Always up for a notebook conversation! I don't generally carry a notebook when hiking or walking through the woods or a city, but I do carry index cards. I read that tip years ago and always found it useful if I notice something or have an idea. I generally draft essays in a Mead composition book, but for my private journal it's unlined and spiral-bound with a hard cover (I buy these in bulk, added bonus for the fun of flipping through the pages of an aged math textbook: https://www.bookjournals.com). For taking notes from interviews, etc., and sometimes for carrying around, I use a notebook from Shinola Detroit (https://www.shinola.com/home/journals.html?master_product_type=Journals) that I don't think they make anymore. It was pretty much a copy of a Moleskine one that I have had trouble finding, too, an unlined, paper cover, maybe 6 X 4 inches?
"Cameras change the way we are outside. As we take photos in nature, the camera takes nature from us. Even as we seek to preserve the moment, capture it, bring it home to enjoy again later or share with others, the camera steals some of the moment, some of the raw experience, some of the actual nature." I'm so glad you took the time to write this, like an expansion of what you talked about in the online course. I hadn't thought about it until this moment, but it's similar to the struggle when you have a young kid and you want to capture all the moments but also be in the moment. Even writing is like that: can I just be in this experience and not think about how to turn it into narrative?
A timely post, as I spent a solid 20 minutes this morning seeking out a vireo in a tree that Merlin (damn screen) had convinced me was a Philadelphia (it was red-eyed).
I too thought this was going to be an article about Dippers! Thank you for this, Bryan; I feel seen, as the kids would say. I think it’s one of those focus and attention things. I personally would prefer to not bother to use tech-- I’d rather just be out in the field looking at stuff, but I know need to take some photos for my own education (& to amuse ppl on Mastodon). I guess just be balanced about it? As you say here, essentially.
I relate completely to what you're saying about photography getting in the way of being with nature. As someone who takes a lot of joy in wildlife photography and bringing that to others even if it's just one person AND someone who like to just watch, observe, and soak in the experience of such spaces, I try to strike a balance. I spend a lot of time doing the latter and keep only few minutes for photography. It's fine by me if I 'miss a shot' as a result :-) It's worked well for me.
I'm there with ya, buddy. Even giving up the binocs to just see what I see.
And, silly me, I was expecting something about Dippers.
Always up for a notebook conversation! I don't generally carry a notebook when hiking or walking through the woods or a city, but I do carry index cards. I read that tip years ago and always found it useful if I notice something or have an idea. I generally draft essays in a Mead composition book, but for my private journal it's unlined and spiral-bound with a hard cover (I buy these in bulk, added bonus for the fun of flipping through the pages of an aged math textbook: https://www.bookjournals.com). For taking notes from interviews, etc., and sometimes for carrying around, I use a notebook from Shinola Detroit (https://www.shinola.com/home/journals.html?master_product_type=Journals) that I don't think they make anymore. It was pretty much a copy of a Moleskine one that I have had trouble finding, too, an unlined, paper cover, maybe 6 X 4 inches?
"Cameras change the way we are outside. As we take photos in nature, the camera takes nature from us. Even as we seek to preserve the moment, capture it, bring it home to enjoy again later or share with others, the camera steals some of the moment, some of the raw experience, some of the actual nature." I'm so glad you took the time to write this, like an expansion of what you talked about in the online course. I hadn't thought about it until this moment, but it's similar to the struggle when you have a young kid and you want to capture all the moments but also be in the moment. Even writing is like that: can I just be in this experience and not think about how to turn it into narrative?
A timely post, as I spent a solid 20 minutes this morning seeking out a vireo in a tree that Merlin (damn screen) had convinced me was a Philadelphia (it was red-eyed).
I too thought this was going to be an article about Dippers! Thank you for this, Bryan; I feel seen, as the kids would say. I think it’s one of those focus and attention things. I personally would prefer to not bother to use tech-- I’d rather just be out in the field looking at stuff, but I know need to take some photos for my own education (& to amuse ppl on Mastodon). I guess just be balanced about it? As you say here, essentially.
I relate completely to what you're saying about photography getting in the way of being with nature. As someone who takes a lot of joy in wildlife photography and bringing that to others even if it's just one person AND someone who like to just watch, observe, and soak in the experience of such spaces, I try to strike a balance. I spend a lot of time doing the latter and keep only few minutes for photography. It's fine by me if I 'miss a shot' as a result :-) It's worked well for me.