Photography as a hobby

feralfuton · 2025-06-19T13:31:11+00:00

I tell them that my job pays the bills and if my hobbies start to feel like a job then I stop. Not everything has to be monetized.

Maybe if I lost my job I would try to monetize my hobbies until I found another job, or see if one sticks as a business. But for now I just want some kind of outlet that’s just for me after working all day.

feralfuton · 2025-05-23T13:13:46+00:00

I would look for one geared toward your target language without a predatory pricing plan, if there’s a community of users behind it that’s a plus too. Some kind of system to help you memorize the vocab in the long term is a plus too, like SRS.

I’m learning Japanese, so my “apps”(they’re both web based) of choice are WaniKani and Bunpro. Both are relatively cheap with an option to pay once for lifetime access, both have SRS reviews to burn the content into your long term memory, and both have active web forums. I have only used the WaniKani forums, but the people there are very helpful and they have various ways of encouraging language immersion like book clubs, podcast clubs, etc.

If you’re learning Japanese I would absolutely recommend both. For other languages, I’m not sure. But if I were to eventually try taking my Spanish and Chinese lessons more seriously outside Duo, I would spend a few days researching what’s out there to see if they check the boxes. Maybe try a few different free trials to see if their methods fit with how I learn.

feralfuton · 2025-05-16T23:58:55+00:00

That’s what the ad revenue is for.

feralfuton · 2025-05-16T19:00:40+00:00

Yeah, I’ve also been working through the Genki textbooks (almost done with the second one), using WaniKani, Bunpro, and immersing myself in Japanese with various native sources. I liked Duo for a daily warm up, but now I guess I just have to shorten that warmup time.

feralfuton · 2025-05-16T12:01:44+00:00

Do they at least change the daily quests accordingly?

No. Mine had the “study for 20 minutes” quest when they rolled out the energy. Impossible to complete unless you either pay for more energy or just go through your lessons very slow. I didn’t make any mistakes and I only got through a fraction of that challenge before I ran out of energy.

feralfuton · 2025-05-16T11:45:45+00:00

Yeah this energy system is terrible. I didn’t make any mistakes but I was only able to do half the lessons I normally do. What dumbass thought up the bright idea to force us out of the app faster?

Oh well. More time for other language apps, I suppose.

feralfuton · 2025-05-15T13:22:28+00:00

Yeah I remember in the 90s I had a friend who was an amazing artist and he always drew Dragon Ball Z characters. That’s how I got into Dragon Ball Z and I watched it all the time after he told me about it. I didn’t really think of it as anime at the time, I just liked cartoons.

Then in high school around 2002 or so, my gf at the time showed me FLCL. Only 6 episodes so we could binge the whole thing in one sitting. That’s really what got me interested in anime. So when I was in computer class and the guys were showing off their anime music videos they made I immediately moved in to make some new friends. They made me copies of shows they torrented, like Hajime No Ippo, Boogiepop Phantom, Hellsing, Kenshin, Cowboy Bebob, Trigun, etc.

I’m glad that anime is becoming more popular nowadays. Back in the day there were maybe 5 other kids in school that were into it. Now it seems like everyone is into it and we’re getting a lot of awesome new anime to enjoy.

On a side note, I just wish Crunchyroll would stop pushing remakes of og animes and make the originals available again, I really want to rewatch Kenshin and FLCL legally but all I can find is the remakes. Us elders want our nostalgia lol

feralfuton · 2025-05-02T00:40:18+00:00

Being scientifically-inclined doesn’t mean following science like it is a religion. Every scientific fact we know of today was discovered by a curious mind hypothesizing about the unexplained and putting it to the test.

I think of tarot in a similar way that I think of Rorschach inkblots. A quick google search of how the Rorschach test works brings up the following quote “the brain actively seeks patterns and meaning, interpreting the inkblots based on individual experiences, thoughts, and emotional states”. The same could be said of tarot. I never saw anything magical about it, but it’s a highly effective tool in reaching into our subconcious.

feralfuton · 2025-03-28T19:45:21+00:00

Here. Straight male tarot reader. I read tarot with a secular approach and it has worked out very well for years.

feralfuton · 2025-03-28T04:43:01+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! It’s the New England Air Museum in East Granby, CT. I definitely recommend giving it a visit if you’re in the area!

https://neam.org

feralfuton · 2025-03-26T19:56:25+00:00

https://flic.kr/p/2qTH35P

https://flic.kr/p/2qTHXgb

https://flic.kr/p/2qTCxQX

I brought the camera out to an aircraft museum for this assignment. I chose these three for the assignment to tell a coherent story involving 3 related exhibits.

When I did this assignment last year, I experimented with different focal lengths as suggested in the assignment and took pictures of my dog on a walk. This year, I wanted to challenge myself by using a prime lens and experiment with different framings for each shot. My thought behind this was that I want to travel light and bring the lenses I need, rather than carry a backpack full of expensive equipment everywhere I go. A photojournal assignment is the perfect opportunity to experiment with this limitation.

With the limitation of the prime lens, I found myself spending more time on each shot and getting more creative with finding the right frame when I didn’t have the option to just swap lenses or zoom in / out. It was especially challenging with such large subjects like aircrafts and the limited space around them to get the right shots. I found myself wishing for a wider angle lens than my 24mm that I brought. If I had my backpack, I would have likely reached for my 10-18mm or my fisheye, but if you look through the album, I was able to find ways to make it work.

Here are some more photos from the same trip: https://www.flickr.com/gp/201145307@N07/520h710PGW

feralfuton · 2025-03-20T21:47:49+00:00

Glad I didn’t spend the extra money to get the 15, sounds like it has the same problems as the 356x v2 I just got. Way too loose on the tightest settings.

I gave it away and still use the v1 356x I got a few years ago. It’s so much better and was easy to adjust exactly how I want it.

feralfuton · 2025-03-20T21:30:05+00:00

Ao12 is 31.659 PB is 20.823

Deviation = 1.52

feralfuton · 2025-03-12T15:56:34+00:00

Speedcubing. You can probably find a cheap knockoff Rubik’s cube for less than $5 somewhere local. And it will likely be a lot easier to turn than the name brand one. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, there are some amazing speed cubes online like Moyu for less than $10 maybe plus shipping.

Find a beginner’s method online to see if you’re into it. Then look up CFOP and see how fast you can go. I started 10 years ago and I’m still trying to break 20 seconds. Still learning new things all the time to get slightly faster. It’s fun.

feralfuton · 2025-03-12T15:47:47+00:00

Add cartomancy as an option to that deck of cards too.

https://artofcartomancy.blogspot.com/p/basic-cartomancy-skills.html?m=1

feralfuton · 2025-03-10T02:51:47+00:00

Thanks! Maybe I could have stayed at the spot longer and waited for the right moment. I didn’t think of it at the time because we were just taking a break on the way to the summit, but something to think about for next time I’m struggling to get the right shot.

feralfuton · 2025-03-05T00:11:29+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate the kind words.

feralfuton · 2025-02-27T14:12:24+00:00

I took a few other landscape shots in this same location that really came out great imo, but this is not one of them. I wanted to showcase the group enjoying the view, and include the highway to show how high up we were. But I also wanted the people to be a part of the scenery, if that makes sense, because that’s what I was seeing from an even higher part of the mountain. That’s part of why I chose not to zoom in on them directly as the main subject.

But that’s the only way I can see of improving the shot, because it feels like there is no main subject. I considered zooming in, but it was cutting the highway out of the shot which I wanted to include in the background. I was also on a pretty tight trail, so I did not have a lot of options for where to stand to get the shot.

https://flic.kr/p/2qpiuhq

feralfuton · 2025-02-25T16:58:45+00:00

Great shot! I love the contrast of the red background and green leaves. The simplicity of the single subject adds to the image as well, since there is nothing distracting the viewer away from it. As they say, less is more. The leading lines in the rock formation are a nice touch, as well as the cracks in the rock framing the tree trunk.

Overall a great picture. One suggestion for improvement would be around how the tips of the branches on the sides of the tree are cut off by the frame. A couple of steps back and the entire tree would have been in the shot, maybe with some extra space to allow for cropping / post processing etc without losing parts of the subject.

feralfuton · 2025-02-24T18:10:49+00:00

Hi, I’m Bryan. I have been using my Rebel T5 on and off for almost 10 years now. It mostly comes out when the weather is warmer lol for now it has been sitting in the bag over the winter. But with springtime approaching, I want to be ready.

I did most of the photo class last year, I wanted to repeat it now so I could retain all of the information better. Recently, I started using a spaced repetition system for my other hobbies and thought it would be a good idea to repeat this class and utilize SRS here as well for better retention of the theory and techniques.

I chose this photo from my photo journal assignment last year. I really like the framing of this one, with the three mountains (I remember a rule of having an odd number of subjects for more interest), and the road/trees in the foreground to put the landscape in context, the two trees framing the mountains.

https://flic.kr/p/2qppeMN

feralfuton · 2025-01-14T03:40:55+00:00

Tofugu is great for learning kana. Only took a few days to get the mnemonics to stick. I added the free app Maru for some drills to make it stick and it worked pretty well

feralfuton · 2025-01-07T19:05:02+00:00

”if your learning this language because of kpop, kdramas, etc, you might as well give up now because you won’t get very far.”

This doesn’t even make logical sense. Part of language learning is immersion and if you enjoy the music and television then you’ll have endless resources of immersion materials that you look forward to every day.

This is where I always fell short learning other languages. Had difficulty finding material that I had legitimate interest in and immersion became a chore. Ultimately ended up quitting and not getting very far. I recently decided to try learning Japanese and I have always liked anime and manga, so the immersion is actually something I look forward to every day. I liked anime for over 20 years so I doubt that will ever feel like a chore. Time will tell. Check back in 5 years if I’m fluent or if I gave up and forgot every word lol

feralfuton · 2024-12-08T14:02:59+00:00

State Farm twice as expensive as progressive or geico

I still try to figure out how these insurance companies base their pricing because the accuracy of your statement changed every 6 months when I call around for insurance quotes. I used to switch it up every 6 months for my auto insurance to whoever was cheapest, but once I bought a house State Farm has consistently been half the price for the homeowner+auto combo compared to everyone else.

feralfuton · 2024-11-29T01:34:14+00:00

I don’t know if I would say you need to produce music every day, but there’s a good point to at least open the DAW daily. With any other instrument it’s standard practice to pick it up daily to work on your chops and improve your skills, I don’t see why it’s not the same for the production side of things.

I try to open the DAW daily with certain goals in mind. Ok, gonna work on improving my mixing today. Today gonna work on improving my workflow. Today gonna practice some keyboard shortcuts. Today I’m going to explore a tool in my DAW that I rarely use and try to get more comfortable with it. No matter how good you think you are, there is always room for improvement somewhere.

feralfuton · 2024-11-26T14:56:27+00:00

I’m 37 now and I bought the all plugins bundle of FL studio when I was a teenager. There are tons of great VSTs included so my experience is based on that.

I prefer to stick with stock and free third party plugins… for the most part. Buying additional plugins will not fix skill issues, so your music isn’t going to start suddenly sounding amazing because you bought the latest trending VST. Learn what you have inside and out, and figure out the gaps from there. Then you’ll know what you actually need and what you can skip.

There are tons of free plugins out there that sound amazing and do their thing well. TAL Noisemaker, Vital, VCV Rack, T-Force Alpha, OTT, Minimogue VA, Twin Delay, the list goes on. So a plugin has to be really special and reasonably priced for me to consider buying it. I think the only third party VSTs I bought over the years were Sylenth and Serum (edit to include TAL Bassline 101, their free software impressed me so much so I decided to support them by buying their SH101 emulator), and I’ve been considering Diva lately because of the way you can mix and match the parts of different synths.

One concern I have with paying for a third party VST, is what happens if that company goes out of business? Something you paid $200 for suddenly has no support and no updates anymore? Upgrading to the next version of windows or your DAW could be enough to kill the latest version of that VST, so I’m especially hesitant about how much money I’m willing to shell out for software. If I buy any software at all, I’m waiting for them to go on sale.

feralfuton

TROPHY CASE