shareability....
10 tags
Turn Your iPod Touch into a WiFi iPhone (With Free...
I probably shouldn’t be sharing this because maybe if too many people start doing it Apple will make it not work anymore, but it’s just too good to keep inside.
As you may know, I’m back in the USA for a few weeks over the holidays and such. Well obviously, living abroad I haven’t kept up any sort of cellphone plan here in the States. I do, however, have an iPod Touch...
How to extend your life
I’ve never really been one to make new years resolutions, but this year I actually gave it some serious thought. I decided that this year I would make at least one real resolution. This meant figuring out what I really want in life, or at least what I wanted for the year. The resolution I chose was to not take anything for granted. Not the good stuff, and just as importantly, not the bad stuff....
December 2010
1 post
4 tags
The Gift They’ll Never Forget: YOU
What’s better than getting a Christmas sweater or the newest season of The Office this holiday season?
Having some memorable life experience!
Everyone’s been stuck in their 9to5 jobs all year, coming home to veg out on the couch. Why not help them out this year by giving them (and yourself) the gift of a memorable life experience?
It’s not that hard, really. And they’ll probably never forget...
November 2010
3 posts
3 tags
Train Yourself: Learn to like it
This probably sounds incredibly cliché and maybe even a bit stupid, but I had a profound realization this morning while I was sipping my delicious espresso.
For starters, I don’t usually make espresso most mornings. Usually I have plain regular coffee. I save espresso for either special occasions or times when I really need a boost.
So here I am sipping my espresso when the realization...
5 tags
Minimalist Fiction : My New Publishing Platform
As some of you may know, one passion of mine is writing short stories. It is something that I don’t really publish or talk about too often because I haven’t really had a platform for it. Until now.
Today, I am launching minimalistfiction.com. The concept is really simple: I write stories based upon art from the online community.
When I see art (photos, paintings, etc) or hear...
Anonymous asked: what university did you go to in RI?
October 2010
3 posts
6 tags
Make Productivity Convenient, Kill Distraction,...
This week I have faced nothing short of a plague of constant distraction. There are so many things I want to read or learn or find out about that the multitudinous hours of the day seemed to have compressed down into just a few.
At first, I blamed my distractions on the internet. The fact that information is incredibly abundant on practically any subject makes it harder and harder for me to...
5 tags
Real life isn't good enough: digital photo realism...
I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at photographs online lately, as I’m working towards a new project of mine (more on that later), and one thing that struck me as totally strange is how unacceptable a plain old photo is these days. To explain what I mean, let me give you an example.
I walked by 2 or 3 photography studios here in Bergen and each studio displayed some example...
6 tags
Ghetto Scan Your Negatives
A couple days ago I had the chance to develop some black and white negatives. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and was quite excited to smell the familiar smells of the developing chemicals and to feel the wonderful feeling of developing your own photos. Then I realized that I had no way of scanning them once I had these beautiful negatives. Thus, Ghetto Scanning.
If you ever find yourself...
September 2010
4 posts
4 tags
Never Stop Adventuring (Photo Series)
Moving to a new city, living in a city can really suck the life out of you sometimes. Day in, day out surrounded by people and cars and tall buildings. I’m living in Bergen, a city in Norway: somewhere where I can always see the sky (even if it tends to be a bit grey) and I can always see some mountains, but still, it’s a city.
Sometimes it gets too easy to forget the feeling...
4 tags
Creating : Watching Water Boil
Have you ever watched water boil? Like actually watched it the whole time? I did this morning and here is how it goes.
First there is nothing. For what seems like forever, it’s just water sitting there doing nothing in a pan.
Then, all of the sudden, tiny bubbles start to form on the bottom of the pan. These bubbles are so small it’s easy to not even see them at all. Ever so slowly,...
5 tags
10 Reasons to Use a Coffee Press (and not a...
Today I have coffee in the cup and on the brain. I have mentioned something along these lines before, but I now I want to write a list, plain and simple why I think the coffee press or French press is so great.
1. The coffee tastes better. I think this should be first for obvious reasons. No taste of paper from paper filters, no taste of metal from metal filters, just coffee.
2. It’s...
3 tags
Thoughts on Time
Time is a very strange creature. I have thought a lot about time lately and how it can seem to move at different speeds for different people or at different times of the day or even depending on your mood. This is something that most people are aware of. Think for example of how slowly time feels to move at work and how quickly it moves when you are at a movie.
Also, as we grow older time...
August 2010
3 posts
6 tags
I Am Kinda Crazy
So here I was thinking it would be the easiest thing ever to waltz into a country whose language I don’t speak, find a job and live happily every after for a year or two.
It is not that easy!
I have a film degree so I contacted countless film places to no avail. I went to photography studios and got nothing. I tried hotels and the tourist bureau, still nothing.
It am actually at the...
4 tags
Where have I been?
Venice
Ancona
Split
Zagreb
Vienna
Prague
Amsterdam
Hamburg
Copenhagen
Malmö
Stockholm
Oslo
Bergen
What Everybody Does Tell You About Backpacking:
It’s a super rewarding experience, something unlike anything you will probably ever do again unless you love it and keep on doing it.
Couchsurfing is an awesome and cheap/free way to stay places when you are traveling.
Pack light...
Greetings!
I have just come back from a 2 week Eurorail trip through Europe with Maria. We hit 10 countries in 15 days. I would love to write a long entry all about it (and I will!), but I will only have to wait until my photos are developed.
Cheers for now!
July 2010
2 posts
3 tags
Living With Me - A Double Exposure Photo Series
Well here we are. I am about to leave, but I wanted to upload this first. While I was packing away most of my stuff, I came upon this, my final project for my photography course. So, before I packed them away, I decided to scan them.
And now, for your viewing pleasure, I present “Living With Me” a double exposure photo series.
These photos were all...
4 tags
What You Can Learn From Six Flags
I am not normally a person who is afraid of big scary roller coasters or heights or anything like that, but I’m also not normally especially brave about them either. Well, not too long ago I found myself at Six Flags with my girlfriend. As we entered the park, we spotted the little cages that float serenely on wire over the park to give you a nice view of everything. We rode this first and...
June 2010
5 posts
5 tags
"580 Days": I've Done It!
(failing to mimic a photo of myself^ why am I looking the wrong way??)
Dear friends & fiends,
I have finally done it! I have created a photo book out of my 365 Days photo project. Whether or not you know what that is, go on and check it out by clicking either here, or on the nice little picture in the lefthand column. :)
Also be sure to download the eBook while it’s free!
3 tags
Action Vs Distraction
If I were to drastically generalize and divide everything people do into just two categories, those categories would be (1) action and (2) distraction.
I would define action as anything that you do that benefits yourself or someone else in some way. That could be as simple as helping out a friend or even just brainstorming. It could also be as complicated as writing up a 500 page business plan...
4 tags
Why Do We Have Credit Cards?
Maybe I’m crazy, maybe this is a stupid question and definitely too stupid to have an entire blog post dedicated to it, but seriously, what is the point of credit cards?
I do have a credit card. For about 7 months I have been using it off and on interchangeably with my debit card. Each month, I pay off my full balance and I never spend more money than I have. It seems pretty sensible...
4 tags
A Brief Guide To Letting Go
Stuff! So much stuff! Stuff everywhere!
Most people have tons and tons of stuff. Often, they don’t even realize it because they’ve found neat little nooks and crannies among their other stuff and let it all sit around for so long that they become blind to it.
When confronted, we tend to become defensive about our stuff, coming up with reasons (read: excuses) about why we should keep...
2 tags
The State of Things
This is it: the big turning point in my life. I have graduated college, quit my job, and moved out of my apartment. I have about one month before I take off for Norway. My only certainty is that my future is uncertain.
I don’t have a resume or a job lined up. I just have a little bit of money saved from graduation and work and tax returns. I feel a bit crazy.
During my graduation dinner, my...
May 2010
3 posts
Enjoy Each Other
For those who may have noticed, I haven’t been around much lately. I am taking a couple weeks to be with the people I care about most. School is over and I have an amazingly wonderful visitor and the last place I want to be right now is on the internet.
Please remember that, in this digital world, people are still analog (mostly). Remember to stop every once in a while and just enjoy each...
4 tags
How Studying Abroad Changed Everything
In my last post (What Do You Get From College?), I mentioned that the most value I got out of my college experience was studying abroad. In this post, I would like to expand on that thought and describe just how studying abroad changed everything. There’s something amazing about being able to move to another country for an extended period of time under the safety net of studying. No excitement...
2 tags
What Do You Get From College?
I’m writing from the midst of finals week in my last semester of college (hopefully) ever. Lately, I have noticed a lot of minimalist bloggers bashing schools and how they train people to be compliant and to become a faceless cog in the capitalist machine. I would just like to share my perspective as a fresh (soon to be) graduate on the topic of schools and what I got out of it.
As I...
April 2010
9 posts
3 tags
Going Nowhere Fast? What Drives You?
It’s easy to read a motivational book or article or blog and feel really motivated. It’s not always easy, however, to turn that motivation into any sort of productivity and here’s one reason why.
Getting the drive and the motivation to get things done is only half the battle. The other half, and I daresay the more important half, is finding out what it is that you want to do....
4 tags
Resist the Resistance! Get Some Willpower!
If you’re like me, no matter how many motivational books or blogs or whatever you read, it’s still not always easy to focus on what’s important. Whether it’s the urge to refresh your email inbox or the urge to turn on the television there’s always something that’s easier (or something your lizard brain wants you to think is more important) than what you should...
3 tags
Are You Indispensable? My Take on Seth Godin's...
I have just finished reading the book “Linchpin” by Seth Godin. My first impression is that this book, for better or for worse, has changed me. For better because it has reinforced my belief in doing what I love first and making money second (for worse because if I never make any money life will probably suck). It emphasizes the power of leadership through examples both great and...
2 tags
How A Boring Job Can Numb Your Mind
Is your job boring? A lot of people who sit at a desk all day might say yes, of course their job is boring, but it’s just a job. The thing that most people don’t realize and might want to consider, is just how damaging a boring job can be to your life outside of work. This is the situation I find myself in now.
As I might have said before, I work in a computer lab. I sit in front of...
3 tags
Getting Things Done Is The Best Motivation To Get...
This sounds crazy, but hear me out. I’ve been working on creating a book out of my 365 Days photo project that I did back on Flickr a while back. It’s one of those projects that no matter how I try to stay motivated, it just seems to get pushed to the back burner. Even now that my mom has offered to pay me to do it. That is, until I found the best motivation I’ve ever had: just...
1 tag
Bursts of Motivation
It is 1:02 in the morning and I don’t want to sleep because I have gotten a burst of motivation! I was about to go to bed when I decided to surf around the internet looking at business books. I am currently reading Seth Godin’s Linchpin, which is inspiring enough, but I want to read more. So down on Amazon, I started to eat up all the “Look Inside” free previews and even...
3 tags
Minimalism for Anyone
I have been spending my spare moments delving into everything I can find about minimalism online. There are a ton of blogs (I mean a TON) that are really very useful and informative and just overall spiffy. I’ve linked to a few of them in my Big Decisions post. But there’s one thing that never really settled with me and that is just who can be a minimalist.
Ok, read this with a grain of salt,...
3 tags
1 tag
Big Decisions
I am at the point in my life when everyone is pressuring me about what I want to do with my life. With graduation just around the corner, I’m starting to feel the pressure of “the real world” weighing down on me.
I haven’t applied for any jobs, I don’t have a portfolio, I don’t even have a resume, but for some reason I’m most worried about how much...
March 2010
6 posts
1 tag
