2026 01 22: Age of Agency
Previously, I posted a link to an article about agency and how weāre now in the āAge of Agencyā (See: 2025 08 20). These days, human intelligence is being commoditized and replaced by computer, while agency is what may give you an edge. My friend Jack has since sent me another link about agency, which I thought was also worth sharing. The author, George Mack, has gone ahead and made a whole website to host his article, which isā¦ quite agentic of him.
2026 01 19: Controlled Chaos
This is a visual representation of what my life feels like lately: semi-controlled chaos; rules & regulations; logistics & confusion; planning & plotting.
2026 01 17: Virtual Scouting
The last few days, in my spare time, Iāve been watching a youtube channel from a guy who explores places and does a really nice job of explaining the history and interesting angles (while being super enthusiastic about simple things which also get me excited inwardly). Iāve been enjoying them specifically because it feels a bit more āproductive,ā in the sense that Iām using the videos as virtual scouting trips covering places I aim to explore and photography myself in the coming years. The videos specific videos are covering areas in UP Michigan, but they also very much remind me of a lot of my own Ill Wandering trips over the last few years.
More on all of these thoughts another day, but for today, hereās a photo from Lincoln, Illinois (which also reminded me I need to dust off, finish, and post my āPlan for a New Illinoisā proposal. So much to doā¦
2026 01 15: Donāt Fret
Thinking of Cooper today.
Life goes on, doesnāt it? Damn. Make the best of the time you have while you still have time to be had.
2026 01 14: Simplify in 2026
Simplifying My Life in 2026
In doing some deeper thinking on what I should focus on this year, it came to my mind that perhaps less is more. Last year was a throw-evertyhing-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks year. That approach can be fun but is not sustainable. Knowing myself as I do, avoiding the mundane organizational logistics of life in favor of fun new adventures is my standard operating procedure; opening a photo studio but not figuring out how to efficiently operate it; opening a photobook shop but neglecting the backend paperwork; making a million photos but failing to tell people Iām a photographerā¦ these practices are unsustainable and will eventually catch up with you. In hopes of avoiding the repercussions, this year will be spent doing the Not Fun things required of us.
2026 01 13: Hiromix
Get trendy; get famous; make art; sell; retire. Iām still working on the first step and will realistically be stuck there for the rest of my days. That said, I did jump onto the snapshot trend in my early career, not so much by design but on accident. The early photography wave I caught has gotten me to where I am today, which is further to shore than most can say.
While in search of the next wave, this video popped into my feed and I thought it was an interesting topic and well made video, thus this post.
āProving everyday life is worthy of art.ā ā¦ āThe girl who took the first selfieā ā¦
2026 01 12
Not much to say today, but contemplating bars and my drinking habits as I listen to a Dry January segment on NPR. Iām drinking less than I used to, however, am also far from quitting alcohol. Itās fascinating to consider how human habits can change so relatively quickly and on such a large scale; people are drinking far less and having less sex. While I donāt have any answers as to why this is the case, social media is my immediate suspect. I still love bars myself, I think because they are the perfect solution when my introverted self wants to be social ā I can sit alone in a room of people and observe, or engage and socialize if Iām feeling more adventurous. Either way, the juice dulls my over-stimulated brain so that it resembles something a bit more manageable. Keeping the balance of using vs abusing is where things can get complicated and thereās no doubt many people I know should not touch alcohol no matter what the reason for wanting to.
2026 01 10
In the new year, I need to devise a new organizational strategy for my various image projects to help me better search and find things to post on this here blog. The plan is still to begin sharing more work from my personal Illinois Project (and perhaps eventually Chicago Project and Northwoods Project). While the aim is still to elevate things a bit more around here, I donāt want to lose the exploration aspect of the blog. It will be a balancing act.
2026 01 09: Downtown
I really need to get downtown more often. I love the layers and the hidden discoveries. On this day, it was a basement-level food court in a century-old building designed for a previous era when thousands of salary workers flooded the area for work, then fled back to the suburbs. These days, downtown is in search of a new identity.
2026 01 08: End ICE
Iām reeeeally doing my best to avoid the news these days for my own sanityās sake, however, this cute lil guy felt appropriate today considering yesterdayās news out of Minnesota.
Fuck ICE. Stay safe out there, yāall.
2026 01 07: Keep it 100
In attempting to make good on one of my year-end resolutions (see: 2025 12 30), Iāve got my āKeep it 100ā portraits sessions on offer from January 8-13. Since I opened up bookings so last minute, Iām going to have a very hard time of getting people to sign up, which will likely spiral me back into a pessimistic outlook on the whole thing. Ho hum. If you want to book a session, you can do so here; and if you use the code KEEP-IT-100, youāll unlock the insanely low price of $100 for an individual session.
2026 01 06: Creative Resolution
My Creative Resolution for 2026
Last year I was planning to make a big pivot both to making motion work and hitting the streets once again as a photographer (see: 2025 01 06). The thinking was, by putting myself into the city and regularly making work wherever the roads and trains took me, Iād be influenced and inspired while simultaneously building a new body of work and getting my name out there. As it happened, I failed at both. This is not to say I didnāt have a successful year from a creative perspective, however, the specific goals Iād set for myself were not met. When I stop to think why this was the case, I think it was largely because I got distracted with life events and ultimately the reason for picking these tasks was misaligned with the reality of how to best achieve my bigger career goals.
2026 01 05
2026 01 04
2026 01 01: Becoming a Daily Blogger
It feels appropriate to check in on the blog in this, the first day of a fresh new year. As this website was set up, I start a new blog section each year and thought it would be a good idea to try a slightly new visual approach this time. While the writing has always been my primary focus around here, I am a photographer after all, so it makes sense to attempt to create a more visually-appropriate layout. That said, I think the limiting factor is the platform Iām using. The provided tools are quite basic and will never be able to do the things Iād love to create without a significant time and money investment. Itās just not worth it for what it is (a space for me to mostly talk to myself). Acknowledging this fact has been a huge improvement for me personally, as I tend to be a perfectionist to a detrimental degree.