Reflect On

Since posting last here I have managed to travel half way round the world and back and while on the trip I snapped quite a few photos that, looking back on, I like quite a lot and want to share! During this trip I caught myself shooting in portrait more than I ever had before so I leaned into it a bit with the intention of making a new zine/book of the images as a collection but that will take time and money to pull together so no announcements yet. Just chipping away at editing and pooling together my favorites for that.

In the mean time I am looking around photos that I could share as wallpaper images, do people still look for and use wallpapers for their computers even? Ive been in this game a long time and I sort of feel a shift away from that fun dig around online for new images for digital workspaces but I could be wrong, who knows. Im still here and I still think this is a fun way to share photographs so why not right? I may make a pack of wallpapers from this trip but I may start trickling them out here one at a time, we’ll see how it plays out as I make time to start digging into my library.

My biggest problem right now is still the act of trying to find enough confidence to share much of anything online. It feels like the older I get, the more alienated I feel within the online world. A lot of it has to do with its shifting focus and our lack of attention as trends in social media have moved to quick, rapid engagement. The tiny spike of adrenaline we get as images zip past our eyes for a few seconds and, like a slot machine, we pull down for more, and more, and more, until time and thought mean not much of anything. We blink. and look up from our phones with that dazed, cloudy look in our eyes, and try to focus on reality.

Places like this, full of words and a commitment to more than 5 seconds of time feel daunting to many in comparison. So, if you’re here, and you made it this far, hi! How have you been? The photo above was taken on a little island in Korea which is only accessible by car during low tide. The road heading to it is a long skinny one that ends up fully underwater as the ocean rises up. No warning, no gates, just a road that slowly disappears. The island itself seems to be largely dedicated to campsites, small hotels, and a million seafood restaurants which all have greeters out by the road to entice every car that passes to park and come in for lunch. Its kitschy and fun and I kind of wish we had more time to wander around and explore while we were there.

I look forward to sharing more here as time goes on, I still want to release the album mentioned on my previous hope post and I think I have the nerve to do it sooner than later and I also have been sitting on some 50ft Radio mixes for what feels like years now? Where on earth does the time go? See you again soon.

(Note: “iPad” link below is good for any mobile device, cropped to a simple square.)

Moonrise

For someone who has long told himself that he’s not really that much of a fan of the beach I sure do share a lot of photos taken from oceanic shores. Back at the Atlantic, and there in the distance you can see the moon rising as the sun set behind me. These are the moments you live through and know somehow intrinsically that it you won’t soon forget. Surrounding memories sort of clump together around these remarkable scenes and and they collide in our minds, forming a sort of mosaic of a period of time. The air, the sound, the smell, the reason you were at this place and how close to loved ones you may or may not have been. It’s beautiful and if you are somehow missing this kind of weight during times of genuine, life affirming, nuance then its probably time you re-evaluate your choices in life.

How has everyone been? I’m around, as is my lack of personal space and time so posting continues to be slow but that’s OK. The online world around this little web page has become so vast and distorted since the inception of fifty foot shadows that I’m not sure it’s worth my time to wonder if I should still be stopping by these pages to share. The answer has been becoming pretty clear to me lately that now, more than ever, spaces like these are becoming islands in the social online world. Slang and generations are shifting but people are still out there looking for their familiars and connecting in heart felt ways to others just as lost or found as they are.

All of the surface noise brought forth by the lurking masses simply fades away when you cozy into a place where you can feel comfortable and unafraid. So I hope you, dear reader, can still hop over here from time to time and know the internet can be both never ending as well as quite small. The photo here is of course available for you to grab and use as a wallpaper. It’s landscape so it naturally forms better to a desktop but there is a mobile version here as well for phones and tablets. HD file is over on gumroad. (Thanks to those who choose to continue to support!)

I hope to be back with a few more photos from this recent trip sooner than later. Till then, have a good one. Stay safe out there and look after each other. XO

Spirit

Having trouble finding my spirit lately. A couple months ago I finally was able to purchase a new camera for myself, to keep around with me from day to day. It was stolen from me, or lost, the details are hazy, but a month into having a new X100V around it chose a different path than one by my side. Then a lens on my iPhone camera cracked and I felt deceived by fate somehow. Cheated of what I try pursue so passionately.

It’s tempting to blame it on luck, karma, or some some other divine unbalance but really Its more a reflection of my state of mind. We’re all coming into this year shaken up, I realize my story is not particularly unique and there is comfort in that, I think. I still have so much to share, just no time to compile. Only hope, and damn it, I do still somehow find ways to add levity to each day. Balance out the nagging weight of the darkness in the well. I’m not writing for sympathy, I really am here to share a new photo and pass along an update for the devoted few who still check in on this page from time to time.

I will be getting a replacement for the X100V soon, I will be repairing my phone, but these feelings are sticky. Not a day passes where a song, a light, a photograph, or an opinion, doesn’t leave me ready to tuck myself into a corner and write about it, share it, collaborate with you all, but time is steam and clouds aren’t taking shape all that well lately. But they will come, and I can’t wait.

The hour I am stealing this morning to write and share something of an update here is the first I have had to myself  in as long as I can remember and I am happy to be here reflecting on my state of mind because I know I’m not the only one out there with heavy hands. I want to pad my posts here with more than these downer updates so how about next time I sneak in with a bit more sunshine.

Raise a glass with me, download this photo of a little sprouting leaf and get ready to grow. We’ll do it together. Cheers.

Variations On Blue

It’s been a weird month or so. Covid managed to worm its way into my home and all three of here us came down with it, thankfully without symptoms beyond manageable ones. We did our time and we are doing OK at this point and have gotten back into the swing of life again but life as I know it is askew in my mind. Work is as it was early last year where event production is slow and the live entertainment industry is still very much a volatile market to be working in but we’re managing one way or another and doing our best to plan for what will clearly be another tough year.

So I’m looking at time after coming from weeks of being inside for the most part, waiting and hoping that the impact of Covid doesn’t hurt as much this year. As I am out on job sites again talking to clients I discover more and more people who have felt the frustration and uncertainty of catching it as well and I realize how bad it really is. This is no longer something that friends of friends of friends catch, it’s everywhere here and to take it on is a coin toss.

As careful as we were and as hard as we try to take it seriously, it still snuck in. Not everyone around us seems to be able to share this cautious empathy for whatever reason. Whether aware of it or not, for some, cynicism manages to win. At any rate, whatever your viewpoint, surely we can agree the situation feels impossible, we are all trapped in our own interpretation of reality as it stands so when I say that life feels askew it’s not a poetic quip of an observation it’s a literal adjustment I am having to make within my perspective and my usual sense of optimism to keep from loosing hope. To maintain that sense of optimism I am constantly needing to shift the goal posts but every time I choose to look on the positive side of any given setback I still feel like I am making the only rational choice.

What a time to be alive eh? I don’t mean to jump in so gloomy, the reason I am really here is in effort to sneak by the weirdness of the world at large by hopping into 50ft land to to wax on about a few photographs for the first time in a while. Milla (my nearly 5 year old daughter) and I wanted to get out and get some fresh air after being inside so long so we chose to visit one of our favorite local trails and hike along the edge of a lake nearby.

Snacks packed and ready to explore, we drove out to greet a sunny but chilly afternoon and we were happy to find the trail waiting quietly for us. It had been a few weeks since getting out so my eyes darted around the surrounding forest and I felt intimately tuned to its wintery charm. Tiny leaves, red berries, and here among the few photos on this post, cool blue shadows on the lake and wispy delicate little seeds that pretty much begged me to widen my aperture and soak up the unassuming depth of this moment.

At the time we were sitting down on roots conveniently positioned near the shore. We made up silly stories as we ate and wondered aloud about things like other times we had visited this spot, if maybe it would snow again this winter, and which snack was our favorite. I may sound silly saying it but these little conversations felt poetic while spoken through some of the first fresh air I had been able to breath in quite some time. This crisp January afternoon was just what we both needed and these modest minimal photos take me right back to the side of the lake where we sat.

I hope you all are doing well among everything going on. Any time I stop to write for a while for the site I am reminded of all the lofty goals I pray I make time for around here but all the same it’s nice to have this space to share. Its reassuring to reach out and know that there are a few people around the world tuning in that may find solace in the words I pair with my desktops.

Sometimes it’s funny to imagine someone stumbling across a post like this, here maybe for the first time after clicking a link someone shared letting them know they could find nice computer wallpapers on this site called Fifty Foot Shadows. Welcome stranger! I’m happy you stopped by, enjoy the photos, links to download them are below and I hope to see you again soon.

(P.S.- iPad links are for any “mobile” device and HD versions are in the member downloads)

MNML Beach IV

Dipping back into a long standing series of minimal sandy landscapes which was named back when dropping vowels ws sppr cl t d. OK so that didn’t work at all. At any rate, on a recent little jaunt to the coast with YoungDoo and Milla we found our way to a serendipitous moment on a big empty beach during sunset.

As we explored the shore I grabbed the camera to shoot for a while and ended up taking a few usual “beach” photos then realized I should maybe try something other than yet another photo of sand and waves. The light, clouds, and sky felt just right for one of these intentionally pulled out of focus shots.

It’s actually kind of hard to capture a satisfying image like this because finding the right aperture and focal point makes a big difference in the way the broad shapes of a landscape gel together. I ended up settling on three versions of the moment seen here in this post each less and less obvious what it is we’re looking at.

I love these sort of “ambient” photos and the way they feel perfect as a rendered backdrop for icons on a desktop. “But John, don’t you have a copy of photoshop, can’t you do this with any photo? I don’t get it.” Yeah, but, this image has an authentic stamp of realities approval that you can feel good about ingesting into your daily wallpaper diet so roll with it. As for the color shift on that last photo, I reached this image, which was the most lost in that 50 f/1.2 blur, and felt I wanted to further accentuate the waining sun as it deepened the colors of the sky so a little color shift and drama felt in order.

Get lost for a bit in your imagination here. What do YOU imagine there in the foreground of these photographs? Breathe in…

P.S. Merry Happy Holiday Christmas Time Day. May you find that moment to breathe you deserve.

Looking Back

So, I was casually jumping around a folder of older wallpaper images and found this deep cut sitting there all lonely after only seeing a release through an old iPhone 4 Retina update wallpaper pack or something of the sort and after using it for a week or so on my laptop realized how calming it was to have there waiting for me when all the work was closed up for the day.

I thought it would be a diservice to the world NOT to put it back up in desktop form. Sure, there are probably 1.2 million photos of an airplane wing but just LOOK at it, just a fraction of a moment before the sun had given up for the day there on that plane however high up in the sky. I know I’m not the only one feeling that drag from not being able to get out and see the world at large and for me at least, this modest photo brings with it a hopeful solitude and I hope that maybe you find a little bit of solace here too.

It’s been a year has it not? I miss you guys, I know you’re still out there, I see you checking in to see if something new has popped up here. I hope you have been doing alright, this ones for you.

(yes, the “iPad” link is still for all mobile devices)

50ft Japan Wallpaper Pack +Zine

The time has finally come to let this out into the world. It only took me six years! Back in 2014 I took a trip to Japan with YoungDoo and while I did share a few of the photos here through the years since, I had never committed to put together the big set of digital wallpapers I had wanted to release.

I’m here today to rectify that. I have a new pack from the trip available containing 62 photographs. I chose to offer it up for sale with full HD versions in an effort to raise money for a couple of 50ft related projects that I have been trying to get up off the ground for what feels like forever. The cost starts at $1 and if your not able to contribute at all but are in need of some fresh wallpapers just let me know.

Your support would mean the world to me and I would be endlessly thankful if you would consider sharing the news through your social hangouts to help me spread the word.

Also! I have decided to make a limited run of printed zines containing all of the photos from the pack!

I go into much more detail about everything on the page that I have set up over on Gumroad so rather than keep you here, why not hop on over and have a look? I have thumbnails of all of the images there as well for your browsing pleasure. Link Below:

The 50ft Japan Wallpaper Pack

(Or, my gumroad profile here)

Calm Spring

Has anyone else noticed how quiet nights are lately? I was wondering if it was just here in my area or if universally around the world nights are as dead silent as they feel here. Waking up in the dead of night feels strange when there the world is totally still, for a split moment here or there my mind goes to dark places before I can shake it off so I’ve been letting ambient music take the edge off.

Yet you know what? As weird and disorienting as everything is, I have been connecting with part of my mind that I have not had a chance to visit in ages. I dug out a Nikon to Canon adapter and mounted YoungDoos Nikon 50mm f/1.2 lens on her 5DII and have started to shoot with it. It’s a classic lens that has a soft and dreamy vibe to it. The gentle feeling of the photos it captures is lovely and calming, just what I could use right now.

So when Milla and I head off to a field and stream nearby I brought it along but more on those photos later. The photo here today is from my backyard. All of the spring flowers are just past their peak bloom now but it’s still a sight for anxious eyes to see. I’ve cropped them on down and prepped them for your digital wallpapering needs. HD versions for big screens are in the members library (along with another new wallpaper pack that you will hear more about soon).

iPad link is for all mobile devices BTW, I still need to get around to tweaking my site code for this.

This Day

(Originally tried to post this earlier this year but have had an issue with permissions lingering that I’m starting to wrap my head around so finally here we go. Once I get things working again, I plan on starting to post more. This place feels like a home away from home and I long for it.)

This day we set off to explore. There was a vague idea to find somewhere in the mountains and find a spot Milla would enjoy. A few hours later we ended up at a tourist hot spot where there was a naturally formed rock slide in a mountain stream and a nice swimming hole at the bottom of it. Not particularly our seen, but we were there so we decided to press on, upstream for a ways. Then after hiking beyond what seemed to be a well worn trail we came across a perfect little section of the mountain stream. Just enough for Milla to wander about on her own and explore. We splashed about, made little rock towers, played in the mud, you know, outdoor stuff.

YoungDoo offered up the 5dIII for the day which was a lot of fun and left me with this shot that I knew would make a lovely desktop wallpaper image. There are two versions, one I stepped in a bit closer for because I liked all the little details there in the tower or rocks. More often than not these days I frame subjects cautiously when I know it will be used for wallpaper use. Devices are so varied! How does a photographer frame a photograph for BOTH portrait and landscape viewing?

Yeah, welcome to my world. iPhone wallpaper 101. I still have a soft spot for shooting everything horizontally. The cinematic feel is what I connect with so I do my best to either center a subject or make sure there is some way to crop the image for use on a mobile device. So, at any rate, links are below and I hope to see you again sooner than later. Hope all is well with everyone.