Thoughts on Engineering, Photography, and Design.

I’ve never been to Yosemite, yet it feels like one of my favorite places on Earth. Whatever sense that makes, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the countless photography, books, videos, documentaries that have made me feel (or at least be made aware of) the experiences.

Here’s something. If I were forced to come up with a 20 year photography project, it would be based around Yosemite. I would take seasonal trips every year for 20 years, and at the end of that span, I would choose the best of the best from my collected photos and make a book. Ansel Adams has already been crowned the “King of Yosemite” (not officially, but c’mon). And Alex Honnold will forever be known as the crazy dude who free solo’d El Capitan. But this 20 year project wouldn’t be about competition, or making a name. It would be about experiencing nature in its finest form, at its finest place.

Now, a 20 year photography project isn’t super realistic. But, I’ll visit Yosemite at some point, and multiple times at that.

Until then, enjoy this little video I stumbled across showcasing why Yosemite stands out in the crowd as one of the world’s most amazing places. I can’t wait to go.

So excited about the latest addition to my gear, the Fujifilm X-T3. It was released about 1 year ago, it just takes me forever to pull the trigger on something. Plus, Fujifilm has a different philosophy on photography and it took some time to determine if I was fully on board (spoiler: I am).

Attached is a 56mm (~85mm equivalent) f/1.2. It’s, I believe, the fastest prime lens I’ve owned.

Anyway, I’m thrilled to be able to add this gem to my bag.

Amazing footage/short film from Peter McKinnon (as always). Worth watching if you’re into photography (or just the general beauty of landscapes). Hard to believe places like this actually exist.

Also, all photos in the film were shot with an iPhone 11 Pro! Pretty incredible, honestly.

The subtitle says it all… Excellent article, and very timely, as our team is currently focusing purely on performance right now.

Having a consistent icon set is a big deal in product design. I stumbled upon this one, which offers close to 900 free vector icons.

A very challenging aspect of designing something is keeping the holistic view in the forefront. It’s difficult because all of the individual parts of a design nag and pull for attention. We’re taught to care about the details, after all (and we should!). But that’s wherein the challenge lies: caring about the details with the big picture in mind.

Ryan Singer has talked about this a lot in the past. Specifically, in relation to designing with forces. The idea is to not let the design interfere with what the design is trying to accomplish, the problems at hand. Once you define the forces involved, that becomes your checklist for how well those individual parts are solving the problems. That separation is important.

As often the case with good solutions, it seems like a very obvious and simple approach, but we don’t always go about it this way.

I don’t think this is something that is easily conquered, it’ll be a challenge with design for as long as things are being designed. This is just one way—a pretty effective way—to mitigate the issues that can arise when the big picture hides in the background.

Yet another good talk from Cameron Moll.

I spotted this graphic while reading an article about Awkward UI, and found it to be a wonderfully simple reminder (and checklist?) when designing new screens.