A Wee Trip To Scotland | Stoke-Ness

Am I Scot-ish? Pondering while I search for the perfect map app.

This month

I’m sharing Scotland on point and shoot, the presets I edited with, and full-length albums to discover.

This newsletter started 5 years ago because I am a constant sharer of things. I’ve made it an extension of what I already send to my friends in text messages, emails, and enthusiastically tell them about in conversation. This might be the most authentic thing I create, because if I didn’t write this I would still be sharing, just with a smaller group. So here it is and to the new folks here, thanks for lining up to be fed my diet of cool discoveries.

Be stoked,
Isaac

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Photo Set

I just got back from a short trip to Scotland for a wedding and of course, I had to get out and shoot some photos. On this trip, I planned to pack light but instead brought three film cameras and my Ricoh GRiiiX digital point-and-shoot. While I wait for the film scans to come back, here are a few of my favorite digitals from the trip

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Gear and Tools

Maps Apps

My favorite mapping app, FatMaps is dead. They were bought by Strava and are now being shuttered. Who is the king now?

Though I have nine different map apps on my phone (I really like maps), I limit myself to just one paid app. Right now I am testing out three apps to replace FatMaps.

They need to be able to track and plan my runs, hikes, MTB rides, moto rides, and backcountry skiing. That is a bit of a challenge it seems, and I have not settled on one yet Here are the apps I’m testing:

Strava

OnX offroad

Gaia

If you have a recommendation I’d love to hear it.

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Photo/Video Technique

Alex Strohl Presets

I used to love LightRoom photo presets but in the last several years I have mostly been editing my photos from scratch.

This month my friend Alex Strohl released his AS1 presets. I tried them and the look and feel are incredible. These are not your usual presets that only work on the seller’s example photos. They have worked on so many of my recent photos on multiple different cameras.

I’ll be using these going forward to make my editing less of a chore.

Give em a look Here

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Who I am Following

Cameron Strand

His photos have great composition and interesting edits that remind me of late 80’s print ads. It’s fun to see his take on familiar subjects.

His Instagram

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Listen

Listening to a full album is a lost art. It’s rewarding and transports you to a new and new headspace designed by the artist. Much like reading a book, your imagination fills the blank spaces and the album becomes your unique experience. A single song of the summer can never do that.

Here are three albums I am exploring:

DK the Drummer, Temporal

Childish Gambino, Bando Stone and The New World

Chris Isaak, Baja Sessions (classic)

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Videos, Movies, and TV

Hawaii NOS (the government mandated re-edit version)

I didn’t love the edit anyway, so we remastered it, and here is the new version. Watch it if you haven’t seen it and watch it again if you have.

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Reads

The Johnstown flood by David McCullough

A nail-biter from beginning to end.

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A review of my mentorship: 

Working with Isaac is a constant inspiration. In short, he’s helped me find my ability to go out and do. In the past, I had constant feelings of being lost and uncertainty with the direction of my career. Whether it’s about communicating with brands, sharing your work, or just creating the work you want to do, his enthusiasm and knowledge in this field really provides a backbone of support and serves as an invaluable resource for someone wanting to further their career in photography/videography.

Being able to ask questions about the production of some of Isaac’s larger shoots and get an understanding of what that truly looks like before, during, and after really helped shine a light on many things I had questions about. I have a significantly better understanding of where my time and energy should be geared towards, and even better, the confidence and inspiration to do it. - Daniel Sabljak (see his Instagram here)

There is one more spot for the summer session. I believe it can change your life. Shoot me an email at isaac@isaacjohnston.co if you want to join.

Be stoked and have a great month,

Isaac

This newsletter, my photography, and my videos are all free but not cheap. If you want to help me continue to make things you can buy my Pitch Deck Kit HERE or