This journal records my actual ten thousand hours deliberate practice mastering art photography
Hours 9,919 to 9,988
31th July 2025
Hours 9,987 to 9,988
(2h) editing images from 9th July, including the almost abstract “Athabasca Twigs”, above
30th July 2025
Hour 9,986
(1h) updating this journal
29th July 2025
Hour 9,985
(1h) researching Douglas Coupland including watching the following YouTubes:
- “A manifesto” a series of pithy statements on life similar to the display at Vancouver Art Gallery on 6th July (itself similar to the poster displays of Jenny Holzer). Mixed philosophy, poetry and visual art: “technology favours evil people”
- “Capturing the Way we Live Online” – about his book “Binge”, a collection of 60 micro-fiction stories of exactly 1,000 words in length
- “Generation X” a joung Douglas Coupland discusses his first book (that I bought recently) which centres on the lives of people born 1958-70s
28th July 2025
Hour 9,984
(½h) shooting images of Bovey Castle that might be useful in future composites, especially of heavy curtained windows, e.g., left, and planning new images:
- Through the wall/ door, where a shadow would be
- Candle emitting darkness
- Woman in black dress as castle window
- Ski resort – people in rooms
(½h) reviewing my “Surrealism 100 Years on” post
27th July 2025
Hours 9,980 to 9,983
(4h) editing and processing the images shot yesterday; 262 delivered to the show’s organisers
26th July 2025
Hours 9,978 to 9,979
(2h) [out of 8 on site] shooting 650 images, as the official photographer of the Stoke Poges Annual Horticultural Show. Mainly using my Godox V1 flash on camera with TTL set to +2, and the camera itself shooting aperture priority at -2 stops. Adjusting here and there to ensure that the resulting histogram covers the entire dynamic range.
- inside, bouncing the flash off the marquee’s ceiling
- outside, using the flash as a fill-in
25th July 2025
Hours 9,976 to 9,977
“Burnt Landscape”
“Burnt Landscape Mono”
(1h) creating both the “Burnt Landscape” and its mono sibling above
(1h) updating this journal
24th July 2025
Hours 9,974 to 9,975
(½h) updating this journal and the posts I’ve been working on recently
(1½h) editing and processing more of the images shot at the Canadian lakes on the 9th July, including:
- “Bow Lake I”, left
- “Bow Lake V”, above
23rd July 2025
Hours 9,971 to 9,973
(2h) essentially finishing the “Other Top 10s at 10,000 Hours” post
(1h) Amersham Coffee Club were my “Magritte Pointing at his Younger Self” image created a couple of days ago was generally applauded
22nd July 2025
Hours 9,968 to 9,970
(1h) creating:
- “Athabasca and Burnt Trees III”, above
- “Lake Louise in the Rain” image, left
(½h) updating this journal
(½h) preparing prints for the Amersham exhibition at the end of August
(1h) filling out the content of my “Other Top 10s at 10,000 Hours” post
21th July 2025
Hours 9,962 to 9,967
(2h) creating “Magritte Pointing at his Younger Self”, above
(2h) creating a draft “Other Top 10s at 10,000 Hours” post
(½h) YouTube from Sean Tucker:
(1½h) editing and processing the “After the Jasper Fire” images from the 9th July including the “Athabasca Almost Abstract”, below, that I feel has some merit as it draws the viewer in to examine the detail and variety of textures
20th July 2025
Hours 9,958 to 9,961
(2h) editing and processing images from Canada and researching the new artists discovered at the Vancouver Art Gallery on 6th July
(1h) creating the “Gastown Diptych”, above, also shot on 6th July
(1h) adding the new artists from Canada to the “Summer 2025” post and updating the “Other Than Photography – 2025” draft and various other posts
19th July 2025
Hours 9,956 to 9,957
(2h) updating this journal with content from the recent trip to Canada
Right, thought for the day …
Image shot on 6th July at the Vancouver Art Gallery
18th July 2025
Hours 9,954 to 9,955
(1h) transferring images, from the recent Canada trip, from laptop to my main computer
“Bald Eagle”, left, shot in Ucluelet on the 16th
“Juvenile Bald Eagle”, right, also shot on the 16th, apparently the birds do not develop their distinctive plumage until they are about 3 years old
(1h) updating this journal, mainly adding images
17th July 2025
Hours 9,952 to 9,953
(1h) updating this journal and the time analysis data for the “10,000 Hours Completed” post
A few minutes shooting the heron on the golf course
(1h) editing and processing the heron images, including “Old Heron”, left
16th July 2025
Hours 9,950 to 9,951
“Ucluelet Sea Landscape”
“Ucluelet Sea Otter”
(1h) shooting including from a 3 hour boat trip primarily aimed at bear watching including:
- “Black Bear Eating Oysters”, left
- The landscape and Otter above
- “Foraging Black Bear”, below
(1h) editing and processing the day’s images
15th July 2025
Hour 9,949
(1h) editing and processing images from the last couple of days
14th July 2025
Hours 9,947 to 9,948
(1h) shooting from a 6 hour, “whale watching” boat trip:
- “Humpback Fluke”, above
- “Zodiac Whale Watching”, right
- “Sealions on Buoy”, below
(1h) editing and processing the day’s images
13th July 2025
Hours 9,945 to 9,946
(½h) shooting
(1½h) editing and processing the day’s images
12th July 2025
Hours 9,942 to 9,944
(½h) shooting at Harrison Hot Springs including:
- “Morning Stroll”, above
- “Seaside Dining”, below
- “Coffee and Pastries Contra Jour”, bottom
(1h) at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Meryl McMaster’s, 2012, “Anime”, left
(1½h) editing and processing images from the last couple of days
11th July 2025
Hour 9,941
(1h) shooting local wildlife, particularly the elk, right, who was only a few metres away
“Elk – Jasper Bungalows”
Uncropped image
10th July 2025
Hours 9,939 to 9,940
(1h) lots of shooting on road trip, some images taken from the car whilst moving, including:
- “Alberta Lake”, above
- “Burnt Trees and Mountains – Jasper”, left
- “Canadian Mountain Goats”, below
(1h) editing and processing the day’s images
9th July 2025
Hours 9,937 to 9,938
(1h) shooting, including:
- “After the Fire II”, above
- “Out Running the Storm”, left, shot whilst driving (being driven)
- “Lake Louise VI”, below
(1h) editing and processing the day’s images
8th July 2025
Hours 9,934 to 9,936
(½h) shooting Americana style British Columbia including:
- “Motel Sunrise, Valemount BC”, above
- “Valemount, Road to Alberta”, right
(1½h) collecting time analysis data for this project and reviewing the journal pages as I go
(1h) editing and processing images from the last couple of days
A few minutes shooting in the evening
7th July 2025
Hour 9,933 – driving from Vancouver to Valemount
(1h) collecting time data for the “10,000 Hours Completed” post; reviewing and updating the journal pages as I go
6th July 2025
Hours 9,928 to 9,932
(1½h) collecting time data for the “10,000 Hours Completed” post including correcting the journal pages as I go
(½h) aerial shooting from the seaplane tour of Vancouver, including:
- “BC Place and False Creek from the Air”, left
- “Vancouver North Shore Mountains from the Air”, below
(2h) at the Vancouver Art Gallery and, a few minutes at, the Contemporary Art Gallery where I discovered:
- Douglas Coupland, above, visual artist and author; reminds me of Jenny Holzer (see my “Summer 2024” review post and 29th July 2024 discovery) but gentler. Also an apparently best selling author that I not heard of, first book “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture” ordered
- Jean Paul Riopelle, left, abstract expressionism directly inspired by nature
- Emily Carr
Jean Paul Riopelle, 1992, “Untitled (Around Rosa)”, above, created after the death of Joan Mitchell, with whom he had a 24 year relationship. Uses stencils and spray paint
(1h) importing images from the last few days into Capture One on my laptop and editing
5th July 2025
Hours 9,927
(1h) shooting travel oriented shots and urban landscapes in Vancouver including:
- “Vancouver Skyline”, above
- “Gastown Steam Clock”, left
- “Sulphur Mine” below
4th July 2025
Hours 9,925 to 9,926 – travelling to Vancouver
(2h) working on the “10,000 Hours Completed” post
3rd July 2025
Hours 9,924
(1h) processing further images from the Studio day on the 19th June including “Looking Up”, above
2nd July 2025
Hours 9,921 to 9,923
(2h) at the Amersham Coffee club where:
- there was a broad philosophical discussion including how photographers can learn from artists; classical and those practicing today
- my recent Studio shots were discussed with the group
- Jeremy Schrire shared with me another batch of fabulous street photographs
(½h) updating images left and above (“Red Head Black Dress and White Curtain” and “Looking Over Sofa”) based on the day’s suggestions
(½h) updating this journal and Flickr site
1st July 2025
Hours 9,919 to 9,920
(1h) updating this journal, including all the new month admin
(1h) YouTube: University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art “Frenemies Pollock & de Kooning” – in short Pollock (US born and bred) was wild and impetuous, whereas de Kooning (originally from the Netherlands) was very measured and controlled
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