Divine fatalism is the belief that everything that happens in life is ultimately determined by God or divine providence, and that events unfold according to a predetermined divine plan.
It combines two ideas:
Divine — relating to God or a higher power.
Fatalism — the belief that certain outcomes are inevitable, regardless of human efforts to change them.
Divine fatalism vs. divine providence
The distinction is important, especially in Christianity.
Divine fatalism: Everything is already decided by God, and human choices cannot change the ultimate outcome.
Divine providence: God guides and sustains creation, but human beings still possess genuine free will and moral responsibility.
The Catholic perspective
Catholicism generally rejects strict divine fatalism because it maintains that human freedom and God’s providence coexist.
God may know what you will choose without forcing you to choose it.
A central philosophical question is:
If God already knows everything that will happen, are we truly free to choose otherwise?
This is the problem of theological fatalism, debated for centuries by thinkers such as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Boethius.
A deeper interpretation
Divine fatalism can also express a feeling of surrender:
What is meant to happen will happen. I cannot control everything. I must trust God.
But Christian surrender is not necessarily passive resignation. It means acting freely while trusting God with what lies beyond your control.
The essential distinction: Fatalism says the future is fixed. Faith in providence says the future is in God’s hands, without making your choices meaningless.
Welcome to Flux Archive Session Number 15, where we look at some of the photographs that I made along my black-and-white photography journey.
Here we have Flux Volume 15, photographs made from December to January of 2023 to 2024.
Photography and the Subconscious
I was looking through this work, and when I looked at the contact sheet, I was pretty surprised.
The first frame is a photograph of a gesture of a hand, and it mimics the final photograph of the zine, which is a photograph of a real hand pointing towards the city.
As I was going through the work, I noticed the repetition of some gestures of hands and some themes that just emerged naturally throughout the work.
It reminds me of the power of photography, photographing loosely, and photographing intuitively from instinct—and how that can sometimes have your subconscious mind become conscious through the photographs you make.
When you photograph freely and loosely, and then you start going through the photographs, you start to discover who you are.
You start to discover that sort of genuine perspective and feeling that you have towards life through the photographs that you select.
When I select my photographs, I select them very instinctively. I don’t really contemplate them too much.
I put them through my Flux Zine Issue Generator, which automatically, chronologically timestamps everything and sequences them in time.
There’s something special about photographing from instinct, selecting the photographs from instinct, and then allowing the chips to fall as they may in these sequences.
There’s something special about me not making the decision to pair a photograph of a hand next to a photograph of reflected light from a building.
I’m allowing the story—allowing my own sort of subconscious stumblings through life—to be displayed in the photography.
Going Beyond the Photograph as Fact
I think what I’m ultimately seeking is to evoke an emotional quality through my imagery.
I’m seeking to go beyond the obvious image of a thing as fact to maybe, through a sequence of images, describe a feeling that I have about life.
There are some techniques that I use to achieve more peculiar kinds of frames.
For example, I’ll photograph a reflected beam of light from a building and use my Ricoh GR in a weird way where I can use the exposure compensation to overexpose and create that kind of halation effect.
One of the things that I do very intuitively when I’m walking is, if I see a reflected beam of light, I’ll expose for the shadow area by moving my camera, half pressing and locking in the exposure in the shadow area, moving the camera back up to the reflected surface, and then clicking the shutter.
So I’m basically quickly adjusting the exposure by holding a half press in the shadow area, looking up towards the light, and then clicking the shutter.
It creates that effect.
That’s just a weird, peculiar way that I photograph using AV mode, automatic mode, and lately multi-segment metering mode.
Always Ready, Always Watching
I’m always ready to click the shutter.
Always aware.
Always watching people, watching movement, looking at textures on the walls.
As we go through this work, we go from tattered textures to newspapers on the ground, discarded objects, and qualities of light.
Flags moving in the wind are things that trigger me these days.
I’m not only looking to photograph those moments of people and gestures. I’m looking at textures. I’m looking at windows, posters, and everything in between as potential content for my photography.
Once again, it’s because I’m seeking to evoke a feeling of what it’s like to stumble through the world.
I don’t find that locking myself into only photographing people is going to help me achieve that output.
I’m open to the birds in flight. I’m looking at the geese in the river. I’m using my camera as a way for me to explore the world.
I’m not going to limit myself these days. I’m really exploring my inner spirit. I’m trying to explore how I feel about the world.
Photography becomes a very pure way to express yourself.
Photography as Expression
I find that the expressive nature of using the medium is a really powerful way to go about photography, as opposed to simply only documentary.
I’ve been traveling the world and using the camera as a way for me to explore humanity and document the world as fact.
But lately, I’m using it as a way for me to simply explore my own inner curiosity.
I think this way of working becomes much more liberating and much more enjoyable for me personally because I’m no longer dependent on finding something extravagant or interesting in my practice.
Instead, I’m using the images I create as a representation of how I feel about the day.
Finding Patterns in the Mundane
There’s this photograph of my hand inserted against the hand of a sculpture next to Polyphemus, the Cyclops from The Odyssey.
Once again, the repeated gesture of the hands—even my own hand included—is kind of interesting.
I’m photographing a lot of discarded objects and strange patterns of wires.
When you shoot with the high-contrast workflow, these very mundane scenes become otherworldly simply because the superfluous details of the background can be easily crushed into black, illuminating the textures in the foreground.
It becomes a surprise.
We go from a spread of clustered wires and a discarded object to a discarded envelope and a cluster of birds in flight.
There’s something extremely delightful about the minimalist deep black space and the highlight area revealing what’s important in the frame.
It almost feels like these little birds are sending a message, and we have this envelope on the left.
But I don’t plan any of these juxtapositions or pairings.
Photographing Serendipity
That, to me, is one of the things I love about this Flux system.
We go out there and we photograph serendipity.
I go out there and photograph this cluster of birds, and unknowingly I receive this surprise with the alignment of everything.
I didn’t really plan this.
I can’t really control this.
All I’m really in control of is being there and photographing.
I looked down from a view in Penn’s Landing that is no longer there—it was destroyed—and looked down towards the water. I underexposed my camera by one or two stops and made the photograph to crush out the river and expose for the highlights.
I really enjoy the image and the abstract nature of the birds in flight.
That simple pattern is intriguing to me.
Photography, Family, and Memory
Then there’s an early morning photograph I made of the clock tower at City Hall next to a picture I made of a picture of my ancestors who came over to Philadelphia from Italy.
There’s something about this pairing that’s interesting to me.
You have this tower of City Hall that’s been standing there for over a century next to this picture of my ancestors coming from Italy.
Then there’s my grandfather in another frame, some water moving from Penn’s Landing.
I’m exploring my own life through the medium.
How I feel about life.
My family history.
My hometown, where I was born and raised here in Philly.
While I’m using the external world to explore my photography—photographing strangers and photographing life on the street—my underlying motive is to explore my own personal feeling about the world around me.
Relinquishing Control
There’s a strange frame of a child being carried upside down in Reading Terminal. Then we have this tunnel.
And finally, there’s an image of my mother during the Mummers Parade.
She was pointing out towards these balloons that were flying while all the activities were happening below. We have some ice skaters at the bottom, the tower of City Hall, and William Penn.
A very iconic scene of Philadelphia.
Then we reach the final contact sheet.
Once again, the final frame is that gesture of the hand.
And when we return to the beginning of the zine, we have that gesture of the hand again.
That’s just a nice little surprise from relinquishing control of sequencing and what you’re photographing, and then reliving those photographs and looking back at things.
It’s exciting to see what aligns and what is juxtaposed against each other across the spreads.
I really enjoy this idea of removing control and allowing the chips to fall as they may.
That’s the Flux system.
You go out there, photograph instinctively, and let life reveal the sequence afterward.
If you enjoyed this video, you can make your own Flux Issue using the Flux Issue Generator. Upload 36 pictures and submit them directly to me. If I enjoy the work, I’ll print out the work, review it here on the YouTube channel, and add it to the public catalog.
And if you’d like to join the Flux Discord server community, you can click the Join button on the YouTube channel and receive a link to join the community.
With that being said, thank you for watching today’s video.
What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante, currently walking around Philadelphia. Got the Ricoh GR IIIx, and today I just wanted to talk about the art of discovery in photography and why I believe this to be the name of the game.
With photography, the goal should ultimately be increasing your curiosity and discovering new things, right?
Disregarding the preconceived ideas of what you should or shouldn’t be photographing.
Let Go of What Street Photography Should Be
When you think about street photography, you might be thinking about fleeting moments of people, photographing humanity, making a story.
But if you actually unlock yourself from these basic sort of presumptions and beliefs that have been put upon you through propaganda and social engineering, you can start to unlock your own way of creatively thriving.
What I mean by that is essentially letting go of anything that you’ve seen online, in photo books, gallery shows, in the history of photography, et cetera, that has been deemed to be a good photograph or interesting to look at.
Simply start photographing from your own pure, childlike curiosity.
Follow your bliss and only photograph things that you genuinely are curious about.
When I’m starting to tap into the flow state while photographing this way, I discover new things very naturally because of the way that my curiosity guides me.
Discover Something New
I think when you have a preconceived idea of what you should be photographing, it’s actually very easy to continue photographing the same thing repetitively and essentially lead to insanity, where you’re never going to discover or see something new.
My goal is to discover new things, to tinker and experiment, and to explore.
I want to essentially relinquish as much control as possible with my personal process and practice so that I can reveal something new through spontaneity and the unknown.
Relinquish Control
The practical ways that I achieve that goal are through photographing with a compact camera, shooting JPEG only, no post-processing, cranking contrast to the maximum, and using automatic mode.
Through these technical and creative constraints, I’m no longer thinking. I’m simply responding.
When I’m responding from my pure instincts, I can then cultivate and discover new ways of seeing, new ways of photographing, and hopefully discover something.
When you relinquish control as much as possible, then you can actually enter the flow.
What I mean by relinquishing control is it’s essentially the opposite of setting your camera up manually, holding the camera to your eye, locking in the composition, right?
All of these very basic ways of thinking about photography.
Setting your camera up on a tripod. Lining up the horizons cleanly. Following the basic rules of composition.
Instead, let go of all the basic rules that you’ve been taught around photography and what makes something good or successful or not.
Simply start photographing.
Put in the Reps
When you start photographing this way and you start to pound the pavement each day, putting in more and more reps, clicking the shutter more and more, I think it’s inevitable that you’ll discover something new.
And then each day that you discover something new, you increase your curiosity.
You fulfill that goal within itself within photography, which literally is curiosity.
Because without curiosity, why would you even start photographing?
The goal is to keep going, to keep walking, to keep exploring, and to essentially never get bored of the mundane nature of life.
I don’t ever want to continue making the same pictures for the rest of my life.
I want to discover new ways of photographing each and every day, each and every week, month, year, and lifetime so that I can continue on with my practice.
Make Photography Effortless
I would highly suggest that you start to consider what your goal is, why you’re doing what you’re doing, and how you can essentially get to a place where photography becomes effortless and easy.
Because I think the easier it becomes for you, the more you’re just going to start producing.
As you can see, I kind of just throw the camera around, not even really looking.
I’m snapshotting intuitively and responding to my instinct.
Through that act of simply clicking the shutter more, I discover more.
I think it’s a really beautiful place to be.
In just a few feet, I can make lots of frames.
It has everything to do with the way that I’m looking and thinking and experiencing my life.
Essentially, I’m going limitless with my practice, and I think you should too.
Welcome to this week’s Flux Archive, session number 14, where I look at some of the photographs that I made along my black-and-white journey.
Today we’re looking at photographs I made in December of 2023. This is pretty early on in my journey.
Here we have a Flux issue, which is stored in a blank manila folder with a label that I place on the outside and a barcode that you can scan to access the digital files.
This is a system that I wanted to chat about today.
It’s the Flux system and essentially why I love looking at my photography this way.
What Is the Flux System?
Each issue comes with a title. I have a canonical naming convention as Flux underscore with a number, and then underneath are the dates that the photographs were made and my photographer name, Dante Sisofo.
Every single photograph in these issues is sequenced chronologically.
Flux is essentially an open-source chronological photography publishing system where 36 photographs become one complete issue.
The system generates:
A PDF publication
A contact sheet
A metadata manifest document
A printable issue
The method is extremely simple.
You set your camera up with a small JPEG workflow using high-contrast monochrome. The purpose is to essentially eliminate processing, eliminate workflow friction, and maximize speed.
Then, when it comes to coming home and culling through the photographs, you’re supposed to cull the photographs quickly and select 36 pictures without overanalyzing.
Finally, you can upload the photographs to my Flux Generator, where the system automatically reads the timestamps of each photograph, preserves the chronological order, generates derivatives and files that are uploaded to a website page, creates metadata, generates a contact sheet and issue number, creates the issue PDF, and compresses everything for sharing online in a ZIP file.
The output is a downloadable issue PDF.
The structure is extremely simple, with chronologically sequenced photo pages, a 6×6 contact sheet, a metadata manifest, and a printable PDF.
All of the photographs remain in chronological order.
36 Photographs, Like a Roll of Film
At the back, you can see the manifest document and the contact sheet.
It’s an homage to 36 shots on one roll of 35mm film.
There’s always a barcode that you can scan to access the digital files, download the PDF yourself, or even download all of the original JPEG files.
The system is generated automatically using a system I created with AI, which reads the timestamps, sequences everything chronologically, and builds the complete PDF without any work or hassle.
There’s no manual layout.
Everything is laid out on the grid automatically.
Print It Cheaply
The last step is to simply print the issue with double-sided paper.
We’re printing the work on 8.5 × 11 office paper using cheap materials.
You stack the pages, align the edges, and staple them on the staple marks. There are two exposed staple marks on each cover.
Then you simply distribute.
Print the work. Store the work in manila folders. Archive and repeat.
On the protocol page, we have a barcode that you can scan to access the Flux Generator and create your own issue.
The first image is always presented on the right-hand side, followed by a blank page on the left.
At the bottom right, you have the time the photograph was made alongside the date and the name of the photographer.
At the top right, we have the issue number alongside the sequence number of the photograph.
So this is 1 of 36.
All the photographs are presented as diptychs across the spread. We’re taking advantage of all the paper and all the space.
Embrace Imperfection
I really enjoy looking at the work this way and embracing imperfection openly.
One of the things that happens with the highlights is that sometimes clipping will occur.
Because I’m printing on cheap monochrome paper, there are these clippings that occur on the page.
But what I realized is that if I’m able to flip through work like this that has so many imperfections and still enjoy looking at the work and enjoy the act of printing on this kind of paper, I feel extremely liberated.
I’m no longer dependent on making something perfect.
I openly embrace these kinds of imperfections.
The digital artifacts become a post-digital aesthetic where I’m developing this workflow using automatic things such as processing in the camera, small JPEG compact-camera workflows, no post-processing, and then finally the output on cheap paper that we can find inside any office in the city.
I’m adopting the aesthetics of bureaucracy and essentially timestamping everything with the date.
There’s this connection that I’m finding between the digital workflow and the physical cheap materials.
It has this sort of post-digital aesthetic where it almost feels like film.
The Aesthetics of Bureaucracy
There’s something about the speed and simplicity of using everything automatically where you don’t really have to do anything.
You just drag and drop your photos and print them out on the fastest, cheapest printer possible.
The printer reveals imperfections like streaks along the page and embraces the aesthetics of bureaucracy that you find within cities and these different kinds of LaserJet printers.
You’ll see people walking around the city with manila folders in their hands.
I think it’s interesting to adopt that sort of workflow, like you’re a city office worker in bureaucracy, but then put this artistic imagery, this poetry, this personal touch on humanity that we display through street photography inside of it.
Photography as Memory
The act of reliving the photographs chronologically becomes like reliving a personal diary or a memory.
I think the aesthetic qualities of black-and-white photography and the imperfections of the paper also evoke that within the imagery.
I treat photography as memory, as a way for me to preserve time and space through the photographs that I make.
The act of chronologically timestamping everything is a huge part of the process.
My favorite way of looking through my own photography is seeing the sequence through chronology and retracing my steps as the moments unfolded.
That’s really my thought for today about this system I’m developing.
Open Source Photography
I really enjoy the fact that the work itself is open source as well.
All of these images can be found on the website associated with each issue and can be printed out and shared endlessly because the file size is extremely small.
It’s transferable and downloadable.
Everything is packaged in a ZIP file or available on my Flux Archive website.
You can explore the photographs yourself on a timeline, and you can actually make your own zine out of any of my photographs by adding images to a cart feature and having the Flux system make the zine automatically.
I’m trying to create new systems and new ways of sharing work and preserving work using automatic settings from the camera, to the processing, to finally the actual physical materials.
When it comes to creating the zine, all of that is automatic too.
The only thing I’m responsible for is going out, making photos, making selections, and uploading the photos.
Then I can instantly create my own book at home that I can enjoy as this personal visual diary of my day.
And then I can stock them up as I move through my life and simply move on to the next one.
This Is My Final Output
This is my final output.
This is like my roll of film.
These are my 36 photographs from December 9th to December 10th.
We just looked at two days of photography from 2023.
That’s what we were looking through.
If you want to make your own Flux issue, you can visit the Flux Generator. Simply upload 36 pictures and submit them directly to me.
If I enjoy the work, I’ll add them to the catalog and potentially review them here on my YouTube channel.
With that being said, thank you for watching today’s video.
Currently photographing the clouds here along Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. Check out the beautiful sun up above.
Yeah, when in doubt, I return to Penn’s Landing and photograph the clouds.
I enjoy visiting those locations where there’s a horizon and an ability for me to look out towards the sky.
You know, living in urban cities, we’re surrounded by skyscrapers that are extremely tall, and I believe sometimes limit our perspective.
And so I like to shift my perspective by visiting these locations where I can seek a view. You know, this landscape, this vista.
I mean, just look out at that bridge. Look up at the sky.
And when I’m in doubt and I don’t know what to photograph, I simply look up and I photograph the clouds.
Finding Meaning in the Mundane
The thought of the day is:
Abstraction through photography is the ultimate solution for finding meaning in the mundane.
You know, it’s very difficult these days to go out and to find something interesting to say with your photography.
But if you reshape the way that you engage with the medium through creating something from nothing, you can then find infinite potential to return to day one each day.
And what I mean by returning to day one each day is returning to that state where everything is fresh and new, and you find infinite novelty around you.
This is something I believe can be difficult to achieve because as you walk the street, you see the same things.
You notice things with these sort of patterns where everything becomes sort of mundane, you could say. Boring, uninteresting, or not worth photographing.
But when you reframe the way that you look at things to what it could be, where you’re abstracting reality, where you’re looking at life and elevating it to a new height, where you’re trying to essentially use the world as your canvas, everything changes.
Use the world around you as this sort of place where there’s infinite potential and possibility.
Then you can start to thrive and cultivate this sense of inner curiosity.
The World Becomes Otherworldly
I can look at the light glimmering upon this beautiful river and find a surprise by the way that the light shines.
It almost looks like I’m peering into a galaxy.
You know, when you look down at this thing, it can become otherworldly.
When you look at the patterns of the leaves and you look at all the intricacies, whether they’re details and textures in the ground with the bricks or the beautiful clouds up above, all of these sort of surfaces can become something that inspires you to click the shutter and to create.
Even these birds flying can become something.
Ricoh GR IV Monochrome and High-Contrast Black and White
On a very technical and practical level, the way that I create these days is with a compact Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, using the high-contrast black-and-white settings baked into the camera and cranking it all the way to the maximum.
What this does is eliminate all friction and decision fatigue when it comes to post-processing and camera settings.
I believe this is what gives me the ability to create effortlessly.
And when I enter this state where I’m photographing and not thinking, I start to realize the infinite potential that’s right before my eyes.
I start to look at the shapes and the textures, and I start to elevate these things.
And you know what happens through the use of high-contrast black-and-white photography?
You’re instantly abstracting reality.
You’re instantly saying that I am not looking at life as reality. I am not looking at life as it is, but I’m depicting reality—what it could be—through my subjective, personal interpretation of the world.
Through that way of engaging with the day, and through that way of engaging with the medium and with your personal photography, you will start to thrive again.
Photography as a Reset
It could become a reset too.
This doesn’t have to be something you endlessly do.
However, I find that ever since adopting this way of working, I can’t unsee the infinite possibility that lies within the mundane.
And it’s just so exciting to me because anywhere I am in the world, any surface that I glance upon, any time of the day, I find something new to say.
I find a new way to play this game of returning to the mundane.
And to me, this is the ultimate challenge of the photographer: to find something out there in the world each day and to find a reason to cultivate that sense of curiosity about life.
By giving myself these technical creative constraints, it’s unlocking this new pathway in my brain that is giving me this ability to almost look beyond the veil of reality and to see things anew each day, from day one.
Return to Day One Each Day
To me, this is why I’m eternally grateful for photography.
Photography puts me in this state where everything is interesting, and I find so much meaning and rich joy in my everyday experiences.
Alone under the sun.
Looking out at the clouds.
Watching the boat move by.
Listening to the birds chirping.
Basically just immersing myself in the mundane, in the present moment, and finding infinite wonder around me.
Abstraction is the ultimate solution for finding meaning in the mundane in photography.
And yeah, with that being said, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next video.
About to walk along the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Gonna take you along with me on this chaotic journey.
There’s so much energy with the cars, but when you look up at the clouds, you find solace and peace.
Check it out.
Such a beautiful view.
Why I Visit Elevated Places
One of the things that I do to elevate my mood is visit an elevated surface.
I think there’s something empowering about returning to a place that allows you to look out beyond the horizon—to get a bird’s-eye perspective where you have a panopticon view of your surroundings.
You feel powerful.
And so, when in doubt, I visit the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.
Living in a Modern City
Today I just wanted to talk about solitude and what it’s like living in a modern city.
We have so many cars crossing this bridge. There are so many people in the city. We’re more connected than ever through technology.
But there’s something I believe is haunting this generation:
Solitude.
How do you deal with the inevitability of lacking community in modernity?
Where do you go?
How do you thrive on your own?
I think it’s something that’s important to consider.
Creating Your Own World
I’ve been in solitude for a very long time.
Really since around the COVID years—2020, 2021.
It’s been a period of perpetual solitude.
I’ve adapted by creating my own world.
By looking up at the clouds and finding wonder.
By surrounding myself with beauty.
By empowering myself physically through weightlifting.
By going to church.
By connecting with God.
By producing photographs.
By going out by myself and fueling my life with purpose through creation.
I think I can thrive in any situation because I’ve learned to create my own world.
Giving Yourself a Voice
I’ve spent a lot of time alone.
Traveling.
Walking around my hometown.
Living in my city.
It’s difficult when you lack community.
It can become something that leads to a depressed state where you feel sad.
I’m not saying I’m depressed right now.
But I think it’s understandable to want to feel heard.
To want to feel connected.
I find that by giving myself a voice—through sharing my thoughts on YouTube or building my own website—the act of making something becomes incredibly empowering.
The simple fact that anybody across the world can instantly access something you’ve created gives you a voice.
It gives you a feeling of being empowered.
Not power in the sense of conquering or dominating others.
But empowerment through being heard.
Through being witnessed.
Why I Started Flux Witness
One of the things I enjoy doing on this YouTube channel is witnessing other people’s art.
That’s why I started the Flux Witness Sessions.
Every week I spend a few minutes looking at somebody’s body of work.
It’s simply a way to acknowledge someone.
To give somebody ten minutes of my time.
Sometimes that’s enough.
Alone Together
Here we have somebody playing chess alone in their house.
Look at that.
We’re in solitude all the time.
Playing games on our phones.
Walking around talking to ourselves through these little black boxes.
But when you look up at the sky…
…and then you look down at all this traffic…
Despite being alone—
I feel connected.
Connected through the way I engage with the day.
Connected through creating.
Being a bystander while also being an active participant in life.
Photography Keeps Me Grounded
Photography is what keeps me engaged with reality.
It’s what keeps me connected to society.
Honestly, I fear that without photography I’d probably become a monk in the woods.
I’d disappear.
I’d sequester myself away from society.
In many ways, I feel peaceful alone.
I feel powerful alone.
But I don’t think it’s natural.
I think it’s more natural for humans to live among humanity.
To be surrounded by society.
The Digital World Isn’t Enough
It’s unfortunate how modern society is structured.
Telecommunications.
Remote jobs.
Communities formed entirely on social media.
More and more interactions happen digitally instead of face-to-face.
We lose something.
We lose that emotional connection that comes from speaking with another human being in physical proximity.
I think that’s what leads to conflict.
Division between men and women.
Political ideologies.
Different identities.
People seem more extreme now.
I think it’s because of the way we consume information.
We spend so much time indoors.
Sequestered.
Allowing algorithms to feed us endlessly.
Go Outside
I think the antidote is simple.
Go outside.
Seek wisdom through life experience under the sun.
If you ever feel like you don’t know where to go…
If you ever feel alone…
Find yourself in an elevated place.
Touch the sunlight.
Look up at the clouds.
Look toward the horizon.
Recognize the infinite connectivity of everything—and the infinite possibilities that still exist in life.
The ultimate reason why the compact camera is supreme for photography is because you can extend the camera in front of you. You can move it in ways that you can’t with a viewfinder or rangefinder-style camera.
And so I can get extremely close to things intuitively by just using the macro feature and looking at the back of my LCD screen. I can throw the camera up to different surfaces and photograph things that I otherwise wouldn’t have by raising the camera to my eye.
When I’m photographing this poster, there’s no way I’m gonna come up to this with my eye and photograph it. I’m gonna wind up limiting myself by using a viewfinder.
And so by removing the viewfinder, I can throw the camera in different ways and photograph extremely intuitively without the camera getting in the way.
Welcome to Flux Archive 013, where we look at some of the photographs I’ve made throughout my black and white photography journey.
These photographs span November through December of 2023.
Flux is a chronological photography publishing system that I built on my website. You can upload 36 photographs, automatically generate your own zine, and have every image sequenced chronologically with the exact date, time, and photographer name.
Without further ado, let’s get into the work.
Photography Is a Physical Act
These first photographs were made in Miami while riding the train with my brother.
One of the frames is tilted.
Not because I planned it.
But because that’s how my body responded to the movement happening in front of me.
I think photography is, first and foremost, a physical act.
A photograph is the result of your physical relationship to the scene, your position within it, and your instinct to click the shutter.
Your composition isn’t just about what’s in front of you.
It’s about where you stand.
How you move.
How you respond.
At the same time, the photograph becomes a reflection of your internal state.
The external world becomes a way of expressing how you feel about life.
That’s one of the reasons I love photography.
A Simple Technical Workflow
Walking through Philadelphia, I often photograph directly into the sun.
It’s a difficult lighting situation, but my workflow is intentionally simple.
I shoot in AV mode, f/8, minimum shutter speed 1/500, with automatic settings.
My snap focus stays set to 2 meters.
The only thing I usually adjust is exposure compensation.
When photographing into bright sunlight with my high-contrast recipe, I’m often around +1.7 EV.
That’s it.
One adjustment.
Everything else happens instinctively.
The simpler the technical process becomes, the more attention I can give to what’s actually unfolding in front of me.
Everything Is Worth Photographing
One photograph shows Independence Hall.
Another is simply dew resting on a leaf.
Macro mode has become one of my favorite tools.
Street photographers often overlook the small details beneath their feet because we’re searching for people and moments.
But the textures.
The leaves.
The cracks.
The tiny details.
They’re all photographable.
Photography becomes much richer when you stop separating subjects into what’s “worthy” and what isn’t.
Finding Beauty in Imperfection
During the Thanksgiving Day Parade, I photographed a child interacting with his own shadow.
Later I found a discarded outpatient medical record beside a trail.
Then weathered posters peeling from city walls.
These imperfect objects resonate with me.
I love the philosophy of wabi-sabi.
Finding beauty in imperfection.
Finding beauty in decay.
Finding beauty in ordinary things.
Even these tattered posters documenting the tragedies unfolding in Israel and Gaza became part of that visual exploration.
Photography allows me to stumble through the world imperfectly.
To embrace uncertainty rather than trying to explain everything.
Beyond Reality
High-contrast black and white lets me move beyond literal reality.
By crushing the shadows and exposing for the highlights, ordinary scenes begin to feel mysterious.
They become less about documentation and more about feeling.
I want the textures.
The light.
The ambiguity.
The mystery.
To carry as much emotional weight as the subject itself.
Looking at a faded sign reading Private Property beside a dead bird isn’t simply documenting objects.
It’s documenting a feeling.
That’s what I’m always searching for.
Feeling and Composition
As much as I photograph emotionally, I’m still aware of composition.
When I photograph a glove in the foreground beside a parked car, I’m consciously building relationships between shapes.
Photography is both emotional and visual.
Instinctive.
And intentional.
Your mind and your body begin working together.
Eventually composition itself becomes instinct.
Why I Love a Compact Camera
One thing that’s completely changed my photography is removing the viewfinder.
A compact camera on a wrist strap allows me to move freely.
To photograph close to the ground.
To photograph walls.
Textures.
Small details.
If I had a large viewfinder camera, many of these photographs simply wouldn’t exist.
Without lifting the camera to my eye, photography becomes less intrusive.
Less performative.
More playful.
It allows me to experiment naturally and integrate photography seamlessly into everyday life.
Welcome to Flux Archive 012, where we look at some of the photographs I’ve made throughout my black and white photography journey.
These photographs span October through November of 2023.
Each Flux issue is generated directly from my website. If you’d like to make your own zine, click the link in the description, upload 36 photographs, and you can submit them directly to me. If I enjoy the work, I’ll review it here on the YouTube channel.
Every photograph is chronologically sequenced and timestamped with the exact date and time it was made, alongside the photographer’s name.
Put Yourself in the Frame
The very first photograph is a self-portrait.
On the opposite page, City Hall appears through reflections.
Both photographs are really about light, shadow, and reflection. I’m using myself as the subject just as much as I’m photographing the architecture.
I think this is something we often overlook as street photographers.
We’re constantly photographing other people.
We’re witnesses.
Observers.
Bystanders.
But we rarely include ourselves.
Over the last few years, I’ve intentionally started putting myself into my photographs, and I’m extremely grateful that I did.
I think it’s important to document yourself.
Photography allows us to express how we feel internally by creating something externally.
These images are a direct reflection of who I am.
Your Photographs Reveal Who You Are
When you spend enough time making photographs, patterns begin to emerge.
I notice myself drawn toward minimalist compositions.
Single figures walking into the distance.
Moments of tension.
Moments of isolation.
When I study my own work, I realize these photographs reflect parts of my own life.
The conflicts.
The solitude.
The curiosity.
If you study your photographs deeply enough, you’ll begin recognizing patterns that reveal who you are internally.
All the World’s a Stage
One photograph features a sculpture displaying the Shakespeare quote:
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
It’s a quote that has always stayed with me.
As photographers, we’re constantly observing people, gestures, stories, and small interactions unfolding around us.
Everyone carries their own perspective.
Their own history.
Their own interpretation of life.
And that’s true for photographers too.
Every photograph you make comes from your unique way of seeing.
I genuinely believe that’s the purpose of art.
To share your perspective.
To show people how you experience the world.
Photography simply becomes the tool that allows us to do that.
A Camera That’s Always With You
These photographs came from carrying my camera with me throughout everyday life.
Looking at rain in the morning.
A quiet landscape in Miami while spending time with my mother.
Artificial light inside a parking garage.
Simple moments.
Minimal scenes.
Many of these photographs are almost entirely black, with only small pockets of light.
I’ve always been drawn toward darker imagery.
High-contrast black and white photography feels closest to my instincts.
But more importantly, having a small compact camera with all of the processing happening inside the camera removes friction.
It allows me to respond instinctively instead of overthinking composition, timing, or technical settings.
Photography simply becomes part of everyday life.
Cultivating Your Instinct
One photograph shows my mother doing her makeup.
Another shows my feet beside hers while we waited for the sunrise.
These aren’t extraordinary moments.
They’re simply my life.
And that’s exactly why they matter.
When photography becomes effortless, you stop thinking so much.
You stop forcing pictures.
You simply respond.
That instinct is where your voice begins to develop.
Your style isn’t something you invent.
It’s something that naturally emerges through consistency.
By always carrying the camera.
By giving yourself permission to fail.
By showing up every day.
Photography as a Way of Being
I don’t separate being Dante from being a photographer.
I don’t become a photographer only on certain days.
The camera is always with me.
Photography has become a way of being.
It’s become the compass that guides me through life.
Every interaction.
Every walk.
Every ordinary moment becomes an opportunity to share my perspective.
And I think that’s one of the greatest gifts photography offers us.
It gives each of us a voice.
The artist’s responsibility isn’t to imitate someone else’s vision. It’s to honestly share their own.
Don’t be afraid to use photography as a way to interpret the world subjectively.
Your perspective is the work.
Closing
If you’d like to submit your own work, use the Flux Generator linked below. Upload 36 photographs and I’ll review selected submissions here on the YouTube channel.
If you’d like to join the Flux Discord community, click the Join button here on YouTube to receive an invite.
This morning I want to share some thoughts on how using cheap materials has transformed my photography. Embracing low-resolution, small JPEG files has genuinely brought me more joy in my practice.
For example, recently I’ve been shooting video on an old-school Sony Handycam. It records in 480p, and I’m displaying the footage on a CRT television.
With my photography workflow, I’m using a Ricoh and shooting small JPEGs with the processing and high contrast cranked up in-camera so I don’t have to edit anything afterward.
When it comes to the physical materials I use, I’m printing all of my work on regular copy paper using a Brother monochrome LaserJet printer.
Every photograph you see is printed on some of the cheapest materials possible.
And honestly?
I absolutely love the quality.
I love the grit, the grain, and the imperfections that come from a regular monochrome printer, toner, and basic copy paper from Staples.
I even own a Canon Pro-1000 professional printer.
But if I’m honest…
I prefer looking at my work on regular copy paper.
Oh, check this out.
This is me as a baby. I’m on the right, and my brother is on the left.
Imperfection Is Creative Freedom
I think using cheap materials liberates you because it removes the pressure of things needing to be perfect.
As artists, photographers, and creative people, we’re constantly trying to perfect our craft.
You want to make the hardcover book.
You want to exhibit your work in a gallery.
You want everything to be technically flawless.
But when you embrace imperfection, you actually start making things instead of endlessly thinking about making things.
One thing I’ve done is systematize the way I print my work.
I’ve built an archival system and presentation style using:
Manila folders
The aesthetics of bureaucracy
Typewriter fonts
Visible staple marks
Cheap monochrome prints
Regular copy paper
These aren’t compromises.
They’re creative decisions.
I’ve also embraced automation.
AI generates these zines for me automatically.
Everything is organized by date, time, photographer name, and sequencing without me having to do anything.
I literally drag and drop my photos.
The books are assembled automatically.
That combination of software automation and a simple photographic workflow—shooting quickly with small JPEG files—is incredibly liberating.
The Joy of Low Resolution
This isn’t some deep philosophical insight.
It’s simply something I’ve been feeling lately.
Using cheap paper and low-resolution outputs has made photography more enjoyable.
When you stop chasing the sharpest possible image…
When you embrace grit and grain…
You realize something.
The work looks great.
The imperfections become the aesthetic.
To me, imperfection is perfection.
Life Is Too Short to Hesitate
I think hesitation is one of the biggest creative problems photographers face.
We get trapped trying to make everything just right.
But life is too short for that.
The goal is to keep producing.
By designing a workflow where my photographs look aesthetically beautiful even on the cheapest materials possible, I remove the friction from making work.
High-contrast black-and-white photography has become the perfect solution.
A Simpler Photography Workflow
As printing costs increase…
As ink gets more expensive…
As storage becomes more complicated…
I’ve found myself moving toward an incredibly streamlined workflow.
All you really need is:
A Ricoh camera
An iPhone or iPad
A USB dongle or SD card reader
Small JPEG files
No giant hard drives.
No complicated editing.
No expensive printing process.
Sometimes I’m perfectly happy just looking at small thumbnail prints pinned to my wall.
When the day comes that I want to make something more permanent, I can always use a print-on-demand service like Blurb to create a hardcover book.
And that’s satisfying.
But I also think serious projects often come with serious pressure.
Ship at 80%
When I make a hardcover book, every sequencing decision feels permanent.
Every edit feels important.
That seriousness creates hesitation.
I’d rather make something that’s 80% perfect, ship it, and move on.
Because…
It’s really not that serious.
The important thing is continuing to make work.
Open Source Photography
One of the coolest parts of this system is that other people can use it too.
If you visit:
https://flux.dantesisofo.com/generator
you can use the exact same generator I use to automatically create printable PDF zines.
Print them at home.
Submit your work to me.
I’ll print it here physically and review it on the YouTube channel.
I’ve already received work from photographers around the world—including Germany—and because the system is so inexpensive, it’s incredibly easy to print everyone’s work.
Everything is open source.
Anyone can participate.
Physical Work Should Be Accessible
Books are becoming increasingly expensive.
Printing is expensive.
Materials are expensive.
So my philosophy is simple.
Why not open-source the work?
I love experiencing photography physically.
And I think the most accessible way to do that is by embracing cheap materials rather than fighting against them.
It’s become one of the most joyful parts of this entire project.
Seeing your work arrive.
Printing it.
Holding it in my hands.
Reviewing it here.
That’s what photography is about for me.
If you’d like to create your own zine, use the generator linked below and submit your work.
I’d love to see it.
And if you’d like to join the Flux Discord community, click the Join button here on the YouTube channel.
What’s popping people? It’s Dante, currently walking around Philly here at nighttime, photographing with the Ricoh GR IIIx, 71 millimeter crop mode, with the macro mode purposely knocked out of focus.
And so essentially, when I’m photographing, I’m merely curious about how life and light will render upon my camera sensor.
I’m not really looking to make a photograph that sort of states something as a fact, but I’m looking to evoke an emotional feeling through the imagery.
And at the end of the day, what keeps me curious about photography is the unknown, the spontaneity, the serendipity that arises in the frames.
And so I’m letting go of certainty. I’m letting go of photographing something as a matter of fact, but evoking an emotional feeling and embracing fiction through photography.
What’s popping people? It’s Dante, currently photographing here in Philadelphia.
And today I’m just thinking about the limitless mindset, and how unlocking more possibility with your photography will bring you more joy.
Essentially, if you have any preconceptions about what you should be photographing, it’s going to limit you.
But once you start unlocking more possibilities with your photography by photographing everything, you’ll start to feel and understand what piques your curiosity.
And so don’t limit yourself with any preconceived idea of what you believe photography should be.
Simply start photographing and follow your curiosity.
Welcome to Flux Archive 011, where we look at some of the photographs I’ve made throughout my black and white photography journey.
These photographs are from October 2023.
Flux is a system I developed that chronologically publishes your photography automatically. If you’d like to make a zine like this yourself, there’s a link in the description where you can generate one.
Each photograph includes the date, time, photographer name, and is sequenced chronologically through space and time.
I genuinely believe that making photographs is a way to relive your life.
When I look back through these images in chronological order, I feel much more connected to the work. The sequencing of photographs inside a book or zine completely changes how you experience the story.
Rather than carefully arranging every spread, I like relinquishing control.
Sometimes the photograph on the left has nothing to do with the one on the right. Other times they unexpectedly create something stronger than I could have intentionally designed.
I like the idea of relinquishing control and simply seeing the way I stumbled through life.
That feels honest.
Photography—especially street photography—is already built on unpredictability, spontaneity, and serendipity. Letting the sequencing happen naturally embraces those same qualities.
Photographing Your Own Life
I’ve always enjoyed including my own feet or my own hand in photographs.
When I revisit these images, I’m reminded of returning to church, photographing a rosary, looking down beneath my feet, and simply being curious about everything around me.
Photography continues opening me up to the world in ways I’m incredibly grateful for.
Whether I’m riding my bike down one of my favorite trails or walking through the city, I’m constantly surprised by the way light and shadow create dramatic scenes.
Ultimately I’m looking at texture.
I’m looking at light.
I’m looking at landscapes.
But more than anything, I’m waiting for something within the scene to reveal itself.
Going Beyond Reality
High-contrast black and white photography has this incredible ability to transform ordinary places.
A simple riverbank becomes another world.
Dropping low to photograph leaves, grass, and small details beneath your feet completely changes your perspective.
Macro mode reveals textures and qualities of light you may never have noticed while standing there.
Photography lets me go beyond reality.
It allows me to see things more closely than I experienced them in the moment.
That’s why I photograph everything.
Humanity.
Strangers.
Geometry.
Light.
Shadow.
Shape.
Form.
I don’t only want to make traditional street photography.
Everything around me is a possibility.
And I think that abundant mindset naturally makes you more prolific.
The Power of Repetition
One of my favorite photographs in this issue is the bird flying beside Philadelphia City Hall.
At first glance, it looks like luck.
But it wasn’t.
I walked this exact stretch of JFK Boulevard every single day for weeks.
Every morning I’d watch the pigeons.
I studied how they flew.
Where they landed.
The patterns they repeated.
Eventually I realized they regularly crossed in front of William Penn atop City Hall.
So I kept coming back.
Again.
And again.
And eventually everything aligned.
The bird.
The tower.
The light.
The starburst.
The timing.
It finally happened.
I got lucky because I consistently repeated the same walk.
There’s real power in repetition.
The more consistent you become, the more deeply you notice patterns.
Patterns in light.
Patterns in birds.
Patterns in human behavior.
Eventually you stop reacting intellectually.
You begin responding instinctively.
Everything Is Photographable
A photograph of a mouth biting a flower.
A poster.
The geometry between buildings.
Light reflecting through the streets.
Looking upward.
Looking downward.
The street is an endless canvas.
There is always something worth photographing if you’re paying attention.
Photograph for Yourself
One of these photographs was made along Forbidden Drive in Wissahickon Park, where I grew up.
When I see that image, I’m transported right back into that autumn afternoon.
Whether someone else connects with the photograph isn’t really my concern.
I’m making pictures that bring me back to memories that matter to me.
Pictures that give me personal joy.
I genuinely believe that when you photograph for yourself first, the work becomes a much more authentic reflection of who you are.
And I think that’s ultimately what we’re all trying to achieve.
So my advice is simple:
Photograph for yourself first. Don’t worry about the audience.
That’s how I approach my work.
Closing
The final photographs take us through Reading Terminal Market before ending with the contact sheets on the back of the zine.
Every Flux issue includes a manifest document associated with each image, QR codes linking to the digital archive, and downloadable PDFs available on my website.
If you’d like to make your own Flux zine, upload 36 photographs using the Flux Generator linked below.
If I enjoy your work, I’ll feature it here on the YouTube channel.
Otherwise, join the Flux Discord community through the Join button here on YouTube.
Welcome to Flux Archive Session Number 10, where I look through another collection of photographs from my black and white photography journey.
These photographs were made throughout October 2023, and every image in this zine was created using my Flux Generator. Upload 36 photographs, and they’ll automatically be sequenced chronologically and timestamped into your own printable Flux zine. You can even submit it directly to me for a chance to have your work reviewed here on the channel.
Today I want to talk about something that’s become foundational to my photography.
The mundane is the name of the game.
Stop Hunting for the Perfect Moment
I think a lot of photographers spend too much time hunting.
We’re waiting for the decisive moment.
We’re waiting for something extraordinary.
We’re waiting for someone interesting to walk into the frame.
Meanwhile…
People are reading on park benches.
Walking to work.
Waiting for buses.
Looking at their phones.
The complaint I hear most often is:
“Nothing is happening.”
But that’s exactly where the photographs are.
Beauty Already Exists
The mundane isn’t boring.
It’s simply waiting for your attention.
A man reading during his lunch break.
Light falling across a stairwell.
A shadow wrapping itself around a tower.
A construction worker unloading equipment.
Someone passing a chalk drawing on the sidewalk.
These moments exist everywhere.
The only thing missing is your curiosity.
Disconnect From the Noise
I think the first step toward seeing the ordinary is becoming less distracted.
We’re constantly consuming.
Phones.
Television.
Music.
Notifications.
AirPods.
We’re overstimulated.
To photograph the mundane, you have to disconnect from all of that.
Turn inward.
Pay attention.
Suddenly the way light falls across your hand becomes fascinating.
A simple gesture becomes extraordinary.
The ordinary hasn’t changed.
You have.
Go Limitless
If you keep asking yourself whether something is “interesting enough” to photograph…
You’re going to limit yourself.
Instead…
Photograph everything.
The cars.
The posters.
The textures.
The walls.
The signs.
The people waiting.
The small gestures.
Approach every scene with openness.
You won’t discover extraordinary photographs by filtering out ordinary life.
Trust Your Instinct
The biggest obstacle isn’t the scene.
It’s hesitation.
The moment you begin debating whether a photograph is worth making…
You’ve already slowed yourself down.
Instead…
When something catches your attention—
Shoot.
Trust your instincts.
The photograph can only exist if you allow yourself to make it.
Create Your Own World
Many of these photographs were made while newspaper headlines filled the streets with news from around the world.
Those stories existed around me.
I photographed them.
I became aware of them.
But photography also became something else.
It became a way to create my own world.
Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the noise surrounding me, photography lets me interpret reality through my own eyes.
That’s incredibly empowering.
Photography isn’t only about documenting facts.
It’s about creating your own interpretation of life.
Presence Is the Goal
When you begin embracing the mundane, something changes.
Photography becomes effortless.
A plastic bag rolling through the wind suddenly becomes interesting.
Someone wiping down a window becomes worth photographing.
The world becomes your canvas.
Everything carries possibility.
And that possibility creates joy.
Composition Creates Mystery
One photograph shows nothing more than a man cleaning a window.
That’s all that’s happening.
But by lowering my camera…
Looking upward…
Removing unnecessary details…
The gesture becomes mysterious.
The ordinary transforms into something else.
Nothing changed except my position.
Composition gives ordinary moments a new life.
Joy Comes From Curiosity
Once you begin seeing beauty in everyday life, photography becomes incredibly rewarding.
Every walk has potential.
Every street contains possibility.
Every ordinary moment offers something new.
That curiosity creates joy.
And that joy keeps you coming back with your camera every day.
Practical Advice
Whenever I don’t know what to photograph, I simplify everything.
I look up.
I photograph the clouds.
The horizon.
The changing light.
Then I look down.
I notice textures beneath my feet.
Patterns.
Shadows.
Details.
Finally, I look all around me.
Curiosity isn’t something you wait for.
It’s something you practice.
The Mundane Is Infinite
Photography has taught me that extraordinary photographs aren’t hidden somewhere else.
They’re already here.
They’re waiting in ordinary moments.
Waiting in familiar streets.
Waiting in everyday life.
The only thing required is your willingness to pay attention.
Look up. Look down. Look all around you. The mundane is where photography begins.
Those are my thoughts for Flux Archive 010.
If you’d like to create your own Flux zine, upload 36 photographs using the Flux Generator linked below.
If I enjoy the work, I may review it here on the YouTube channel.
Otherwise, if you’d like to join the Flux Discord community, click Join on the YouTube channel.
I’m currently here in Bartram’s Garden in West Philadelphia, shooting with the Ricoh GR4 Monochrome.
I’m going to be doing the ultimate challenge today of producing 36 photographs in under one hour, going home, and producing a zine.
So follow me along as we walk the trails in this beautiful park and make some photos.
Finding Beauty in the Small Details
Right off the bat, what I’m really interested in photographing are these beautiful flowers.
There’s so much beauty all around me already, and I’m starting to notice how I can isolate the flowers, underexposing and producing a beautiful, abstract image of these plants.
I’m currently using macro mode with the built-in 50mm crop mode and underexposing by 0.3 on the exposure compensation dial to create a more ethereal effect with the image, which essentially crushes the background into black and exposes for the highlights.
I’m also using the multisegment metering mode today.
When I’m photographing, I like to think about the photograph and the composition itself almost like a visual puzzle.
Whether I’m photographing people on the street, inanimate things, or nature like flowers, I think about how I can relate different elements in the foreground and background to synthesize the composition.
Horizontal versus vertical is something I consider a lot.
With this composition specifically, I’m choosing to make a vertical frame, isolating this flower in the foreground and then showcasing that flower there in the background.
Using that vertical framing allows me to create hierarchy throughout the composition from foreground to background and isolate different elements.
When you’re looking at life, don’t just look at life as a horizontal plane. Think about how the camera orientation and the way that you place things can influence the photograph.
Photography Is the Art of Noticing
I love the texture of these decaying leaves.
Wabi-sabi.
One of the things I love about macro mode is that it forces me to look at all these small details around me.
Right now, I’m looking at these beautiful leaves, the holes within them, and how these critters have been eating them. I want to make a photograph of this small detail because I find it to be very beautiful.
Photography is all about the art of noticing.
Ultimately, my goal as a photographer is to remain curious about things.
Whether I’m looking at people, light, gestures, forms, shapes, or even textures like the patterns of these beautiful leaves, there’s so much intricacy and detail all around me.
When you’re in a park like this, you might think, Oh, it’s mundane. It’s boring.
But ultimately, there’s infinite novelty because everything around me is in flux and changing.
All of the beautiful flowers are decaying. Things are regrowing. Each season is changing.
I find that to be something really simple that fuels my curiosity: reminding myself that everything around me is changing and there’s so much possibility in the mundane.
Photography as Life Affirmation
I like to think about my philosophy and outlook on life generally as somebody who has biophilia.
I have a love for all natural things.
I love nature. I love people.
Surrounding myself in these spaces gives me this deep sense of appreciation for life generally, and I find that photography, for me, is an act of life affirmation and gratitude.
With each click of the shutter, I’m simply saying yes to life and thank you for the day.
Spending time in nature like this reminds me that the small details in life are what are most meaningful to me and most beautiful.
Look Down. Then Look Up.
One pro tip when photographing anywhere, whether you’re in a park, the city, or anywhere in between:
Look down beneath your feet.
Then look up above you into the sky.
There’s something below you and there’s something above you.
When your perspective opens to macro details or vast landscapes, you’ll start to see differently.
Right now, I’m looking at this beautiful leaf upon the ground. I’m going to make a photograph of this thing from a very close perspective.
Then I’m going to look up above and look at the beautiful shapes formed between the trees and the canopy.
I’m using the crop mode built into the Ricoh to get close to the shapes that I’m interested in.
Darkness Creates Mystery
The only setting that I typically touch is the exposure compensation when shooting high contrast.
Right now, I’m going to underexpose a little bit.
I’m looking toward this trail and seeking to make a more mysterious frame, where it almost looks like the trail is leading to nowhere.
I find that darkness in imagery can create mystery and even an emotional quality that can be evoked for the viewer.
As much as I’m looking at life and all of the things around me—the different objects, shapes, and forms—what I’m seeking to achieve through the imagery is an emotional impact on the viewer.
Photography Gets Me Into Reality
One of the things that I love about photography is that it simply gets me out into the world, into reality.
That’s what’s so powerful about photography.
It requires you to physically get down low onto your knees and look at the leaves.
Look at all these things and find beauty all around you.
Whether you’re looking out at a tree canopy or somewhere in your backyard, there’s so much possibility in life generally.
I really do thank photography for reminding me of this fact.
With photography, anything is possible. Photography, for me, becomes a superpower.
I find such rich meaning in the act of simply noticing, exploring, and photographing.
Using Black and White to Create a New World
One thing I want to talk about is light and how light can elevate a photograph.
Right now, we have pretty soft light. We don’t even have dramatic light.
But by stripping away color and photographing in black and white, I can use abstraction as a solution to the problem of finding something in the seemingly nothing that’s all around me.
I could simply look at this leaf and say, Oh, it’s just a leaf.
But when I get down below to my feet and look at this thing using light, observing the different ways that light and shadow interact with this leaf, I can create a new world through photography.
That act alone is what’s fueling me with curiosity to continue photographing.
You Don’t Have to Travel Anywhere Special
You really don’t have to travel far or anywhere special to start photographing.
Don’t be dependent upon the external world delivering you something.
Simply slow down.
Look beneath your feet.
Look all around you.
Start noticing.
At the end of the day, that’s all we’re responsible for as photographers: noticing and feeling deeply in the moment when we’re photographing.
The more that you walk, slow down, and start noticing, the more you’re going to start photographing.
Your Instincts Are Your Style
A thought I have about style in photography is that style doesn’t arise through choosing color or choosing black and white.
Style arises when you cultivate your pure instinct.
The way that I set my camera up specifically gets me to a place where I’m no longer thinking and hesitating, but simply photographing from my pure instincts—from what I am noticing.
Your instincts are your style.
What you’re drawn to through your intuition is ultimately your style.
Style isn’t a decision of color versus black and white, or this kind of processing versus that kind of processing.
High-contrast black and white, for me, is a solution to photography where I’m no longer thinking about processing. I’m no longer thinking and hesitating about my camera settings.
I simply start photographing.
The practice that I’ve developed has gotten me to this place where I’m no longer in my mind, but I’m in my physical body, responding to my pure instincts, noticing things, and simply photographing.
Over time, with the consistency compounding through practice, you’ll find your authentic expression.
But it will only arise through time spent cultivating your instincts.
Don’t Box Yourself Into One Genre
As a street photographer who’s been photographing humanity, traveling the world, and telling stories, I’m trying to unlock myself from the shackles of what street photography is and simply start photographing from my pure instincts.
Following my childlike curiosity and going to the places that I like to be—nature, parks, sometimes the streets, photographing people—is allowing me to creatively thrive.
One myth I want to challenge is that you have to box yourself into only one genre or one way of thinking about photography.
Unlock more possibilities through photography by tapping into your childlike curiosity.
Some days my childlike curiosity has me coming out into the park to play.
That’s just where I happen to be today.
I’m not worrying about only photographing a particular subject matter or pigeonholing myself into practicing street photography.
I’m currently looking at nature, looking at plants, and finding possibility in my photography.
I’m not boxing myself into any limiting beliefs of what I believe a photographer should be.
Photography as a Visual Diary
One thing that has been allowing me to flourish creatively is honestly photographing everything.
I simply treat photography as a visual diary of my day.
When I’m out here walking and photographing, honestly, I don’t have anything to say.
What will be said will be said through the photography.
By treating photography as a visual diary, I’m merely bringing my camera for the ride and photographing throughout my everyday life.
I’m no longer hunting.
I’m no longer striving or searching for photographs.
I’m experiencing life while simultaneously making photographs.
The pressure of performance and finding great photos can become a burden and a chore. It can make photography less fun.
But if you simply enjoy stepping out into the sun, going for a walk, and photographing what you find without the burden and pressure of performance, you’ll start to find more joy in your life.
Don’t worry about what the photographs mean.
Don’t worry if there’s no deep underlying meaning.
Simply use photography as a way for you to stay connected, grounded, and grateful for life.
Everything Is in Flux
As we go into this new season, we have fall approaching. It’s the end of September, and as the season is changing, I’m simply noticing these simple things.
The leaves beneath my feet.
The decaying matter all around me.
Change, I think, is a good thing.
To be in flux, to be in change—this, to me, is where pure happiness is found.
For me to confine myself to only being a street photographer and only photographing people would honestly become a complete bore.
Photography would become a chore if I continued forcing myself to perform in a certain way.
Going into the winter season this year, remind yourself as a photographer to change, to evolve, to photograph, and to experience new things.
36 Frames Complete
I just finished the 36th frame on today’s beautiful photo walk here in Bartram’s Garden.
Not much light. Pretty cloudy day. Fall is coming soon.
But it reminds me that there’s infinite potential all around me.
Despite whether or not the light is great, despite whether or not I find something extravagant or some spectacular scene to photograph, I find that my curiosity is what’s guiding me.
Through surrounding myself in nature, going on these small hikes, and photographing these small details, I’m simply fueling my love for life.
Ultimately, that’s what I want my photography to be:
A direct reflection of my gratitude and appreciation for life itself.
Through these images, I hope you can feel that presence in the pictures.
Now we’re going to return home to my studio, go through the work, and create the full zine.
Turning 36 Photographs Into a Zine
I just got home from making photographs at Bartram’s Garden, and I’m currently on the iPad Pro.
I finished going through all of the photographs and added them to a folder in the built-in Photos app.
Now I’m ready to create the zine.
All you have to do is visit the link in the description for the Flux Issue Generator.
Give the issue a title, add your name, and then click the area where it tells you to drop 36 photographs.
Go to your photo library, select the photographs that you would like to include in the zine, and click Generate Flux Issue PDF.
It automatically compresses the images, gathers the metadata from each individual image, and timestamps and sequences the zine chronologically.
The photograph is captioned with the time, date, and your name. There’s also an issue or sequence number at the top right with the title of the work.
In the back, there’s a simple contact sheet alongside a manifest document with each individual photograph.
Then all I’m left to do is print the work.
You can also submit this work for review. Add the title, your email, the location and date, and a little description of the photographs you made.
I can receive the work you create, print it at home, and review it here on my YouTube channel.
I’m looking forward to seeing your submissions.
The Final Zine
Here we have the final zine.
This is the cover: Bartram’s Garden, with the date and my name.
I store all of the work inside these manila folders, and it’s the final touch to completing my zine.
As you flip the work open, we have the protocol page, basically describing what Flux is and how the zines are made.
Then we have the first photograph on the right-hand side, exposing for the highlights of these beautiful flowers and crushing the shadows in the background.
Today, I’m thinking about how photography is all about curiosity.
The goal of the photographer, I believe, is to increase your curiosity.
To be in the moment.
To be aware.
To be present.
To be engaged with your surroundings.
Because there’s infinite possibility for your photography despite where you may be in the world.
The Audacity to Find Meaning in the Mundane
Today’s example is me walking through Bartram’s Garden on this very mundane day where there was no striking light.
It was a very cloudy day.
But I’m still looking closely and feeling deeply when I’m in the moment making pictures of things.
I’m looking beneath my feet.
I’m looking at the leaves.
I’m gazing up at the tree canopy.
By removing this goal of making great photos—or even removing a preconceived notion of what I should be making photos of—I simply enter the flow state of making new work.
When I’m in the park, I’m in a very typical location.
You too can find yourself in a location similar to this and make work.
It requires curiosity, however.
It requires the audacity to find meaning in the mundane.
I believe that’s something we can all achieve.
I wanted this video to be a reminder that there’s something beautiful outside of your window.
It requires you to go out there and step into the flow.
Step into that stream of becoming through clicking the shutter, through making work, through saying yes to life.
To me, that’s what photography is all about.
It’s not about the outcome of these images being great or leaving a sensational response on a viewer.
It’s about the way photography gets me closer to life and engaged with reality.
That’s why I’m so grateful for this practice of making photographs.
It keeps me grounded in the now.
36 Photographs in Under Half an Hour
The back of each zine has a contact sheet and a manifest document describing each individual photograph.
I started photographing at 4:50 and finished photographing at 5:28.
So this work was made in under an hour.
36 pictures, an automatically generated zine, chronologically timestamped and sequenced, using very accessible materials: printer paper and a laser printer.
You too can participate in this practice.
I’m looking forward to seeing your submissions.
Please use the link in the description to generate your own issue and submit the work to me.
With that being said, thank you for watching, and I will see you in the next video.
I’m currently out here photographing in this mundane park, and I’m thinking today about why you shouldn’t be dependent on your location for your photography.
When I’m photographing out here, I’m looking up at the sky as the content that’s within my frame. I’m looking down beneath my feet at the leaves and the way the light casts upon things.
I’m finding infinite fascination and curiosity within the mundane world around me.
And so don’t be dependent on a story.
Don’t be dependent on your location.
Don’t be dependent on something external from you and your photography.
Actually cultivate that inner curiosity.
Because when you become curious about the world around you, you’ll actually start photographing.
You don’t need to go somewhere else.
You don’t need to wait for something interesting to happen.
You can just look at what’s already around you.
Right now, I’m looking up at the light peering between the clouds and making some photographs.
