Strong Opinions Loosely Held and the Death of the Fear of Success

I wrote a post before about whether success was - or could be - scarier than failure. I genuinely believed it was. And then I heard a statement that instantly turned that opinion on its head. It killed my belief in it. And that's a great thing.

We should all be willing to change our minds if new evidence convinces us our opinion on something might not be right. Strong opinions loosely held. That's the gist of this post.

Come read to see what the statement was that made me realise my opinion had been wrong.

The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli – a Book Review

If you want to make better decisions in life, you don't need to learn any extraordinary new tips or techniques. All you need is to understand *why* you may be making bad decisions and then use that knowledge to cut them out.

The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli outlines 99 cognitive biases that affect us all, causing us to unknowingly do the wrong thing or feel the wrong way all too regularly.

I recommend you pick it up and give it a good read through. In this review, I'll tell you why and also explain how it helped me with my photography and blogging.

Get Your Work On: Dmitri Tcherbadji

You've probably noticed that a lot of street photography is presented in high contrast monochrome, but have you ever stopped to wonder why?

It's now pretty much an accepted 'street photography look', but what are its origins? How and why did this look become a thing?

Dmitri Tcherbadji has a theory. It goes back decades, and stems from film photographers having to overcome a technical issue with their gear. Come read and learn what that is.

The #leesixtyfive Project: Photographs 1 – 30

Confession time. Despite having this website all about vintage lenses and street photography, I haven't actually been doing as much shooting as I could or should.

Perhaps I was burnt out. Or uninspired. I don't know, but I needed a reason to go out more often with my camera. So, thinking that every day would probably be often enough, I started a 365 project.

Of course I then had to call it the #leesixtyfive project. This is how the first 30 days of it went down. Come read, come see.

Where to Buy Vintage Lenses (and other camera gear) in Shanghai

If you're looking to buy vintage lenses or pretty much any camera gear in Shanghai and don't want to order online, there's really only one place you'll need to go.

That place is Xing Guang Photographic Equipment.

A 6-storey department store full of cameras, lenses, studio equipment, and all the accessories you'll ever need, it's my go-to place for my vintage lenses. Come see why, and learn all about how to go there to fulfil your photography gear needs too.

How Much Are Lightroom Presets Worth?

Here's the truth. The real worth of Lightroom presets is governed by how much value the buyer will get from them.

That means, depending on the type of photography you do and how it rewards you, any given pack may be worth more to you than it is to me. Or less. I can't possibly say.

But I can get you to ask yourself some questions to help you figure out if that Lightroom presets pack you've got your eye on is really worth the asking price. Come read, come learn.

Understanding (and Using) ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed

Understanding what ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are isn't essential in making good photographs, but it can help you to make better ones.

However, for that to happen, simply understanding what they are isn't enough. You'll need to know how to use them too.

In this actionable post, you can learn both. Grab your camera and a cup of coffee and come follow along.

Get Your Work On: Mitchel Lensink

This edition of Get Your Work On features Mitchel Lensink's landscapes from his hometown of Amersfoort, in The Netherlands.

Mitchel typically hits the streets after the rain has stopped to take advantage of the puddles. The process - using reflections to creatively shoot a small yet distinctive Dutch town - produces a look that I now find instantly recognisable.

Come see how Mitchel is carving his own niche and how he hopes to get his work into people's hands and not just onto their screens.

How to Install Lightroom Presets (And Also Make Your Own)

Lightroom presets will dramatically streamline your post-processing workflow. However, before you can use any you've bought or downloaded, you'll have to install them.

The good news is, that's pretty simple to do so. All is explained in this post. And because installing them is so easy, I felt guilty about only giving you that information.

To remedy that, I'll also tell you how to make your own Lightroom presets. Bonus! Come read, come learn.

Shooting Ilford Pan 400 in Shanghai

More film photography, right here. And this time we're shooting monochrome.

Ilford Pan 400 is a film available in Asia. It's not expensive, but does that make it worth buying if you're in the area? Or even getting some shipped if you're not?

To find out, I shot some Shanghai street photography with it. Here, in this very article, you can come see how it turned out. Come one, come all. Come on. Come in.

How Can Lightroom Presets Improve Your Photography?

Looking to improve your photography? Who isn't?! But seriously, we'd all like to be better at what we do. The question is how.

Pounding the streets and shooting often is one way to improve your photography. It's the hard work - the graft - that we all need to put in.

Using Lightroom presets to improve your photography is smarter. And it works. Want to know how? Come read, come learn.

Are Lightroom Presets Cheating?

Is using Lightroom presets cheating? I'm going to say no. No, it isn't.

So how about Lightroom and Photoshop themselves, and all the other photo editing software out there? Is that cheating? Nobody wants to think an image has been, gasp, 'photoshopped', do they?

Of course, some dishonesty can happen when processing your images. But in most cases, I don't see it as cheating. Come read and learn why.

Why Nobody Cares About Your Street Photography

Nobody cares about your street photography. Not your friends or family, not the people who only 'like' your Instagram posts because they want you to check their work out, and certainly not the general public who have no idea who you are.

But if you do street photography, you probably do want people to care. The question is, how?

The answers lie in this post. Come read. Come learn. Come get people caring about your street photography.

Vintage Film Lightroom Presets Pack

Looking to give your digital street photography a cool, classic film style? Then you should probably come check out this Vintage Film Lightroom presets pack.

Featuring 30 colour and 30 monochrome presets, it allows you to achieve the look you want within minutes of downloading.

They're not free, but at just £12 they're a bargain compared to the time they'll save you.

Come take a look.

Yuhuan – a Film Photography Essay

Yuhuan is a small, industrial city on China's east coast. I don't think many people go there for the sightseeing.

I went there for a Chinese New Year and took my charity shop film camera and two rolls of Ilford Pan 400. I wanted to tell a story. I wanted to present Yuhuan as I saw it.

This film photography essay is the result of that. Come take a look.