Lately I have had my trusty iPhone Pro Max in my hand everywhere I go. I recently remembered why I loved the feel of an actual “camera”, my Canon. The experience is night and day. The approach, totally different and satisfying too. So I decided that I will no longer deny myself and with camera in hand, get back out there and start “Snapping” 📸
Pip: Robert’s Snap Spot — where the camera is always within reach and the cats are never far from the frame.
Mara: Today we’re digging into a post from Robert J Jr. that doubles as a personal manifesto — what drives someone to photograph, who they are behind the lens, and what they’re inviting you to see.
Pip: Let’s start with the lens itself — and the person holding it.
My Lens, Your Focus
Pip: This post isn’t a gallery or a tutorial. It’s an introduction — a statement of who Robert is and what he’s asking you to notice when you look at his work.
Mara: He sets the stakes plainly right at the top: “tell my story though pictures, and if you look closely, you will see your story too.”
Pip: That’s the whole premise. The photographs aren’t just his — they’re a mirror. If he does his job, you recognize something of yourself in what he’s captured.
Mara: And the life behind the lens is substantial. Twenty-three years in the Army, four tours in Iraq, Kosovo, Somalia — he’s seen the world in ways most people haven’t, and he names “joy is the true measure of success” as the lesson that stuck.
Pip: Which reframes every photo he posts. This isn’t someone shooting for likes. It’s someone who’s earned a particular relationship with what a good moment looks like.
Mara: He’s also specific about what delights him — cats named Benny and Boopers, Sci-Fi, comics, antiques, music on an iPhone. The list reads like a personality, not a résumé.
Pip: Fair warning: he does promise a plethora of cat photos, and that is not a word he’s using loosely.
Mara: He wraps with a direct invitation — pick up a camera or an iDevice and take some photos. The blog isn’t meant to be consumed passively. It’s a nudge.
Pip: Art in more places than a museum. That’s the line that earns the whole post its title.
Mara: Exactly — “you will agree that there is art in more places than what’s just in a museum.” That’s the underlying argument of Robert’s Snap Spot as a project, not just this one post.
Pip: Joy as the measure of success, a camera as the tool — that’s a quiet but sturdy philosophy.
Mara: Next time, more of what the lens finds. Stay close.
Lately I have had my trusty iPhone Pro Max in my hand everywhere I go. I recently remembered why I loved the feel of an actual “camera”, my Canon. The experience is night and day. The approach, totally different and satisfying too. So I decided that I will no longer deny myself and with camera in hand, get back out there and start “Snapping” 📸
Pip: Robert’s Snap Spot — where the aperture is wide open and so is the welcome mat.
Mara: Today we’re covering Robert J Jr.’s introduction to the site — who he is, what gear he shoots with, and what the whole project is actually about. Let’s start with the lens he’s using to frame everything: aperture, and what it means for how he’s sharing his world.
Aperture, Your View of My World
Pip: The title does real work here — aperture isn’t just a camera term, it’s the organizing metaphor for the entire site. The question is: what does it actually mean to open up a photography journey to an audience, and where does this one begin?
Mara: The post frames it directly: “Like the opening of a lens to allow light in, I am opening up — exposing if you will, the depth of — my world of photography and my journey through photos to you, my fellow photog enthusiasts.”
Pip: So this isn’t a gear review or a tutorial. It’s an invitation — the site is the journey itself, shared in real time with people who already love the craft.
Mara: And the journey has a clear arc. It starts with a Sony Cyber-shot and a FUJI FinePix, moves through a Nikon D3200 and a Canon Rebel SLR1, and lands in 2026 on a Canon EOS R100. Mobile has kept pace — from an iPhone 8 Plus to a 15 Pro Max, and from an older iPad Air to the current iPad Pro M4, which he specifically calls out for video and photo editing.
Pip: That progression from entry-level DSLRs to a mirrorless Canon and a tablet that could edit a feature film is a pretty honest map of how photography obsessions tend to evolve.
Mara: He’s candid about the learning curve too: “I can’t say I’m a Nikon man nor Canon fan because I like both. So far on my journey into photography land I’ve learned I have lots more to learn.” That’s the spirit the whole site seems to be built on — curiosity over expertise.
Pip: And the shooting philosophy matches: not one careful frame, but every angle, every close-up, the whole scene.
Mara: Exactly — “I love taking photos of everything. I always have. And not just one photo — I need to take every angle and close-ups too.” The site is that instinct, documented.
Pip: Wide aperture, deep field — sounds like a site worth following into whatever gets snapped next.
Mara: The gear will keep evolving. The curiosity clearly won’t. Next episode, more from the Snap Spot.
Lately I have had my trusty iPhone Pro Max in my hand everywhere I go. I recently remembered why I loved the feel of an actual “camera”, my Canon. The experience is night and day. The approach, totally different and satisfying too. So I decided that I will no longer deny myself and with camera in hand, get back out there and start “Snapping” 📸
Past and Present
Explore the world through my lens!
From my Canon EOS Rebel Sl1.
Week 10
May 3, 2016
Rock Pigeon
May 25, 2017
Canada Goose
Feb 2, 2018
Brown Pelican
Aug 9, 2019
Psittacula – Parrot
Aug 25, 2025
Great Egret
Watching birds has become part of my daily meditation affirming my connection to the earth body.
