Bali for 5 weeks

Posted on 14. Jul, 2012 by Brandon.

I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth – I’ve just been much less disconnected in Bali for the past 5 weeks. I’ll update more appropriately soon. This poor blog turns 10 years old in a couple of months – need to breathe some life back into it!

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Social media vs blogging (Google+, 500px, Twitter, Facebook, etc)

Posted on 19. Dec, 2011 by Brandon.

I’ve been slacking on the blogging front, mostly due to my workload and recent travels to Indonesia and Puerto Galera, but also due to the fact that I’ve been posting in various other places (Google+, Twitter, Facebook, 500px, etc). I realize many bloggers have jumped ship for an easier, micro-blogging style of presenting a lifestream, but I have no desire to abandon this blog no matter how busy I get.

Here are some of the other ways to keep track of my photography and travels (the links are directed to my various profiles):

Google+

I find Google+ to be a great place to discover new photographers. I’ve been seeking a viable alternative to Flickr for quite sometime. I think Google needs to figure out where this is going, but it seems to have far more more traction than Buzz. It’s also grown much more quickly than I had expected. In only two months of being active, I’ve developed over 5,600 followers. I’ve been using Twitter for nearly 5 years and have only about 1,400 followers. Not that the number of followers necessary reflects any significance.

500px

500px is an interesting development. I receive far far less “views” on photos there and have almost no social contact or feedback – and that’s ok – cause the minimalistic design and clean portfolio options trump the cluttered feeling one gets when viewing Flickr. I’ll be uploading less work here but more of my culled photos.

Twitter

Even after nearly 5 years, Twitter still has a purpose. I’ve gone through many phases with its use, but it’s still unbeatable in terms of reaching certain groups, colleagues, resources and perspectives.

What are your preferred social media tools? Do you still see a place for blogs?

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Moving to a house

Posted on 30. May, 2011 by Brandon.

Apologies for not keeping up the blog lately, but we’re in the process of moving from a condo to a house this week. We’ll miss the gorgeous pools, green space, spa, gyms, etc that the condo life provided, but it’s time to try out more space. The house is great – all renovated with all brand new appliances throughout, a big water fountain in the back yard with nice spotlights, but unfortunately no pool. Pics to come.

In about a week and a half, we’ll be heading to the States for the summer. Can’t. Wait. This has been an absolutely hectic year; amongst the more stressful years I’ve experienced. It’ll be good to get back to relaxing for 6 weeks.

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Sunset in Manila – taken with iPhone 4 and Camera+

Posted on 01. May, 2011 by Brandon.

There are tons of everyday shots that I take with both the iPhone 4 and Canon S95 that never make it to the blog. Generally if I post any of them, they go onto Facebook or Twitter.

I’m thinking about posting more of the everyday stuff on this blog. Here’s an example, this sunset taken last night on High Street, Fort Bonifacio with the iPhone and the Camera+ app. If you don’t have that app, I highly recommend it over the ‘stock’ iPhone camera app.

If this looks a little funky, it’s because I used the ‘clarity’ feature in Camera+

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Post about Indonesian women and expat men has reached 221 comments

Posted on 05. Apr, 2011 by Brandon.

This post from nearly 5 years ago has certainly received a lot of feedback – currently at 221 comments. And there were many more comments not approved or moderated for various reasons (and I’m very lenient). It appears the nature of relationships between Asian women and foreigners is a hot topic. Unfortunately, the discussion also seems to breed hate, blatant racism, extreme generalizations, and the other crap that comes with the telling of peoples’ personal history.

Each of these delicately composed comments comes streaming (and sometimes shouting) into my inbox, at times more frequently than bathroom breaks. I’m so often tempted to respond, to speak my own mind, and share my experiences having been with an amazing, loving, and caring Indonesian woman for so many years – experiences so very opposite from the majority of those sharp words expressed in the comments. But then again, whose mind am I going to change? If someone has had a horrible experience with love or has witnessed a partner using them only as a means to an end, who am I to say that they’re wrong to lash out?

Despite the fact that this blog is centered around photography, travel, culture, and my own life experiences as an expatriate living in Asia, I’ll continue to allow the comments to flow. I simply ask that before you contribute to the discussion, you ask yourself if you’d say the same thing if you were face-to-face with others, that you consider the flip side to your beliefs and statements, and that you strive to maintain some semblance of respect – especially in terms of religion. Don’t confuse the disparity of wealth and blatant naivety with a particular religion.

Having said that, perhaps it’s time for me to share my own perspectives on this matter from many years of personal experience.

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Photoblog – still undecided, but here’s what I have thus far

Posted on 21. Mar, 2010 by Brandon.

I’m still in the midst of investigating photoblog options. As I previously mentioned, I’ve been playing with Pixelpost. The preliminary results of that effort can be viewed here: http://thejavajive.com/photoblog

Just for kicks I installed Flogr – which creates a photoblog from your flickr account – removing the need to upload images multiple times (via the blog, pixelpost, etc). It’s an interesting concept but won’t be my ultimate solution. Here’s what it looks like: http://thejavajive.com/flickr

And lastly, thanks to a suggestion, I’ve started giving ThemeForest a look. It seems like a fantastic way to seek out fresh designs from a plethora of talented designers rather than purchase from just one company. This may be a solution if I decide to build it based off of WordPress again.

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Twenty-ten thus far

Posted on 08. Feb, 2010 by Brandon.

2010 has shaped up to be quite the rollercoaster ride thus far. Five weeks in and yet so many dramatic, euphoric highs and nausea-inducing lows. I dig a life of change and spontaneity, but it’s sure not easy on the soul.

Fortunately, I’ll now have more time to blog and get back into photography once again. I’m only now starting to settle after nearly 7 months in Manila. The pace of these past few months has been exhausting, but things are finally leveling out.

For this blog I envision moving more towards quicker, more frequent postings. I also am going to be bringing back the external links to sites I enjoy. I removed them with the redesign, but was never satisfied with cluttering up the site. Also, I may look into optimizing this blog for mobile access. How many of you have difficulty viewing it on various handphones?

How has 2010 been unfolding for you?

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Has micro-blogging destroyed your blog?

Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 by Brandon.

I’d like to pose a question: “Has the advent of Twitter, FB status updates, (micro-blogging) changed the way you blog?”.

With this now, Now, NOW culture, have the days of carefully composed blog posts died? Have you abandoned your blog in favor of the dialogue and communication options available with Twitter and other tools? Has your blog been killed off, like a Mom-n-Pop bookstore wilting in the shadow of Amazon?

Or have you perhaps slowed your approach to blogging, taking more time to compose less frequent but higher quality posts, in which maybe there has been a positive change?

Thoughts?

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