In February 2024 this website crashed for no apparent reason. Despite using professionals at GoDaddy.com it was impossible to restore anything after October 2021 (over 100 posts). I do have many of those post in draft form (no final edit or photos) and I have decided to repost them in that manner. I apologize for typos and other errors. How do I feel about losing all of my original work? Life goes on.

Today started like many of my days.  The alarm went off and I stumbled into the bathroom to clean up.  Then downstairs to grind beans for the family’s morning coffee.  As usual, I measured the amount of grounds by eye, then reconsidered and spooned off a teaspoon or two. I know from past experience that overfilling the coffee maker’s basket results in a countertop flooded with grounds and hot water.

I looked out of my little study’s window to check the weather to determine if I could still wear my slippers outside, as I needed to move one of our cars off the driveway.  I wondered if the neighbors saw me doing this in my bedroom attire. Then a task here and another there, and my morning was over.

I expected to visit my friend, Tom after lunch, but he had to cancel so I move to “Plan B,”  but I ran into another roadblock, and that option had to be abandoned.  Desperate times call for desperate measures-it was time to freestyle!

The day before I dug out my 10-year-old Fujifilm X100 camera. I hadn’t used it for years, yet it is one of those cameras that I would never consider selling.  The X100 was created during a time when cameras were becoming ever more sophisticated and automatic.  This camera’s designers took the opposite stance and it was deliberately modeled to mimic 35 mm film cameras from the 1950s.  It is a beautiful device that has a fixed lens and a slew of manual dials. Photographers love it or hate it, depending on their sensibilities. I love it, and I always wonder why I leave it to languish on a shelf.

I am fortunate that I have many local forest preserves that give me endless joy.  Today, I wanted to try a place that was just a bit different and so I decided to drive to the southern part of my town to a large preserve with multiple winding paths.  These paths are usually filled with bikers and horses during the summer months, but I knew that they would be empty on this cold November day.  I grabbed my X100 and hopped into Violet the camper van for the 10-minute ride. My goal was simple, I was going to do a little hike and take some photos.  Prior to going I researched the preserve and decided to take its Kestrel path.  I added an additional side path to turn my hike into a 5-mile walk. The paths at this preserve are both wide and flat making such a trek “a walk in the park.”

A more difficult issue was what to photograph.  This particular preserve is mostly trees and fields and doesn’t have notable features even in the summer.  Now, the trees would be barren and the grasses would have already gone to seed making the site less photogenic.  My plan was to go and to see what inspired me.  Indeed, I was surprised by what I eventually discovered.

I did photograph the twisted branches of leafless trees, and the golden deadness of grasses that had lost both their chlorophyll and vitality.  However, I was more struck by the preserve’s close proximity to high-tension power lines.  Giant towers crisscrossed the paths, and when you walked under them you could hear the buzzing and cracking sounds of thousands of volts coursing through the tower’s copper veins.  I decided to shoot a number of them as a contrast to the peaceful, yet lifeless forest below.  Compose, focus, snap…compose, focus, snap…compose, focus, snap…and so it went. 

I continued my walk and saw a toppled tree. I then saw another, and another, and then a whole field where the tops of many trees were gone as if they had been ripped off by some giant hand. An uncomfortable feeling settled inside me as it seemed as if some monster literally drove down a path destroying dozens, if not hundreds of trees, and everything else along the way.

Suddenly, the realization hit me that I was looking at the remnants of the path of a tornado. In fact, it was likely that I was visiting the path of the tornado that devastated Naperville last June. Our neighborhoods have been cleaned up, but this forest remained in its post-apocalyptic state. Witnessing the devastation made me feel small and insignificant.   

If I looked ahead I saw a forest preserve in its peaceful winter slumber.  If I looked above I saw the mighty human-built towers that carry the electricity that allows me to use this computer, make my morning coffee, and sit cozily and warmly in my study’s overstuffed chair.  If I looked to the side I saw toppled trees from several seconds of nature’s fury.  How strange to be standing in a place where it seems that we are conquering nature, only to witness nature conquering us. 

I remember commercials and other advertisements from my childhood that touted our superiority over the planet.  “Better living through chemistry,” one of them proclaimed.  Now we have oceans choking on plastic, aquifers poisoned with pesticides, and the devastation of rising global temperatures.  We are such short-sighted little creatures.  So full of ourselves, and so self-centered. We want to believe that we are powerful, but it only takes a few seconds for nature to put us back in our place.

I thought I would share with you some of the photos that I took today in three parts.  The first part consists of the pleasant and quiet path that I walked on.  The second set of photos are powerlines-I think that they look alien for some reason, and the third group shows some of the devastation left from Naperville’s June 20th tornado. Come along and keep me company, won’t you?

Peace

Mike

In February 2024 this website crashed for no apparent reason. Despite using professionals at GoDaddy.com it was impossible to restore anything after October 2021 (over 100 posts). I do have many of those post in draft form (no final edit or photos) and I have decided to repost them in that manner. I apologize for typos and other errors. How do I feel about losing all of my original work? Life goes on.

Time passes strangely.  When I was in my work life waiting for a vacation could feel like an eternity.   When that trip finally arrived the first few days appeared to last forever, and then suddenly the vacation was over, almost like it never existed.  For me, time is not constant, it seems to move at different rates depending on a multitude of factors.

When I had my daughter Anne 38 years ago I had a life-changing awareness.  I discovered that liked being a dad.  I know that is a strange thing to say, but it is true.  I not only like kids, but I like spending time with them, and I like teaching them things.  If you follow me on Facebook you already know that, but you are seeing Version 2.0 of me, a version that has been in the making for almost 40 years.

When Julie and I got married we knew that we wanted to have children, but we delayed our plans because of her Ph. D. studies.  As she approached graduation we felt that it was time. We had a certain hubris.  Anne was an accidental surprise, so I assumed all was good with me, and Julie came from amazingly healthy Swedish stock.  We were certain that she would be pregnant within the week, but we were very wrong. After months of unsuccessful trying, we started to adopt all of those folklore things that people do to become pregnant.  None of them worked and our hubris quickly dissolved into frantic desperation. 

Then it was time for the fertility clinic. Tests, probes, pills, shots, mood swings…no fun.  After exhausting less invasive options we advanced to IUI or intrauterine insemination.  IUI is a long process that involves shots, pills, and lots of ultrasounds.  When it is time for the procedure the male provides a “sample” which is then concentrated and mechanically placed.  Yeah, exactly.  

We went through the weeks of prep and a sample was provided.  However, the doctor felt that the sample was not good enough and advised that we forgo the procedure.  The reality was that we had just gone through hell getting to that point and so we told them to do it anyway.  Two days later our car was loaded and our pop-up camper was attached to it.  With Anne in tow we were heading on a long-anticipated vacation, but with heavy hearts. We had gone through so much to have a baby and once again we were winding up with the short end of the stick. We drove towards Arkansas stressed and depressed.  While driving through Missouri our problems compounded as our Ford Explorer started to make a strange noise.  We were about 50 miles from anywhere, and we needed to keep driving.  When we reached West Plains, Missouri we stopped, and I was relieved that the small town had a Ford dealership.  We found a cheap hotel and had the car towed the next morning. Unfortunately, the news wasn’t good and we were told that we had to replace the entire engine, a process that would take at least a week.  We were stuck in West Plains.

We tried to make the best of it, but there wasn’t much to do in West Plains.  One day we decided to go to the local movie theater to see a show.  We had already seen the movie in Naperville, but we had to get out of our tiny space.  Oddly, Julie stayed behind and only Anne and I went.  Julie was feeling sick which was very unusual for her, so I assumed that it was the result of the stress from the last weeks.  By the evening she was feeling better, but her nausea returned the next morning, and so it went for the remainder of the trip.  I quipped, “Well maybe you are pregnant.”  We both laughed as the doctor felt that the chances of the IUI procedure being successful was slim to none.

On our return, we confirmed that Julie was pregnant with Kathryn.  Two years later we did IUI again and had Gracie.  Two years later we didn’t do any procedure and we had William. Our family was complete. 

I was 48 when William was born and I remember doing mental calculations.  “When he will be 10 I’ll be 58, when he graduates college I’ll be 70.”  It all seemed surreal and a million years away…but here I am at 68 and my two youngest in college. 

When you are a dad there is a certain pride that you feel when you step onto your child’s college campus.  It’s difficult to explain.  On one level there is a rush of memories from your own college days, but there is also an unfamiliarity that comes from remembering events from decades earlier.

When your kids have been away at college they gain expertise that you no longer have in that situation.  They know the campus, the restaurants, and the attractions.  You go from the leader of the family to a subordinate.  It is an odd feeling, but one that I like.  It’s a subtle sign that Julie and I did the right parenting things.  

We traveled in Violet the camper van to Ohio, a long trip made worse by endless road construction, and arrived at Grace’s campus.  Tired from our travels, our evening consisted of going out to dinner with Grace, and we then headed to our campground, a primitive place that we were able to book on short notice.  The next day we were fully rested and set out on many adventures.  Her roommate was hosting a fundraiser for Parkinson’s disease, so we stopped by there.  Then Grace took us on a tour of campus.  I have been on campus many times and have gone on several tours, but this time we took our time and explored every nook and cranny.  Now a senior, Grace spoke with authority about campus superstitions and folklore.  It was a lovely time made even more pleasant by beautiful weather.  Grace had scoped out other activities and next on our agenda was the Cincinnati Riverwalk.  Another great experience.  It felt awesome to have one of my kids orchestrate a series of activities that she felt would be enjoyable for all parties.  My Grace had grown up!

Two weeks later we headed to central Illinois to see William at this school.  Like Grace he greeted us warmly and had an agenda for our visit.  We would only be on campus for the day, so he kept us local.  William is an RA on campus and it appears that everyone knows him.  This is surprising as the school has over 20,000 students.  However, everywhere that we went people waved to him and called out, “Hi, Will!”  Will took us around campus, which we saw from a different angle than past tours.  Earlier he wrote for and received a research grant and was given lab space to conduct experiments on crickets.  He showed us his lab, his crickets, and his work procedure. At the lab, he took the time to introduce us to a colleague who does bee research and William facilitated a nice conversation between all of us.  On the way back he talked about his aspirations and dreams.  Like Grace, he took charge and made a clear effort to not only plan activities but to plan events that he knew Julie and I would be interested in. Will was acting like a considerate adult.  It felt good.

My Kathryn was in Africa serving in the Peace Corps when COVID hit.  She was at the start of a 2 ½ year tour and was evacuated back to the states after only 6 months..  Kathryn and I always got along, but she was distant towards me.  Now retired, I was the one cleaning the house and doing the grocery shopping. Kathryn and I were in forced contact with each other, which turned out to be a wonderful thing as we became truly close. We talk and make dinner together.  She has become a huge help to me over these last few years as she responsibly does her share to keep our house afloat. 

Lastly, I would like to mention my oldest daughter, Anne.  Now a mother of two children she resides about 3 hours south.  Anne has become a wonderful adult, excellent mother, and good daughter.  She makes an effort to keep in contact with me in a way that let’s me know that she loves me and has a kind heart.

During the early stages of the pandemic, my three youngest kids were at home and isolated from their friends.  Our family life returned to an era from the past.  A time when almost all of their activities involved family.  We cooked together, played games together, watched TV shows together, and went on walks together.  It was a wonderful experience for me as I got to re-experience a much-loved time.

Now my kids are back in the real world.  Anne has resumed seeing her psychotherapy clients in person. Kathryn is doing IT for our school district, and Grace and William are back at university.  I now get to enjoy them all in different ways. My pride explodes not only with their life accomplishments but also with their empathy and kindness. To see them become good, loving, and caring adults makes me misty-eyed, and very happy.

When our children were younger there is a joy in their dependence on us. They look to us with awe as we help them navigate their early lives.  However, it is our ultimate job is to provide them with the tools to become independent adults.  If we don’t do this we fail at our most basic parenting task. I understand that there are some circumstances where this process is impossible or greatly delayed.  In those cases, it is the parents’ job to do their best to help their children to become as independent and adult-like as reasonable. 

People often say that it is easy to make a baby, but it takes work to raise a child.  In our case both took effort-an effort that was well worth it. 

Peace

Mike

In February 2024 this website crashed for no apparent reason. Despite using professionals at GoDaddy.com it was impossible to restore anything after October 2021 (over 100 posts). I do have many of those post in draft form (no final edit or photos) and I have decided to repost them in that manner. I apologize for typos and other errors. How do I feel about losing all of my original work? Life goes on.

Growing up food was always a central part of any celebration, and that tradition has continued with my family.  It isn’t that we require elaborate or exotic fare on holidays. Rather, certain dishes have been associated with certain events, sometimes without rhyme or reason.

We always dine on carry-out Chinese on Halloween, several of my kids expect that I’ll make my “Rainbow Cake” for their birthdays, and no Thanksgiving would be complete without sweet potato casserole. 

Sometimes we celebrate our family Christmas on December 24, and sometimes we will celebrate it the week before or after Christmas day.  We travel to Minnesota every year to be with Julie’s family for Christmas, but we typically open our immediate family’s gifts at home in Illinois. 

On the day that we celebrate our immediate family’s Christmas, we have a mid-morning brunch with items that bake in the oven.  We can smell the food’s tantalizing aromas as we ooh and aww over our presents.  

The foods that we eat have no particular continuity, but they have become our Christmas brunch tradition.  There is always coffee, tea, and orange juice.  In addition, we have crackers accompanied by cheeses and sausage-type meats. Both Julie’s and my ethnic cultures eat pickled herring, and that will also be on the menu, as well as freshly baked cinnamon rolls.  However, the star of the show is a breakfast casserole that we call, “Egg Dish,” which is what many people would call strata or a layered casserole in the style of savory bread pudding. 

I recall this being a “new” recipe in the 70s or the 80s, and it was fashionable to make it for  Sunday brunch.  Apparently,  it was originally created in the early 1900s, although that dish was somewhat different from the overnight casserole that we associate with it today.  

Midwesterners love casseroles, and Julie’s mother, Avis made this egg dish for a brunch that she hosted for us during our wedding weekend. Egg dish has had an integral part in our lives from the beginning of our marriage!

Simple to assemble and easy to make, its only barrier is that you have to refrigerate it overnight before baking, as this allows the egg and bread mixture to properly co-mingle.  Once in the oven, it tends to puff up into a delicate creamy texture.  I think of it as a Midwestern souffle. Not fluffy or pretentious, but rather delicious, practical, and savory.  

This recipe makes a big 9 x 13 pan, so it is best for larger families or gatherings.  The leftovers microwave well the next day (in individual portions) and are acceptable to eat the day following that. After two days most of the charm has left the dish and any remnants are best left for the bin.

Julie’s Egg Souffle

• White bread
• Butter
• 10 beaten eggs
• ½ t dry mustard
• 1 t salt
• Splash hot sauce (we like Frank’s)
• Pepper to taste
• 2 ½ C milk
• Shredded cheese
• Ham chunks (can be omitted for vegetarians)
• ½ package cream cheese cut or torn into bits
• 2T chopped green onions

Lay bread slices in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13” pan, then butter and tear bread into chunks.

Sprinkle cream cheese bits and shredded cheese over bread.

Sprinkle on green onions.

Sprinkle on ham chunks (the size of diced carrots).

Pour over mixed liquids.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Bake at 350F 50-60 minutes or until lightly brown.

Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

Mike Kuna

In February 2024 this website crashed for no apparent reason. Despite using professionals at GoDaddy.com it was impossible to restore anything after October 2021 (over 100 posts). I do have many of those post in draft form (no final edit or photos) and I have decided to repost them in that manner. I apologize for typos and other errors. How do I feel about losing all of my original work? Life goes on.

Lately, I have been graced by YouTube algorithms that have brought me videos on photography that have actually stimulated my creativity, rather than promoted a desire to buy the latest and greatest gear.  

A few years back I did a YouTube video where I stated that any intermediate or above camera made in the last 10 years was capable of doing professional work.  I would like to amend that stance to say that some cameras made almost 15 years ago are still capable of doing professional work as of December of 2021.  

Please note that I’m a photographer, not a videographer.  Clearly, newer cameras have become hybrid devices over this time span.  If you do video work your needs are best suited by cameras that are 5 years old or newer.

Camera manufacturers have improved their devices over time and a camera introduced in 2021 will have a host of features and improvements from those that were created even a few years prior.  Some of those improvements, like a tilting screen, may make your photography efforts a bit easier.  Some, like double card slots, appear to be a clever way to get photographers to upgrade to a more expensive camera body.  Other features, like high-megapixel sensors, not only urge the photographer to spend more money, they also increase the photogs emotional stress.

I live in a city with a very picturesque downtown that is a magnet for photoshoots.  In the spring and summer, its beautiful river walk is flooded with professional photographers shooting everything from bridal parties to graduation headshots. YouTube influencers would have you believe that professionals always have to have the latest and greatest camera, but the vast majority of these working professionals are using gear (often Canon and Nikon) that is generations old.  

Before COVID hit I attended two weddings.  One photographer was sporting a Canon 5D Mark III along with an original 5D.  At the other wedding, the photographer was using a Nikon D600.  Both photographers produced beautiful prints.  I specifically asked the Canon photographer if he was planning on updating his cameras, as there were new Canon offerings.  He replied that he was thinking about it, but his current gear was doing the job.  Why spend thousands of dollars when it is unlikely that you will have a significantly improved result? Professional photographers think of their gear as tools.  They know that a good image is based on composition and their ability to manipulate both the camera and the light. They only change their gear when absolutely necessary.

I have seen stunning professional wildlife pictures from a photographer using a 12 MP Nikon D300, and legendary photographs have been taken using cameras like the Nikon D3, and Canon’s 7D and 5D Mark II.  How is this possible?  It is possible because these are extremely capable cameras being used by extremely capable photographers.  

If these older cameras take great pictures, why is it that their images always look terrible when they are compared to newer cameras on YouTube? Influencers create unusual circumstances that illustrate the need to buy.  There is a reason that they have to magnify comparison images to illustrate their point. They promote the idea that a newer and more expensive camera will make you a better photographer.  I disagree with that point.

Influencers make their living by creating videos for YouTube; it is a full-time job.  They need access to the latest gear to stay relevant and to do so they need to have good relationships with camera manufacturers.  That is a fact.  It is unclear if they have additional fiduciary connections with these companies.  

Another phenomenon is what I call “Herd Think.” If a powerful influencer says you have to shoot in RAW, you need two card slots, or you must have an EVF instead of an OVF, other YouTubers start to parrot those statements.  To the viewer, these opinions become absolute truths. However, none of the above examples are absolute.  For instance, if SD cards were unreliable, all cameras would have a backup slot, but most don’t. So I researched the reliability of brand-name SD cards, which are highly reliable. Can a card fail?  Sure, but it is most likely that a failure will be caused by the photographer’s mishandling, overusing, or abusing the card. Good practices make it perfectly reasonable to use a camera with a single card slot. 

We are manipulated by unlikely what-if scenarios that urge us to buy expensive gear.  What if you have to shoot an event at the Olympics?  What if you need to print a wall-sized landscape image that will be viewed from 6 inches? What if you have to photograph a royal wedding in a very dark church?  These are situations that most professional photographers will never face. Additionally, those who did have to face similar challenges a decade ago were able to successfully do their job with the technology of the day; they used skill and planning.

Let’s look at the megapixel myth.  We are told that we need more and more megapixels, and we are often shown highly magnified images that demonstrate that need.  However, how many megapixels do you need?  A National Geographic level magazine cover needs around 6-8 MP; you can take a 12 MP image and crop 50% of it and still have a suitable file to print a magazine cover. A colossal billboard image needs around 2-6 MP (as you view it from afar). Many blog and webpage images are around 1-2 MP; big images take too long to load. Facebook compresses your uploaded images to around 2 MP. Images used for newspapers are also very low in their pixel count. They are often 75-150 dpi, so a typical photo would be less than 1 MP.  Before COVID I went to the movies and saw Apple ads that showed beautiful images taken from a 12 MP iPhone camera blown up on a giant movie screen. Around 15 years ago, I was part of a group photo of my wife’s extended family.  Each individual family received an 8” x 10” photo of the shoot, and her parents got an even larger print.  The photograph was beautiful, clear, and detailed.  At that time, the average professional camera had about 12 MP.  However, our photographer used a Nikon D40, a 6 MP camera. 

Just about any job can be done with a camera with 12-16 MP, as this is the typical resolution of 35 mm film.  In addition, the maximum resolution of most lenses is around 16 MP, often less.  People say that you need a high MP camera for landscape work.  Really?  Who views a wall-sized print at six inches? 

Yes, there are rare times when you need a greater pixel count, and those situations are best suited by a high MP camera and uber-expensive high-resolution lenses.  However, those situations are the exception for most rather than the rule. Of course, you can always rent a camera for once in a blue moon events.

How about dynamic range?  Newer sensors have a greater dynamic range than older ones.  However, those older sensors had a better dynamic range than 35 mm film.  Think about that.  

Burst rate?  Some new cameras can take images at a rate similar to what you would use when filming a movie.  They have also increased their focus accuracy.  However, older cameras like the Canon 7D Mark II were phenomenal nature and action cameras.  The Mark II was introduced in 2014 and could shoot at ten fps.  That hardly sounds impressive in 2021, but it did and still can get the job done.

I love photography, but most of the professional work has happened because people have seen my work and have asked me to do a job for them.  Therefore, I do professional photography similar to most professional photographers: portraits, corporate shots, events, photos for the web, and the like. I also do a lot of work for a construction/remodeling company. So what types of cameras do I use?

For portraits, headshots, completed home remodels, and events I use a DSLR.  I mostly use a Canon 5D Mark IV.  I certainly could use a lesser camera, but I like the Canon’s tank-like build. Also, I have all the accessories needed for just about any job. The 5D Mark IV has impressive battery life, and add-ons like speedlights shoot forever before I need to recharge them. An additional benefit is that the camera looks professional. This gives me a shooting edge as people are more likely to respect me and my requests when using it. A big camera gives me the authority to control my subjects, allowing me to produce better results for my clients. 

I also love the Canon for its easy-to-use control surfaces and some of its software features. I rely on the 5D Mark IV’s excellent internal HDR capabilities when doing real estate type shots. The camera has several HDR modes and also saves the original bracketed images.  In many cases, I can use the camera’s generated HDR image, but if I don’t like it, I can process the bracketed images in software to get the photo I want.  This one feature alone is a massive time saver as some jobs require dozens of HDR images.

I should note that I also have a 5D Mark III.  If I didn’t have the Mark IV, I could do everything I needed with the Mark III, which has a similar feature set. 

I also shoot images for a weekly construction blog.  A blog topic could be something like, “How to install a toilet.”  In these situations, I have to be invisible to the crew working in a very tight space.  Here I tend to use small cameras that I can easily pocket and maneuver. For over a year I used a tiny Panasonic GM series camera.  That is until its consumer-level lens fell apart.  Consumer-level cameras are simply not built for that level of use. However, the camera’s size and image quality were perfect for my needs.

I love to take street, nature, and landscape photography, and I often combine this interest with my love of walking and hiking.  In such situations, I must have a lightweight camera, and the one that I have been most recently using is the Canon M6 Mark II, which is easy to control, small, and lightweight.  I am fond of one of its more modern features, the tilt/touch screen.  With that said, I could undoubtedly take photos without it.

You may think that I’m an old curmudgeon who resists all new technology.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I believe that new cameras are excellent; in fact, I own several of them, including a Canon R6.  I’m just saying that in most instances, an older camera will serve you quite well, and you will save a ton of money.   Influences tell us that we need gear that exceeds $10,000 to be a pro. However, you can buy a used camera body and a couple of excellent used lenses for under $1500 and produce professional work. 

To illustrate this point, I would like to tell you an illustrative story.  Two neighbors both need new cars.  The first one buys a top-of-the-line, brand new Mercedes S-class for $110,000.00. The other neighbor opts for a 5-year-old, low mileage Toyota Corolla for $17,000.00.  

Both neighbors use their cars for the same tasks, traveling a short distance to work, driving the kids around, and doing household jobs, like grocery shopping. The Mercedes looks nicer, has better gadgetry, and has a cushier ride.  The Toyota Corolla wins when it comes to a monthly car payment, operating costs, and insurance premiums. In the above scenarios, both cars perform equally well.  They both get the job done, but the Mercedes cost over six times as much. This same analogy applies to having the best camera vs. one that does the job. In the end, the results will be similar as long as the photographer has taken care.

Enter the Fuji X100s

I have been viewing videos of people praising earlier versions of the Fuji X100 series.  I have an X100s  in my camera collection, and I decided to rediscover it. The X100 series has some clear limitations.  It has a fixed lens, and many early models were slow to focus (especially in low light).  However, the series is loved for its classic styling and hands-on controls.  Additionally, street photographers like it because it looks non-threatening.  I took the camera on several of my walks to see if I loved it or hated it.  

My initial impression was that I didn’t like it.  I disliked the fact that I couldn’t zoom in. In addition, I had to make a lot of manual adjustments to get the image that I wanted.  I had to think about what I was doing and why I was doing it. It felt different from the cameras that I had become used to.

It was clear that I wasn’t getting the most out of the camera, so I decided to watch some training videos on the camera and its controls.  I especially like one by “Billy, The Fuji Guy”  I recall mumbling to myself, “Oh, that’s cool” and “So, that’s how you do that,” while watching the video. I went on another walk with camera in hand with my new knowledge.  Something interesting happened; I started to engage with both my camera and the environment differently and much more enjoyable manner.  

I had to move in close to get the shot that I wanted.  Indeed, at times I needed to crouch down.  I felt like I was more connected to my subject.  “Oh, I can get it to focus better when I do this!”  “Hmm, it’s fun to use the split-screen to focus.”  “Wow, the built-in ND filter does come in handy.”… and so it went. In short order, I went from disappointment in the camera to enjoying the camera. I had to think about what I was doing, and I had to be deliberate in my actions.  I wasn’t just a robot taking “spraying and praying” shots. I took fewer images because I had to think more about my actions, but I liked the photos. The experience was fun.

Now, I’m not saying I would use this camera for sports photography.  However, this little camera can easily accomplish shooting street photography, vacation photos, nature images, and even landscapes. In fact,  its supposed weaknesses are really its strengths.

So is the opposite true?  Can a camera’s strengths really be its weaknesses?  Let’s do a little thought experiment. Take a modern camera with a high megapixel count, phenomenal auto-focus, and a blazing burst rate.  Add to this what influencers tell us what we need to be successful, things like many multi-thousand dollar lenses, a high-end camera bag, and the very best accessories.  Naturally, you are going to shoot in RAW because you have been told that real photographers always do this.

You decide to devote the following weekend to photography and drive to a nearby national park. Unfortunately, your camera plus all of those expensive lenses make a pretty heavy package.  You want to hike on some difficult trails, but you are afraid that you will damage your equipment if you drop it.  Further, your pack is so heavy that you can’t bring along necessary things like extra water or a first aid kit. 

Luckily, there are photo opportunities on the easy paths.  You take advantage of your camera’s burst rate when photographing animals and birds.  You return home exhausted but smug because you were sporting the most expensive camera in the park. Your back hurts.

Now the real fun begins.  On past trips with your older, slower, 16 MP camera, you would have a couple of hundred shots, but you have taken thousands with your new super-fast 50 MP camera.  The RAW files are enormous, and your computer slowly struggles to process them. You need to sort and rate the photos, but with a 30 fps burst rate, many look nearly identical, and there are so many shots to assess.  Oh, the images are in RAW, so you need to spend time adjusting all of them to make them look right. Many hours later, you finish processing the photos, and you need to take a couple of ibuprofen tablets to stop your pounding headache from all of the screen time. 

Yes, you have a lot of lovely photos, but what to do with them?  Post them on Facebook, of course. However, this time you are not going to post ten photos, as you did with your old camera; you will post over 100 photos.  You wonder why no one comments about them until someone tells you that they felt overwhelmed just looking at all of them.

The above example may be exaggerated, but not by much.  Spending money that you don’t have, carrying around expensive equipment that you don’t need, taking so many shots that editing them becomes a nightmare; all of these things are not only stressful, but they also remove some of the creative joy of photography.

I’m not telling you that you should avoid buying new and excellent equipment.  Instead, I’m telling you to think about what you are buying and to examine what you will be using the camera for.  Do you really need a three thousand dollar lens when you are mostly doing portraits?  It is likely that a lower resolution lens will be more flattering in those cases. For me having a smaller, lighter camera is more beneficial when I’m taking landscape shots than having a full-frame camera with a ton of megapixels. In fact, I’m not sure why you need massive megapixels for landscape work, to begin with. Why is pinpoint detail so important?  I think landscape photography is all about composition and lighting. Outside of a YouTube video, who will examine a wall-sized landscape at two inches?  About a year ago, I read an article from a professional photographer who traveled to a city to take some architectural shots for a magazine. He chose to use a Sony RX100 camera as he needed a tiny camera.  That camera has only a 1” sensor, but the resulting images printed in a glossy magazine were beautiful.  Stop listening to influencers; they are there to sell you stuff.

In conclusion, it is more important to know your equipment and practice your craft than having the latest and greatest kit on the block.  RAW files, thousands of images, super expensive equipment, and other things that we believe will make us better photographers can have the opposite impact. They can limit our vision, dull our skills, and strain our time and pocketbooks. Even more importantly, dealing with thousands of huge images can lead to unnecessary stress. Be realistic in your expectations and deliberate in your actions, and you will be a joyful photographer. Happy shooting!

Peace

Mike

The following shots were taken with the Fuji X100S, a camera that was introduced at the beginning of 2013.  This is a 16 MP camera.  The photos were shot as JPEGS and were processed in DxO PhotoLab.  Some of the images were cropped, in others, I applied filters. The shots are from two locations, the town that I live in and a local forest preserve.  These images were further reduced to around 2 MP so I could upload them to my WordPress website.

In February 2024 this website crashed for no apparent reason. Despite using professionals at GoDaddy.com it was impossible to restore anything after October 2021 (over 100 posts). I do have many of those post in draft form (no final edit or photos) and I have decided to repost them in that manner. I apologize for typos and other errors. How do I feel about losing all of my original work? Life goes on.

This post is dedicated to Ralph, my colleague, and friend of 30 years.

I laid at a forty-five-degree angle in Dr. Anne’s dental chair as she used what appeared to be a mini-ice pick to scrape along the gum line of my teeth.  The pick sounded like chalk on a chalkboard, and I physically shuttered with each pass.

“Am I hurting you?”  Dr. Anne asked. With a mouth full of objects, I could only grunt a “No.”  This is the way that conversations go when talking to a dentist.  The doctor leads the discussion, and the patient’s only means of communication are facial expressions and meaningful grunts.  It amazes me that such primitive methods can pass any information. Surprisingly, it is not only possible but also relatively efficient. If I were a paleolinguist, I would imagine that language started similarly.  However, in that case, both parties grunted.

Since I was being chaired for a routine cleaning, there were moments when I could respond to her questions in a more verbal fashion. Naturally, these intervals were short, as she was soon back in my mouth scaping and scrubbing. I have known Dr. Anne for 30 years; she is my dentist and friend. So naturally, we always have to catch up on our respective lives, even in such awkward interactions as a dental visit. 

Dr. Anne comes from Eastern European stock, and because of this, we share a commonality in many of our motivations and values.  Specifically, we both believe that education combined with hard work offers the greatest likelihood for a successful and productive life. I agree that other equally valid constructs, such as ambition combined with skill or trade.  However, for the sake of this post, I will focus on the education/hard work option as it is the most germane to today’s discussion. 

If you believe the above premise and wish to have a successful life, you will become as educated as possible and combine that education with long hours of hard work.  Such dedication requires focus and a lot of sacrifices, and most who choose this path will use psychological ploys to deal with the grueling efforts necessary to move forward. This is especially true for individuals in the health care field.  We will convince ourselves that our actions benefit not only us but also those whom we treat.  It is essential for us to feel that we are making a difference. As we put more effort into our craft, it is easy to identity our personhood by what we do rather than who we are.

Dr. Anne is a compassionate and caring person, and since I have retired, one of her main lines of conversation is to inquire about how I am doing in my new life. It is difficult to adequately express this metamorphosis in the short intervals between tartar removal, and so I will ponder such things in today’s post.

I believe that many individuals wish for a better life.  Sometimes they base their desires on fantasy. Without effort, they think they will become famous actors or strike it rich.  Others, like myself, take a more pragmatic approach.  Two consistent themes that teachers told me were that I was smart and approached problems in a wholly unique way.  In other words, I was able to develop solutions by thinking outside of the box. Beyond these positives, I was also saddled with negative attributes; I was poorly coordinated, blind in one eye, and overweight. Those negative did impact my self-esteem, but I would not allow them to determine me.

As a practical person, I felt that it was necessary to assess my strengths and weaknesses honestly.  My strengths were wholly my academic abilities. I thought I would be much more successful as a university professor than a used car salesman.  As some of you know, that was precisely my plan which I eventually subverted by going to medical school.  As you can imagine, such goals required dedication, devotion, and a willingness to delay gratification.  My life became an exercise in production, and I consistently produced something from good grades to diplomas.  As I moved up the ranks, my identity seemed to center on what I was producing rather than who I was as a person.  I was the kid who broke the test curves, or the college graduate, or the medical student, or the chief resident, or the attending physician. People knew me for these things, but I was and am so much more complex than a title or position. 

Also, I grabbed onto these identities as they were accessible identifiers of my personage.  I would rather have someone know me as the kid who broke the exam test curves instead of that fat, crossed-eyed, clumsy boy.  However, there has always been some rebellion inside of me. I rarely initially identify myself as a doctor when I meet someone as I challenge them not to categorize me.  I want them to accept the real me instead of placing me in the “doctor box.” I want people in my life who have depth and who can see my soul and care about me because of who I am, not what I am.  I don’t need shallow people in my life. I would much rather have a handful of friends who accept and value me for who I am rather than a thousand acquaintances who like me for what I do.

I was never worried about retirement as I’m a person who has many interests.  However, as my retirement approached, I found myself creating structured activities similar to work jobs.  I had plans and goals.  Although this sounds logical, it was entirely wrong for me.  I needed to choose a different path. That path is complicated, and I feel incapable of adequately expressing it in writing.  However, I will do a generalized post on some aspects of it in the future.  Today, I will touch on a tiny part of my retirement adventure.  This is the response that I would have given Dr. Anne if dental tools and a suction tube did not burden my mouth.

My life seems to be directed by two opposing forces.  I plan, problem-solve, and move towards given goals. It would appear that this has been a very successful strategy, but that would be a lie. The most impactful things that I have done in my life have occurred by other forces that seem beyond me.  When I quiet myself and listen to them, I am moved in a direction very different from what logic would demand.  I could give you many examples, but today I will provide you with one germane to today’s topic.

As many of you know, I am extremely close to Tom.  It is not unusual for me to see him every day, and he is one of the very few people whose presence I never tire of.  We are two individuals who are highly similar yet entirely different.  If you are a long-time reader of this blog, you also know that I abandoned my usual protected and shielded stance to pursue his friendship. Over many years Tom has become an integral part of my daily life, and I believe that we are both better because of it. 

Recently, Tom has been both blessed and burdened by an excessive amount of work.  This has converted my usually affable, curious, and kind friend into someone who is more stressed, irritable, and abrupt.  He tries to control his stress by curating his time only to include productive activities.  Although he is willing to spend time with me, it is clear that those periods increase his time pressures while not giving him the emotional break they were intended to provide.  To state this more simply, Tom needs some space.

Since he has become such an integral part of my life, you may think that such a change would be devastating to me.  I wholly admit that I genuinely miss my daily meetings with him, and I look forward to the time when his obligations are settled enough that we can resume our adventures.  However, it would make little sense for me to sulk over this reality when there are so many other options in my life.  

Two of the biggest gifts of retirement are the gifts of time and introspection. So now that I have some extra time, the question is, what do I do with it?  Of course, there are many productive projects that I could tackle, but there are other things that I could do that would grow me as a person. 

One of the things that I have learned is that there is a world out there that most ignore.  It is a rich world available for free that is often rejected in lieu of costly experiences that advertise excitement.  We are happy to pay large amounts of money to see a foreign sunset, while we ignore similar ones that we can view outside our kitchen windows.

Over the last few weeks, I have made a concerted effort to metaphorically “look outside my window.”  I’m an avid walker and hiker, and I have walked over specific local paths hundreds of times.  What would it be like if I viewed those experiences differently and made an effort to observe what was around me differently?  In addition, I always walk the same paths, yet my town is replete with trails, some of which I have never walked on in the 30+ years that I have lived here. Why not explore some of those?

I decided that to accomplish my goals, I would need to bring along two of my “friends.”  Violet, the campervan, would assist me in reaching those paths that were slightly beyond my normal walking radius. I would also bring along my Fuji X100S camera who would serve as my creative assistant. This relic of a camera is very “old school” and would require me to be deliberate in my photography. I thought that using the Fuji would make me more thoughtful in my actions.

The paths that I walk on are replete with beauty during spring, summer, and fall.  However, they can be bleak during winter.  This is especially the case when it hasn’t snowed.  The Midwest is flat, and most of the path’s scenery would consist of leafless trees and brown prairies.  Could I find the beauty in these things? 

As a photographer, it was equally important for me to capture images in a way that would represent how I saw the scene in my mind’s eye.  I would need to go well beyond the automatic settings of the camera if I had any hope of conveying this vision.

It is easy to appreciate a walk on a lovely spring day, but what does a winter walk bring?  In reality, it brings an entirely new experience.  Winter walks are walks of solitude. The paths are barely used and near-silent.  One’s perspective is different, as wide leafless areas offer previously unseen vistas. With inspection, so many things that could be dismissed become objects of interest. 

In the past two weeks, I have hiked on seven different paths, two of them completely new to me.   At first blush, all of the trails look very similar; they are completely different with observational effort. My creative challenge was to try to convey what I was seeing to someone else. That required some photography effort. How far I could push the creative envelope?  Will anyone understand what I’m trying to convey? 

Now, back to Dr. Anne. Without metal implements in my mouth, I would tell her that I have discovered entirely new parts of my psyche by de-emphasizing being productive and emphasizing being creative.  I have connected in a much deeper way to who I am.  In essence, I have become more human.  My approach may be counter-intuitive, but it has been successful—one of my thinking outside-of-the-box solutions.

Many of us believe that our purpose in life is to produce.  We are here to make a better society and planet.  Naturally, there is truth in that statement, but such a premise also has a dark side. If we are determined by our professional lives, we live a lie.  Yes, I helped people, but if I wasn’t there, someone else would have taken on that role.  The reality is that most of my accomplishments will be forgotten, and my life’s work will fade away in short order.  

I don’t want to discount my life as a doctor.  I am proud of what I accomplished, and I genuinely feel that I did good in this world.  However, I know that this one aspect of me is not the total me, but how do I discover who I am?  Sometimes, by walking on a winter path, camera in hand, eyes open to see what I didn’t see before. I believe that we know what our growth path is.  However, we often ignore that information. Outside forces like influencers direct us; at other times we are moved by our own ambition and drive.

I would like to end with a story.  There was a man who loved chocolate cake.  One day he decided that this was the only food that he would eat, and he set out to eat chocolate cake for every meal.  Initially, he felt that he was in control of his destiny as he had made such a directed decision.  However, over time the chocolate cake seemed less special, and he felt empty and confused.  At night he would dream of vegetables, but in the morning, he would discount those dreams and continue along his cake-eating path.  Now, eating the cake became a chore, and it no longer gave him pleasure.  He was burnt out.   He decided to do some introspection by randomly writing things on a piece of paper.  “Cake, carrots, peas, lettuce, hamburger, cheese, brussel sprouts…” and so it went. He never thought much about those foods before; why was he thinking about them now?  Then, it became clear to him.  Those unimportant foods were really very important.  Together, they enriched his diet and made it more complete.  Yes, he loved chocolate cake, but it was just one of the things that he needed in his life.  He felt that it would be difficult to go back to a normal diet as he had made such a big deal about taking control of his food life.  However, what were his options?  He was missing out on a full life by doing the same thing over and over again.  He decided that he would have to admit that he was wrong to gain what he was missing.  In the end, he won on several fronts, he gained what he had lost, and he realized that he was the one in charge of his life.  It was OK to change course if his current path was no longer getting him to where he wanted to be. He is grateful to know that life is more than chocolate cake.

Peace,

Mike

Here are some “creative” photos from my recent walks.

In February 2024 this website crashed for no apparent reason. Despite using professionals at GoDaddy.com it was impossible to restore anything after October 2021 (over 100 posts). I do have many of those post in draft form (no final edit or photos) and I have decided to repost them in that manner. I apologize for typos and other errors. How do I feel about losing all of my original work? Life goes on.

Julie’s family is scattered all over the Midwest. We gather every Christmas, well except for last year.  Our arrangement is simple, we go to Minnesota for Christmas Day one year, and on following year we drive there on the week after Christmas.  This pattern has worked out well for us, as it has allowed us to celebrate Christmas Day in Naperville every other year giving us memories and traditions for both an extended family Christmas as well as a more Kuna centered holiday.

We are Christians, and for us Christmas symbolizes the birth of Christ and the inception of Christianity.  However, there are many non-Christians who celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday.  For them, December 25th holds importance for other reasons. I’m not about to weigh in on the level of that importance or to compare it to the religious importance of Christmas for Christians. Today  I’ll write about the aspect of family, and holiday expectations.

I am fortunate that both my extended family and Julie’s are reasonably mature.  It is unlikely that we will experience any of the outbursts or breakdowns that some families have during the holiday season.  If I had to come up with generic descriptors of our extended family members terms like nice, kind, and conflict avoidant would come to mind. That is not to say that individuals don’t have quirks, we are humans after all. 

Although we try to return to Minnesota several times a year to see Julie’s family we only gather in total twice a year.  Specifically, Thanksgiving (in Naperville) and Christmas (in Minnesota).  Those events span multiple days, and are imbibed with a variety of traditions ranging from watching football and The Christmas Story on Thanksgiving Day to playing a variety of games on Christmas.  Each host family has customized their particular event with traditions whose repetition gives the get-togethers a sense of familiarity and comfort.

Naturally, the pandemic curtailed all large gatherings last year, and we had to forego our traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas socializing.  Julie, the kids, and I worked hard to make those days memorable, but they were different.  Also, my Minnesota sister-in-law and brother-in-law want to spend more time with their far-flung adult children.  In addition, it has become difficult for Julie’s parents to travel as they are now in their 90s.  These facts have ended our large Naperville Thanksgiving gathering, which leaves Christmas as the only holiday that draws all of her entire family together. 

It was with both excitement and trepidation that I approached Christmas this year.  Weather is always a concern when driving 400 miles northwest through Wisconsin in December. Bad weather during past travels have caused us to eat Christmas Eve dinner in a truck stop, and we have spent more than one night at a roadside motel due to ice storms.  

We have had unseasonable warm weather, and so I felt confident that our drive to Minnesota would be uneventful. That is until my brother-in-law, Mike sent me a news article that 50 miles of Interstate 94 were shut down due to an ice storm pile-up on the day before Christmas Eve.  Thankfully, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation was able clear the road the morning of our departure.

We arrived on Christmas Eve in time for a traditional Swedish dinner, which always includes a variety of desserts. After a lot of socializing it was time to retreat back to our hotel.  Christmas Day brought gift opening, games, movie watching, and conversation.  Our gathering allowed us to catch up on the happenings of various family members.  This year my brother-in-law and sister-in-law announced that they will be retiring soon, and my nephew said that he would return to the states after a 4-year work stint in England. 

I have always been proud of our younger generation, and it is delightful to see that they are now becomming quality adults.  If you have read my past post you know that I think my kids are awesome.  The same can be said of my nephew and nieces.  We now have an additional bonus as two of my nieces are married and their spouses are equally considerate.  It was delightful that both of them made an effort to connect with Julie and me. 

Like many major events, our two-day Christmas celebration was quickly over, and yesterday we made the 6 hours drive back to Naperville with new memories to add to our collection of Minnesota recollections.

I feel fortunate to have not had to experience drama holidays.  However, I know that for some families Christmas get-togethers are a time of stress, crisis, and trauma.  Yet, many of those same individuals hold on to the idea that Christmas should be like a Norman Rockwell illustration.  This is while they approach the holiday with dread as they anticipate gift debt, or fights, or drunken behavior. Very high expectations combined with traumatic outcomes can result in significant holiday anxiety and depression.  It is for those individuals that I make the following suggestions.

Black Friday is named Black Friday as this is the date when many retailers’ books go from red to black.  Because of this there is a tremendous push for consumers to buy. A variety of tactics are used ranging from changing social norms to guilt creation to get holiday shoppers to spend well beyond their means in an effort to have the perfect Christmas. In addition, advertisers manipulate consumers to believe that Christmas is all about getting and giving gifts.  My best advice to all is to reduce holiday gift-giving. It is nice to get a present or two, but excessive presents can turn a special momento into something meaningless.  In addition, who wants to spend months post-Christmas paying off gift debt?  You don’t have to be a pawn to consumerism. Tell others of your change in plans before Christmas so there are not surprises, limit what you spend to a set amount per person, and find items that fit that amount.  Treat gift giving like any other expense, budget it.

When I was actively working as a psychiatrist it was common for me to treat patients who would report Christmas disasters.  In some instances adult children would try to please their over-critical parents. In other cases, relatives would get into heated arguments or even fistfights over the most ridiculous tings. In still others, spoiled children would sulk, isolate, or have tantrums. My patients would put forth efforts to have the perfect Christmas only to have the day crash and burn year after year.  To those folks, I would suggest that they change their game plan. In some toxic cases, this meant a need to establish a completely different tradition. In fact, I have suggested that some families go on vacation at Christmas time to avoid a family get together.

In other cases, corrections can be made.  If Uncle Billy always gets drunk and abusive consider having an alcohol-free holiday.  If mom or dad are supercritical, consider alternatives to a traditional full Christmas Day.  Perhaps, an early brunch can get them in-and-out of the house so you can then spend the rest of the day in peace. What I’m suggesting is that you think outside of the box.  If this was some other event that didn’t involve Christmas would you modify it or eliminate it? If that is the case then apply those changes to Christmas.  Of course, there will be ruffled feathers, but in the end, you will turn a miserable event into a more pleasant one.

Christmas can be a time for family members to act out and exert their negative power on other family members.  Do you have a child who always wants to get into a fight on Christmas, or a relative who refuses to come if some other relative is invited?  Those are sad situations.  However, they should be sad for the acting-out individuals, not everyone else.  Celebrate with those who want to celebrate.  Let the troublemakers stew in their own torment, but don’t let that pain bleed onto your Christmas. 

It is also important to set expectations with both yourself and those around you.  I like Christmas celebrations, but I don’t feel that they are life changing events.  If the roast is burnt, or I get the wrong sized shirt… well there is always next year. The great thing about a repeating holiday is that it repeats. Also, I make it clear to those around me that the holiday can be stressful, and so we need to be cooperative and considerat towards each other.  I know that this later point may not be possible for some families, but I also know that some families expect their Christmas to be a disaster, and that expectation contributes to its eventual outcome.

Conversely, it can be very difficult if you are alone during the holidays; so much of the advertising that you see involves joyful families.  These presentations can lead solo celebrants to a sense of failure, emtyness and sadness. There are many options that can be employed to alter this trajectory.  However, the bottom line centers on creating your own tradition.  For some, this may mean cooking a special dinner and watching some holiday movies.  For others, it could be volunteering to help with a meal for the homeless.  For others, it could be establishing a Christmas tradition that includes friends in similar situations.  That could be anything from a game night, to a pot-luck or pizza party, to a full-on Christmas celebration including a special meal and Christmas carols. Creating a custom tradition that fits your needs can turn a downer day into a pleasant one.  

In all situations, it is important to adopt reasonable expectations. If you use advertisements and Christmas movies as your standards you will always be disappointed, as these are artificial constructs that are designed to manipulate either your pursestrings or your heartstrings (or likely both).  Instead, accept the day as it comes and it is likely that you will find aspects worth remembering.  Don’t be ruled by merchant manipulations, high personal expectations, or acting out relatives.   

Peace

Mike  

In February 2024 this website crashed for no apparent reason. Despite using professionals at GoDaddy.com it was impossible to restore anything after October 2021 (over 100 posts). I do have many of those post in draft form (no final edit or photos) and I have decided to repost them in that manner. I apologize for typos and other errors. How do I feel about losing all of my original work? Life goes on.

We just had our special Christmas dinner, and it was only a week after Christmas. We visited Julie’s relatives on Christmas day and had our official Christmas dinner in Minnesota. However, I like the idea of having a special meal that celebrates our immediate family’s Christmas.

I did some grocery shopping early and bought a beef tenderloin at Costco the week before Christmas. I had rebate money on my Costco credit card and decided to blow it on the family. However, spending $130 on a single chunk of meat took my breath away. I tucked it safely into the freezer as soon as I got home. The thought of it spoiling before our celebration was a strong motivator. A few days before our Christmas meal I went shopping with my daughter, Kathryn, to buy all sides. Brussel sprouts, carrots, potatoes, rolls, kale salad, and a chocolate pie. We were all set!

Since she was COVID evacuated from the Peace Corps, Kathryn has been living with us, and my two youngest are home on winter break. My kids are all adults now, so we had to coordinate the meal based on their work and social schedules. The Sunday after New Year was open and so that day became the day of our pretend Christmas meal.

When Julie returned to the paid workforce, many of our meals went from homemade dinners to frozen pizza. She was adjusting to adding a new and time-consuming job to her schedule, and she didn’t have the energy to continue her home duties as she did before. I started taking over many of her former jobs, from cleaning the house to making family dinners (she continues to cook several days of the week). 

I always cook the Sunday meal, and I have involved my kids in meal preparation for many years. My goal was to teach them the fundamentals of cooking so they would never have to rely on restaurants, fast food, or frozen dinners. Cooking becomes easier with practice, and learning one skill or technique makes it simple to learn the next.

If you want to cook regularly, you must develop accessory skills. I felt that teaching these skills to my kids was every bit as important as teaching them how to saute vegetables or how to bake a good cornbread. So what are accessory skills? Let me tell you…

Plan it: Meal planning is straightforward if you do it all the time. However, it can be a nightmare if you are an occasional cook. I’m comfortable making just about anything. However, my kids like simple dishes, and so that is what I focus on. When I was a divorced medical resident I had no money, and I needed to adopt economical meals as part of my regular eating regimen. I embraced casseroles and one-pot meals. I stretched meat by making it a side-attraction rather than the main event. I prepared breakfast foods for dinner. I never felt deprived, and I was always well fed. I have tried to pass on the same way of thinking to my kids. At some point, they will be living independently, and they will probably be on a budget. I don’t want them eating fast food every day.

Simplify it: Most of us don’t want to eat the same meal every day, but do we need a thousand choices? Too many options can lead to decision fatigue. At our house, we tend to eat a few dozen meals repeatedly. Yes, we add other recipes on occasion, but those are the exceptions rather than the rule.

Purchase it:  You have to have the ingredients to prepare your food, and in my humble opinion, you should always have essential ingredients on hand—items like flour, seasonings, canned tomatoes, eggs, pasta, and the like. Part of my effort with my kids has been to teach them this rule and how to shop and where to shop. I usually take one or two of them with me when I buy groceries, and we compare prices, make choices, and stockpile often used ingredients. In addition, the person who shops with me is privileged to pick out some special treats, which serve as a small incentive to encourage their participation.

Dump it: Before starting any meal, I ensure that the dishwasher is emptied. Honestly, I hate emptying the dishwasher, and I’ll either assign it to one of my kids or empty it with their help. However, having an empty dishwasher when you start cooking makes cleanup exponentially easier. 

Use it: My kids know how to cook using simple tools, like a good knife. However, I also have taught them the benefits of using time-saving kitchen appliances. We Kunas are fans of the Instantpot, slow cooker, and food processor. Oh, and Kathryn bought me a new waffle iron for Christmas to replace my worn 40-year-old one. I love waffles for dinner.

Clean it:  This is one of the most essential skills to teach fledgling cooks. If you use every pot and bowl in the kitchen and then leave the mess to be cleaned after dinner, you will hate the idea of cooking. We have a rule in our kitchen called wash as you go. For example, if you use a measuring cup, wash it immediately for its subsequent use. That way, you only use one measuring cup. The same rule goes for any other item used in cooking. When the meal is done, all of the preparation gadgets are washed and put away. Beyond necessary things, the kitchen is clean. This makes for a pleasant eating experience.

Finish it:  When we are done with our meal, everyone helps clean. We all clear the table. If I’m the chief cook of the day, I take the dishes (that are now on the counter) and place them in the dishwasher. One kid will wash down the table, and I’ll clean the counters and stovetop if they are not already done. Other kids will put away the leftovers. In less than 5 minutes, the kitchen is clean, and no one worked very hard in the process. 

My kids have become skilled cooks. However, we have all gained a lot more than food knowledge. Cooking together requires teamwork and compromise. It encourages leadership skills as well as the ability to follow.  

The most significant benefit to our cooking time is social. We enjoy preparing a meal as we joke around and shuffle from one counter to another. We work as a team, and we all benefit from the fruits of our labor. That cooperative effort extends to the meal itself. No electronic devices are allowed during dinner, and we go around the table, so every family member gets a chance to check in and tell us about their day. 

Cooking dinner with my kids has become a high point of my day. Let’s face it, daily events are often more significant than special ones, and I suspect that my kids will remember cooking meals with me more than some random event.  

Life is primarily routine happenings and encounters. Yet, we tend to focus on trivial things, like a two-week vacation. Yes, those things are important, but why not celebrate what we have to do every day? That way, we have pleasure 365 days out of the year.

Peace

Mike