In this issue: "What is the best first camera to get?" Part Four (portrait photography); a nature poem by me; "How do you pick a good name for your pet?"; and persevering our way to nirvana.

ART. all things art/business.

A subscriber asked, "What is the best first camera to get?" -- Part Four.

[Click here to revisit Part Three, Click here to revisit Part Two, and Click here to revisit Part One.]

If Portrait photography is your jam, then you may want to look for a camera that, similarly to wildlife photography, has fast and reliable autofocus. However, I will say that I've worked with Fuji X system cameras for over a decade now, and while they are known in some circles for a lack of speedy autofocus, I've managed just fine. I prefer to take things a little more slowly and intentionally in my work anyway. The only time you might need to work a little more quickly is if you're photographing a wedding or similar event that requires moving quickly between scenes and people to get specific moments that can't be repeated, and well, I've managed that just fine with a Fuji X camera, too. You may want a camera that has eye detection, in order to get sharp focus on the eyes every time, though your own steady hand and eye can do the same work with a little practice. Honestly, you can do portrait work with just about any camera. What you'll want to put your money into are lenses. Some good prime lenses with wide apertures are best (2.8 or wider; when talking about apertures, the smaller the number the wider the aperture, meaning more light is let in). This is what's responsible for the blurry background look called "bokeh." We refer to this as depth of field, and while a full frame camera is a little better at achieving a nice shallow depth of field, you can achieve it on a crop sensor camera as well. You may also wish to have image stabilization in the camera body (as well as your lenses) to help mitigate camera shake, and while it's pretty standard these days, a camera that is capable of high speed sync will come in handy if you use a HSS-compatible flash/lighting system.

Next week I'll summarize a few of the most important things and wrap up this particular topic, but if anyone has questions, feel free to hit the "reply" button any time and know that, quite honestly, any camera will get you started. When you really start parsing out what you want to do with photography, you can revisit and research specific features. Go to a camera shop and hold cameras in your hand to see how they feel. You can even rent cameras from some shops, as well as online, and I'd highly recommend doing just that if you're really on the fence between a couple of different systems. But what it really comes down to is how the camera feels and functions for you personally, because a camera is just a camera. It can't tell you what to photograph, and it can't give a photo meaning. That's up to us.

NATURE. all things nature/outdoors.

This week in the nature category of this newsletter, I'd like to share a poem I wrote while camping at Palo Duro Canyon in West Texas back in 2016. I hope you enjoy it.

DOGS. all things dogs.

A subscriber asked, "How do you pick a good name for your pet?"

My very first pet as an adult was an iguana. The apartment I lived in while working on my master's degree didn't allow anything that couldn't be kept in an aquarium, and I'd always been interested in iguanas, so I got one. I named her Kyan, which is an anglicization of the Gaelic surname Cian, meaning "ancient." It seemed fitting. A few years later when I moved into a different apartment that allowed cats (but not dogs), I adopted a cat. I don't remember there being any real significance behind naming him "Ripley," other than I knew (and liked) the name from Sigourney Weaver's character in the Alien movie. When I got my first dog as an adult, I named her "Bella." Not much significance there, either, except that my all-white Boxer girl absolutely was beautiful. Much later still, my second dog as an adult was "Mani," named in reference to the Buddhist mantra Om mani padme hum, known to invoke compassion. The word "mani" also means "jewel" in Tibetan, and my Mani girl had a single white mark on the back of her neck that looked like a jewel. After Mani came Japhy, and I gave him the character name for Gary Snyder, one of my favorite outdoor authors and poets, in Jack Kerouac's novel Dharma Bums. The full name Kerouac gave to Gary Snyder in the book is "Japhy Ryder." And finally, "Hazel" is so named because of her brown fur and green eyes. She was also advertised on Craigslist as a "chocolate pit bull," so I went with a full name of "Chocolate Hazelnut." I later found out via Embark's DNA testing that she does not actually have the gene that makes her a "chocolate" pit bull. She's just brown (but still just as special!).

I love choosing names based on features and traits of the pet in question, as well as using references to significant people and things in my life. But also, I tend to believe that a pet will resonate with a particular name, and no matter how much or how little thought goes into it, it just fits. :)

VAN/LIFE. all things life, including van life.

Last week as I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, I saw this post by a hiker/adventurer I'd just started following. It reminded me of my military days, what I've chosen to carry back into the civilian world from my experience, and why. Trust me, there's a lot I've chosen not to carry with me. But the activity in the linked video and Rebecca's words in the caption got me ruminating and conjecturing about what I see as similarities between military experiences and Type II outdoor adventure experiences. Specifically these words in Rebecca's post: "We had each other. When you're working hard with a group of women who are focused on a goal and supportive of each other, magic happens. And it's beautiful." Yes! The basic yet still so profound act of persevering... I say "basic" because it's human instinct to survive. I say "profound" because on the other side of that survival is nirvana. It's like nothing you've ever felt before, even if you've experienced it a dozen times. It's a high. It's adrenaline, sure, but it lingers long after the adrenaline rush has dissipated. YEARS later you still tell the stories. The act of persevering through something that pushes you far beyond your assumed capabilities is immensely powerful. What's even more powerful is the act of persevering with others as a team. It's life-altering. To learn to trust and believe the people around you will save your life if necessary, and to commit yourself to saving those people's lives. To act as a leader among leaders -- not one who thinks that they alone possess all of the solutions, the skill, the power to "win," rather one who is fully immersed in the actual act of persevering alongside everyone else. Someone who pulls themself off the ground as they struggle and reaches for the person behind them to pull them up, too. I think this is why so many military veterans find themselves outside, pushing their limits again and again, and looking for ways to push others, too. And I think it's why those who have never experienced military life seek those same types of experiences. Therein lies the secret to life, perhaps. To know that we are capable of so much more than society has told us we should be. And to choose to act upon that capability. Years later, we'll still be telling the stories...

Until next time, be kind and be well.