There's a familiarity to home that can dull the senses. Routine is often liberating and productive but rarely is it innovative. Every once in a while, your body, mind and soul need a shock. For me, that shock is travel. So today I set off for Paris and Amsterdam to see the familiar and breathe in the new.

Paris is less a shock than a reprieve considering I've spent a lot of time there, but Amsterdam, that's a whole new ballgame. I've never set foot in The Netherlands and the thought of Dutch words makes my head spin, which might be exactly what I need. I recently wrote about my struggle to find myself creative. It's a seriously daily thing. So for this trip I am bringing my camera but with only one lens. A 50mm prime lens to be exact. Known more as a portrait lens, the limited range will force me to get up close and personal to whatever I want to capture. It's an exercise in doing more with less. That's what travel is all about after all, doing more with less. You can only bring so much but options are limitless once you arrive.

Capture My Heart O' City of Light

My first trip to Paris, apart from a quick stopover in 2007, was in 2009. It lasted for 6 months and was one of the most formative times of my life. I learned how to adapt in a different lifestyle, how to fit in. My French is and was pretty bad so I relied on body language and my roommate a lot. I fumbled plenty, but eventually found my rhythm. I taught conversational English classes on university campuses and made a friends with a multi-talented singer/songwriter. Many turkish kebabs were consumed and I always had a sleeve of Prince cookies in my room. It was a simple life. It was a good life.

Paris was my first extended period of time outside of the United States and it was necessary. I had just graduated university during the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis. My prospects for a job were slim so I found myself folding sweaters at Banana Republic for pretty crappy pay. So I took all of my savings, raised some money from family and friends and left for France. It was rash, impulsive and I'd counsel anyone to do something similar at least once in their life. It introduced uncertainty into my life in a way I had never dreamed of before. I knew no one, spoke a different language and was distinctly Texan (with a slight British bent, but that's another story.)

Celluloid Dreams

Me in Paris, 2015. Taken by my lovely wife, Kim Thompson

Walking around the city was where I first felt the pull of photography. It was rudimentary, vague and probably contrived, but I could feel the buildings calling stories out to me. Odd signs on doorways. Alleyways with graffiti. People walking up Metro steps. All of it was a story I was just learning to capture.

Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School and the author of numerous studies on creativity and international travel talked to The Atlantic in 2015 about what travel does to your brain. “Foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and integrativeness of thought, the ability to make deep connections between disparate forms," Gailinsky told The Atlantic. For me, travel is what melds the creative side with the ability to see things in a different light. At home we often overlook things we see everyday but when traveling, everything is new. It causes us to reassess our views and look at problems in a whole new way.  Quite simply, travel makes connections that may have been directly in front of you at home, but that you never noticed.

Finding The New

There's a certain anxiety about traveling to a new place and I've dealt with that a lot this week. Not only have I never been to Amsterdam, I'm going by myself. At least I won't be too embarrassed when I inevitably get lost and turn down the wrong canal. I'm really excited about my limited lens possibilities, because as my boss knows, I get lost in technical stuff. Should I bring the 24-120mm even though it's heavy? Maybe buying an 85mm could help get some great medium shots. With only one option, there's no second guessing. Just a man and a camera. Get closer or farther away. Bokeh or deep depth of field. It's all dependent on how I manipulate the camera. No extra technical stuff.

Amsterdam is new to me, exciting and adventurous. I think that's exactly what my creativity needs right now. A shot in the arm. Expect a lot of 50mm shots on Instagram in the coming week or so. For now, it's time for a plane ride.

The feeling of being alone is a pretty human one. At some point in our lives, we've all felt alone in some form or capacity. I moved to a new high school my junior year and the feeling of being alone was everywhere. I didn't quite fit in, constantly tried to make friends but for some reason, just couldn't break into these social groups that had been clearly defined. The social barrier led me to spending a lot of time by myself over the next few years. My introvert tendencies came out like never before and I was content to just sit at home by myself most nights or go occupy my own table in the local coffee shop.

Alone In Paris

There's a different type of aloneness that is highlighted in Mathieu Stern's short film Alone In Paris. Here we a see a young woman about to head out for a day in Paris that was supposed to be spent with her sister. The problem is that her sister is sick and waiting on test results that could be potentially devastating. The young woman wanders around a seemingly empty Paris looking at beautiful images, statues and sights but just underneath there's a tension and anguish caused by the news. She is in the midst of a beautiful city and yet empty and alone.

Stern accomplished this feeling by literally scrubbing out all the other people in these shots, leaving only the young woman to sink into the landscape. It's a beautiful metaphor for how mental anguish and uncertainty can separate us from our surroundings. She walks around, vulnerable and exposed, yet completely alone in a city usually teeming with life. In her book The Gifts of Imperfection, author and researcher Brené Brown says , "One of the greatest barriers to connection is the cultural importance we place on “going it alone." The young woman in this film has "going it alone" thrust upon her and ends up walking alone in the city worried, expectant and heartbroken.

"We all heard the phrase 'Sometimes, only one person is missing, and the whole world seems depopulated' … so I wanted to show exactly what it feels like in this video," Stern said. He even managed to scrub out the daily commotion and noise to create an environment that feels almost otherworldly or dystopian. As I watched, I kept going back to that Brené Brown quote because I've always tended to "go it alone" in my life. I used to walk around beautiful cities and parks and sit on benches contemplating writings from Foucault and Camus, not paying any attention to anything around me, and that led to a lot of lonely nights. There was no connection, no spark with the universe. I was feeding myself philosophy and poetry but all that did was lead to alarming weight loss and a dithering social life. The young woman reminds me of myself because I've had points in my life when bad things happened and I had no connections around me to lean on. I was the one staring at the Eiffel Tower with no one around.

We all feel alone at some point in our lives, it's just going to happen. It happens less when you have true, vulnerable connections that can help share that burden with you. And if you didn't watch the entire video, I'm not going to spoil the ending. Seriously, it's less than 3 minutes long so watch it to the end. It's worth it.

You can check out more of Mathieu Stern's work at mathieustern.com.

When I travel I make a playlist of songs to help spur the sound of my creativity as I walk around a new city. It's a way to catalogue things and situations in my life.

If you were to ask me what music I was listening to in Paris in March 2009, I could easily answer "Suicide Blonde" by Jack's Mannequin, "So Long" by Guster and "Caroline" by David Gray, among others.

I'd also have to tell you that I had recently been disappointed in the direction of a relationship that never quite got off the ground (and a year later would get off the ground but then end pretty badly after about 16 months or so later) which led to me listening to "Hiatus" by Sugarcult almost every night when I walked home.

There's no better way to fall in love with a new city than by walking as much of it as you can. I like to walk with music on, especially at night, and make my own soundtrack for the events unfolding around me. I identify moments with the music that lurk just underneath the surface. For some reason that's just how my mind works and allows me to remember life experiences.

A Soundtrack To Walk To

Here's some of my top tracks while traveling, mostly due to what was happening in the moments between the beats.

1. Sitting by the River Thames on a typical foggy morning, listening to Amos Lee's "I'm Not Myself," waiting for the sun to pop out like it always did.
2. Driving down I-45 in Houston with a load of clothes and items for my new apartment in September of 2010 listening to "Everybody Learns From Disaster" by Dashboard Confessional.
3. Walking down Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles looking for inspiration while my friend Jeanette was at work, listening to "Going Through Hell" by The Streets.
4. Sitting in a bus in London after having an anxiety attack in an Indian food restaurant by Victoria Station in 2014, listening to "Can't Be Broken" by Twin Forks.
5. Walking home late on a Wednesday after playing some music at The Highlander Pub in Paris in 2009, the Eiffel Tower unlit and hulking over the Seine with Augustana's "Sweet And Low" in my ears.

There's too many songs to count, each inextricably connected to some random moment that would be vague and forgotten if not for a lyrical cue somehow. So the next time you travel to a new place, make a musical roadmap to help focus your creativity and to catalogue the random adventures you'll surely have.

By Daniel Wood

Let me first start by saying I don’t want this to be a film is better or digital is better discussion. It’s useless as they both have their reasons for using. And luckily for both camps, advances in technology have made it easier to use both and incorporate them into each other’s realm.

A while back, even a mere 5 years ago, nobody dreamed of artistically viewing photos on a computer screen or especially a cell phone screen, but, because they have become so ubiquitous and with such high-resolution displays, people do view digitally more than they look at printed photos. Still, there is nothing I love seeing more than a well-printed photograph or an incredibly curated photo book.

Despite what Instagram might suggest, filters are not meant to make photos look like film. They’re meant to make photos look like OLD faded photographs. Like what you find in your grandparents box of photos tucked inside their closet. Film itself is actually incredibly well detailed and with lifelike colors and sharpness. Each brand (mostly Fuji, Kodak and Ilford these days) have their own look to the film and offer different types (film stocks) for different occasions. Film even has a much higher dynamic range, and before anybody talks about HDR techniques, they are available to film shooters too and it requires a static subject. I shoot film because of this realism that it creates.

fiona

One of the most important aspects of photographing to me is the experience I have while shooting. I want to be inspired when I photograph. Each and every camera, whether film or digital, offers its own unique style. The way the camera handles, the controls, the way you see through the viewfinder, the feeling you get when you click the shutter. It all adds up to inspire you.

When I feel like walking around shooting whatever pops in front of me and I need compact camera that is discreet, I strap my Leica over my shoulder and shoot nearly invisibly due to its whisper quite shutter. However, when I need something a bit larger and have an idea of what I will be photographing I will bust out the Hasselblad and peer down through the most amazing viewfinder in the world. I feel like I’m in another dimension with that camera. Plus, the big square image I get afterwards and the huge CLUNK when you press the shutter is immensely satisfying. And when I have a project that is set in stone and I want to get the best image I can, I mount my 4x5 monorail camera on its tripod and take all the time in the world. That is a camera of patience and imagination since you must set up your photo, look through the ground glass screen and then insert the film which blocks your view and finally you can activate the shutter. But the detail of that image is unparalleled!

For someone who wants to get into film photography, whether already well-versed in digital or getting into photography for the first time, there is a camera for you. I tend to shoot cameras that are purely mechanical without automatic functions but that is only because they work for what I shoot and fit my workflow. There are film cameras still being made with just as much automation of exposure and focus as any digital camera will give.

For someone who wants to learn all the basics I’d stick with a manual camera like my trusty Pentax K1000 that can be picked up with a great lens for $50-$100 on a regular basis. For someone who wants a bit more dedicated functions the Canon AE-1 is a great camera around the same price. And if you want something like the experience and handling of shooting a modern digital camera, the Nikon F6 is still being made for around $2000 new. If you already have a digital and want to use your current lineup of lenses, there are plenty of great used film cameras that will most likely accept those same lenses, especially from Nikon, Canon and Pentax.

Once you find that perfect camera for you, choosing what you do with the images is up to you. First you must get them developed either at your local photo lab or there are plenty available online in which you mail your film to the lab and they return within a week or two. You can also choose to have them scan the film for you to edit on your computer and upload to your portfolio site, send to friends, or post on Instagram. If you are adventurous, it’s rather easy to develop black and white negatives at home using a few simple chemicals and a bathroom.

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If you choose to print your photos, labs will typically do very good inkjet prints for you at a size you choose, or if you are lucky enough, there will be a darkroom lab in your community you can go to and print your photos yourself. That’s where the real magic happens! Many colleges also have at least a black and white darkroom that can be used if you enroll in a class. Color printing is a bit more difficult and requires specialized chemicals and equipment, but well worth it if you have access.

Lastly, for those who aren’t ready to dive into film but want to explore some of the looks of different films, companies like VSCO sell different “film stocks” that can be used as plug-ins in Photoshop and Lightroom or whatever other photo editor you use. Some of them are intended to replicate actual films both current and vintage but also offer effects like expired film or light leaks and faded photographs.

All that really matters, though, is that you find something that works for you. Maybe it’s one camera that does it all or several different cameras that offer their own experience. Go out and explore, experiment and be inspired.

Daniel Wood is a writer, photographer and musician who currently resides in Seattle, WA. He is a lover of music and art and is consistently working on blending different mediums together to create unique pieces that tend to focus on introspection through the outward examination of others. His works include “Self-Portraits” a hand-bound letter-pressed photo/story book featuring 4x5 fabric contact prints and “Untitled Dreams I, II and III” which are massive 35’ long prints. His ongoing project “The Streets” is merely a collection of photographs which document the surroundings in which he immerses himself in.

Sometimes you just need to look at the beauty in the world. I'm stuck in Houston at the moment with all the Republican presidential candidates swarming into town so for a little break, I decided to get out of my head a bit and enjoy this 4K thrill ride that is a hyper-lapse of Paris. Shot by Tyler Fairbank using a bevy of lenses on his Sony A7s, the hyper-lapse is lush and, at only two minutes, a quick escape from the office and politics that are palpable in the air today.

Enjoy.