(X-Pro3 1/550s f/10 ISO 320, X-Pro3 1/220s, f/16 ISO 320—Acros+Capture One)

I gasp sometimes, at the transformation. At how reality can quietly morph into the surreal. In an old Stephen King novel I’m reading these days (Insomnia), the author describes layers of reality above our own, filled with auras and psychedelic explosions and black “deathbags”, surrounding those whose time is at an end. Pure, total entertainment and guilty pleasure.

I don’t see auras. 
I just see light.

I continue to be mesmerized.

You know, it’s funny how a small change in direction can suddenly alter the path ahead. I find myself looking forward to writing these newsletters, in a way that’s very different from my interactions on the blog. And I think this is due to a kind of permeating silence. The fact that, regardless of how many people will read these words, we remain a closed circle. The letter remains somewhat ephemeral too.

It’s also a very different kind of relationship that, even at this early stage, surprises me in terms of response. There’s a much more personal tone to the contacts...probably because there’s no one else around. It’s a one on one conversation that’s invisible to the outside world. It’s not part of an endless public feed, it’s not being plundered for data, or pushed through algorithms or weaponized for adware.

Silence.

So thank you, to everyone who’s taken the time to email me with thoughts, personal stories or feedback. Keep them coming. It’s not an imposition and it’s not a burden to read these messages and to reply. It’s actually quite lovely.

P.S The images at top? Lego-filled Tupperware lying around on our living room table. In case you were wondering ;)

MINAMATA

The Smith thread continues…
When a friend mentioned Minamata on Twitter (in response to the recent Make it Darker post), I thought he meant the project the photographer had shot in the early 1970s, exposing the mercury poisoning of Minamata Bay, its surroundings and inhabitants. Turns out he was talking about a new movie, starring Johnny Depp in the role of Smith. Had not heard of that.

Critics seem kind of lukewarm so far but it’s clearly not a train wreck. So I’ll be looking forward to it and thought I’d share a couple of reviews:
Variety
The Guardian
CINEMABLEND

(Shout out to reader Ales who shared that last link via email)

MEASURING TAPE

In keeping with the notion of transformation: I discovered a series of images on Artsy by Venezuelan photographer Susana Reisman. I find these rather captivating. Even though control is at the centre of the captures, there’s still an organic aspect to the results that takes us far beyond the object. Click the image to see her work.

ORLANDO

“I’ve been thinking about how certainty is becoming our nemesis. How doubtlessness is killing our ability to expand as a society and as individuals.”
Spirit of the Age - Tilda Swinton

I forget the road that led me to this particular page: Tilda Swinton’s introduction of Aperture 235 as guest editor. The issue is almost a year old now (summer 2019) and I never read it, never saw the images it proposed. Perhaps some of you have. But I’m linking to her text because in my mind, it stands as a tribute to the power of words and their ability to inspire, to trigger our soul as explorers…and to the intemporal nature of ideas.

Virginia Woolf is now on my reading list.

OTHER TOOLS | THAT IPAD COMPUTER THINGY

“To kids today, the iPad represents what the advanced GUIs of the mid-90s did for most of the audience reading this. Asking todays kids to use something like a Mac or a PC is akin to me telling you that you should go grab Linux and use the Terminal because the power there is way amazing dude.”
IPAD TURNS 10 — PEOPLE LOSE THEIR DAMN MIND (Ben Brooks)

When the family iMac died of old age we started looking for a replacement. A computer—to replace a computer. Until I realized I had a 2nd generation 12.9 iPad Pro that was no longer being used for anything important. I installed iPadOS 13, dug out a Bluetooth keyboard, tested everything the kids needed for school (Office 365, various educational websites) and that was it: there’s nothing this iPad hasn’t been able to handle. They can even plug-in USB drives like normal human folk (!). For them this IS a computer, period*.

Ben Brooks’ post pretty much echoes my own thoughts on this. As much as I bitch about Apple these days, the one thing that still feels magical to me is the iPad. As I’ve mentioned before, this is my primary computing platform for everything except photography and music (or more advanced video stuff). So the fact that people are still questioning this device’s usefulness for “work” in 2020…feels like a parallel universe to me. While I do agree we haven’t reached the iPad’s full potential, there are a lot of apps out there that have fully embraced its paradigm and shine as a result; even more so with iPadOS (Things, Ulysses, Procreate, Mindnode and the Affinity apps come to mind). This does sound a lot like the DOS vs GUI arguments back in the day. Besides: I remember being laughed at for using a Mac instead of a “real” computer; and we’re not talking 20 years ago either. Worth a read.

*At the risk of being controversial…rumours of a trackpad on the next Smart Keyboard feel like a cop out and a regression. All it’ll do is confuse the UI model for app developers IMHO—which will end up confusing users. It also highlights Apple’s core problem these days: vision and consistency.

That’s it for this issue Subscriber First Name.
If you happen to know anyone who’d enjoy THESE TRACES, feel perfectly free to forward this email. If you’re on the receiving end and would like to sign up for more, just click here.

Later,
Patrick

AND NOW, FROM THE BLOG…