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2026-11-04 04:20:11 GMT

Make a Photography Zine at Home: The Flux 24-Photo Generator
Make a Photography Zine at Home: The Flux 24-Photo Zine Generator
https://flux.dantesisofo.com/generator/24
What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante, currently at home, working on a new zine generator for my photography.
I wanted to share some behind the scenes of how I’m thinking and give you the opportunity to participate and produce your own zines.
FLUX 24 — CREATE YOUR ZINE
The Archive Is the Artwork
Here we have a bunch of zines that I’ve been producing. These manila folders are storing around 33 different zines that I’ve produced over the past year. The work itself is automatically created using the Flux system that I developed at home.
There’s a protocol page that describes how the zines are made. Within the work, there are 36 pictures, and at the back, there’s a contact sheet. It’s an homage to 35mm film, which is why I use 36 pictures per zine.
There’s a QR code that allows anybody to access the full archive on my website—to download, distribute, and do whatever you like with the work, freely and openly.
This workflow automatically sequences the work chronologically, using the timestamps from when the photographs were made.
The archive is the artwork.
That’s my mindset going forward as a photographer who produces ruthlessly, daily, and is looking for a frictionless workflow to produce the physical output of my photography.
Inspired by Junk Water
Just recently, I was on the streets photographing the Day of the Dead, and a local photographer handed me a free zine.
Here we have Junk Water, produced by Jim O’Malley, who has been photographing in Philadelphia. I was really excited when I went through this work, and it inspired me to produce a new zine system for my photography.
This is Junk Water, Volume One. We have, I believe, five sheets stacked on top of each other and saddle stitched.
I really appreciate the lightweight, small format of this zine, as opposed to the 36-frame versions I’ve been producing, which are much more archival and much more hefty.
It’s a very simple zine that anybody can produce at home. And I essentially made a tool for you to do that.
You can check out more of Jim’s work at junkwaterphoto.com.
The 24-Photograph Flux Zine
I’ve just produced my own zine generator to create a 24-photograph version of the Flux zine.
At the back of this zine, we have the 24-frame contact sheet, which is also an homage to 35mm film. Now we have both the 36-photo roll-of-film version of Flux and the 24-photo roll-of-film version.
Here, I have a random assortment of photographs I made over the past couple of months. There’s the protocol page describing how the zine is produced, followed by some recent photographs I threw together as a test.
This is the prototype, and this is exactly what you can make at home using the Flux system.
I’m currently in the process of uploading the generator to my website. Essentially, you upload 24 photographs to the system, and it will automatically use their timestamps to sequence the work in chronological order and give you a PDF file that you can download and print at home.
Small JPEGs and Simple Materials
I highly suggest using monochrome. It’s a very simple way to produce work.
You don’t need anything fancy. You can shoot with a small JPEG.
I personally use the Ricoh GR and a small JPEG workflow, using the high-contrast black-and-white JPEG files. It produces a beautiful picture to put on these accessible materials that anyone can find anywhere in the world.
The accessibility of the materials, and the output being extremely simplified through the Flux system, is providing more joy and less friction in my workflow.
I’ve been producing some tests at home. The system automatically sequences and lays everything out. All you need to do is upload your 24 photos.
I also have the Flux mini zine generator that you can access to produce mini zines at home. But this new 24-photo version is really special.
You simply need six sheets of paper.
I use a Brother MFC-L2820DW monochrome laser printer at home that takes toner. I load it with regular printer paper—the kind you find in offices.
Bureaucratic Aesthetics
One thing I just picked up recently is some banker boxes. I’m going to start storing my work in the manila folders inside these boxes.
I’m really leaning into these bureaucratic aesthetics.
I even purposely limit the user to this simple, blank document as the cover. I don’t want the photography to be at the center of the zine’s cover. I want the simple information to read almost like a bureaucratic document you would find in an office.
That’s why I keep the zine extremely minimalist and use Courier text. It’s almost an homage to a mechanical manual you might find online for software or hardware.
I’m keeping all of the work as streamlined and simplified as possible.
Let the Sequence Fall Chronologically
Relinquishing control and allowing the sequence to fall chronologically is extremely inspiring for me.
It removes that part of the process of sequencing, which is sometimes a little tedious and boring, personally. But simultaneously, it gives me this surprise when I look through the frames and see the way the chips fall as they may.
That surprise is what keeps me curious to keep producing.
Not only in my individual images and my photography, but now in the physical output of what falls together in the zine.
Produce Your Own Zine
Visit the Flux generator and produce your own 24-photograph zine at home.
You can also submit the work directly to me through the website. I can review the work, add it to the catalog, print it out, and review it here on my YouTube channel.
There’s also a Flux Discord server community that you can access through the video description. Feel free to join and share the zines you produce, or any photographs from your daily walks. Just come in and chat about photography.
You can also stay in touch through my Substack. The link will be in the video description.
I’m looking forward to seeing new zines produced using this 24-photograph version of the Flux zine generator.
We’ll continue producing more tools, more videos, and more resources for you to find more joy in photography.
Once again, shout out to Junk Water for inspiring this new zine. Definitely check out junkwaterphoto.com. Really cool stuff. Great zine.
Shout out to Jim. Really great work.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you soon. Peace.
https://flux.dantesisofo.com/generator/24
https://dantesisofo.com/make-a-photography-zine-at-home-the-flux-24-photo-generator/
https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/72x72/2197.png
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#zine #photographyzine #flux #zinegenerator #home #junkwater #make #archive #jim
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2026-11-04 03:34:02 GMT

I’m going to solve my problems publicly
You can enjoy the solutions if you want. I don’t want to sequence my photos. Im not building a book making software. Im removing as much friction as humanly possible so all do is shoot photos and flux handles the rest.
I’m not interested in manufacturing stories. I’m a practitioner looking to create a system where I can continue doing exactly what I love doing: the practice itself.
https://dantesisofo.com/im-going-to-solve-my-problems-publicly/
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2026-11-02 03:51:54 GMT

How to Find Endless Inspiration in Street Photography
How to Find Endless Inspiration in Street Photography
What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.
Currently walking around Philadelphia, and today I just wanted to share some thoughts about how I can return to the same street, return to photography, to the same day every single day for the rest of my life, and still find new ways of photographing.
I can still find new ways of waking up in the morning and finding a new opportunity for me to make a new photograph.
And what that means is I can essentially cultivate my own inner world through curiosity.
I’m not dependent on the external world delivering me something.
Everything Becomes Interesting and Photographable
In order to get to this place where everything becomes interesting and photographable, I believe you must remove all preconceived ideas and notions of what makes a great photograph, of what you’re going to find when you step out onto the street, and simply be.
To experience life from this state of being, where everything is interesting and fascinating, I believe requires more so a mindset shift than anything.
There is no camera, there is no technique or thing that I can share with you that will transform the way that you feel and think about life.
But ultimately, the thing that I’m most grateful for is that photography puts me in this place where every fleeting moment and every single day is meaningful.
And it’s because I have the opportunity to create something every fleeting moment.
The Power of a Compact Camera
When you have a compact camera, this does change the game.
So maybe there is something to be said about the way that the camera can inspire you or influence your photography and your practice.
Because when I have something that disappears in my hand, right, that quite literally can disappear behind your hand, that can fit in your pocket, well then there is no excuse for you not to start producing.
And what happens when I step out onto the street is, you know, I start to slow down.
I start to see.
I start to feel.
I start to look all around me and scan everything.
Even just the way that the light is casting upon this little beam here, right?
I’m looking at the textures, the people, the buildings up above, the clouds that are moving, and what’s beneath my feet.
And then from that place where you’re scanning and looking and observing, you’re going to start photographing.
But when you’re in your mind and you’re thinking and you’re analyzing and you’re rationalizing everything, when you have an idea in your head of what you should be photographing or what you shouldn’t be photographing, well then you’re gonna start hesitating.
And so I find that this return to the day, this return to infinite creativity every single day, is all mindset.
Can You Thrive in the Eternal Loop?
Can you thrive in the eternal loop?
Can you wake up each and every day and embrace the spirit of play and find something new to say, to find a new way to play, to find a new way to seize the day, to create?
You know, I think that what’s amazing about photography is it puts me in this place.
It puts me in this place where there’s infinite potential and inspiration.
It’s all around me.
You don’t have to seek out a gallery, read a book, go to a show, or watch a movie to become inspired.
But you simply have to start moving.
You have to move your two feet and walk on repeat endlessly.
And maybe then you’ll start to see.
Maybe then you’ll start to photograph.
But it’s only going to happen when you actually start to attack, when you actually start to do, when you actually start to click the shutter and move.
And you know, this existential question of the eternal loop, I find to be extremely fascinating.
Like, if you were to return to this same street every single day for the rest of your life, at the same time, at the same place, will you find a new way to make a photograph?
Will you have the inspiration within you, cultivated with curiosity, to actually go out there and practice?
And if you find yourself in this place where you can achieve that, well then I feel like that’s where you arrive at this place where joy and sort of peace is found.
But that joy and peace isn’t necessarily the goal.
Joy and peace are simply a byproduct of you fueling your life with curiosity.
And photography is what I thank for getting me there.
The World Is Always in Flux
Ultimately, I can walk this same street here on Market Street.
I can look at the same people coming out of these same doorways.
But the light is always in flux and changing.
The people are evolving.
The buildings are always in flux and changing.
There’s new advertisements upon the walls.
The way that light falls is always out of my control.
The birds are flying in spontaneous forms.
And that’s something that I see every day, but I see it anew each day.
I see everything with this fresh perspective because I return to this blank slate.
And that blank slate is where we seek to be, I believe, as artists, because we want to have infinite potential to evolve and to go beyond.
And if you’ve arrived at a peak where you feel as though you’ve seen everything or mastered everything, well then you’re never going to start doing.
Photograph Like a Child at Play
But if you’re a child in the morning, a child is eager to go out and play.
A child is eager to just go out there and seize the day, to go to the playground, to express themselves.
And a child isn’t burdened with the expectation of performance, of validation of what they are doing.
But they’re simply playing because they seek to play.
And so when you’re photographing, do it because you simply enjoy the act of doing it.
Don’t do it for the reward of the image.
Don’t do it for the applause of a crowd.
But simply find yourself returning to that same street in your town with eagerness, with pep in your step, with curiosity.
Because that’s what guides me.
That’s what guides, I believe, all great photography.
Cultivate Your Inner Curiosity
Don’t be dependent on the external world delivering you novelty.
But cultivate that inner curiosity that will then propel you to practice your photography.
The inspiration is already within you.
https://dantesisofo.com/how-to-find-endless-inspiration-in-street-photography/
#endlessinspiration #streetphotography #camera #becomesinteresting #compactcamera #everythingbecomes
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2026-10-31 03:20:45 GMT

Photography Is the Art of Noticing
Photography Is the Art of Noticing
What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante, currently walking around Penn’s Landing here in Philadelphia. Check it out—the Delaware River.
Today I’m just thinking about photography as a way to pay attention and the power of presence.
When you’re in the moment and you’re photographing, you exist outside the passage of time.
We have a past. We have a future. But these things aren’t of our concern.
When you’re photographing and moving your body, enjoying the sights, the sounds, and the smells of the street, you exist in the eternal now.
And this, to me, is where bliss is found.
Photography as an Act of Gratitude
I think it’s such a simple way to think about photography because it gives you that excuse to look at everything deeply and to just show appreciation for life.
I treat photography as an act of gratitude for life.
I treat it as a way for me to say yes to life.
Thank you, God, for this day.
What’s on display in the photographs I make is a direct reflection of that internal state of me simply saying thank you, of me simply saying yes.
Photography is a way for me to say yes to life.
It really is a powerful thing because when you go beyond the imagery and recognize that photography is a way for you to be engaged with your reality, you can find infinite ways to find meaning in life generally.
Outside of the imagery, it feels like every moment is beautiful and meaningful with a camera in hand.
For this, I’m eternally grateful for photography.
Create Your Own World
Through the act of making pictures, the outcome—the output of the images—becomes your own world.
I think it’s a very powerful thing to have something like photography that gives you this superpower of creating your own world, of creating your own way of expression.
And I feel like that sort of act of expression from presence is maybe the purest form of artistic expression.
Because with photography, you can’t really control much of anything.
You’re only really in control of walking, observing, positioning your body, and clicking the shutter at something that catches your eye.
It’s a very simple medium, frankly.
Nowadays, we have compact cameras that you can put into automatic mode. You don’t have to do anything to the photos. You can get a file straight out of camera that looks beautiful.
Anyone can practice photography.
Anyone can engage with this gift of presence in their everyday reality.
And I just think it’s so empowering.
The Art of Noticing
If people start to frame the way they think about photography this way—as an act of being present—then I think you can pretty much overcome anything that life throws toward you externally.
Of course, this is nuanced, and I’m not saying I’m impossible to destroy.
But it feels like there’s nothing that can break my spirit or my love for life because when I notice that I have this camera with me, I notice everything.
It’s the art of noticing and presence that brings life meaning.
I essentially treat every day like it could be my last and every photograph like it could be my last.
Each click of the shutter is me simply almost combating against that inevitable mortality that we’re all going to face one day.
And it puts me in this place where everything becomes play.
Photography becomes effortless and easy because I’m orienting the way in which I engage with the medium through an act of gratitude and presence.
This fulfills me with purpose.
A Place Where Time Doesn’t Exist
I just wish that other people, and whoever is on the other side listening to this and watching this video, can also find this sort of place of peace.
This place where time doesn’t exist.
There’s only you and, essentially, the moment.
I really find the art of photography to be beyond the imagery.
It’s the act of noticing.
And he who is most present and most engaged will then make those stronger frames.
So when you think about the outcome of making a great frame, actually just reorient the way that you engage with the day through presence and gratitude.
From there, I think the photos, the moments, everything will simply flow to you.
Stop Hunting for Photographs
I’m no longer striving or seeking or trying to find anything through hunting and being out with my camera.
I’m simply allowing life to deliver these gifts to me.
And then when I find these gifts, I simply say thank you and yes, and move on to the next.
I’m simply allowing life to deliver these gifts to me.
I think that this is the best way to engage with the day generally, despite photography.
In this modern world, we have so many distractions.
There’s so much news to consume. There’s so much endless media that you can be watching. Lots of things nowadays are distracting.
Photography becomes this way to combat against that.
For that, I’m extremely grateful.
Just Start Living
I find power in my day, in my everyday life, because photography gives me this sense of agency to just start living.
Just start being.
And then from that place where you’re simply being, observing, receptive, and sensitive to everything, that’s where you’ll start to cultivate your own authentic expression as a photographer.
It requires this sort of mindset shift and this way of trying to eliminate distractions and focus on the moment.
When you’re in that moment and you’re photographing, you find bliss, you find joy, and you find yourself making your own world.
Being able to step into that world becomes like a superpower to combat against anything that the external world throws at you.
As long as I have my camera and some curiosity, it feels like nothing can stop me.
That’s the simple thought of the day.
Thanks for watching.
Bye.
https://dantesisofo.com/photography-is-the-art-of-noticing/
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