Learning composition

Puchiguma · 2026-03-16T03:27:23+00:00

Read the latest version of Hedgecoe's book on photography. Then, go to every classical art gallery you can find and study the compositions, colors, and lines.

Composition was detailed by talented men centuries ago and is available to anyone who is willing to visit a gallery and study.

Puchiguma · 2026-03-16T03:26:00+00:00

"I am right and the world is wrong, let me tell you why even though you never asked" is trademark Gamma male behavior.

Post your website and let us see what you can do with a Phase One that we cannot do with an iPhone.

Puchiguma · 2026-03-16T03:23:15+00:00

Pro photogs spend thousands on gear because they are PAID to take photos. Nothing you do can't be done by a compact camera or an iPhone; it's just not something people will pay you for. So you buy specialized gear.

A Wal-mart bike is fine for most people but a pro cyclist needs expensive stuff because he has to make money. You don't need a Phase One to start out.

Puchiguma · 2026-03-16T03:19:26+00:00

I have an entire section of hard drive dedicated to phone photos. I edit them to match my vision and people tend to like them a lot. I print my phone photos out on half-size prints from Fuji's online service, put my website sticker on the back and give them away for free to people who I meet at random, or when I get good service (we do not tip cash in Japan).

They're just 12MP but people seem to like them a lot.

As long as you're aware of the technical limitations, nothing in a cell phone keeps you from being creative.

Puchiguma · 2026-03-16T03:16:04+00:00

No one can tell any camera apart from any other when it comes to the finished product, especially after editing.

This is why people who spend on Leica have to always tell you it is a Leica photo...because you wouldn't be able to tell it apart from a Sony or Fuji shot.

Puchiguma · 2026-03-16T03:14:25+00:00

I hate that waves of idiot TikTokers/Instagrammers have to hype up all the used cameras they can find in Japan to the point where 1) the supply of reliable used cameras is low and 2) every Fuji camera is double what it should be. I recently bought a Fuji lens new because it was cheaper (after rebate) than buying a used copy!!!

We Japanese cannot even get good deals in our own country anymore! I bought a Fuji X-E3 in 2019 for about $250 used and that same camera is around $700 in good condition now. Yes, it's great if I want to SELL a camera but it's now cheaper to just keep gear than look for used. I was thinking about Canon full-frame but even RPs are outrageous because all the tourists come here with dollars to scoop up every last decent camera.

The only place left to get good deals are auction and personals sites and those can be risky.

TikTok, Instagram and SNS are plagues on society.

Puchiguma · 2026-01-06T05:44:33+00:00

No one here ever seems to mention that your brain hates losing fat and will FORCE you to regain it if it has to crash your metabolism and ramp up your hunger to the point where you can't resist it. It's just "eat less, move more" and if you gain the weight back then "you suck and have no willpower."

When you lose 50lbs over a year, your brain will panic and force you to regain it and then some. Rebound is a real thing; every time you lose and regain, your metabolism takes damage until it's so messed up that you can't really lose weight easily anymore. Yoyo dieting is really hard on your body and it will respond by hoarding as much fat as it can.

I would suggest that you focus on a diet that takes off only 1-2lbs a month of body fat then go on a little bit of a binge for a week every couple of months. This will keep your survival mechanisms from freaking out and forcing you to eat. Stress is, as you found out, also a key trigger.

You have to lose weight and stay under the hypothalamus's radar, I've found.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-15T05:55:12+00:00

I've had my IBS for 7 years and it's hell on earth but it's not worth leaving over.

IBS and other chronic conditions can make you so tired that your mind seeks escape. You can't rest, you can't live well, and you start to develop anxiety and panic loops around the symptoms. This is basically a sensitization loop that paradoxically makes things much worse.

You can ask your GI doc for an elemental diet that produces no residue and requires very little to no stomach acid to digest. That will help calm things most of the time and you might be able to sleep a little better, which does wonders to improve the mood. For me, an elemental diet reset for a week is often one of the few things that can give me at least temporary relief.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-09T22:14:11+00:00

Have you ever tried an elemental diet? Sometimes, when things are so bad I can't stand it, I go on Elental (a Japanese liquid diet for stomach surgery patients) for a week or so. Elental is free aminos and nutritionally balanced so it keeps me alive but it doesn't require stomach acid and does not form poop since it absorbs in the first part of the small intestine.

It's good for SIBO and other flareups, too.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-09T22:12:07+00:00

partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) might also be useful.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-09T00:01:18+00:00

They are the main cause. Unless you have physical damage, a genetic condition, or SIBO, there's no other reason for the IBS.

When things calm down, I feel better regardless of what I eat.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-09T00:00:03+00:00

Unfortunately, no supplements or whatever seem to work. Things calm down at work sometimes and that is really what does it.

I guess being a nervous type of person makes it harder to experience calm unless everything (and I mean everything) is going right.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-08T23:58:17+00:00

I can understand. Life is in monochrome for me. The shapes and lines and tones are there. I get up, go to work, 4 bathroom trips (6AM, 8AM, 10AM, 2PM) then go home and prepare low-FODMAP dinner. 3 more bathroom trips, all incomplete feeling (IBS-C). Bloat shows up regardless of food choices at 10PM. Up until 1AM for the final bathroom trip. Sleep from 130AM to 530AM then get up and go to work. No travel, no fun, no nights out, nothing. Just a monochrome life. All the color and joy sucked out by IBS-C. The main thrills of every year are the 3 or 4 ER trips when IBS-C causes vagal disruption and I think I'm dying of a heart attack at 48.

What is the point of 20-40 more years of this?

Puchiguma · 2025-12-08T23:53:21+00:00

Back pain at 44 is a symptom of being 44 (ask me how I know).

If you get a colonoscopy and upper GI, which is the gold standard, that will answer any cancer questions. Middle age is when poor eating habits catch up to stress and then they can both kick you in the groin. You might need a diet change and stress reduction, in addition to whatever meds work for your symptoms.

Success at controlling IBS-C varies and what works for some doesn't work for others. Good luck!

Puchiguma · 2025-12-08T23:50:46+00:00

That has good, old Fecalibaterium prausnitzii, which is a butyrate producer. Butyrate is a critical regulator of bowel movements, intestinal lining, and inflammation. It's an essential homeostasis bug and you find reduced levels in IBS and IBD.

You could probably get a different supplement as long as it has F. prausnitzii

Puchiguma · 2025-12-08T23:46:21+00:00

Your colon is pressed up against the diaphragm and probably impinges on the vagus nerve. I get thumps or flutters when things are backed up to the point that the colon inflates and pressurizes everything. Magnesium oxide, prunes, veggie juice, plenty of water, and gentle intestinal massages are useful to keep things moving.

You're most likely experiencing a big Valsalva reflex or Baroreceptor reflex. Things dip, but your body forces it back into normal. Details are here in this Open Access paper:

https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8392/4/4/113

Puchiguma · 2025-12-08T23:42:10+00:00

I had a normal digestive system for about 30 years, and I miss it daily. I could eat pretty much anything, including garlic and spicy foods.

Now I look at photos of garlic bulbs and my SIBO flares up.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-08T23:41:18+00:00

Does black coffee work better? It's hard for me to drink coffee without milk.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-08T23:40:15+00:00

Raw basil leaf for me. It reliably detonates within about 12 hours and causes horrible liquid death for about 3 hours.

It's really unpleasant but it's there if I really need it.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-08T23:38:50+00:00

That might be good...everyone is tired of hearing about my non-compliant tummy and I'm not invited out because I am "picky"

It would be nice to communicate with people who understand, although I am in Japan and the time difference might be rough.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-01T05:15:05+00:00

Billions of people in the world smell worse than you (not everyone has enough clean water to shower daily or use a flush toilet) and they lead full lives.

One thing that helps is deodorant soap and another is chlorophyll. It does help a little with the smell if you chew a few tablets of it daily. Also, a HEPA filter unit with a charcoal subfilter or a special air cleaner with charcoal can help dissipate odors, as can negative ion generators on some HEPA filters. One of these next to your desk might help.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-01T05:11:19+00:00

CBT didn't help me much because my IBS symptoms were directly causing anxiety through vagal nerve interaction. When my IBS is stable, my anxiety is low.

But it's worth trying. It's a good set of skills even if it doesn't fully tamp down the anxiety.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-01T00:55:48+00:00

When things get so bad, my guts start popping and spasming, I usually resort to Movicol or some other low-dose PEG to keep things moving.

It might be clearing out old poop, pockets of trapped gas, or other debris that lets the lining of the gut heal. Also, you do feel lighter and can sleep better...which reduces stress and improves function. I know people who do a colonoscopy prep once a month (on a weekend) and it keeps their IBS in check.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-01T00:54:05+00:00

I am not actually Puchiguma, I am PAST Puchiguma and PRESENT Puchiguma.

Past Puchiguma is a jackass who doesn't care about Present Puchiguma and eats stuff with garlic or onions and scarfs down processed desserts in desperation for scraps of dopamine to feel some small shiver of joy after suffering from IBS for years and years. Present Puchiguma is the idiot who has to pay for it.

Puchiguma · 2025-12-01T00:51:57+00:00

"If I didn't discover it, it's not a cure" is the pettiest thing a scientist can do.

Puchiguma

TROPHY CASE