I know what you're thinking already, "D.J., what does an office chair have to do with photography?". Well here's the thing, it actually has a lot to do with photographers (along with other creative types) who sit at a desk for a big portion of their day. As a photographer, you spend a lot of time editing and emailing clients at your desk. It would be beneficial for you to have a nice chair to sit on. I actually ended up going with a yoga ball as my new office chair for a couple of reasons that I think pertain to the creative type specifically...

   It takes 2-4 weeks to build a habit depending on what the habit is, how long it’s done, your approach and so on. Roughly though, an average of 3 weeks to create a daily habit is a pretty good bet. Here’s the thing though, most people don’t make it through those couple of weeks. There’s a million reasons why, but the hard part of starting any habit is, well, actually sticking with it for the first few days. After those 2 to 4 weeks, those routines you’ve created become an unconscious part of your day. You will no longer have to consciously think about whether or not you did that thing, you’ll just "do it out of habit"...

   Closeup filters, or macro filters as they are sometimes known, are awesome. They're a relatively cheap alternative to a dedicated macro lens, which not only takes up space in your bag and adds weight, but saves you money if macro isn't a big part of what you enjoy to shoot. You can find sets of these closeup filters for as low as $10 at places like amazon and b&h. Theyre so cheap that even if you've never gotten into macro before, this is a nice, cheap way of dipping your toes in to test the waters. Some people spend a buck or two on an app and get some enjoyment out of it for a little while, this could be your photographic equilivent. ;) Keep in mind that these won’t give you a true 1:1 macro experience...

   Whenever I need to think, I either go for a walk or I pace around the room. Have you ever noticed yourself doing this? The response i get from people when I ask them this question is actually relatively surprising. I used to think I was a little odd for pacing to help me think or come up with a creative idea. As it turns out, a decent amount of people also found respite in knowing that they aren't the only people who look like they're possessed by a demon who methodically walks endlessly across a room and back. I was curious as to why going for a walk, or pacing back and forth, helps push us forward in a creative direction. At the very least I'd like to know why we think it helps us get out of a creative funk.

   I'm sure everyone has seen one of these photos at least once. Double exposures can be such a fun and interesting creative technique. As the name implies, double exposure photography is all about combining two photos and overlaying them with one another to create a single image. Some digital cameras, and most film cameras, have the ability to take multiple exposures and create the effect in camera without needing any photoshop or post production at all. Personally, I like the ability to control the outcome in a more meaningful way without letting my camera take care of business for me. With photoshop you have many more options on the placement of the two photos, how they're blended together and which elements are showing and which aren't...

   I've been in a creative mood lately and I've been messing around with different techniques like freelensing for example, which I'm going to be writing about soon. Today though, I wanted to focus on light trails from car lights. Instead of taking the average long exposure shot of car head and tail lights, I changed up my perspective and went INSIDE of the car. I actually was inspired to take this shot based on a photo I took up in the mountains with a friend of mine. I was messing around with a long exposure while he was driving and I came out with a photo I thought was pretty cool. Looking back though, I knew I could do much better. I didn't have my tripod, so I had to hand hold my camera and a tripod is crucial to making this shot work. So a couple of days ago I set out to retake the shot, but this time with urban lights instead of the forest from the original...

   Recently, I've learned the importance of meditating on a more consistent basis. I've noticed a lot of pessimism and negativity around me lately and it's gradually been taking its toll on my mental state. Once you get trapped in that negative state, it gets increasingly harder to remove yourself from all of it as time goes by. I started losing sight of some of my passions due to gaining a lethargic "what's the point" perspective on life. This was not only aided by negative mindsets, but also by less-than-great circumstances occurring in my personal life. It sort of snuck up on me and at one particularly bad point, it dawned on me that I was drowning in it. I liken it to the anecdote of the frog in a slowly boiling pot of water. If negativity is gradually added into your life over a long period of time, you won't notice just how much has been pilling up and draining you physically, mentally and emotionally...

   So I recently picked up a Moleskine journal for the first time. I've never really had any kind of nice journal before, except this cool Scooby Doo one when I was about 7. Usually whenever I needed to write things down in the past I'd just get those crappy, generic spiral bound notebooks that were 3 for $1 at Kmart. You know the type, everyone had them. Around the time middle school came around and I had my own computer that wasn't "the family computer", everything moved over digitally into wordpad (thanks windows 98). All of that aside, I've been wanting to switch things up. I pretty much use Evernote for everything nowadays, but I miss analog forms of writing. Not for any nostalgic reason, but I personally feel like I take more in when I physically have to write out my words. It physically demands more attention and the payoff for finishing up that long winded piece you were writing has a much more cathartic feel to it. Maybe that's just me though...