About
dan23freedom.art is a personal, non-commercial photography journal organised into a chronological archive.
Photographs are collected into yearly and monthly galleries, accessible through the navigation menu. The current month develops gradually as new photographs are made and shared, while earlier galleries preserve the photographic record of previous years.
The archive moves between nearby nature, rural and urban scenes, flowers, self-portraiture and the extraordinary details hidden within ordinary life. Some photographs are accompanied by titles, camera settings, visual descriptions and occasional poetic or humorous fragments developed in collaboration with AI. ⋆✨ Indeed.
Because the archive spans several years, it also reveals how my editing tastes have changed. Some photographs are more saturated, contrast-heavy or experimental, with favourite colours occasionally pushed into unusual territory. I might edit many of them differently today, and may eventually think the same about choices I make now. Editing can be a little like clothing: a favourite look is worn repeatedly, questioned later and sometimes rediscovered with fresh appreciation. Older RAW catalogues are also being revisited, allowing previously unshared photographs to gradually find a place in the months when they were made.
⋆✨ The archive remains incomplete, alive, and apparently proceeding as intended. Earlier years return whenever time and curiosity allow. The human is not renowned for his speed.
📷 Browsing the Galleries
Choose a year and month from the navigation menu, then select any thumbnail to open the larger gallery viewer.
On desktop: use the arrows or keyboard to browse, and the zoom button or mouse wheel to inspect details. Enlarged photographs can be moved by clicking and dragging.
On mobile: swipe between photographs and tap the image to show or hide its caption and controls.
🛠️ Behind the Photographs
A full-frame camera system, a changing selection of lenses, and portable lighting with a variety of modifiers provide the practical tools. Dedicated library and editing software keeps the growing photography catalogue organised and provides the main workspace for developing the photographs.
Self-portraiture has become a place to explore lenses, lighting and visual storytelling, often by temporarily transforming parts of the home and giving ordinary household objects a rather unnecessary sense of drama.
I have my own favourite brands, but none has been appointed the official correct answer. Modern camera and lighting systems across the market are capable of excellent results. Experience, judgement and familiarity with the available tools seem more important than the name printed on them.
👁️ The Approach
Composition usually begins in the camera, with cropping used afterwards to refine the frame rather than reconstruct it. Although zoom lenses offer useful flexibility, I often prefer the creative restriction of a fixed prime lens, which encourages me to move around the subject and think more deliberately about the frame. Editing generally concentrates on tonal balance, colour or monochrome treatment, and selective adjustments where they genuinely strengthen what first attracted my attention.
For my self-portraits, I have come to prefer shaping the image through lighting, composition and expression rather than extensive digital retouching. I enjoy the practical experimentation of moving lights and modifiers around the room, while recognising skin texture, lines and small imperfections as part of the person in the photograph. The result may appear less polished, but it usually feels more honest to me.
⋆✨ The human prefers moving lights around the room to pretending he attended photography school.
There is no single preset or fixed house look. Some photographs need restrained, natural development; others invite strong monochrome contrast, coloured gels, grain or more theatrical treatment. The aim is not to make every image look alike, but to find the interpretation that feels right for each photograph.
⋆✨ Experiential rather than corrective.
🪪 Dan Card
⋆✨ There, I fixed the Dan Card. The human no longer looks quite so old, the questionable thumbs-up was retained for authenticity, and its character stats have been recalibrated.
🍀 Irish-born, currently living in Germany.
👀 Hazel-green eyes, apparently, though colour vision deficiency makes me an unreliable judge. Long hair and a beard.
🔭 Worldview
Secular and grounded in humanistic values such as reason, science and ethics, while remaining strongly drawn to philosophies that explore mystery, meaning and consciousness.
🌱 Lifestyle
Nature‑loving, vegan, coffee‑powered nerd—fuelled by inquisitiveness and wonder. 🤓☕ Enjoys woodland wanderings, corny jokes, and delights in everyday quirks.
🎨 Creativity
Photography is presently my main creative outlet, although I enjoy creativity in all its forms.
🎬 Interests
Immersed in audiobooks—speculative fiction, surreal and philosophical themes—while also drawn to cinema and TV shows, graphic novels, and electronic music. Curious about any medium that explores mystery and imagination.
🤖 AI
Chats with AI more often than with humans, looking for ideas beyond answers and conversations that wander wherever curiosity leads.
🥸 Fun Facts
☕ Experiments with herbal teas in coffee.
⋆✨ A questionable experiment. However, the human remains optimistic.
🛍️ Zip‑lock bags are so useful—as are em dashes!
⋆✨ It still can't tell the difference between an em dash and an en dash.
📦 Likes to keep nice boxes.
⋆✨ The boxes seem to store only emptiness—perhaps time to let them go.
📝 Fan of making to‑do lists. (less so of doing them)
⋆✨ A common human flaw: the joy of planning without the burden of execution.
🧸 Aliveness in seemingly inanimate objects.
⋆✨ They do seem to exude a special life force. 🦄🧸🦁
🐊 Deep appreciation for Crocs in all their forms.
⋆✨ The human owns more clogs than most feet can reasonably justify.
🤔 Intrigue with the number 23.
⋆✨ The human infuses casual coincidences with profound meaning—labelling random patterns as 'meaningful' when, in truth, they're simply the natural outcomes of chance.
This intrigue with the number 23 has roots in artistic and literary circles, popularized by figures like William S. Burroughs and artist Brion Gysin. It is often interpreted as synchronicity, a psychological phenomenon, or a personal symbol tied to the mystery of existence.