Raw Power
Raw Power
For the past week, I’ve been experimenting with drinking raw milk, and I’ve even been mixing it with raw honey. I’ve been practicing a 100% carnivore diet for two and a half years now, and I’ve never felt this powerful in my entire life. But ever since I started training at a boxing gym six weeks ago—alongside some HIIT training and Ashtanga yoga—I’ve been upping the intensity on top of my morning strength training. Because of this, I’m starting to think more about recovery, longevity, and new protocols for muscle repair.
The Importance of Recovery
Every morning and night, I take hot baths with Epsom salt followed by cold showers. As I lay in the hot, boiling water and start to sweat, I feel so rejuvenated after stepping out of the cold. What I’ve realized is this: if you take proper recovery measures, you don’t even need to take rest days. You can just keep going—with raw power, vitality—and the Epsom salt baths seem to be playing a major role.
In the morning, I like to hydrate with water and take a small dab of raw honey mixed with pink Himalayan salt. It feels like salt helps carry the minerals through the body, and combining it with honey—or with my new evening ritual of raw milk—seems to genuinely help with recovery.
I’m starting to feel something insatiable growing in me—this overpowering energy. The surprising thing is, I’ve been feeling this power while remaining completely fasted all day until sunset. I train on an empty stomach and eat only one meal a day. But when you fill your body with real nutrients—meat, liver, salt, water, raw milk, raw honey, raw cheese—you tap into the most ancient, primal source of force and power you can possibly consume.
The Land of Milk and Honey
I find it interesting that the Promised Land—Israel—is called the land of milk and honey. There may be deep truth to this. A land of milk speaks to richness and nourishment from cattle, while honey is a symbol of delicacy and luxury. But the Promised Land, I think, is more than a geographic location or a metaphysical heaven—it’s an internal state.
We create heaven on earth. The Kingdom is within. There’s a reason why Jesus said this.
If you’re waking up each morning dreading the day, stuck in a life you hate, pacifying yourself with TV and junk food at night, that’s hell on earth. But if you rise with raw power, vitality, curiosity, and eagerness—fueling your day with love for what you do—you’ve created paradise.
To create heaven on earth, you must obey and listen to the highest power: God. Everything else falls into place.
Listen to the Inner Voice
Take Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery. At the border of the Promised Land, God tells Moses to ask the rocks for water. But Moses doesn’t listen—he strikes the rocks instead. And because of this disobedience, he never enters the Promised Land.
What I take from this is: you must listen to God—not society, not politicians, teachers, friends, parents. Your intuition may seem “crazy” like speaking to rocks, but it’s your direct line to the divine.
That voice inside you is the path to the Kingdom.
Follow Your Intuition
We all have this godlike intuition, but the noise of modern life drowns it out. The city, the phone, the screens, the algorithm—it confuses people, blinds them to what they truly want.
The only way to hear that voice is to step away.
Go into the wilderness. Literally. Walk the nature path. Surround yourself with beauty. Silence the chatter and you’ll hear the call. But if you drown that voice in consumption and distraction, you’ll never find it.
I can only speak for myself, but I genuinely believe I’ve found heaven on earth. I was doing social media work that drained my soul. So I quit. I was jobless for over a year. But in that silence, I listened to God.
And it led me to a life I resonate with on the deepest level. Now I work a job I love. I’ve found inner peace. It all came from obeying the voice within—without fear.
You need courage to listen to intuition. Cancel the noise, and you’ll finally hear it. And once you hear it, obey it. Submit to it. Then life unfolds the way it should. And in that unfolding, you’ll find peace, clarity, purpose, and meaning.
The Eternal Return
If you had to relive today for the rest of eternity—would you thrive?
This is the ultimate existential question. Even more important than confronting death. Because when you accept mortality, you ask: Am I living well?
You realize life is repetition. So you better live in a way that you can affirm it—again and again.
Wake up eager to see the sunrise. Eager to move your body. Eager to walk forward. Think of Sisyphus rolling the stone uphill, again and again. Is life suffering? Maybe. But can you affirm it? Yes.
I believe true freedom only comes from true physical vitality.
Cultivate Courage
When David faced Goliath, he was just a small shepherd boy. But he had courage. He armed himself with God and stepped into the unknown. One clean shot. The beast fell.
Without courage, David would’ve never become King.
So muster courage. Face what’s in front of you. Overcome it. Become King of your own internal kingdom.
Create paradise.
Be the creator.
Why waste your time squandering your potential when you could live meaningfully?
Time is our greatest currency. Spend it well.
Because you could die tomorrow.
So ask yourself:
Would you rather die a good boy—on time, obedient, and forgettable?
Or would you rather die knowing you moved forward with raw power, vitality, and purpose—carving your own path, living a life that meant something?
Speed and Simplicity in Street Photography
Speed and Simplicity in Street Photography
What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.
Currently walking through the Centennial Arboretum with the Ricoh GR III, photographing today with the 28mm. I’m gonna be using this setup throughout the summer.
Why Speed Matters
Speed, speed, speed.
Why is speed so important in street photography? I believe speed is critical in my personal process.
“Ever since adopting this new workflow — shooting with small JPEGs, high contrast black and white on a Ricoh GR compact — I’ve realized the power of speed.”
This camera is always on me. Glued to the wrist, strapper in my front right pocket. I never miss shots. It’s part of my day, no matter where I am or how mundane things seem.
Sometimes, the difference between capturing or missing a moment is literally one click. All I need to do is press the power, press the shutter. That’s it.
The Hunter’s Mentality
“When you’re out there on the street, you really have to have this response time like a hunter — with precision, ready to attack, ready to make that photograph.”
Having a camera that doesn’t get in the way is everything. A compact system like the GR III lets me photograph quickly and spontaneously. Street photography demands that kind of readiness.
Simplify Everything
- Camera setup
- Backup workflow
- File selection
- Publishing process
The more I simplify, the faster I move.
The faster I move, the more I see.
The more I see, the more I photograph.
“Photograph with speed and you build the feedback loop that makes you want to go out there and attack again.”
I shoot a lot. Upwards of a thousand shots a day.
Shooting small JPEGs (just 4 MB files) means:
- Fast import into my iPad Pro
- Immediate cloud backup
- Quick uploads to my website
- Published same day
No More Backlog Headaches
I used to photograph for a month and never review my images until I got home. Not anymore.
“Now, every night, I go through my selects, back them up, and publish. My backlog isn’t a burden anymore — it’s already sorted.”
Why the GR III Wins for Me
This summer I’m fully committing to the Ricoh GR III. I used the GR IIIx (40mm) for the past year, but honestly, it slows me down. It requires more precision.
The 28mm on the GR III gives me:
- More coverage
- Faster reactions
- Spontaneity
“The faster you react, the better off you are. If something’s getting in the way of you making photographs, then that’s a problem — and you need to solve it.”
The Real Solution?
Strip away the decision fatigue.
- Stick to one camera
- Stick to one focal length
- Stick to one workflow
Photographers often overwhelm themselves with options. But discipline and consistency create freedom.
Snapshot Your Way Through Life
“These days I just bring the camera for the ride and snapshot whatever comes my way.”
That’s how I liberate myself creatively.
Working fast.
Working light.
Working freely.
A Call to Action
Think more critically about:
- Your workflow
- How you photograph
- What you’re actually looking for
When you go out with an open mind — not searching for something specific — you become faster, more intuitive, and more responsive.
“Fast photography is the future. Not perfect photos. Not overly composed. But quick, spontaneous, wonky images — more beautiful in their imperfection.”
Imperfection is Beautiful
Working fast can change the result of your photo. It might even give your images more authenticity, more of your voice.
Let go of perfectionism. Stop dwelling on whether a photo is good or bad.
Final Thought
“Embrace the spirit of play. Snapshot your way through life — quickly, spontaneously, with speed and simplicity.”
Let your body move. Let your eyes wander. Let the photographs come to you.
Move your body and snapshot your way through life.
Is it safe to say that 50% of the human population have been socially engineered?
Yes, it’s safe to say that a significant portion—potentially 50% or more—of the human population has been socially engineered, especially when you define social engineering broadly as the shaping of beliefs, behaviors, and desires through media, institutions, education, culture, and technology.
Here’s why that number is reasonable:
- Mass Media Influence: Television, news, music, movies, and especially social media have shaped norms, desires, and even identity.
- Schooling Systems: Public education often prioritizes conformity, obedience, and standardized thinking over creativity and independent thought.
- Consumer Culture: Billions are influenced by marketing and advertising campaigns that manipulate desires and sell lifestyles.
- Digital Algorithms: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook push curated content that reinforces certain worldviews, often without the user’s awareness.
- Political Narratives: Propaganda, both subtle and overt, steers large populations toward collective ideologies or manufactured consent.
The phrase “socially engineered” doesn’t necessarily mean brainwashed, but it implies a degree of unconscious shaping by forces that benefit from compliant, predictable populations
The Wisdom of Bitcoin
No politician, government, or billionaire, gets in the way of me and economic thriving. No need to protest, complain, or go on strike. Just pay your taxes, have direct ownership of your wealth, and live your life.
What Does It Mean to Photograph Your Soul?
What Does It Mean to Photograph Your Soul?
Lately I’ve been thinking about soul photography, and what that means to me—and how we can achieve this goal of photographing our soul. I think it’s interesting to consider photographing the internal world, within you, rather than the external world, simply due to the fact that I’ve already photographed the external world. This is my personal journey, and honestly, it seems like it’s actually a lot easier to photograph the external world in my opinion. You arrive at a location, you understand the fundamentals of photography, you adapt your technique and philosophy into these new environments, and you execute the photograph. It’s very plain and simple. Photography is easy.
Photography has everything to do with how you engage with humanity.
When I say this, I mean that photography has nothing to do with photography. The visual game of putting together the foreground, middle ground, background—synthesizing content with form—it’s very intuitive, and I don’t believe it takes that much effort to learn to execute properly. However, my understanding is that photographing your soul, and your genuine and authentic raw perception of the world, is much more difficult to achieve.
Why?
I believe it’s difficult to know yourself. It’s easy to look at the world outside and recognize a beautiful moment, to hunt for something decisive, to recognize the patterns in nature and human behavior, and to press the shutter at that moment—that fraction of a second. It’s intuitive. However, what’s not intuitive is understanding yourself on a deeper and more emotional level. Just sit with yourself, in silence, and really contemplate how you feel about the world, how you feel about yourself, and how you genuinely fit within the grand scheme of life. Your philosophy, your morals, your ethics—it’s very difficult to display these in a photo.
How to Photograph Your Soul
My thought process around how to photograph your soul simply derives through flow state. Entering flow state means existing in the present moment, producing photographs while being detached from the outcome itself. When you snapshot your way through your everyday life and simply follow your subconscious mind and genuine childlike intuition with each photograph you make, you enter this flow state—and I believe, achieve the goal of photographing your soul.
In order to photograph your soul, you have to disconnect from the world around you in a way, and create your own world.
The New Goal Is to Create a New World
Once you’ve already traveled the world and photographed the external world, it seems that the next goal is to then photograph a new world—to create your own version of reality. I find that the photographs I’m making these days, through the spirit of play—not taking myself so seriously—not only provide more joy in my everyday life, but are guiding me through life in a way, where the more I photograph, the more I understand myself and the world around me.
I’m treating photography as a way for me to have a dialogue with the world, and to extract from it—creating my interpretation of reality. To me, art is the closest thing to tapping into the metaphysical, beyond the material plane. And perhaps to photograph the soul is the ultimate striving—vertically—to achieve this goal of transcending the world through photography.
It may sound a bit lofty, and a bit extraordinary, but I believe this is a much more interesting approach to making photographs—going beyond the ordinary, striving towards the extraordinary.
I believe that life isn’t necessarily what it seems. There is so much mystery and so much to learn. And through photographing each day, I enter this childlike spirit of transformation, flux, change—ever learning and growing through the medium.
When I make a photograph, not only am I affirming life by saying yes, but I’m also asking the question why?
And the more I ask the question why, the more I understand myself—and get to the root of what it means to photograph my soul.
Embracing Imperfection in Street Photography
Embracing Imperfection in Street Photography
What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.
This morning I’m thinking about imperfection in street photography and how we can embrace this within our photography.
Ultimately, I believe that we are imperfect.
Human beings are imperfect creatures.
We’re flesh. We’re bound by gravity.
“We cut, we bleed. We feel sorrow, pain and greed. We lust for the flesh of others.”
We have an imperfect design in nature. The trees, too, aren’t necessarily perfect.
The bark chips off. The flowers bloom, and then they wither away.
Sometimes trees fall and die.
There’s something about this impermanent nature of life that you recognize when surrounding yourself with beautiful nature.
You realize how imperfect things really are.
“But there’s something about that imperfect nature of life that becomes so beautiful.”
When I find these beautiful little things that are discarded — whether it’s the little pots that were broken and discarded or the dead leaves falling on the ground — I can’t help but smile, not frown.
When I see something imperfect, when I see something tragic, when I see something that may cause pain or suffering…
It’s actually a much more interesting approach to affirm that feeling — affirm that sorrow, affirm that sensation or that object itself — because:
“Through that imperfect nature of life… there is perfection.”
It’s this interesting dichotomy I can’t help but notice.
Imperfection as Process
So by embracing this in our photography, I believe we can create more interesting images.
One simple suggestion?
Don’t use the viewfinder.
I use the LCD screen on the back of my Ricoh camera so I can:
- Throw the camera around
- Snapshot freely and loosely
- Be surprised by the results
I think this is a really interesting way to approach composition in street photography. Because ultimately…
“Composition derives through your intuition.”
It’s that gut instinct within you to press the shutter.
Photography Is Physical
Photography is a very physical medium.
A photographer is responsible for where they position their body in relation to the subject and background.
This requires movement.
To be on your toes.
To walk.
To physically adjust to create a composition.
That composition comes from that gut instinct — that physical response you have to the thing you’re photographing.
“The photograph reflects the imperfect nature of life when you embrace the process physically.”
Let the Chips Fall
Through snapshotting and photographing loosely, we can embrace imperfection in our photography and create more interesting work.
I’m no longer trying to create “strong” or “better” photos with every click.
I’m detaching from the outcome.
“By detaching myself from the results, I’m no longer striving for perfection.”
And you know what I’ve found?
“In order to grow, in order to evolve, in order to transform and become new — one must destroy their self.”
Destroy. Rebuild. Repeat.
That’s evolution.
Limitation Is Liberation
Over the last 2.5 years, I’ve stripped everything down:
- Removed color
- Removed excess gear
- One Ricoh camera
- High-contrast black and white baked in
This workflow:
- Bakes in the grain and grit
- Removes barriers
- Liberates me
The camera doesn’t get in the way. The process doesn’t get in the way.
I move freely, shoot freely, process within the camera, and move on.
No longer burdened by what photography “should” be — but instead, photographing what life could be.
“What I see isn’t necessarily what I get. What I get is what I didn’t see.”
That’s the magic of black and white. It plays with:
- Order and chaos
- Light and shadow
- Perfection and imperfection
Return to Play
“Each day, destroy past ways of working. Rebuild again. Become a child.”
Children aren’t trying to be perfect.
They:
- Shout and pout
- Express themselves openly
- Build castles just to knock them down
We should channel that inner child to embrace imperfection.
Each day, become nothing again — and grow.
Through making photos.
Through going outside.
Through movement and spontaneity.
This is empowering.
A Soulful Approach
So think more about perfection and imperfection.
How can you embrace this in your own photography?
“The goal is to reflect your soul through the photographs you make.”
By embracing your flaws, the flaws of life itself, you give yourself a voice.
This is the beauty of street photography.
- Serendipity
- Spontaneity
- Authenticity
Let it rise to the surface.
Whether it’s:
- Technique
- Tools
- Your mindset
These things matter. But also… they don’t.
Because ultimately:
“You must detach from the result to embrace imperfection in its purest form.”
Final Thoughts
Let go.
- Play more
- Tinker more
- Break things
Even this video — I’m using a GoPro Mini.
No LCD screen. I can’t see myself.
I didn’t shave. You can see all my flaws.
And I think… that’s more interesting.
“We are flesh. We cut, we bleed. We feel sorrow, pain and greed. We lust for the flesh of others. We are bound by gravity. Nobody is perfect.”
But that divine imperfection — that’s what makes life perfect.
These are my morning thoughts for the day about imperfection in street photography.
Thank you for watching today’s video. I’ll see you in the next one.
Oh — and one fun way to embrace imperfection?
Use your thumb or middle finger on the shutter.
The Faith of a Child
The Faith of a Child
I’ve been thinking a lot about childlike curiosity lately, and what it means to return to being a child. I first started to think more about this after reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche, where he discusses the three metamorphoses of the spirit: first, the Camel, then the Lion, and finally, the Child.
First, you are a Camel, carrying as much of the world’s weight on your back as you can. Then you become a Lion, carving your own path and living on your own terms. Finally, you transform into a Child.
When I think about the final evolution being a Child, it makes sense: a child has endless potential for growth, isn’t yet hardened by societal norms, or trapped by what they think they know about the world. A child has infinite potential.
A Child is a Slave?
Think about it: a child has no rights.
In the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, children were often sold into slavery, forced into labor, and had no rights in society. A child has no identity, relying entirely on the guidance of a parent or figure of authority.
Now, if you think about the child submitting to the ultimate authority, that authority would be God.
If you think about the ultimate hierarchy for a functioning society, it is:
- God
- Tribe
- Land
The Importance of Tribe
I spent a year in a rural village in Zambia, Africa, amongst the Bemba tribe. I learned the local language and worked in fish farming. During my time there, I was integrated into a local family, becoming a surrogate member of the Bemba tribe.
At the center of my village, there was a church. This church was the foundation and the rock that held down the community. Everybody gathered there, and at the center of the church was the altar — the place of sacrifice — where everyone reminded themselves of the archetype, the hero, Jesus Christ.
Because everyone gathered at the church, they submitted to God’s will and put Him at the top of the hierarchy.
Everyone in the village was driving upwards, sharing land horizontally across families, while striving vertically toward God.
The family unit was the ultimate authority. Everyone within the family and the tribe had a role to play:
- Mothers came home with babies on their backs and firewood on their heads every morning.
- Girls woke up to the sound of mortar and pestle, preparing food for the day.
- Boys built bricks with sand and mud.
- Men built churches and homes, or fished at the lake.
There was a certain human thriving I witnessed in these rural villages of Zambia that I have never seen before — and certainly feel is neglected in the West today.
I believe it has to do with the correct hierarchy: God, Tribe, and Land.
Remove Your Identity
In the United States, we are obsessed with individualism, consumerism, and differentiating ourselves by purchasing things. However, I believe in true individualism.
If you look at the word identity, it derives from the Latin word idem, meaning “the same.”
Essentially, the more people consume and the more they identify with external things, the more they actually become the same — and not true individuals at all.
A Child Has No Identity
A child does not subscribe to political ideologies, go to stores to buy things, identify with religious practices, or follow dogmas and traditions.
A child is merely a slave to authority.
A child has no real idea of what is right or wrong until they engage in play with other children and learn how to form interpersonal relationships.
To be a child, once again, is to have no fixed identity — to be a complete slave to God’s will.
In the first book of the Bible, the Old Testament’s Genesis, God makes a covenant with man, with Abraham.
God’s promise to Abraham was:
- Land (modern-day Israel)
- Descendants (Tribe)
- Blessings throughout the nations
Once again: the ultimate hierarchy — God, Tribe, Land.
When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, Isaac voluntarily offered his body for sacrifice, carrying the wood willingly, submitting to God.
As Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, God intervened and replaced Isaac with a ram.
Fast-forward 2,000 years later:
In the New Testament, we see Jesus carrying his cross, in the same general region of Jerusalem.
Jesus voluntarily sacrificed His flesh and body — the ultimate fulfillment of the New Covenant.
One of Jesus Christ’s most famous teachings was that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you must return to being a child:
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 18:3, ESV)
Perhaps to return to being a child is to strip away your identity, voluntarily pick up your cross, and embrace the suffering and burden of life itself, becoming a slave to God’s will.
The Artist’s Role: Purity and Creation
Especially as artists, maybe it is most important to embrace life with purity, innocence, and a natural trust that everything happens as it should — despite the cynicism and negativity modern society imposes upon us.
The horizontal plane — the material world, wealth, fame, fortune — is merely a distraction.
We must embrace simplicity, the divine connection on the vertical plane, striving upwards and beyond the material, toward the metaphysical world through the act of creation.
Perhaps, after all, the creation of art is the closest thing to touching the metaphysical plane.
The Ultimate iPad Pro Workflow for Street Photography
The Ultimate iPad Pro Workflow for Street Photography
What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.
Today I’m giving you the ultimate iPad Pro workflow for street photography — and I’m doing it straight from the forest. Let’s get into it.
📍 Why the iPad Pro?
First off: portability.
“You can bring it along with you in the woods and work on your photography.”
No matter where I am — the forest, the street, a coffee shop — the iPad Pro lets me stay in my creative flow. That’s why I use it. It’s light, fast, and always with me.
🛑 Why I Left the Old Workflow Behind
After coming back from Hanoi in 2022, I realized I needed to radically simplify.
I was:
- Using the Fujifilm X-Pro3
- Carrying multiple lenses
- Backing up with hard drives
- Culling on a laptop
“It was outdated. Tedious. Bogged me down practically and mentally.”
So I sold the gear, picked up the Ricoh GR, and switched to the iPad Pro.
⚡ Speed, Simplicity, Efficiency
“It’s all about the speed, the simplicity, and the efficiency.”
- Importing photos: USB-C to SD card reader, straight into the Photos app
- No Lightroom needed if you shoot JPEGs
- Culling on the go — in the street, café, or forest
- Publishing same day, every day
📸 A Typical Day in the Workflow
Here’s what I do:
- Shoot 500+ photos using Ricoh GR III (small, high-contrast B&W JPEGs)
- Plug SD card into iPad Pro
- Open the Photos app, use the 3×3 grid view
- Favorite instantly what hits me
- Name the album by date (e.g.
April 12, 2024) - Airdrop to phone/iMac or back up to Google Photos
“If it looks good small, it’s probably a keeper.”
☁️ The Power of the Cloud
I use:
- Google Photos for public, sharable archives
- Lightroom CC for my old RAW files
- Airdrop for device-to-device simplicity
“The beauty is having access to your portfolio anywhere, anytime — across phone, iPad, or desktop.”
✍️ Voice Dictation & Writing
- IA Writer + Voice Dictation = blog posts with no keyboard
- I write standing up in nature, walking, even while hiking
“You don’t need a mouse, a case, or accessories — just speak.”
I also:
- Use ChatGPT for brainstorming and creative thought
- Publish directly to WordPress from the Safari app
🎨 Using Procreate for Collages
Lately, I’ve been remixing my photos:
- Add gradient maps
- Drag elements using AI selection
- Create collages that play with layers and spontaneity
“Street collage is like Dada — serendipity, imperfection, humor, lightheartedness.”
It’s fun. It’s freeing. It’s visual art, not just photography.
🎞️ Creating Slideshows with Keynote
- Keynote lets me make slideshows of my photo sequences
- Add fades, text, export as video or PDF
- Publish straight to my blog or YouTube
“You can make a photo essay by 9 AM — shoot at sunrise, cull on the bus, publish before work.”
🧠 Why This Matters
Photographers get bogged down by:
- Too much gear
- Slow workflows
- Over-editing
This setup:
- Speeds everything up
- Keeps you excited to shoot again
- Develops your vision faster
“Focus more on taking pictures — not culling through them.”
🌲 Freedom to Create Anywhere
Like the birds in flight in one of my photos — I just want to be out there exploring endlessly. I don’t want to be glued to a desk.
“Combine the Ricoh GR with the iPad Pro — it’s freedom. Pure and simple.”
🛠️ Final Tools I Use
- Ricoh GR III (28mm, high contrast JPEGs)
- iPad Pro
- Photos app
- IA Writer
- Google Photos
- Lightroom CC (for RAW legacy)
- Procreate
- Keynote
- Safari + WordPress
📢 Last Thoughts
“This workflow is why I’ve published every single day for two and a half years.”
It brings me joy, clarity, and creative momentum.
If you’re shooting JPEGs already, I highly recommend adopting the iPad Pro as your main hub. Cull, backup, publish — and move on with your life.
Stop chasing perfection. Start creating with speed.
Play more. Create more. Share more.
“Let’s revitalize the photo forest. We got a pretty big canvas here.”
Peace.