Hello again. Happy National Acquaintance day.
Get yourself a drink and meet me in the pixels below.
#TheAction
It’s been a week of work and walks. The work has been mostly video editing and the walks have been with dog and film camera.
At the end of the day I tend to share a snap into my digital journal and write from that. This is much harder when at the moment i’m mostly shooting film. There have been some days i’ve only shot film and nothing at all on my phone. Unusual for me. I have around 77,000 photos in my Apple Photos app and perhaps another 250,000 on external hard drives. No idea how many in the 5 large boxes of prints and negatives. I do wonder if i’ll ever get around to digitising them.
I used to think that there might be value in my archives. That one day I could upload a bunch of images to a library and enjoy a trickle of royalties as people paid a few quid to licence a shot or two. But I wrote that idea off over 10 years ago. It might be I could print a few to sell as postcards or framed prints. But that sounds like a full-time job for not much reward.
Nope. I’m more than happy just capturing moments to the sound of a shutter click. Walking, seeing, snapping and archiving. Far better than golf in my opinion.
I do print some photos out. And we have a few family photo books on the shelves. But it’s a lot of work turning the digital physical. I’m looking forward to being able to dump my entire archive into a folder and it automatically organise them into themes. We do have rudimentary context aware systems already in our apps, but i’m not sure I trust Google or Adobe with my entire archive.
If I did have this now, i’d search for things like colour, seasons, architecture, location, nature, street, abstract, portraits and so on. Then hit a button to create collections. And another button to make books. I’m pretty sure we are geared up to do this now. But i’m looking forward for something consumer friendly, that’s not going to data scrape my archive. Till then, i’m more than happy just adding to it. For the stories, to communicate ideas, for artistic expression, to make memories, and for the craic.
This might be where i’d mention the five part mini series for supporting subscribers on improving your mobile photography. Please do check it out.
But today the Guardian also published 20 easy and enjoyable ways to improve your pictures.
#ThePictures
There are some great portraits from Mee-Lai Stone in this photo feature. America’s young travellers in pictures. (Link via Uchujin)
Click through for more images and a hint at the lives behind the images.
Last night we finished the post-apocalyptic series The Last Of Us. Brutal, human, brilliantly done, with lots of edge of the seat stuff. The best TV i’ve seen this year.
A little vignette on the dollar pizza. I love visiting these places when in New York. I’m well overdue a visit. Especially if a slice now costs a dollar fifty.
#TheWords
Ever wondered where the greeting Wotcha! came from? Listen to find out…
Everything Soderbergh watched and read last year.
The Failed Saint: On George Orwell’s India
#TheSound
Another lovely selection of audio vignettes from the podcast Short Cuts with Josie Long.
And here, a podcast for writers. In writing with Hattie Crisell. I’m too good to you.
#TheConsumed
I’ll never be able to make risotto like my Nonna because I have no idea how she made her vegetable stock. I wish i’d asked. If you have an Italian Nonna from the North please ask her. She may have a similar method. My Nonna did explain ‘tostatura’ though. That’s the coating of the the rice grains in fat, helping them keep their structure so as not to go mushy.
It has been a longtime since I made a risotto. And i’ve never done so with celeriac. But it was really good. So if you fancy having a go at Celeriac Risotto yourself I have included a recipe below.
Ingredients:
1 medium celeriac, peeled and finely diced
250g Arborio rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
250ml dry white wine
1L vegetable stock, kept warm on the hob
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
125g cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh herbs (like parsley or thyme) for garnish (I only had dried)
Optional: 250g of peas, mushrooms, or diced carrots for extra colour
Prepare Ingredients:
Heat the stock in a pot and keep it warm over low heat.
Peel and finely dice the celeriac. Chop the onion and mince the garlic.
Cook Onion and Celeriac:
In a large pan, heat the olive oil or butter over medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic and mushroom, sautéing until the onion is translucent.
Add the diced celeriac and cook for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to soften.
Add Rice:
Stir in the Arborio rice, ensuring it's well-coated with the oil and veggies, and toast (tostatura) it lightly for about 1-2 minutes.
Deglaze with Wine:
Pour in the white wine and stir until it has mostly evaporated. Sip at what’s left while toasting all Nonnas and San Lorenzo.
Add Stock Gradually:
Begin adding the warm stock, one ladle at a time, stirring frequently.
Wait until each addition of stock is almost completely absorbed before adding the next ladle. (Don’t forget to sip the wine.)
Continue this process until the rice is creamy and cooked to your preference (usually takes about 18-20 minutes).
Season and Finish:
Once the rice is cooked, season with salt and pepper.
If you're using Parmesan, stir it in now until it melts into the risotto.
Now you can also add peas or diced carrots with one of the final ladlefuls of stock.
Serve:
Serve the risotto hot, garnished with fresh herbs and perhaps a little butter or a drizzle of olive oil. And a glass of the white wine if you have any left.
Enjoy!
#TheThings
I’m a bugger for getting emotionally attached to things, but I can’t help it. I have a Merino top made by Tracksmith. If I only had time to grab a single set of clothes from a burning house, that top would be in the pile. Not because of how it looks or feels. But because of how it doesn’t feel and what it does. A perfect second skin. Even down to regulating my temperature. And you can wear merino for days with no odour. A truly amazing fibre.
Anyway. I have carefully washed this top for over 9 years, but this week it found its way into the tumble dryer and try as I might to resurrect it. I feared it was done for. It’s not just the shrinkage. I figured the heat, moisture and agitation, would caused the wool fibres to lock together. Creating a felted texture, destroying the structure of the delicate fibres that do such amazing things.
Before I prematurely mourned the death of a friend, I slid, or should I say, shoe-horned it on. Very snug indeed now. Sliding a shirt over the top I wore it next to my skin for the following four days. On the fourth day it was still odor free and as far as I could tell it has retained its heat regulating properties. Amazing. And certainly a win.
Where once I would wear it on its own, it’s now destined to be an undergarment only. All I need to do is lose a couple of stone and I won’t look like a space hopper in a bin bag.
If ever you get the chance to pick up some merino clothing, do it. But look after it. Treated with care, it will serve you well and last many years.
Best purchase this week. I should have photographed it with some kind of tasty egg based meal in it. That’s what it does. It safely enables you to chuck in an egg, some leftovers and seasoning and then in no time at all have a mini omelette on your plate/muffin/bun/toast.
It will also do poached eggs. And the pressure valve on the top stops the tub popping open spraying egg over the microwave. I used it every day till we ran out of eggs. (Obligatory Amazon link)
#TheThanks
I must thank those that take out a subscription to keep things going and support my endeavours here. People like the writer Fred Mindlin who writes here. If, like Fred you are able, please upgrade to become a paid supporter.
Or if you struggle to commit, you might like to buy me a coffee or send a tip via PayPal or Monzo. Either way… Thank you for being here.
#TheWeb
Electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles are in the news again as the CAA puts a shout out for Aerodromes that might be able to accommodate VTOL taxi’s.
This video walks you through what to do if you find your stolen items on eBay. You will need lots of patience and determination if you’d like them back.
I chatted to someone in Malawi today but forgot to plug this dispatch and get them on the Documentally community map. I’m crap at marketing. Please forward this email to someone in a country that has no readers. ;-)
A 9 year old girl from Gaza wants to follow in her father’s footsteps as a journalist.
Despite all marketing affecting the brain the term Neuromarketing creeps me out even more.
Some of my other places include Letterboxd, GoodReads, Flickr, Strava, Untappd, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon, a ham radio newsletter or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Birdsite or Bluesky.
Toxic caterpillars. Yet another reason to avoid playing golf.
#TheEnd
Thanks for reading. And for commenting. It’s good to know you are there.
“All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.” ~ Susan Sontag
What cheer?
See you out there.
Over…
This reminded me of my dear old Friend Etzio Piccoli, an Italian (obvious!) Chef who was brought over to the UK to run the kitchens in the Restauraunt above the Pizza Shop which I managed. He was very large, both in character and build and would swear repeatedly during any meeting or engagement with the public - luckily this was all in italian so added to the authenticity! I have so many memories of him. His food was incredible! Thank you for the memory.