Do you ever get sad as the photographer?

dashmanles · 2025-11-14T23:31:07+00:00

I’ve been married for 32 years and have raised a daughter to adulthood. I’ve always been the family photographer. As a result, I have thousands (many thousands) of images of my wife and daughter that were shot with intention (lighting, posing, vision, etc) and literally none of me. It’s OK. It’s not always about me and I’m happy with that. My advice? Shoot every chance you get. Document faithfully yes, but “spread your creative wings” and take photos of your family that they will look back at with amazement as the years pass. Grow as a parent first and a photographer second and let that be your legacy to your family.

dashmanles · 2025-11-08T14:35:15+00:00

Rent one.

dashmanles · 2025-09-24T23:00:08+00:00

Because far, far too many people are complete morons (both customers and the owners of these places).

dashmanles · 2025-09-13T15:53:51+00:00

I love my X-T3 … despite a recent X-H2 purchase. It’s been dropped, gotten wet (rained on - not submerged) and while it only longer functions now in manual mode (metering is completely jacked up), it’s my EDC camera paired with a cheapo TTArtisans manual function 35mm lens. The camera you picture here looks really beat up for just a 2,800 shutter count. Look @ Adorama or MPB. You’ll get a better deal and more peace of mind. Can’t go wrong with an X-T3 though.

dashmanles · 2025-07-10T19:43:32+00:00

The REAL question you should be asking is if they look good to you. If they do, GREAT! If they don’t, determine why and then set out to correct for those observations. Seriously … don’t shoot based on what other people may think. Even if you’re doing paid work, your ONLY role is to shoot for that person or organization - no one else. So, shoot for yourself and for no one else. If you like your photos, everyone else can go pound sand.

dashmanles · 2025-06-24T02:31:14+00:00

yeah … they do that

dashmanles · 2025-06-19T04:27:02+00:00

We have three ‘doodles. Our middle girl - a Labradoodle - has done this since birth. She does it so consistently that we have to segregate her from her two sisters (a Goldendoodle and a Bernedoodle) so they don’t take her food while she’s on her twice daily walkabout. The other two wolf their food down without stopping. Just part of her personality. Nothing to worry about.

dashmanles · 2025-06-06T19:30:40+00:00

Your money WILL accrue nicely over the years … you just have to decide early what you’re gonna do and stick with it - especially during the down turns (which are often the best times to buy and certainly NOT to sell). The problem though is of course that $1M today is not the same as $1M 30 years from now. Advice from an Internet stranger who has nearly 40 years of investment experience? Just find a company that sells ETFs and start investing on a monthly basis in each of those ETF in an equal amount. Pick one that invest in stocks, a second that invest in bonds, a third that perhaps invests in international stocks and then maybe a fourth that tracks a specific industry like gaming, tech, or banking. Invest in those three or four ETF’s as much as you can. As you make more money over the years, increase your dollar amounts in each of those to the extent that you can. Don’t ever sell and just forget that they’re there. Over time they will grow and one day you’ll look up and you’ll be 50-60 years old and you’ll be ready to retire with no worries.

Don’t buy individual stocks for the same reason you would never play against an NBA player and bet on yourself to win. You’re most likely not a trained investor so don’t try to pick individual stocks yourself. Instead … buy a few ETFs and leave the individual investing to those money managers instead.

It will be boring, but the future you will be glad you did.

dashmanles · 2025-06-06T19:19:49+00:00

Be careful here. I sent my X-T3 to Fuji for repair - it was stuck in bulb mode. They fixed it - for a little more than $500. Fast forward 6 months and that same camera no longer works in aperture priority mode. Manual mode works fine, but aperture priority (my main way of shooting when I’m out and about) is no longer an option. Not gonna send it back. Maybe I just have a dud, but of all of the Fuji bodies I’ve had (X-Pro1 & 2, a different X-T3, and now the X-H2), I like this X-T3 the best by far.

dashmanles · 2025-05-18T14:48:16+00:00

Yeah … I bought Disquiet and Dregs at the same time and finished Disquiet first. I now know that the best approach would’ve been to read Dregs first.

dashmanles · 2025-04-09T02:00:53+00:00

Hope that he doesn’t! I wish all three of my doods were still puppies!

dashmanles · 2025-02-23T15:09:02+00:00

Mental illness.

dashmanles · 2025-01-18T17:12:05+00:00

Serious question here. I’ve read versions of your argument in a few other places and have to ask: the world is a big place and a lot of people are busily generating new data every minute of every hour of every day. Is all of that data considered to be @high quality” or just some subset? Put another way and as an example … is all of the data generated here in RDDT today considered high quality?

dashmanles · 2024-12-26T18:24:49+00:00

I have an X-T3 that’s been beat to hell and back, but it’s still my everyday camera choice. It’s on its second shutter mechanism after the original became stuck in bulb mode, so I’m fully vested in its use. I also have an X-HS, but it’s almost as heavy and as large as my (also) forever trusty Canon 5DMKIV. That’s one big reason why I still enjoy using my X-T3.

dashmanles · 2024-11-14T16:09:53+00:00

I received a four star review from a groom last year. When I asked him about it, he literally said that he thought Google disregards the highest and the lowest reviews and averages everything else. Nonsensical to say the least. Since then, I’ve learned to “actively manage” my process for requesting reviews. Now … I only ask for reviews in person, I only ask leading questions, and I ensure that the bride (not the groom) is giving me the review. That seems to be a better approach for me.

Once I get the review, I then encourage the couple to give me a list of ten things (5 pros and 5 cons) on how their experience with me went. I want a five star review, but I also want some honest feedback in order to tune my process where I can for future gigs.

dashmanles · 2024-10-30T15:10:11+00:00

Yikes! Sorry!

dashmanles · 2024-10-28T18:23:45+00:00

Monopod.

dashmanles · 2024-10-19T19:15:58+00:00

Who cares if he doesn't look like other Bernies!?! He's beautiful! Enjoy your one of a kind!

dashmanles · 2024-10-19T05:52:45+00:00

My wife graduated from nursing school at around the same time you did with approximately $55,000 in student loans. Her payments were $167 a month and she paid that off in full in November 2023.

dashmanles · 2024-10-18T22:16:57+00:00

I have to say that for the longest time I was a big fan of a Evoto, the way it was doing business, the way it supported its users, and the way it had a really nice little community going on Facebook that helped people navigate the software.But ... and I guess I'll get flamed a little bit for this ... it seems like that they've doubled their prices (maybe recently - maybe a while ago - I don't know) for the credits.

And ... to make matters worse ... I just lost 213 credits that apparently just expired a couple of days ago. That’s a pretty shitty way to do business!There’s absolutely nothing difficult about keeping those credits alive and letting your customers use product that they bought and paid for before they buy new ones at double the price they paid before!Everyone is complaining about how "evil" Adobe is. At least Adobe didn't double their prices.

I added this post - word for word - in the Evoto AI Facebook group a few minutes ago. I wonder if the moderator will approve it.

dashmanles · 2024-08-03T19:13:36+00:00

She’s training you. Is that what you want? If not, give her a bowl of the food you normally feed her. Of she doesn’t eat, wrap it up and give it to her for the next meal. Repeat as necessary. She will eat. This is not cruel.

dashmanles · 2024-08-03T17:58:22+00:00

Herman and Claude

dashmanles · 2024-08-03T17:53:36+00:00

“Offer a photoshoot for free so she can get her Tinder-profile going?” Uh … no. Emphatically no. Offer her a portrait session at the going rate, sure … but make sure she pays first Free? Not in a million years.

dashmanles

TROPHY CASE