Quarterly Look Back

Quarterly Look Back - June 2020 /  by Todd Henson

We’re halfway through the year, and what a crazy year it’s been so far. It hasn’t exactly been good for creating new photography, at least not for me, though I know many have continued creating great work. I hope to get back to that at some point, though I have been enjoying working on older images.

Most of the time I might have previously spent out doing photography or seeing friends I’ve lately spent reading. Perhaps because it’s a comfort. Perhaps because I’ve always enjoyed it and now find a bit more time for it. Interestingly, I haven’t read much related to photography, and I don’t know why. As I’ve realized this I’ve begun pulling out photography and art books. Maybe I can slowly get myself back into the swing of things.

Photography

During this quarter I’ve watched several webinars from different photographers such as Thorsten von Overgaard, Joel Grimes, Yaneck Wasio, and Harold Davis. I have mostly enjoyed them, some more than others. But I will warn anyone new to them, be aware they have a dual purpose. One is to share useful information with the rest of us, and the other is to market to us. I have no problem with this, it’s a fair trade. But be aware some will email you offers far more often than others. This does give me pause when considering signing up for webinars, and I do sometimes unsubscribe just to stop the constant onslaught of emails.

As mentioned above I haven’t been out much creating new images, but I have made an effort to keep working on older images and to keep posting to the blog. I feel like these posts are a habit I want to keep. I enjoy writing them and they keep me somewhere on the continuum of creation. Below is a list of all the posts I published this quarter, so please check them out if you missed any.

Before & After

Masonic Temple

Field Notes Updates

Spotted Sandpiper Along Rocky Shoreline

Brown Thrashers & Berries

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Nestlings

Photobombing an Osprey

Photo Failures

Smoke & Clouds

Random Thoughts

Harvesting Gold

Hypnotic Pink

Some Personal Q&A

Reviews

All Aboard the Audiobook Bus

Story Behind Image

Flowering Tree in Spring

Do You Dare Follow the Path?

Techniques

Why Adjust White Balance?

Color Correction When White Balance Isn’t Enough

Reading

Most of my reading this quarter has been fiction. It has always been one of my favorite activities, for as long as I can remember. My folks were readers and I suppose I quickly learned to take after them, and I’m very glad I did. I’ve gained so much enjoyment from the written word. And these days I’ve also learned to enjoy the spoken version of the written word, in the form of audiobooks. I will likely always prefer paper books, but I consume books in any form: paper, ebook or audio. And after answering the questions in the personal Q&A post I realized it’s stories I’m drawn to, and those are available in even more forms, like comics & manga, anime, movies, tv, music, even in artwork like paintings and photographs. And perhaps some mediums pull me in more because they require my own imagination to be part of the creation process.

The books I consumed this quarter (paper, ebook, and audio).

My favorite reads of the quarter include:

The Two Towers and The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings was one of the first fantasy books I read when growing up and it’s always been a favorite. This time around I listened to the audiobooks narrated by Rob Inglis, who does an absolutely fantastic job drawing the reader into the world and the characters. I couldn’t have been more pleased with these.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

I have always loved Ray Bradbury. He just had a way with words, and even though many of the stories in this anthology might be a bit dated they still were fantastic reads. I look forward to reading more, and there are still many of his works I’ve yet to try.

With a Single Spell by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Many fantasy books, especially these days, are fairly grand in scope. And though I thoroughly enjoy those, I sometimes find myself craving simpler stories with less world shattering events. With a Single Spell perfectly fits that craving, being about a poor wizard’s apprentice who’s master dies after only teaching him a single spell. How can he survive in the world with a single spell? Go track down a copy and find out! :-)

Made Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky

This was a shorter novella, but it packed an amazing amount of story in its few pages. It tells the story of made things, little dolls imbued with life by an ancient wizard, now left to survive in the world by hiding their presence. I really enjoyed my brief journey through this world.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow

This book was absolute magic. I mentioned it briefly in Do You Dare Follow the Path? It is a tale of doorways to other worlds, and of a young woman named January who discovers these doors may be real. A beautiful story for any age.

Kabuki Library Edition Volume 1 by David Mack

Kabuki is my favorite story in comic book form, and it varies much from the norm of that medium. I just love David Mack’s writing and his amazing artwork. Sometimes it’s a little more traditional, sometimes in black and white, sometimes amazing colorful watercolor paintings or multimedia collages. I love these collected editions, and it’s been such a treat rereading them.

Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer

This was such a treat for a D&D nerd. Granted, I don’t currently play, but I did for many years back when the 1st edition rules were out. This book provides a beautiful history of the game, from inception to now, with fantastic artwork from each edition, as well as the various offshoots like computer games, movies, tv shows, miniatures, etc. And the Special Edition boxed set is just stunning.

Movies

I watched very few movies this quarter. Most of my movie watching used to be with friends on the weekends, but that’s been put on hold for now. And I’ve been far more drawn to reading than watching, at least lately. But I did manage to watch a small selection of movies.

The movies I watched this quarter.

My favorite films of the quarter were:

Knives Out

A fantastic whodunit sort of story set in the extravagant house of a rich and famous crime novelist who’s found dead. Called in to investigate are the police, and the renowned Detective Benoit Blanc. As expected, no one is quite who they seem. I loved how the story was shown both from each persons perspective and from the perspective they wanted to portray, neither of which ever matched. This movie had an incredible cast.

Jojo Rabbit

Another slightly off story by, and starring, Taika Waititi. I’ve very much enjoyed many of his movies, and this one is no different. A look at Nazi Germany from the perspective of a young boy who’s enamored with Hitler, but whose mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in the attic. Funny, touching, with a positive message.

Music

This quarter I’ve been listening to a lot of music from Japanese artists. I discovered the rock band MY FIRST STORY, who’ve been around since 2011. I find myself really drawn to their rough combination of energy and passion. Below are a couple videos to give you an idea of their style. I really like the visuals in the first.


And I’ve recently started listening to ONE OK ROCK, who’ve been around since 2005. Interestingly, their name in Japan is pronounced like “one awk rock” and is based on “One O’Clock” because that’s when the group used to practice. But here in the US we typically pronounce their name “one okay rock”. They have a great range of music, with some in the hard rock space I spend a lot of time in, but some in a softer more melodic range. I’ve been listening to them a LOT lately. Check out a few samples of their music. The first, Stand Out Fit In, is one of those feel-good sort of songs I could listen to repeatedly, and I love this version with the orchestra. And I love the video for Taking Off which showcases their drummer, Tomoya.

 
 


WagakkiBand is a group I’ve been listening to for a short while, and they’ve recently put out a new EP containing a song that may now be my favorite of theirs, or certainly one of my favorites. I feel better every time I listen to it. This group mixes traditional and modern instruments and styles to great effect. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video for the song, but it appears as the last song (listed as M4) in the sampler below at around 1 minutes and 33 seconds into the video.

 
 


And thanks to the set of questions from Lashaaan over at Roars and Echoes I spent some time wandering down memory lane, listening to music I absolutely love but haven’t played in some time. Most of these are in the hard rock side of the spectrum. This has me thinking about poring back through my music catalog looking for other styles of music, perhaps some classical. I love variety, but sometimes I do become obsessed with one style, or even one group or one song, for long periods of time.

Life

There really haven’t been any major changes in my life this quarter. My folks did celebrate their 50th anniversary, and it was great getting to see them for that (I love you both!!). There’s still a lot happening in the world right now, but I try to keep this site a refuge of sorts from all that. And so I continue working on photographs and sharing them here. I continue reading, listening to music, and writing. And I try to stay positive, and encourage you to, as well. Keep looking for the beauty out there, for the things that bring you and others happiness. That will help you get through any of the hardships we sometimes have to struggle through.

Thanks for reading. Stay safe. Stay well. And keep smiling! :-)

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Quarterly Look Back - March 2020 /  by Todd Henson

Can you believe we’re already 1/4th of the way through the year? With that being the case I thought I’d take a short look back, provide a quick summary of things that have happened in the first quarter of 2020. I’m hoping this might keep me more focused and looking forward by taking some time to peer a little way into the past and see what I’ve accomplished (if anything). And, perhaps, it may give you some ideas of things to do, books to read, or movies to watch.

Photography

On the photography front I’m still not getting out shooting as often as I’d like, though I’d likely say that regardless of the number of times I got out. I had about half a dozen outings with the camera this quarter, all small and local hikes. Many of the locations I frequent have closed or had their access restricted due to virus lockdowns, so this may affect my outings over the next quarter.

I’ve continued working on my back catalog in Lightroom, which is often an enjoyable experience, pulling out old photos I’d forgotten about and seeing if I can turn them into something more. From an organizational perspective, I always feel I could better manage my photos, and I’m always behind in keywording them, so there’s still plenty to do.

I strive to regularly publish a new post each week on the blog and I’ve managed to keep this pace. In case you missed any, here’s a quick rundown of the posts this quarter:

Blog posts from the 1st quarter of 2020

Reading

I love reading. I think it helps develop our creativity by exposing us to the creative minds of others and by pushing us to see things in a different light than we might have otherwise. So I push myself to read a lot, and I attempt to read from a range of genres though I’m most drawn to a few.

My overall goal this year, tracked in goodreads, is to read at least 50 books. Granted, I know some of these will be much shorter than others. Some will be books of photography with few words. Others will be graphic novels. But even with that, 50 is a high enough number to keep me motivated to continue reading. So far I’ve been doing a good job keeping pace.

Here are the 13 books I’ve finished this quarter:

The books I read during the 1st quarter of 2020

Photography

ShadowLight by Freeman Patterson

A wonderful look into the life of Canadian photographer, Freeman Patterson. I have a couple instructional books by Patterson, but this is the first I’ve read. It contains a nice selection of his photographs and much writing about his journeys through life. I hope to post a review one of these days.

Non-fiction

A Nose for Trouble by Michael Ainslie

An interesting look into the life of Michael Ainslie and his experiences in business and life. He seems to have been drawn to, or simply found himself in, situations full of adversity, from traveling through countries during wartime, to the growth and scandals of Sotheby’s, and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.

Walden on Wheels by Ken Ilgunas

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this book. It tells of the author’s troubles with debt and how he attempted to get a quality education from a prestigious institution without going back into debt. The premise seemed good, but it just didn’t work for me, and the comparisons to Walden didn’t ring true. But, your mileage may vary.

Fiction

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

This is book 2 of the Imperial Radch trilogy and a very worth followup. I don’t want to give away too much in case you haven’t read the first book, Ancillary Justice, but suffice it to say Ann Leckie has created an incredible universe, one I found full of surprises. It had me thinking about what it would be like to be some of the characters, given how different they are from anything we know in the real world.

The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey

I received a pre-publication ebook of The Book of Koli through a goodreads giveaway. This was my first exposure to M.R. Carey’s writing, though I did watch the movie version of The Girl With All the Gifts. Having read this I can understand why there are so many fans of his work. It was a very entertaining read about a far future post-apocalyptic Earth where civilization as we know it has collapsed, leaving small villages separated by dangerous swaths of carnivorous forests. I look forward to the next book.

Circe by Madeline Miller

A thoroughly engrossing tale of the life of Circe, a lesser goddess of Greek mythology, daughter of the Titan Helios. We see glimpses of better known events and figures as her life unfolds. I very much enjoyed this book. Check out my review of Circe by Madeline Miller.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

I finally read (actually listened to) this classic story of a dog, Buck, stolen and sold into the service of gold miners in the north. A wonderful tale of adventure and adversity tracking the life of this incredible dog and his various owners, some of whom were cruel and harsh, others who showed great love.

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

Another classic I’m pleased to have tried, though I didn’t enjoy much beyond the first of Gulliver’s travels. It was an interesting bit of social commentary of the day, but I found the story, itself, to really drag on.

The Peripheral by William Gibson

My first read of the year and a great way to start it off. I loved Gibson’s story, which followed two timelines as they interacted in various ways, each being altered by the other. An interesting cast of characters and technologies made for a very enjoyable read.

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

The third book in Martha Wells’ series, The Murderbot Diaries, following the life and adventures of a cyborg security unit that refers to itself as Murderbot. I absolutely love this character, which Wells has imbued with such life. She packs so much story into these short novellas and I continue to look forward to each new chapter.

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

Working my way through some of the classics, I found myself somewhat disappointed with this book. I enjoyed parts, and I appreciated the overall story, but I got bogged down in all the details and the overly blatant moral lessons. Others may appreciate this far more than I did.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Here is a classic I thoroughly enjoyed. It was interesting to see what the actual story was, given all I’ve had access to prior to this were the various movie renditions. This was a long book, but one I very much enjoyed. I look forward to returning to these characters in the sequels.

Comics / Graphic Novels

Global Frequency by Warren Ellis

The story of a private rescue organization with global reach, run by a woman known as Miranda Zero, helping folks no one else can. I enjoyed some of the stories, but others were a little too over the top for me.

Five of the books I read this quarter were in audio format:

  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London

  • Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

  • The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

  • The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

  • Walden on Wheels by Ken Ilgunas

My favorites of all these were:

  • ShadowLight by Freeman Patterson

  • Circe by Madeline Miller

  • The Peripheral by William Gibson

  • Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

I’m currently almost finished with a reread of The Fellowship of the Ring, the 1st book of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, but this time in audiobook format. I do love this series. And I’m slowly making my way through Alice Shroeder’s The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. One of the next books I plan on starting is The Black Prism, the first of Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer series.

Movies

As with books, I love watching movies to experience worlds crafted from other creative minds. I prefer books, but I enjoy both, each having its own strengths and weaknesses as a medium. This quarter I watched the following movies:

The movies I watched during the 1st quarter of 2020

Advantageous

A slow concept movie about a single mother with a daughter far in the future when jobs are harder to come by. The mother makes a difficult decision she hopes will help guarantee a positive future for her daughter. The movie was ok.

6 Underground

A fast paced, over the top, special effects-laden action film about a 6 person international vigilante team intent on overthrowing world leaders they see as evil. If you enjoyed other Michael Bay films you may enjoy this one. I didn’t care for it.

Furie

A Vietnamese martial arts action film about a mother struggling to make ends meet when her daughter is kidnapped by a child trafficking group. She gets little initial help from the authorities so she takes matters into her own hands. It was entertaining and exactly what you’d expect from this type of film.

I Lost My Body

I very much enjoyed this animated French film about a dismembered hand trying to find its way back to the young man who lost it. Slowly we get a picture of this young man’s life, see his troubles, what he does to try to change, his pursuit of a love interest, and how he came to lose his hand. I enjoyed this film more than I expected.

Parasite

I may be biased in my enjoyment of this Korean film as I’ve enjoyed most of the films by director Boon Joon-ho and those starring Kang-ho Song. A very interesting look into the life of a family struggling to survive, and another with riches to spare, and how they eventually begin to interact and mix together. This was not at all what I’d expected, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ready or Not

A bit of a dark film, a horror/comedy, full of some gruesome scenes, but overall I ended up enjoying it. A new bride is introduced to her husbands family in a dark, mysterious house, where they must all play a strange card game with each new addition to the family. Things get a bit out of hand.

Watchmen

Based on a graphic novel, this movie tells of a group of masked heroes after their heyday, when someone begins killing them off. One member, Rorschach, begins investigating, suspecting there’s more to this than most realize. And he’s proven correct. An exploration of human nature and whether the ends justify the means. I very much enjoyed this film.

The Way

An absolutely beautiful and moving story of a father who must travel to Europe to collect his son, who died after starting a pilgrimage, hiking a trail from France to the coast of Spain. Tragic. Funny. Moving. Heartfelt. A movie about healing and self-awareness.

Miss Hokusai

Miss Hokusai is an artist and daughter to a famous painter. They have a somewhat strained relationship but manage to get along. I loved the art in this film, and there was an interesting cast of characters and a very enjoyable story. I did find the ending a bit odd, and parts of the soundtrack were unexpected for this type of story. But overall, I did enjoy it.

Of these my favorites were:

  • Parasite

  • The Way

Life

The elephant in the room this quarter would have to be the virus pandemic spreading across the world. It’s certainly something new for most of us, never having experienced something of this magnitude. And it’s changing the way many of us go about our daily lives and how we seek entertainment and well-being. But, as with all things, it will pass. And we just need to do the best we can until then.

I hope you’re well wherever you are. And I hope you stay healthy, active and positive. Let me know how your quarter has been in the comments below.

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