Every guide and field note in one numbered list, newest first. Narrow it by section or search for a subject.
Library
- Collecting (3)
- Editing (2)
- Field notes (3)
- Observing (3)
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A one-week drawing journal
Ten minutes a day drawing the same object, for seven days, is the quickest way to learn to see it. The routine, the three things to note, and how to take the best drawing…
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Checking tools in daylight before the work
Taking every tool out into daylight before a job takes two minutes and shows what a shed shelf hides.
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Build a reference library you can search in ten seconds
One inbox, three folders, a naming rule and a weekly ten-minute review turn a pile of saved images into a reference you actually use.
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Edit twelve frames into a sequence
From a day of photographs to a sequence of twelve: see everything at once, make a fast first cut, choose an opening and pace the middle.
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Reading hard and soft light outdoors
How to tell whether light is hard or soft before you start drawing or photographing, and what each does to shape, texture and color.
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One signpost, three distances
A trail signpost photographed from arm’s length, from a few steps back and from across the junction. Only one frame was useful as reference.
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Photograph your tools as reference
Tools and materials make good reference because they hold still. How to photograph a desk or a set of tools so the pictures are useful when you draw, repair or restock later.
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Write captions that add information
A caption should tell the reader something the picture cannot. A describe-then-delete method, with before and after examples.
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Working by lamplight at the end of the day
When daylight goes, a desk lamp becomes the only light on your work. A short routine for placing it, checking color and knowing when to stop.
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Keep field notes you can use a year later
A field note is useful when a stranger could follow it. Four lines to write on the spot, and one to add at home.
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Write the weather first
A small habit: the first line of every field note is the weather, before anything else.