Cameras, Pt. 2: Wabi-Sabi   Wabi-Sabi is the acceptance of transience, imperfection.   Creating an interesting or meaningful image is more important than creating a technically good image. Sometimes, technical imperfections are the very soul of “interesting” or “meaningful.” “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” —Chase Jarvis, Seattle-based photographer, educator   This is not a snarky or dismissive remark which can be made to anyone who asks a question about photographic gear. It’s a philosophical point aimed to encourage creativity from anyone and everyone who has “any” camera in hand…be it a smartphone, a point and shoot digital, a disposable film camera… Even the best gear is useless if one can’t achieve satisfying results or doesn’t enjoy using it.   This image of Seattle’s Space Needle was inexpensive to make, captured on black and white medium format 120 film with a (then) $24 Holga.* Often called a “toy camera,” the Holga 120n is constructed almost e...

Cameras, Pt. 1: The Best Camera The mailings resume! Finally. Do you feel like you could be capturing better images? I know I do. Are you waiting for that new camera before you try? “I’ll start taking pictures when I have a good camera” “Of course she takes good pictures, she has a good camera” “I can’t take pictures like that” “If I had a good camera, I could take good pictures” A tiny pool of water collects on a leaf in a driveway in Buffalo, New York. The enclosed photo was captured and processed with the Best Camera app on an iPhone 4’s 5-megapixel camera, 5 May 2011. While it may not be a great photo, it’s not limited by the technology. Everything I wanted to capture is there. If the picture lacks something, it is due to my own limitations or shortcomings as a photographer. It’s very likely that you have a perfectly serviceable camera in your pocket or backpack or bag. That iPhone 4 camera would be considered pretty low-end by today’s standards…but…I bet we could still squeeze a n...

Volume 3 of 2020twenty–originally scheduled for a March mailing–didn’t happen as planned, as we hit the brakes on sending much of anything through the mail. With the mailing delayed, we had time to think…and Nancy had an idea: use photos from her informal, ongoing photo project about toilet paper or, more accurately, empty toilet paper cores left by inconsiderate coworkers for the next poor soul to use that particular bathroom stall. The idea seemed timely, relevant. So… Broken Windows…And No Toilet Paper?! Just as physicians now recognize the importance of fostering health rather than simply treating illness, so the police—and the rest of us—ought to recognize the importance of maintaining, intact, communities without broken windows. —Broken Windows, James Q. Wilson and George Kelling, The Atlantic In her years of working, Nancy has noticed a consistently recurring restroom behavior: people don’t replace toilet paper. Observing this reminded her of the “broken windows” theory...

Before Instagram We’ve had postcards, as we know them today, for about 120 years. Now, we have Instagram. But…we still have postcards. We were happy to see so many 2020twenty, Volume 1 recipients respond enthusiastically to the included postcards. We decided to stick with the theme in February. Short Notes Or Souvenirs? Packages included various postcards…previously sent, or “in waiting.”* We’ll leave it to all of you to tell us which are more interesting. It’s all a part of the history of these, uh, “objets d'art postal.” The postcards included in the mailing were found in a Colorado antique shop. Some had been posted, some not. Go find some of your own! Check thrift stores and estate sales too.** What’s All This Then? The 2020twenty Explainer Rick left Facebook. Nancy was never there. Rick is still active on social media, but his participation online has decreased measurably. It isn’t our goal to condemn or defend the use of social media, but we believe that o...

The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. —closing words of Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address Welcome to the2020twenty The images on the postcards making up the first volume of the2020twenty were captured in Buffalo, Baltimore, and Seattle. We hope you enjoy them. The packages were assembled on January 20, 2020. As part of the2020twenty, list members will receive a mailing each month…planned and prepared during the first 20 days of the month…and shipped off shortly thereafter. We hope Mr. Lincoln was right. If you did not receive this mailing, please reply to this email and let us know. If you'd like additional postcard sets, they are available from GoCat ! You can support our creative efforts at Buy Me A Coffee . No pressure though. :) ...