The Best Way to Get Better | Stoke-Ness
@levi.hoch wondering how he always gets convinced to join my sufferfests.
We’ve had two snow storms already in Montana.
You would think that most folks aren’t ready for it, but this year more season passes to our local ski hill have been purchased than ever before. It’s a month until the resorts open and I’ll be up in the backcountry enjoying the snow as soon as the rocks are covered. It’s never too early to embrace the changing season, right?
In this month’s issue, I share the best way to get better at photography, a camera mic that makes your life easier and the details of my wood fired hot tub that people have asked about for years.
Be stoked,
Isaac
Photo/Video Technique
Photo by Forrest Mankins
The Best Way to Get better at Photography
In the first 3 years after I started photography, I shot 55,000 photos a year. I credit this volume with my rapid growth as a photographer and one of the reasons why I am able to do this for living.
I am not alone in thinking that quantity is a good strategy.
Here is a story from the book Art & Fear:
On the first day of class, Jerry Uelsmann, a professor at the University of Florida, divided his film photography students into two groups.
Everyone on the left side of the classroom, he explained, would be in the “quantity” group. They would be graded solely on the amount of work they produced. On the final day of class, he would tally the number of photos submitted by each student. One hundred photos would rate an A, ninety photos a B, eighty photos a C, and so on.
Meanwhile, everyone on the right side of the room would be in the “quality” group. They would be graded only on the excellence of their work. They would only need to produce one photo during the semester, but to get an A, it had to be a nearly perfect image.
At the end of the term, he was surprised to find that all the best photos were produced by the quantity group. During the semester, these students were busy taking photos, experimenting with composition and lighting, testing out various methods in the darkroom, and learning from their mistakes. In the process of creating hundreds of photos, they honed their skills. Meanwhile, the quality group sat around speculating about perfection. In the end, they had little to show for their efforts other than unverified theories and one mediocre photo.
Author James Clear says “It is easy to get bogged down trying to find the optimal plan for change: the fastest way to lose weight, the best program to build muscle, the perfect idea for a side hustle. We are so focused on figuring out the best approach that we never get around to taking action. As Voltaire once wrote, “The best is the enemy of the good.”
If you want to get better at photography the best thing you can do is shoot photos. It’s the best + simplest advice.
Gear
Rode VideoMicro
Are you just starting out shooting video or maybe a seasoned filmmaker, but looking for a better run and gun setup? Then let me introduce you to the Rode VideoMicro.
When I got my first mic (not a VideoMicro) I noticed three things I didn’t like right away that got in the way of making videos.
Standard on camera shotgun mics are too big. They can’t fit into my camera bag without taking them off the camera. This adds a step every time you pull your camera out of your bag of plugging in the mic cord, mounting the mic and turning the mic on.
Speaking of turning the mic on, I always forget. If you forget to turn the mic on then the video you shoot won’t have any audio at all. You can imagine how frustrating that is. Another downside is forgetting to turn it off. I cant tell you how many times I pulled my camera out of my bag to find that I had a dead battery.
I have to take it off to use the viewfinder on my camera. The way that a standard shotgun mic sits on top pf your camera makes it in the way of pressing your eye to the viewfinder. You have to remove it just to look through. Not a great design.
The solution is Rode VideoMicro. It has no batteries, is tiny enough to go in your bag and be out of the way, and the mount is flexible and able to be smooshed down with out breaking. The audio quality is indistinguishable from all but the most expensive shotgun mics yet it only costs $88.
If you have been wanting to get a mic or looking for a less annoying setup, check out this mic.
See it here Here
Music I'm Diggin'
MMXX-XII by Diplo ft. Rhye
A moody song with a movie soundtrack kind of vibe. I really dig the big brass section hits. I had no idea that Diplo could slow it down with such depth.
Listen to it on Spotify Here
Videos, Movies, and TV
Rebuilding my Wood Fired Hot Tub
Last summer I rebuilt my hot tub and filmed the whole process. Alex Strohl helped and we show every step of the process. If you have been wishing you had a wood fired hot tub, this video has the details of how to make your own.
Give it a watch.
Reads
Atomic Habits by James Clear
A few months back my friend and fellow newsletter reader Tim Miller shared James Clear’s newsletter with me. I subscribed and found that I read every issue. James also has a book called Atomic Habits and unlike most books of the genre (habit/self help books) this one is interesting and encouraging to read.
If you have wanted to learn better habits, stop bad habits or just get the push towards consistently making small changes in your life, this is the book for you.
PS it’s also where I heard about the quantity over quality photo study in the technique section.
Get the book Here
Be stoked and have a great month,
Isaac
This newsletter, my photography and my videos are all free, but not cheap. If you want to help me continue to make things you can buy me virtual coffee.
Don't have the funds to buy a coffee at the moment? Then sharing this newsletter with someone you think would like it is the next best thing. Thanks!
