chasing answers newsletter #66

The photography issue

“A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.” - Ansel Adams

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Happy Sunday!

For the last couple of months, I've spent a lot of time messing around with photography. At least, it's been a lot of time relative to how much free time I've had. And I have thoroughly been enjoying myself. Even my wife commented on how happy I seemed while doing it.

This led me to wonder if there are some mental health benefits to photography. So I did a little research, and it turns out there are. I've listed a few of them below.

• It requires us to focus on the present.

  Photography requires concentration. This draws our attention away from the daily stresses of life, which can be therapeutic, offering a mental break similar to meditation.

• It gives us a way to express emotions.

  Photos can help express feelings that may be difficult to put into words. Every photo tells a story, and sharing these stories can provide an emotional release. It provides a shift in perspective.

• Photography encourages us to look at our surroundings in new ways. When we do this, we appreciate the world around us and are less likely to take it for granted.

• It encourages us to interact with nature.

  Certain types of photography, such as landscape and wildlife photography, require us to be outdoors, and time spent in nature has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve well-being.

You don't have to be a professional or have the best gear to get these benefits, so grab whatever camera you have and get out and take some photos.

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A Little Help

I need some input on an idea I have, so I’m asking you all for help. Let’s just say, hypothetically, that someone was starting a photography business that wasn’t going to specialize in any one type of photography but would do anything from portraits to product photography to maternity shoots, and they wanted a cool, somewhat edgy name for it. Which of the following would you choose?

• Aperture Anarchy Photography

• Fractured Focus Photography

• Ethereal Exposure Photography

• Intentional Distortion Photography

• Shattered Lens Photography

• Pixel Rebel Photography

• Now replace “Photography” with “Imagery” or “Images” in all of the above examples. Does that make any of them better?

I’d really appreciate it if you could take a second and comment below with your vote or shoot me an email. And if you think all of those suck and have something better, I’d love to hear it. But no weak shit like “Picture Perfect Photography” or “Shutterbug Studios.” 

Thanks in advance for the help!

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Photo(s) of the Week

There is nothing spectacular about any of these photos other than they are some of the first I took with my new camera. It was delivered on Friday, and I spent a large part of Saturday testing it out, and holy shit, is this thing awesome.

After what felt like hundreds of hours of research, I ultimately decided on the Canon EOS R5 as my first foray into mirrorless cameras. It will take me months to figure out how to use it properly, but it will be worth it.

As you can see from the photos below, I have some incredible subjects to practice on. This is a summary of my Saturday morning and afternoon, where I shot almost 2,000 photos testing out different features of the camera. I don't have a real wildlife lens for it yet, so I had to crop in quite a bit on the eagles, but I was really impressed by how much detail the cropped images maintained.

My wife snapped the last pic. I was trying to teach my daughter how to skip rocks, and she threw in a small boulder when I wasn't looking, causing both of us to get splashed, which she thought was hilarious (it's my favorite one.)

I hope you all have a great week!

If you want to see more of my work, please visit chasinganswers.co.

Thank you for reading, and if you liked what you read, please share.

randy