This is a space to satisfy the curiosity related to what I use to do what I do.
The blog uses WordPress and a very striped down version of their stock theme 2023 – cheap and effective. It’s currently hosted by Hostinger Hostgator, but I might move it to another place once my contract is up (I moved it, but it’s always a pain).
I usually type directly into WP. In the past, I used LanguageTool to help me with the language. Nowadays, I rely on AI to do so. I don’t see the point in those “no distraction” word processors because I believe that the distractions live within us. Thus, there is no piece of software that will help you with that. Just use what’s more convenient and make sure that you prepare yourself to write.
Not that it matters, but I use a M1 Mac Mini pared with two 27″ 4k Dell monitors, model “letter soup”. I type on a Logitech MX Keys and have the companion MX3 mouse (the best you can get). What really matters in my setup is my Herman Miller Aeron chair, that has ruined all other work chairs for me.
For my photos, I use quite a lot of stuff. So much stuff that it started to slow me down and bother me. That’s why, a few years back, I moved from Canon to Fujifilm. I kept my Canon EOS R and all the many lenses and accessories I collected over time, but I usually leave home carrying my trusted (and now a bit aged) Fuji X100F or my Fuji XT-5, pared with a 28mm equivalent lens or a 50mm equivalent one. More recently, I also got a Fuji X100VI and I plan to get a Leica M11-P (or the monochrome) coupled with a 50mm lens (let’s see).
In these cameras, I usually save the raw file, but I mainly use only the amazing in-camera-generated jpgs. My go-to colour Fuji recipe was created by Joe Allam – it’s (you guessed) a variation of the Classic Chrome film simulation. On the black and white side, I just use Acros with the highlights and shadow tones to the max, to create the high-contrast picture that pleases me.
I print my photos at home using a Canon Pro 10 pigment printer, that produces excellent but costly prints. Most of my prints are black and white, on baryta paper, either from Canson or Hahnemühle. These are archival papers that will supposedly out live me and you.