Shot on Ilford HP5+ ISO400 with a thirft-store-find Bell & Howell Auto 35 Reflex Design 237 (1970’s Canon EX EE clone) and the included 50mm f1.8 lens. The batteries are unobtanium (at the correct voltage) so it’s phone-app light metering, but the rest of the controls are fully functional without power. This particular one has occasional shutter drag and the film advance doesn’t always quite make it, but otherwise it’s in excellent condition and might be worth cleaning up.

This guide is just a quick-and-dirty, intended to save experienced nerds some time, since time is short and misinformation is plentiful—this is not all inclusive. It assumes you have at least a basic working knowledge of the WP-Admin and installing plug-ins. Ideally you’ll be performing these steps on a local install of WordPress using XAMPP or whatever development environment you prefer, then pushing it to a live site, but I recommend at least starting with a clean install of WordPress. If you’re migrating into an existing WordPress site please make a backup of the database first! In fact, I recommend backing up the database after step 8 on a clean install too just in case.

The quick-and-dirty guide to fleeing Tumblr in a hurry:

1. In your WordPress Admin, go to Tools › Import. Under Tumblr, click Install Now. When it’s done, click Run Importer. Yes, I know it’s ancient. Yes, I know everyone says it’s broken. It works perfectly fine—I’ve used it in both XAMPP and cPanel environments and both http and https connections.
2. Follow the instructions to create an “app” on Tumblr (super easy), then copy-pasta that OAuth and Secret key back to the Importer and click Connect to Tumblr.
3. Click Authorize the Application and click Allow to grant the Importer access. Click Import This Blog.
   (Depending on how many posts you have it may take a while, but it runs in the background so you can continue to the next step.)
4. Install and activate Set All First Images As Featured by Lucy Thomás.
   It’s a pain to find through Add Plugin, so search for “First Images Lucy” to bring it to the top. Yes, it’s four years old. Yes, it still works just fine.
5. Go to Tools › Import › Tumblr › Run Importer and check the progress of your import. If it isn’t finished yet, do not use the Set All First Images As Featured plug-in! Find and install a new theme, create tasteful photographs of female-presenting nipples, go make a sandwich, etc.
6. Once the Tumblr Importer is finished, go to Tools › First Images As Featured.
7. If you’re working from a clean install of WordPress you can ignore the options and just click Start.
   If you’re migrating to an existing installation adjust as needed, then click Start.
8. Lucy’s plugin will work it’s magic, and your data migration is now complete.
9. Perform cleanup tasks as necessary, like giving all those “(no title)” posts a title, organizing things into categories, building out contact pages, etc.
   9-A. (optional) See additional notes below to bulk-convert “gallery” post types to “photo” post types—useful if all of your photo posts on Tumblr were single-image.
10. Install an appropriate theme to make your rescued content happy. Many theme designers release their work for both Tumblr and WordPress, so there’s a fair chance you’ll even be able to use the same theme.
11. (optional) If you followed my recommendation above and are working in a dev environment, make sure you’re happy with the newly created site, then move it to your live production server.
12. If you’re using a custom domain for your Tumblr site, hop onto your DNS provider and point it at your new live site. If you’re using a somebody.tumblr.com address you can use the old school meta code at the end of this article to forward viewers to your new site. Note: if you want to keep individual page links intact for each post you’ll have to do some significant redirecting and/or database manipulation, which is beyond the scope of this guide.
13. Install a decent security plugin and lock that shit down! You’re not in Tumblr-land anymore, here there be dragons. The good ones will have frequent updates, auto-scans, and handle most of the advanced stuff for you: free options from Sucuri, All In One WP Security & Firewall, Wordfence, and iThemes all work great.
14. Don’t forget: go re-follow all your favorite Tumblrs over on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter, etc…

Code and Queries

Step 9-A. Bulk-Convert Gallery to Photo

Were all (most) of your photo posts on Tumblr a single image? The Importer turns them into “gallery” post formats in WordPress to support multiple images, which might have made a mess of all your single-image posts. You can convert these in the WP-Admin, albeit only a few hundred at a time:

1. Go to the Posts tab expand Screen Options and change Number of items per page to 200ish, then hit Apply.
2. Check the box next to each gallery (or select-all if you only have photos).
3. Click Bulk Actions, select Edit, click Apply.
4. Change Format to Photo and click Update.
5. Rinse and repeat for each additional page of posts.

When you’re done you’ll also need to strip all those gallery shortcodes. Run this simple query to do so. Note: this will remove ALL gallery shortcode tags from ALL posts and there is no undo, so be sure you really want this!

UPDATE `wp_posts` SET `post_content` = REPLACE( `post_content`, '[gallery]', '' ) WHERE `post_type`="post";

Step 12. Redirect Script for Tumblr Addresses

If you’re stuck using a somebody.tumblr.com address and don’t have the skills or patience to fix your links by other means, edit your Tumblr theme’s HTML and insert this code in the <head> (change the address to match your new site, of course). Note: if you stop being active on Tumblr, they will delete your address in one year, so this should be considered a temporary measure.

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;URL='https://femalepresentingnipples.com'" />

Need more help?

If you have more complicated needs, want help making it pretty again (theme issues), or just want someone who knows what they’re doing to “make it go” feel free to get in touch through the Studio—we’re doing Tumblr migrations at cost for fleeing refugees. We can also handle long term maintenance and security if you’re uncomfortable managing that stuff on your own.

There’s no insta-filter that can take the place of doing the fucking work.

Becoming an expert is not a destination, to reluctantly use the cliché, but a journey. When it becomes easy, great: that’s progress. Now increase the difficulty and keep growing, because the moment you stop learning and put your mind on autopilot is the moment you’ve settled for “good enough.” Good enough isn’t creating. Good enough isn’t expert. Good enough is stagnation of worst form. I’m reminded of this as I sit here doing lat-pulldowns—not just mindlessly repeating—focusing on my precision and fluid motion. And trying not to let my mind wander to the enticingly obvious progress Dani has made with her own fitness routines, as she stretches out in one of her impossibly graceful, borderline-erotic stances across the gym…

This rant all started with a question:

“You know this is killing your growth. Why are you flip-flopping between adventure and erotic posts instead of focusing on one audience?”

The answer should be obvious: I don’t care if I have either audience, and I am not my fucking follower count. I have zero interest in maintaining my good standing within holier-than-thou “overland lifestyle” cliques, and I have even less interest in providing pervert hordes with material for their spank tanks. None of that has anything to do with my “growth” anyhow.

I do, however, care deeply about the art itself and the individual connections that the art inspires. I also love the adventure of exploring and the solitude of the wilderness, whether or not the means I use are “worthy” as a status symbol. Sure, I appreciate likes and follows as much as the next guy, but I enjoy the conversations more—especially those private interactions that occur when people are moved to compliment or question my efforts backchannel. (I’m very socially awkward, so I understand exactly how much effort that can take.)

I want more of that. I want to reach souls who are in search of that deeper connection. I want to inspire my fellow artists, and break down the hypocritical boundaries of censorship imposed by the false modesty of society. At the very least I want to make you feel something, and if I’m lucky, make you think. I do what I do as much to rock the boat as to share my passions (yes, rocking the boat is one of my passions). Switching it up every other post has proven a subtly effective way to shake loose from those two groups mentioned in the first paragraph while reaching for my real target audience: you.

Accountability & Growth

I’m at a place in life where it’s easy to be dragged down into the routine, which for a creative is the most dangerous place one can be: chaos is life, routine is death. Instagram is my accountability partner. It follows me around, that nagging little icon always on the lock screen reminding me to create something today.

You see, I judge my content not by likes and comments, but against my profile as a whole. It’s a living documentary of the work I’ve done, and I’m competing with only myself. I’m there to consume what inspires, and in turn to share what I’m moved to create. The growth I strive for cannot be measured with analytics; rather by improving with each published piece. When I swipe past what felt like fire just a few months ago and see how disgustingly mediocre it stands next to my latest works, that’s when I know I’m doing well.

Adventure & Sensuality

My work is gritty, erotic, and adventurous because that’s how I see the world. I focus on adventure and sensuality because that’s what inspires me. The two make the most alluring of bedfellows—tantalizing one to the other, complementary each together, and reaching heights they could only dream of apart. Two subjects close to my heart and intertwined as one. It’s a reflection of the relationship between myself and my muse, I’ll let you guess who plays the role of adventure and who sensuality.

In simpler terms it’s the science behind the art. The more sex you have the greater your sense of desire. The more you travel the more it stokes the flames of your wanderlust. And, you guessed it, the more you create the more creative you become.

Now that my reasons are revealed, I think I’ll change it up again…

We’d use none of it.

A frustratingly boring blue sky gave way to one of the warmest slow-motion sunsets we’ve ever experienced. It lingered for what seemed like hours, burning everything in sight with an ever-deepening and otherworldly golden glow. No strobes, no wardrobe, no makeup. Just the Nifty Fifty (50mm lens) locked in at f2.0. Just a coat and the flip-flops she’d worn for the drive up. Oh, and a pair of aviators for good measure.

 

It was the best move for all involved parties. American Adventurist is headed in a different direction from where my passions lie. At the same time, (for medical reasons I won’t get into) I’m no longer able to volunteer the time and money necessary to guide a community of that size, nor maintain the dedicated technology resources it requires.

But…what about Adventurist Life?

A lot of people have the impression that Adventurist Life was my baby, and that I’ve somehow abandoned it. The fact is Adventurist Life drifted far away from the concept I’d created even before it’s first day in the public eye. My vision was far more edgy, elegant enough to appeal to affluent audiences, yet authentic enough for the everyman. I wanted print—an ad-free quarterly coffee table book that didn’t pull punches, wasn’t afraid to show a little sex appeal, and shamelessly told it like it was.

The market, at least my audience at the time, wanted something altogether different: a free-to-view, advertiser-paid, family-friendly, budget-focused adventure blog. So I worked to give them a home and ultimately set them up with a partner who will give them the best chance of success. Thus it became a member of the American Adventurist family.

Onwards and Upwards

At this point I’ve done all that I can do for this project. I’ve personally invested tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of man-hours to get American Adventurist where it is today, and I’m confident that the community has all of the tools they need to thrive. I wish them all the best, but it’s time for me to get back to my vision, back to building the dream, back to what I do best: pushing the limits and creating new things.

Until next time: see you…out there.

I originally posted this on the about-me page at Layne Studio after being asked “What __________ do you use?” once too often, but since the studio involves more than just me now it’s time this list moved to the blog proper. This post is just an overview, I might write up an in-depth with the how’s and why’s of each category if anyone would find it helpful. Read along for the details or just click here to skip down to the bullet list of links so your inner-consumer can run wild and free.

Camera Gear

The Big Guns: I shoot with a variety of Canon gear, but my go-to and favorite is the 80D. It’s durable, light weight, and inexpensive enough to take risks when getting the shot. I use three main lenses: a Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 Art (my personal favorite) for most portraits and some travel/vehicle/landscape work, a Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 macro-capable travel zoom, and a Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 wide angle for grabbing wide vistas or interior shots. The Canon 10-22mm wide is due to be replaced…likely with Sigma’s superior constant-aperture variant. Yes, I’m a Sigma fanboy…because, science.

Rolling Light: I loved Canon’s pocketable S-line of cameras, but since they’ve been discontinued and the latest rendition predated modern processors and sensors I’ve reluctantly moved on…to the Canon M50. It’s basically an 80D crammed into a rangefinder body; it’s just as capable as it’s big brother, and runs the same glass when paired with the EF-EOS M Mount Adapter. With the native EOS-M lenses it’s the perfect walkabout and hiking camera.

Computing Gear

Hardware: In the studio my workstation is a personally built Intel-powered, liquid cooled, quad-core PC tower. It’s currently clocked at a conservative 4.4GHz, drives multiple color-calibrated monitors (lead photo), and houses a RAID array large enough to eliminate the need for a separate file server. Communication and general office needs are handled by Google for Work, with weekly on-site and monthly off-site backups of all data.

In the field I use a custom built ASUS X202E with enough solid-state storage to back up my cameras on a multi-week expedition. It’s small enough to hide under a magazine, fast enough to handle photo retouching, and durable enough to survive the torture I put it through. I also carry an external drive with a complete archive of all the data I have stored in the studio.

Software: I run Windows 10—it’s everything that makes Windows great harnessed beneath everything that makes an iPad a pleasure to use. My go-to software includes the Adobe Creative Cloud (Lightroom, Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator), Google Chrome, Edit Plus, and FileZilla. Evernote and Trello help keep me organized. I also use StarStaX for automating my star trail workflow.

Connectivity: Phone and field connectivity is provided by a Samsung S8 Active serviced by AT&T’s 4G LTE network. It’s hardware is waterproof and sturdy, but the software is unreliable junk compared to the flawless HTC One M9. Still, it’s the most rugged and reliable option available right now.

The Link Dump

Camera Gear

• Canon 80D — my go-to camera body.
• Canon M50 — second body…used nearly as often as the 80D; downright stealthy when pared with the 22mm f2 pancake.
• EF-EOS M Mount Adapter — lets the Canon M50 use all the big glass.
• Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 Art — a tack-sharp shooter which outperforms “L” glass costing thrice it’s price (and my personal favorite).
• Sigma 18-300mm — an excellent jack-of-all-trades travel lens, with surprisingly smooth bokeh.
• Canon EF 50mm f1.4 — small, fast (aperture), and good IQ makes this a decent “walkabout” lens; unfortunately it’s also notoriously fragile.
• Canon EF-S 10-22mm — my current wide angle, which I will likely replace with Sigma’s 10-20mm constant-aperture wide angle.
• Canon EF-M 22mm f2 — purchased with the goal of making the M50 coat-pocketable around town; great IQ and surprising sharpness have had me reaching for it more than a few times in the studio too.
• Canon EF-M 18-150mm — a great travel-zoom option for times when the 80D & 18-300mm are too cumbersome; quick focus and plenty sharp.
• GoPro Session 5 — the potato; my primary vlog camera (yes, I still film).
• Peak Designs Cuff — because shoulder straps are cumbersome, and the 80D/M50 are small enough for a wrist strap. I also keep a Leash (shoulder strap) in the bag just in case.
• MeFOTO Roadtrip Travel Tripod — a sturdy and full-size tripod, at a reasonable price.
• Sigma USB Dock — focus calibration is serious business, and Sigma lets us handle it ourselves.

In The Field

• ASUS X202E — custom built for my mobile editing and storage needs.
• Samsung S8 Active — because all the HTC One M9’s have dead batteries now…
• Mpow Flame — the highest-reviewed-lowest-priced bluetooth earbuds; I hate things on my ears, but sometimes I need hearing protection and a little music makes that less awful.
• Tamrac Anvil Slim 11 — my mobile studio bag; comfortably carries all of the photography, computer, and paper gear I need when traveling, and opens conveniently suit-case style while strapped into the passenger seat.
• 5.11 Tactical Rush 12 — my hiking kit; I prefer leather and canvas, but no one makes a good all-day hiker that comfortably hauls lunch, snacks, layers (mountain weather), enough water (Arizona), and a small camera kit so I had to “make” one.

In The Studio

• Workstation — where most of the editing happens; nerd out on the details here.
• SteelSeries Apex — the only sub-$100 keyboard that can keep up with my typing speed (faster than wireless) and can handle all of strange 4+ key shortcuts in the Adobe Creative Suite.
• Wacom Intuos — the ultimate upgrade from Apple’s Magic Trackpad; equally friendly to stylus-users and finger-painters (like me). Intuos (small) is great on the go, but I recommend Intuos Pro (medium or large) for your desk.
• Kensington SlimBlade — because pixel-perfect clicking is unfortunately impossible on a pen- or touch-pad.
• Logitech C920 — studio video camera; mostly used for vidcalls, and has a pretty good built-in mic.
• Blue Snowball — studio mic; used for voice-over work, vidcalls, and phone.
• Epson Artisan 1430 Wide-Format Printer — beautifully accurate color reproduction; used for limited-run prints, client projects, and occasionally home decor.

Software

• Adobe Creative Cloud — 90% of the desk work I do happens in Adobe; I use everything but the so-called “webdev” apps.
• StarStaX — star trail compiler; there are others out there, but this one gives the best results with the least headache.
• Google for Work / Chrome — for lack of a better option. I have nothing but loathing for Google, but the service integrations and development tools can’t be beat. For the moment.
• EditPlus — a good old-school editor. There might be better options now, but if it ain’t broke…
• FileZilla — one of the first reliable programs to support SFTP (SSH file transfer). If you’re still using regular FTP you should have your ‘puter confiscated and be banished from the internets.
• Evernote — arguably the best virtual notebook around.
• Trello — manages the chaos that my workflow would otherwise become.

The hustle cliché was strong this ‘eve: Sunday night, and both of us scheduled with projects for the first day, the first Monday, of the new year. I love that. This was the last sunset of 2017, and our forecast clear-and-calm had been swallowed up by overcast gloom. Not dissuaded by a little weather we made the three-hour round trip to the viewpoint anyhow, determined to improvise and make it work. Epic skies greeted our arrival, the sun popping through between layers of clouds and setting them aflame for a show of colors far better than any bluebird day could have offered.

The makings of my perfect New Year’s Eve? Two bottles of bubbly, a thrift-store flute, a second-hand outfit, some cheap sunglasses, a cliffside viewpoint with storybook sunset to match, and a pretty redhead. These were all shot on a Canon 80D with my back-in-action Canon 50mm f1.4 lens (the nifty fifty), a proper high-speed-sync strobe (I’m so done with speedlites), and the laser-assist auto focus from the strobe’s transmitter. Aperture bounced between f2.8 and f4, ISO100, shutter floating around 1/1000th, with the single AD200 strobe set from 1/4th to 1/8th power and a small dish reflector/diffuser. There’s a few shots from the new-to-me Polaroid 600 as well, but those are for another time…

Happy New Year! Yes, “year.” Not “years” and most definitely not “year’s.” You only get one new year at a time, and you should never let it own you.