Mitchel Lensink

To be perfectly honest, I am a little over writing Monologues every day. I’m sure I’m being misguided but I feel like I’ve gained from daily writing what there was to gain. I really want to focus on writing longer more in-depth pieces now. This will also help to increase the frequency of my newsletter and I want to write longer think pieces for my blog. Pieces that is are more thought out than these daily updates. Stories that can gain some actual momentum and provoke some thought with other peo

We’ve had the two cutest little Chihuahuas staying at our place this afternoon. Though the cats did not agree on the cute part. The moment we set foot, or paw, into the door it was raised backs and big tails galore. The two Chihuahuas didn’t seem to mind that much, though you could also tell they’ve been welcomed more hospitable in the past. From that moment on I could not sit another step without the smallest of the two Chihuahuas following me through the house. The other one withdrew himsel

Look at what Craig Mod wrote in his recent issue of Ridgeline [https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/125/]: “For me, this re-centering of life around the now is novel. Pre-pandemic I was always six to eighteen months out, rarely in the moment. But now the now is all we can depend on. It’s been sobering, and in some ways, a positive (or at least a reminder).” I’m pulling it out of its context now (and the context is good!) but that doesn’t matter for the message he conveys. Living in the now is so imp

8:14 AM I’m waking up on thinking those couple of beers last night don’t seem like such a good idea now. ‘I will do whatever I need to do and then I chill out for the rest of the day’, I think to myself knowing full well that I’ll probably still end up doing stuff in the afternoon. 8:50 AM I get my bike from storage and put on Nuit d’Afrique [https://open.spotify.com/track/52BukmtmPa67Zeu4ExkFR5?si=UzMleqXgR52R1KeAuc-bFQ&dl_branch=1] which I’ve listened to countless times but is still [https:/

Somebody slid into my mailbox the other day asking about using images from my archive. Interesting. I was just watching a video by Dan Milnor [https://youtu.be/nUR7FaZxJXk] in which he mentions people living on their archives, simply by licensing images to people. Hmmm… It just so happens to be that I’ve focused the past year on building my online archive and that’s starting to take shape nicely. There’s a structure in the galleries that’s easy to navigate and it slowly gets more body as time p

Just an idea that requires some further though: black and white photography is the purest medium in the world. I’m not sure if that claim is true but it feels true right now. Photography is, in my opinion, already a very objective medium. Of course you can choose what to show and what not but whatever you do show is a pure registration. The camera doesn’t lie. It’s an unbiased device. This is unlike writing which inherently forces you to find words to describe a thing. Which means there’s alwa

Okay okay I’m already backtracking on my claims from yesterday [/dark-mode-why-are-you-teasing-me/]. Dark mode is beautiful but also a pain to set up. Such a pain! This web development thing isn’t my cup of tea. I’m a photographer for Pete’s sake! I’m parking that project for now as it takes up too much time for now. That’s not always an issue but when it jeopardizes other improvements it definitely becomes one. One of the things I worked on instead was picking out a Top 10 of my Monologues so

Dark mode on the web. It’s almost a basic necessity these days. Most of the bigger websites have it and therefore my tiny one shall have it too. There’s just one problem: the implementation is far from straightforward. I purchased a plug-in that is supposed to work well with my theme. I followed the steps to set it up properly. Despite my efforts, it still looks utterly broken. Nowhere near the level I’m comfortable with displaying to the public. This will take some tinkering to get right again

Back to YouTube it is. I gave it a try a few months ago but soon relinquished. Now I return to deliver a piece to camera about One Two One [https://mitchellens.ink/one-two-one]. I figured it’s nice to have a recording of myself talking about the project, while also providing people a way to see the project. You know, since there’s only one copy of the book. I wanted to do the video in English as well, since all my other communication is in English too. The only reason I haven’t done so before,

Bound for my second shot of Pfizer today, I’m reading the words I’ve written at the time of the first one [https://mitchellens.ink/vaccinated-and-hopefully-liberated/]. It was a time where hopes and spirits where slowly though carefully rising. Looking back on that time now, just a little over a month later, things have changed in a non-trivial way. I’m a little more disillusioned and a little less hopeful. The efflorescence that was promised [https://mitchellens.ink/the-efflorescence/] will no

Okay one final shot from Kallumaan then. Just because I’m a little tired, have nothing else to share and also because this particular photo has been on my mind ever since I’ve taken it. There’s just something about the atmosphere that makes it feel special. The shape of the whole establishment in which, apparently, you can spend a night. The reflection of the evening sky on those big windows. The way it balances on a leg that seems to be way to small for its size. But also its randomness in the

My body is tired and I’m being eaten alive by the mosquitoes. The rain drenched our chairs to the point they won’t dry for another couple of days. We felt that rain and the cold it carried when we were out in the field today. It wasn’t survival but it sure wasn’t all cruising as well. Ahhh these mosquitoes. Why must you exist?! I can barely finisht this story properly. Still, despite all that, it was another lovely day. Alla Sera by Tale of Us is playing in the background and I have another pho

I’m drawing a blank. I have absolutely nothing to say today. Nothing to tell. No things to share. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. Here’s a recent photo of mine that I enjoy.

Looking at the second hand-less clock on the wall to see that it’s only 10:15 AM. I know it’s ticking slowly. It must be, right? I only get the satisfaction of watching time pass on the minute-mark though. Those fifty-nine seconds in between never seem to last as long as they do. I’m always off by margin. If anything, they take twice as long as I guess them to be. My minutes are 118 seconds long, it appears. My eyes glaze over to the window and I notice little drops appearing. Great, more rainf

Another Sunday. What does that mean? Eat. Sleep. Watch YouTube. Repeat. Until it’s no longer Sunday.

Today is about sharing two blurbs that caught my attention. I will not immediately comment on them as I prefer sitting with them for a little longer before offering my thoughts. Better yet, my thoughts can already be distilled from many of my previous Monologues, if you give it a good try. The first quote [https://petapixel.com/2021/07/31/giving-my-audience-a-reason-to-care-as-a-photographer/] is from Simon King [https://streetdances.wordpress.com/]: > There is little reason to care about a s

Dissipating sunshine makes way for thunderous clouds and vigorous winds. An already bleak light is slowly replaced by ominous darkness. What already was a dreary day is quickly turning into a perilous night. But that’s merely the weather. The mood, oh my the mood. It could not be more relaxed. Not more sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. No dreariness or peril to be found. Everything is going great. There’s control over the mind, body and energy. Is it the tunes coming out of my speaker [https://mi