MMXVIII
Happy New Year everyone! Here's my annual New Year's blog, on time for a change :)
2017 was the craziest year of my life thus far. The year started out with me moving back to Los Angeles after 2 years in Orlando. I finally got a place in Topanga, my favorite neighborhood in LA. I did a lot more exploration of the incredible national parks Los Angeles is home to. I traveled to Northern California and Nevada a number of times to visit friends and family and go skiing at Lake Tahoe.
I did a lot of great photo & video shoots with tons of insanely talented people (some of the new work is up on my photography site, some hasn't been released yet!). My twin sister got married (yay Ally & Mel!), and I finally went to Burning Man after years of wanting to go. It did not disappoint.
I got a private tour of SpaceX and the Tesla Gigafactory (you can't take photos inside, boo hoo).
I went on dozens of road trips in the US and abroad, marched in the LA Women's March, sang on stage with Tom Morello at Hotel Cafe, rode out hurricane Irma while it was still a cat 2 (80 - 100mph wind) storm at my house in Orlando, moved back to Orlando, and enrolled in the Spring '18 semester at my alma mater, the University of Central Florida, to finish my degree after a 9 year 'hiatus'. I'm still taking some freelance photography assignments (including weddings) and I'm also getting my FAA UAS drone pilot certificate to accept commercial drone work!
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I accomplished most of my goals for 2017, completely or partially, yay!
1. Launch my app, Hchhkr, on the App Store
Proud to say that Hchhkr is available on the App Store and Google Play, plus a website version. It's a ridesharing app (not a taxi service) for selling seats in your car if you're already going somewhere specific, like a weekend road trip to Vegas.
2. Visit my 50th US State, Alaska, + Drive the Pan-American Highway
I finally crossed all 50 states off the bucket list! I visited Alaska on a month-long road trip from Los Angeles to Prudhoe Bay (the farthest north you can drive on the North American continent) and back, which is 1/3 of the Pan-American Highway, and includes the Dalton Highway–one of the most challenging and remote roads on earth! My Prius did great, to the surprise of basically everyone in Alaska. I saw so many bears, glaciers, alpine lakes and beautiful landscapes that the amount of photos and videos I took exceeds the amount that any normal person could process in a timely manner, so that media has yet to see the light of day apart from a few images on my Instagram. Le sigh. One day, a coffee table book, perhaps?
3. Travel to at least 5 new countries
I partially achieved this one–I did travel to 5 countries, but only 1 was new: Iceland. I also traveled to Canada, Scotland, and Germany, plus I took a little day trip to my beloved Ninos de la Promesa orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico when I was living in LA.
4. Do more yoga and meditation
The only goal I completely neglected, as usual, was yoga and meditation. I'm carrying this goal over in to 2018; here's hoping I can finally achieve it.
5. Read 12 books
I only read 10. I'm a slow reader so this goal is always a real challenge for me! Audio books helped a lot. I highly recommend an Audible Membership
The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil - This book was almost impossible to read. It's incredibly dry and technical in some parts, and the most fascinating book I've ever read in others. Overall I loved it, but it took me two years to get through it. It's a must-read if you care about knowing what the future holds in terms of technology and biology, as Ray is the authority on such things.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey - The grandfather of all self-help books, you can throw out all the others and just read this one. Incredible.
Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu, James Robinson - Oh so good. Brilliant breakdown of why so many nations on earth are still struggling with poverty and corruption, and what needs to be done about it to really make a difference.
Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday - Surprisingly insightful read. Since I've already read the stoic philosophers, my ego kicked in a bit and told me I didn't need to read this book, that there couldn't be much more insight beyond ego than what I've already read... oh man, was I wrong. I'm so glad I gave it a shot. I'm going to try to re-read this one once a year. Apparently many of the best NFL teams - players and coaches - attribute significant improvement in their performance to reading Ryan's books, which doesn't surprise me at all.
God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens - You really can't argue with anything Hitchens says in this book, and that's what makes it an incredibly important read. Religion is so protected and taboo, and that's what's helped it stick around despite its shortcomings. Everything with major flaws deserves criticism, including god.
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari - Although there were a few amazing nuggets in this book, I can't remember the majority of it. I do remember enjoying it though, and it being a relatively quick read.
Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance - This dude might alter the course of humanity more than any other human before him.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - This book was adorable and a fun read, but I couldn't help notice a lot of similarities to Harry Potter - I guess Neil wrote it around the same time the first Harry Potter books were coming out, so it was probably an original idea not influenced by HP, but it is so similar. I both loved and disliked that about it... so... jury is out.
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks - I couldn't believe how much I disliked this novel. I read it due to Elon Musk's high praise of the Culture Series. Maybe I'd like a different "culture" book more than this one... but I did not enjoy it. There were certain fun elements (like the ship names, and some very interesting characters and it feeling like a similar universe to Star Wars) but overall the main character was totally unlikable and that ruined it for me.
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins - Biology is tough for me to get in to, but I gave this book a shot anyway, because I like Dawkins' book "The God Delusion" so much. It was really dry. I can only hear the words "gene" and "altruism" so many times before I start to fall asleep, and I'm pretty sure they are used every 5th word in this book. I sure learned a lot about evolution and genetic relationships though... silver lining?
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Goals for 2018
- Get all A's in school (lol, I can't believe this is happening)
- Travel to at least 5 new countries
- Read 12 books
- Do yoga and meditate every single day
- Surf at least once a month
- Get out of debt and pay for school without loans
- Get FAA remote pilot's license
- Get PADI open water scuba certified
Ps. I finally succumbed to the power of Spotify and became totally addicted to the app this year. I created this monster playlist of all my favorite songs from 2017 ... enjoy!
Asaf Avidan Sessions
Back in April I shot some stills over 2 days for the recording of Asaf Avidan's latest album "The Study on Falling" produced by Mark Howard (which is out now, listen here on Spotify) in Malibu. The album was recorded at 2 different mansions in Malibu, the bulk of it was done at the Harry Gesner masterpiece 'Raven's Eye', with sweeping, un-obstructed views of the Pacific ocean.
There were 5 or 6 musicians swirling about when I arrived, along with a chef (my friend Maggie), and a few other people.
After catching up with Maggie, I wandered around the stunning house, and found my friend Brady Blade (who is one of the best drummers in the world) asleep on the sofa. This is a very typical place to find Brady. Some of the other amazing musicians on the album were Chris Masterson on guitar and Hal Cragin on bass.
I floated around like a fly on the wall the rest of the day, taking photos of the session and of the house. Maggie cooked a killer dinner that we all devoured, and then I went home through the gorgeous canyon roads back to Topanga.
The last day of tracking was done at a different Harry Gesner mansion, Eagle's Watch, which is within view of Raven's Eye. This house is even more visually stunning, as it's perched high up on it's own little outcropping looking over the ocean, and the shape of the house is like a yacht pointed out towards the sea.
Mark knows how to pick inspiring places to make albums. This time Mark was just tracking vocals for Asaf and a background vocalist, Justine Bennett. It was far more intimate than the previous day, with only the four of us in the house. The sunset wrapped all around the glass-walled living room was spectacular.
Asaf and Justine were magic together, the vocal tracking was wonderful to be a witness too. Everything was perfect, except when I got trapped outside on the balcony. Oops.
Asaf's album is out now and you should go listen on Spotify or iTunes!
Signing Off Facebook.
Remember what life was like before Facebook? You had to call people to make plans. You had to get photos printed at Walgreens and buy little photo albums and put each photo in a sleeve and give your friends copies of the ones they were in. If you were hosting a party or event, you made up little invitations in Microsoft Word and printed them out and gave them to people, or mailed (!) them. You may have had fewer "friends" but the ones you had, you were closer to. You only got news from them if you actually asked for it and listened one-on-one on the phone or in person. It was harder to find out if you weren’t invited to something or left out of the loop.
Facebook has gotten a lot of negative press recently. From "fake news" scandals, fascinating revelations about their data collection, the Russian influence on the US election, and most recently Sean Parker (Facebook's founding president) claiming the site's mission from the start has been wasting as much of its users time as possible by exploiting human psychology (read the whole article here). I think everyone should think twice about how much information Facebook has about you if you frequently use the site (and/or Facebook Messenger), and the power organizations, companies and governments have when able to utilize this data to manipulate the masses.
Decentralization is something I've become quite fascinated by recently, and Facebook is basically the opposite of a decentralized community/service. I won't dive into decentralization here and go off-topic, but look into it if you haven't heard that term yet. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are under the decentralization umbrella, as are any service/technology that removes "third parties" and "trusted authorities" from your life. The idea is this: the less information and trust you give a third party (it can be a bank, the government, Facebook, etc) the better for you and for society in general.
For 11 years I have been extremely active on Facebook for 2 reasons: networking for business (I’m freelance, so this was essential for the most eyes possible seeing my work and knowing what I do); and keeping up with family/close friends (since I travel a lot, this was very convenient), and easily sharing media/experiences/opinions with them en masse.
It’s been my personal experience that over the years these interactions have become more and more superficial. Even when I share something extremely important in my life, I’ve found that less than 10% of my "friends" interact with the post, and usually only 1 or 2 text or call in response, with the majority either hitting the ‘like’ button, or leaving a one sentence comment.
My life is rather A-typical: I’m usually single, I have very few close friends, and I work alone at home from a computer all day. For almost a decade now. So Facebook has been a substitute for a healthy social life for me for a very long time. Additionally, Facebook is a source of constant distraction and depression. Even when I'm otherwise being fairly productive, I still have this knee-jerk reaction to check it every hour or less. I've tried the news feed eradicator plugin, Blocksite plugin, deleting the app from my phone... nothing worked. I know as long as I'm an active user of the site, I will have an addiction to it. I don't have this problem with any other social network. I absolutely love Instagram, Twitter, and Flickr - yet they don't have this addictive property (for me, at least). I’m also on AngelList, LinkedIn, and Earn.com. I’m going to be much more active on my blogs as well, which I’ve linked below.
BreezyBaldwin.com Blog – (This blog) Where I post personal stuff, new client work and my yearly goals.
World Travlr – Where I post travel stories and photos
Edit911 Blog – Where I post book reviews and writing related news
Nothing makes me happier and feel more loved than getting a phone call or text from a friend just wanting to catch up and share stories, photos, and experiences. If you haven’t done that for a friend in a while – do it! I’m going to be personally following up with all my friends more often and I hope you do too.
If you still rather stalk me online, please follow my public Facebook, my Twitter and my Instagram :)
Ps. I really am going to miss Facebook. It's been a (regretfully) huge part of my life over the past 11 years. It wasn't all bad. Its facilitated the easy sharing of hundreds of priceless photos and memories with friends and family, funny conversations, interesting debates, and reconnection with friends (like that time Facebook told me my friend Leo was a few blocks away from me in Athens, Greece and we had dinner together). I'm excited for my new Facebook-free life though. I made the above collage of almost all of my Facebook profile photos, plus took a screenshot of my final profile as a little commemoration since I'll be deleting my account permanently soon, and it will be a shame to see the 11 year time capsule of my life gone. Maybe I'll put together an old fashioned scrapbook of Facebook memories?
A Stranger Time
Last November, in a remote cabin on a lake in Ontario, an album was made. That album has now been released and has a very appropriate name: A Stranger Time. The artist behind this album is my good friend Alexz Johnson, who I've been lucky enough to collaborate with many times now.
Alexz and I have never actually lived in the same city, which is extremely hard to believe for me since we've spent more time together the past 3 years than most friends who do live in the same city. And that's because she does things like fly me to Toronto to spend 2 weeks following her around with a camera. If you've never hired someone to follow you around with a camera for 2 weeks, you should try it. It's fun. I'm available.
This whole Ontario lake cabin album business happened because a producer named Mark Howard (Bob Dylan, U2, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, etc.) reached out to Alexz to produce her next album. Mark records in what is now sadly considered an unconventional, even antiquated way: live off the floor. Meaning the song is arranged and then rehearsed by everyone together a few times, then recorded in 1-2 takes. With everyone playing at once. If you didn't know, that's not how albums are made anymore. Usually vocals and all instruments are recorded separately, some (or all in the case of some genres) instruments aren't even "real" but rather software instruments "played" by midi controller or keys on a keyboard, or sometimes, purchased loops. That incredibly polished, perfect timing and instrumentation you hear on songs nowadays is thanks to music not actually being performed live by a musician, but "produced" in software program. A lot of quality is actually lost this way.
Not only does Mark track albums live in the age of over-produced software music, he also does another pretty insane thing that I've never seen another producer do... he doesn't use studios. He has his own mobile studio rig that he can setup literally anywhere with electricity. He rents out castles, cabins, mansions, photo studios and anywhere with a cool vibe to transform into his studio during the album process.
Alexz wanted her album done in Ontario, and thus, the mobile studio was setup in a charming cabin on Eagle Lake near Haliburton, Ontario for a week. I flew in to Toronto, spent an hour on the train getting to Alexz's apartment and then caught up with her over a glass of red wine. The following day we rented a very uninspiring white car from a depressing big-name rental company, filled up the entire trunk with enough booze to make us look like raging alcoholics to the checkout clerk, and set off three hours north to the cabin. We arrived right after the sun had set, so in the morning the gorgeous view of the lake was a nice surprise. Mark greeted us like old friends, despite never meeting before. And then it was right to work.
This was the same week Donald Trump was nominated to be the next President of the USA. We watched the election unfold on Day 2 in the cabin, muted on the TV while the work carried on, despite the results. As a Floridian, I knew the second Florida went to Trump that it was over. That was very early in the night. It would be many hours before the rest of the cabin crew would accept the outcome. Some of us were shocked and upset, some weren't. I was the only American in the mix, but Canadians are pretty passionate about US politics, for good reason. They are America's hat, after all.
The musicians Mark hired to work on the album were world-class, and more importantly, super nice and fun to hang with. When you're stuck in a cabin with 7 people for a week, it's super important that they're all great people. A part from a few trips to the nearby town to get gluten free muffins from the President's Choice, we basically never left the cabin. On drums was Brady Blade, literally one of the best drummers on the planet.
On bass was Dave McMillan from Big Wreck.
On guitar Mr. Les Cooper
At some point Alexz thought it was a good idea to canoe out into the lake on one of the coldest, windiest days for some photos. All the way out in the center of the lake, I realized we had a little spider hitchhiker. Actually, it was a huge spider hitchhiker. And it was right by Alexz. It took me a minute or two to decide what would be worse: telling her and her freaking out or her seeing it herself and freaking out. You don't want to freak out in a canoe. So I decided telling her would be best, in a really calming and soothing voice, reminding her not to stand up or make any sudden movements. Lol. She freaked out. I don't blame her. Our canoe stayed afloat though and we somehow got it back to the dock after an exhausting row against some fierce cross-wind.
Someone thought it was a good idea for me to play piano on a track at some point. It didn't make it on the album but it was fun to be in front of the camera for a second!
After a week of amazing music and memories, the album was mostly tracked and it was time to pack up and head back to Toronto. We still had one more day of work to do with Les (guitarist) and Mark at a different studio about an hour south of TO, but it was time to say goodbye to Brady Blade, Pete, Shira and Dave and our amazing little cabin on Eagle Lake.
Stay tuned for the documentary I shot of the recording process, coming out soon! And go listen to the album on iTunes: A Stranger Time or Spotify:
MMXVII
Every year in early January I post a last year in review/new years resolution blog. This year, I didn't. Not because I didn't want to, life was just really nutso crazy pants in January, since I moved back to Los Angeles after living in Orlando for 2 years. The rest of this year has also been pretty intense, with a lot of big life events, work projects, traveling... my blog has been seriously neglected. And I regret that. I love keeping it fresh and up-to-date. So this month, I'll be posting a lot... starting with this incredibly long overdue new year's post! I just can't not post it, even if it is 9 months late, hah!
Without further ado, a review of 2016, based on my previous set goals which you can see on this post: MMXVI.
1. Read at least 2 books a month on a wide variety of topics.
I did read quite a few books in 2016, although I only averaged about 1.5 a month. Here are some of the books I read that really stuck out and a mini-review of each:
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Fascinating, but tedious and dry. I think I'll try Neil DeGrass Tyson for my next non-fiction science read.
Money: Master the Game by Tony Robbins
Was not overly impressed by this book, considering the massive following Tony has, but maybe it was the wrong Tony Robbins book to start with? There are some good nuggets in here for sure, especially if this is your first financial self-help book. If you've already read dozens, you're not gonna find any new information in here.
The Virgin Way by Sir Richard Branson
Just makes you want to be best friends w/ Branson. And learn to think like him. And act like him. What an amazing guy.
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Wow. Incredibly eye-opening, Dawkins makes extraordinary arguments that are important to understand regardless of your personal faith.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
I don't read a lot of fiction these days, but I gave this one a shot and I'm glad I did. Best novel I've read since Harry Potter. Loved it.
The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot
This book straight-up changed my life. No joke. I used to think so many things talked about in this book were just divine mysteries and pseudo-science mumbo jumbo that I wrote off as something only crazy people talk about or experience. Turns out there are 100% science-backed theories that not only explain such things but do so in a way that makes other accepted theories seem weak and incomplete in comparison. The main takeaway is that "reality" is simply a construct of each individual mind, and base "reality" could be something much different than what our minds construct. I think I'll be re-reading this one once every couple years to deepen my understanding of this fascinating topic more.
Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
This one I almost didn't read, because on a topic like debt you might be suffering through an extremely boring book. Not only is this book not even remotely boring, it's one of the most interesting books I've ever read. I've brought it up in conversation dozens of times since reading it because the mentioned concepts apply so frequently to my day-to-day life - not because I have a lot of debt (I have a healthy amount for a millennial, lol) but because any exchange between 2 or more humans in the modern world is a form of debt or debt exchange, and it's incredible how ingrained our preconceived opinions of these exchanges and our currency and monetary system is to us without ever learning the origins and how illusory it all is.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the PCT by Cheryl Strayed
There are things I loved about this book, there are things I hated about this book. Overall it was a great read, but frustrating. I want to like Cheryl, and her story, I just felt throughout the entire book that she's incredibly self-centered, and the hike she went on, which should have been an affective "reset" button for her life, only served to give her a good anchor story to weave into a story about her life before the hike -- which is what she should have left behind on the hike. As someone who loves using prolonged travel to break from the past and start fresh, her backwards motion was incredibly painful to me. I watched the movie as well after finishing the book, and I felt they cleaned her up a bit for the movie and made her a little more likable, which was a good move.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
I love this woman, I love this book. It was great timing that I read this around the same time I read The Holographic Universe, because the whimsical way Elizabeth claims to harness creativity for her writing is something scientifically explained within the Holographic Universe. If I hadn't read the scientific description of this process in The Holographic Universe before reading Big Magic, I would have cringed a bit and thought Liz had lost her mind... but there's science to back this up. This book is a must-read for creatives, especially if you believe your ideas are 100% yours.
2. Construct and follow daily/weekly rituals designed to help maximize my productivity.
I sort of did this. My discipline in following the rituals could use some improvement however.
3. Do more yoga!
Yeah... no. One day.
4. Get to near-fluent proficiency with French & Spanish.
Hah! Nope. Although I did use DuoLingo so much it's now telling me I'm "intermediate" in French! I highly doubt that's true though. A French speaker definitely wouldn't agree.
5. Plan and save for a Caribbean sailing expedition and a Pan-American Highway expedition.
Oh! This one I did! Although the Caribbean sailing expedition is indefinitely on hold, I just did 1/3 of the Pan-American Highway expedition. The remaining 2/3 won't be accomplished for another year or two, but I have a much more realistic grasp on these goals coming to fruition now.
6. Visit at least 5 new countries.
Did this! Bam! I visited Turkey, Spain, Morocco, Ireland, Scotland, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Greece. Ten new countries! Yay.
7. Finish the first draft of my book.
No, no. Not even close.
8. Learn how to program an iPhone app and develop one.
YES! I did this too. Whew! Three out of eight goals accomplished... not terrible?
And now, my goals for 2017, even though it's already 2/3 over...
Launch my app, Hchhkr, on the App StoreVisit my last unvisited US State, Alaska- Travel to at least 5 new countries (this is a reoccurring annual goal)
- Drive the Pan-American Highway
- Read 12 new non-fiction books
- Do more yoga and meditation (ha, ha)
I'm happy to report that I've already accomplished #1 & #2 on this list!
My app, Hchhkr, is now live online and on the App Store and Google Play store. It's a long-distance ridesharing app (not a taxi service!) so if you or anyone you know ever takes long trips in the car (say from Los Angeles to San Francisco) and would like to sell a seat in their car or take a ride with someone else - it's perfect for that :)
The cherry on top of completing 1/3 of the Pan-American Highway was I got to visit my 50th state - Alaska! I accomplished my nearly life-long goal of visiting all 50 US states, before turning 30! Woohoo! I roadtripped through all of Alaska, from Anchorage, to Fairbanks, t0 Prudhoe Bay, and got to see some of the most remote wilderness in the world. It was an incredible adventure.
MMXVI
Every year I publish a New Year's post on my blog to keep myself publicly accountable for my goal achievement. This posts also acts as a nice little condensed yearly highlights list.
First, a recap of 2015. In a nutshell, I was a little too ambitious. Maybe it's good to set your sights high? As a result of setting them too high and not having realistic expectations, I feel like last year was rough for me in terms of feeling accomplished, even though I accomplished a lot. Here's my full 2015 resolution list, and where I went wrong (and right):
1. Travel to Asia & the South Pacific – This is the one goal that I achieved with flying colors! I spent a month in Asia, traveling as far north as Beijing and as far south as Bali, and almost everywhere in between. It was one of the best trips I've ever taken. Check out some of my posts about it on my travel blog: World Travlr.
2. Buy a house and put a room on Airbnb – This was the goal that ruined the completion of the rest. I was way too determined to get a house with a high ROI (a fixer-upper), so I went with an 18yr old house that had been foreclosed 3 years prior. It had a pool that had become a pond infested with frogs, and every other problem a house can possibly have aside from the absolute worst issues (the roof was fine, no structural issues or health/safety problems). Thanks to watching too many episodes of Extreme Home Makeover, I had the expectation that I could easily remodel the house in a month or two. After all, I was only removing the carpet in 5 rooms and a hallway, putting down laminate wood floors, painting, and landscaping the front and back yard. Looking back, even if that really was all I needed to do, that alone would have taken 3-4 months, not 1-2. Add in 20 or so unexpected projects (and unforeseen challenges with even the projects that should have been quick and easy), and my house flooding in multiple places multiple times – and 8 months later the house remodel still isn't done. It does look 100x better than it did when I bought it though. I should be very proud of myself, but since my expectations were so far off, the whole thing just feels like it's been a massive time suck.
3. Become fluent in French – This goal I actually put a lot of effort into, but again, I had an expectation problem. I expected I could be fluent in a year (I wasn't starting from a total newbie level) if I listened to language learning podcasts once a week and spent a ½ hour on Duolingo every night. I was also going to join a language “Meetup” and practice conversing with fluent speakers once a month. In reality, I only listened to podcasts once a month, only played Duolingo a few times a week for 20 minutes or less, and only went to one French Meetup (which was amazing, but I was the least-fluent speaker there). It's going to take way more discipline for me to achieve this goal.
4. Start a non-profit – Ha, ha... yeah no. Didn't even do a thing to work towards this one except buy a domain name. Oops.
5. Publish a book – More expectation issues. I worked really hard on this one. I wrote at least a few hours a week, sometimes hours a day. The main book I'm working on is still nowhere near complete. I definitely made a ton of progress on it though, and now I have a way more realistic expectation of how long it will take me to finish (another 2 years).
Although the biggest issue I had was improper expectations (maybe due to lack of research?), another big one was structure and discipline. Although I kept meticulously organized to-do lists, a lot of times I would get lazy, procrastinate, and skip the hardest, most important things on the lists in favor of the easier tasks. When all of the easier tasks were done, instead of switching back to the important big tasks, I would fill the rest of the day with what Tim Ferriss would call “work for work's sake” or busywork. I would clear out my email inbox, or organize my closet, or read a business book. I would rarely switch off entirely and veg out or go do something fun – but I would procrastinate on the most important of tasks. After reading “Daily Rituals” by Mason Currey, I've determined that one way many successful freelancers and business owners have combated this problem is with strict daily rituals that they follow. Allotting a specific time each day for a task, in which nothing but that task is to be accomplished. So this is the #1 thing I'm going to try to achieve in 2016, to help combat my procrastination once and for all!
So without further ado, here are my 2016 New Year's Resolutions/Goals:
- Read at least 2 books a month on a wide variety of topics.
- Construct and follow daily/weekly rituals designed to help maximize my productivity.
- Do more yoga!
- Get to near-fluent proficiency with French & Spanish.
- Plan and save for a Caribbean sailing expedition and a Pan-American Highway expedition.
- Visit at least 5 new countries (Peru, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal).
- Finish the first draft of my book.
- Learn how to program an iPhone app and develop one.
What are your New Year's Resolutions? How do you intend to keep them?
Becoming A Professional Photographer
One thing I've gotten many emails and requests for over the years (as does every photographer) is my advice on how to become a “professional” photographer. Whenever I get these emails, after I get done laughing and crying at the same time, I want to offer some helpful advice, but I simply don't have the time to write a personalized response. I usually ignore the email, then I feel like a butthead. So I'm finally writing a blog to send to everyone who asks me this. Hopefully this will help some people out.
Just like many other careers and life skills, photography can be practiced in many different ways. You can be a photographer with a semi-normal “full time” job with benefits – either working for a massive chain photography studio like Picture People or Lifetouch – or even set up a franchise-style photo studio of your own; taking similar portraits with the same nice lighting setup and props and price for all of your clients who desire a predictable outcome and fast turn-around. On the other end of the spectrum, you could pass up the predictable, stable income work and try to push creative boundaries; doing only one-off, highly conceptualized 'contracted freelance' shoots. These shoots typically include assistants, wardrobe, stylists, etc. – and the photographers who shoot this way typically strive to create something new with every shoot they do, usually for commercial work, bands, or even gallery shows. Some photographers also try to strike a balance in the middle of this spectrum.
Photography is a much easier career when you are open to photographing babies, families, dogs and weddings; and when you have a natural knack for business and saying no to people. Personally, I am horrible at saying no, and asking for what I'm actually worth, and I have a deep dislike for shooting weddings, engagements, babies, pets… everything that makes you steady money in photography (unless you are fortunate enough to score an agent that can get you very high-end commercial work, but even that has major drawbacks, despite the much higher pay per job – more on that later).
I'm going to try to make this post as much about YOU and as little about me as possible, but I do need to relate some personal stories in here to drive the point home on a few things. First off, as a photographer, you will eventually be asked to shoot a wedding, even if you don't want to and never intended to shoot them. Even if you do like the idea of shooting weddings, there's a lot you should know.
Weddings
I have shot four weddings, and all were favors for friends and family. I spent an average of $300 per wedding on equipment (fixing lights and lenses needed for the job, buying extra gear, buying batteries, hard drives, etc) plus gas and travel expense. Not to mention dozens of hours sorting through the thousands of photos, picking selects, and doing final detailed edits to the selects, and cost/time to mail hard drives to the client. The average wedding photographer today charges $2,500 (and a large chunk of that is cost and not profit). Asking a photographer to shoot a wedding for free is the same as asking a caterer to do your wedding for free – buying all the food and prepping it, running around all day setting up the food and cleaning it up. You don't get to enjoy the wedding – you are working, stressing, and spending money instead of making it.
I don't regret a single wedding that I've shot for free, because for various reasons I wanted to do it-- but I will never do it again and I encourage every photographer to understand what they are getting themselves into by doing weddings (or large photoshoots) for free. The best thing you can do when asked is politely explain that your personal cost (no profit included) to shoot a wedding with confidence would be in the $100-500 range (depending on the gear you require, if you have it all already, how long it takes you to edit selects and how many they want). If you're generous enough to make no profit, offer to shoot it at that cost. I won't even delve into the ethical ramifications of accepting to do a wedding for free—since you're hurting the wedding photography industry and perception of the value of good wedding photos, and perpetuating the misunderstanding of good photography being of high value in the age of selfies and high-quality camera phones. Personally, if I were to hire a wedding photographer who was a friend, I would pay them full price or only ask for a small discount. Same for a wedding band, caterer, etc.
This same principal should go for every shoot you do. Never, ever, shoot for free unless it is for a solid charitable cause, or the shoot is for strong personal gain – IE if it is the first wedding you've ever shot and you need the photos for your portfolio in order to get more work. If you feel compelled to do a shoot for free, at least consider cost and offer to do it for the price of gas, a minimal hourly fee and maybe a meal thrown in. This way you will feel more valued and less taken advantage of, which will compel you to do better work.
For the first wedding I ever shot I was naïve enough to think the FotB or someone would at least slip me $50 or an Olive Garden giftcard for my time & travel expense. I didn't even know these friends that well, so even though I agreed to shoot the wedding for free, I figured there would at least be a small token of gratitude offered at the end of the day or a few days later. Nope. As a result of feeling very taken advantage of (since I didn't even realize how crazy insane shooting a wedding was when I agreed to it) I dragged my feet a lot in getting the 2,000 photos to them. I was broke, so I couldn't afford to send them a hard drive, and uploading the files to my server was slow going. This was before Dropbox. I took so long to get them the photos that they ended up actually getting pretty upset with me, and it basically ended whatever friendship we had before that. Don't make the same mistake. Ask for compensation up front, or politely decline.
Fashion/Commercial/Music/Fine Art Photography
I can't speak much more about the wedding/baby/dog/family/portrait side of things, because I try not to do that work because I don't love it. I can offer a lot more advice about the other end of the spectrum though, because that's what I've strived to do as a photographer. If that's you, too – prepare to fail unless you have a natural talent for extraordinary composition, lighting, posing, prop and location/setting concept, etc. Or, you could just mimic what is popular by trolling Instagram and fashion blogs, and if you're good at stealing other people's concepts and lighting ideas, you'll do just fine. Also, you must have a bunch of beautiful friends at the ready to do portfolio building (free) shoots with. Only beautiful people will sell your portfolio to high-paying clients. This is the saddest and dirtiest truth in the photography world. You can have a stunning photo of an 'ugly' person, and if you're trying to do work in fashion, commercial, music or fine art, people are not going to take a second look at your work. They want to see beautiful people in these industries, and that you know how to photoshop already beautiful people to look impossibly perfect. Now, if you only want to do travel photography or editorial/non-profit work, you are totally safe with normal looking people in your portfolio.
Another thing you're going to want to have in this arena of the photography world is an agent. I've only had an agent once, and I hated it, because she got me work that I didn't actually want. I was getting paid, and published, but it was work I didn't even want in my portfolio. Boring commercial work. She didn't understand or care about what I actually wanted to be shooting – to her, money was money, and photos were photos. I know other photographers who love their agents, but only the ones fortunate enough to have landed some of the best photography agents in the world. Even they have complaints – but they mostly love the work. I don't know the secret formula for landing that kind of agent, because if I did, I would have one. I do know that most of my friends who have landed great agents didn't actually seek them out, the agent found them. One more reason it's critical to have a solid online presence with your work, and always be working – even if you're faking it 'til you make it. If you're in a dry spell, invent your own shoot with model friends that looks like a commercial or music shoot. Always be publishing new, compelling work.
Most people have found me through my music photography work, and a lot of people ask about that as a career. Let me tell you, this is the most financially restrictive (nicest way I can explain that you will be broke) kind of photography around. Now, if you love music, it's very personally fulfilling and can be fun. But prepare to be homeless. Literally nobody will pay for music photography unless it's the cover shoot for an album, and even bands with big budgets are getting “creative” and shooting with friends or shooting their own stuff because they think it's cool – and they aren't wrong. Live music? Forget it. If you have connections to local newspapers, they may want one shot from last night's U2 concert that they are actually willing to pay a few hundred bucks for. But local newspaper photogs never meet the band, don't get to enjoy the concert (3 song limit, gotta love it), and are usually given assignments for shows they don't even want to see. How fun!
The real fun in the music industry is getting to work with bands and artists you actually love. This doesn't pay well, and it is hard. Very, very hard. I have succeed at this a few times, but it took years to get in with the people I wanted to work with. There are also huge downsides to working with bands/artists you love, especially if they know you are/were a 'fan'. With some artists you can still have dozens of solid 'connections' and be on their radar and still never get hired. This is because either they already have a list of people they use, or they just don't pay (or can't even afford to pay) photographers. For the artists I worked for, I was just in the right place at the right time after years of putting myself on the radar. Once I finally was hired, I was never paid enough for it to become a more full-time thing*, and had to move on to other work in order to pay my rent. It's heartbreaking when you're doing what you love, but it can't pay your bills. Music does not pay the bills. If you want to make money in photography, don't plan to work exclusively in music.
*Except for that tour I did where I tour managed, drove the van, ran VIP, ran merch, did stills & video and played cajon for part of the set. I was paid well then! :)
Travel photography
This might actually be the hardest to succeed in photography niche of all. Why? Because not many photographers are cut out to be the next Annie Leibovitz, handling huge budget shoots with A-list celebrities, and most actually know that. But every single photographer in the world now thinks they would make a good travel photographer, including amateurs with iPhones, thanks to point-and-shoot cameras and camera phones with photography apps with software built-in to color correct, straighten, do HDR landscapes, sharp macro and tilt-shift shots, portraits with nice skin tones and airbrushing, and professional filters – without even needing to touch a professional editing program.
I am still, 10 years in, trying to break into the travel photography industry. Honestly I haven't tried that hard though. Since I haven't “made it” yet, my advice is probably worthless, but from what I've seen of the photographers who have made it, there is a formula: you have to go on a few self-funded trips, and treat the trip like a photo assignment. Try to get a broad range of subject material, but also try to stick to a coherent theme too, like the hipster culture in Austin, TX or the music scene in Havana, Cuba. Travel publications just want to see one incredible sample from you - i.e., a set of 10-20 photos from one trip, a small story to go along with it, and a broad range of subject matter from that trip: food, locals, attractions and off-the-beaten-path stuff. If they are impressed, they will keep you on a list for future work and potentially ask you what your travel schedule looks like (a lot of them don’t even want to pay your way to do specific pieces anymore, they like to have a network of photographers that are constantly traveling on their own dime who they can hire pseudo-locally). It’s usually very low pay, but generally is enough to cover trip expenses, so the upside is you technically can get “free vacations” out of it. To make travel photography a true career, you would need to become a full-time employee of a travel pub or media outlet. A lot of the top websites, magazines, and media outlets don’t hire outsiders. They hire people in a full-time position that may or may not include 9 to 5 office work as well. It can take decades to get these coveted jobs.
Here are a few helpful links for additional info: How to Break Into Travel Photography, How I Became a Travel Photographer
NGO/Non-profit Photography
Again, just expect to be literally homeless and broke if you want to get into this. Or find a wealthy benefactor. Or move to a third world country where there are multiple NGOs on the ground and apply at their field offices. There are a few incredible photographers that dominate this field, and only a few Non-profits that really have the money (and budget) to pay well for photos. Charity:water, World Vision, etc. All the work I've done in this field was charity work. I completely funded my travel and my photos/videos taken were a gift to the non-profit.
Still interested in a photography career?
If you want to shoot weddings and have a studio, great. You have a shot at a career if you can find a market that isn't already saturated with photographers. If you want to be a freelance music/fashion/commercial/non-profit/travel photographer and I haven't scared you yet, here’s what I’d recommend doing: find a way to make a solid income doing something other than photography that you enjoy, and support your photography career on the side. IF you've saved up enough money for at least a 6-month dry spell, and you are swamped with high-paying assignments that you love, then quit the other job.
Here are some answers to specific questions that I've received:
Q: What is the best thing I can do to promote and market myself to get in front of editors or other clients?
A: Have an amazing website and internet presence where editors and prospective clients can see big beautiful images immediately. That is a baseline. Then target who you want to see your work. I don’t think that ‘broad spectrum’ marketing works super well. Just find out who you want to work for and then try to send them emails/actual mail and then finally a phone call once the email/mail has gone through. If you're unsure of how to setup a beautiful website and solid social media accounts, there are many books on those subjects. For websites, there are dozens of cheap solutions to have a nice photography site, like using Wordpress or Squarespace. The best advice I can give for social is don't make it personal – post only beautiful, compelling images and posts that have to do with your career and photography in general.
Q: How do I make the greatest amount of money possible as a photographer?
A: Most photographers who I know that would identify themselves as successful also have income from speaking engagements, books, interviews, creative side projects and selling stock work. Don't put your eggs in one basket and make sure that you are diversified in terms of revenue and your client base. One of the good things about photography is flexibility. There are no rules really, you can shoot only real estate photography or you can shoot everything under the sun and be a speaker and author too!
Q: How do I become a better photographer?
A: Follow as many successful photographers as you can, read their blogs, watch their videos and learn everything you can about their creative process, lighting setups and ideas, editing techniques, etc. Then shoot as many photos as you possibly can. Treat every shoot like the most important one you've ever done and as a chance to step it up. When I was first starting out, I brought my camera into every concert I went to (which was a lot) -- even the ones where no cameras were allowed. I would sneak my camera in through a "fake bottom" purse. At one show in particular I had the nicest camera in the room, everyone else just had awful little point and shoots and iPhones, and it was a dark room, so everyone was using flash. The artist, a Miss Zooey Deschanel, stopped the show at one point and told the audience she couldn't continue unless the photo taking stopped. Knowing that I was fine since I wasn't using a flash (I never use a flash for concert photography, and neither should you) I kept taking photos discreetly. One of the photos I took that night somehow became the main photo on Zooey's wikipedia article for years and was used in countless articles about She & Him (her band). Just bringing my camera and taking photos (even when I wasn't supposed to) helped me grow a lot as a photographer. A good rule of thumb when you're learning (and you want to bring your camera everywhere and taking photos of everything) is to 'ask for forgiveness, not permission'.
Q: Who are your favorite photographers?
A: Joey Lawrence, Jeremy Cowart, Annie Leibovitz, Florian Schneider, Joseph Cultice, Jason Bell, Michael Desmond, Eric Ogden, Michael Muller, Danny Clinch, Eric Almas, Trey Ratcliff, Esther Havens, Casey Curry, Andy Barron ... just to name a few.
Final thoughts
I can’t tell you how often I want to (and do) temporarily quit photography. My family gets mad at me because I won’t even bring “my nice camera” that "takes good photos" to family gatherings anymore because I tell them I’m just done taking photos for a while. Even when you love it, you will probably get burnt out at some point. That's why I cannot stress enough – just like with a professional career in sports – you should have a Plan B if you plan on being a photographer. A side business, another skill set or career or passive income from rental properties, or something you could fall back on or do on the side. It's very, very difficult to make a living doing nothing but taking photos, especially if you're picky about it and want to only work in a niche. I know some of the top photographers in the world, and although they aren't struggling, the aren't rolling in it either. Many of them re-invest a ton of their income into new equipment, bigger studios and funding personal projects and what's left over is a modest middle-class income. Yes, there are a few exceptions to this rule, but they are very few.
Ps. If you have any questions I didn't answer, please let me know in the comments and I'll add them to this post!
Sundance Film Festival 2015
For the second year in a row I had the good fortune of attending the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT. It was another incredible year. Through the good films and the bad, a lot was learned. Tears were shed. Notes were taken. Lines were stood in. Free yoghurt was eaten. (Thanks, Chobani!)
I saw 9 films in 10 days — which is a lot more than some and a lot less than others. I met a few people who were seeing 4-5 films a day 10 days in a row. I’m really not sure how these people are still alive, to be honest. I had tickets to 10 films, but skipped one because I was so tired that night and heard the film wasn't great (The Visit).
It’s very difficult to make the initial selection of what you’re going to see, for a few reasons. The first is there are almost 200 films, and the only thing that helps you distinguish one from another is the category they are in (US Dramatic, US Documentary, World Dramatic, World Documentary, New Frontier, etc) the title of the movie, the marketing image, and a short summary. No trailer. No reviews. All the films that show at Sundance are premiers, so the Sundance audience is the very first public audience. Later on during the festival, word starts to spread amongst festival attendees which films are the best and which you should trade your tickets in for.
That being said, I heard nothing about Me, Earl & the Dying Girl (The film that won the Grand Jury & Audience US Dramatic Award) while at Sundance. It wasn’t a “buzz” movie. Even though I didn’t see it, I’m shocked that it won and Brooklyn didn’t. Everyone I spoke with said Brooklyn was one of the best films they had ever seen at Sundance. I'm looking forward to it's distribution with Fox Searchlight and also to seeing Me, Earl & the Dying Girl when it's released, to see if it truly deserved it's win.
Without further ado… here are my film reviews, from best to worst, of the films I screened at Sundance:
1. Brooklyn
Set between Ireland and Brooklyn in the early 1950’s, the story follows an Irish immigrant named Eilis (pronounced Ay-lish) played by Saoirse Ronan. It’s a fresh, realistic take on the classic tale of seeking a better life in the new world. It’s a story of love, loss, perseverance and finding yourself. The cinematography is breathtaking and the effortless transitions between heartbreak and laughter, depression and triumph leave you feeling like you truly glimpsed into the life of a 1950’s immigrant. During the Q&A with Saoirse and the director at the end, more than one person used their question to instead tearfully thank the filmmakers for creating the story of their mother, or grandmother, or them. Saoirse herself started crying and accounted how she herself just moved from Ireland to England and has also lived in America, so she connects with the immigration story as well. It’s a story connected to so many of our lives — the tale of our parents or grandparents or great-grandparents that took an enormous leap of faith and left everything behind for the chance of a better life. And finally, there is a beautiful film to experience it that doesn't include a sinking ship.
2. Umrika (Winner of the World Dramatic Audience Award)
Going into this film I admit I didn’t make the connection that “Umrika” is the Indian word for “America”. This was a foreign language Indian film, starring Suraj Sharma (who starred in “Life of Pi”). Set in the 1970’s, a village boy in rural India named Ramakant has a much older brother who is the favorite of their mother, to the point that she tells her younger son that he will never amount to anything compared to his brother. When the eldest son moves to America, for years the entire village becomes obsessed with the letters he sends back, detailing his adventures, where he lives, the size of the bathrooms, American customs and holidays, and everything about the far away land, seemingly forever out of grasp for all of the villagers. One day when tragedy strikes, Ramakant decides to go find his brother in America, and his journey to get there uncovers shocking revelations and strength he didn’t know he had.
*Sidenote: I found it amusing that my 2 favorite Sundance films this year starred Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) & Tony Revolori (Umrika), who starred together in the wonderful Grand Budapest Hotel.
3. Advantageous (Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Collaborative Vision)
I give this film lots of credit for it’s ambition and use of concepts stemming from future tech & medical predictions, including some dialogue that I swear was borrowed verbatim from Ray Kurzweil's lectures. Also their was strong character development of the main character and her daughter. It needs a lot more work to be a successful wide-release though. There were some very rough moments and iffy CGI (no doubt an issue because this film was converted from a low-budget short) and the future world the filmmakers created at times felt like 2010 and other times felt like 2150. It was all over the map. The premise was a mother that works as a high-profile spokeswoman for a controversial advanced cosmetic technology company that has developed a medical procedure where they can transfer your memories, personality, likes & dislikes and basically everything about your conscience into a genetically engineered body — thereby introducing the possibility of not only customizing your body and appearance to your exact specifications — but jumping back however many years you desire in age as well. A 90 year old could wake up as an 18 year old, after a painless 1 hour procedure. In this future world, jobs are incredibly difficult to get, and when facing the possibility of being replaced by a younger woman, the main character fears for the future of her gifted young daughter if she were to have to pull her out of the best academy in the city, the only guarantee her daughter will get a job and have a good life as an adult. Because of this dilema, she contemplates undergoing the procedure she has long been the face of, but is secretly warned by the scientist behind the proceeder that there are worse side-effects than what they let on.
4. Strangerland
Set in a remote desert town in modern-day Australia, Nicole Kidman stars in this bizarre epic about a family torn apart by the quirks and mental instability of the parents and children which ultimately leads to the disappearance of their young son and teenage daughter right before a major dust storm rolls through the town. Worried their kids were out in it, the parents start to unravel as days pass without the kids being found, and the darker puzzle pieces that led to their disappearances are slowly uncovered. I really enjoyed this film despite it being a bit too long and seeing it at 8am.
5. Experimenter
This film had amazing potential, but not enough substantial character development to make it truly enjoyable. The director took a huge risk switching from a normal film narrative to a self-aware narrative, where at many points in the film the main character looks directly into the camera and talks to the audience about himself. There was also an awkward 5 minute sequence where illustration was used in place of the set for a house, but it just didn't work at all and felt incredibly out of whack. Diary of a Teenage Girl also employed a lot of illustration blended with the live action, and it worked well because the context of the film is based on the inter workings of a teenage girl's mind... Experimenter was based on the important historical biography of Stanley Milgram, who created one of the most important psychological experiments of the 20th century. Too much time was spent on the experiments - real and dramatized by Kellan Lutz playing William Shatner - and too little time spent on really getting to know Stanley and feeling the pain of the backlash from his seminal work. Also, the fake beard that Peter Sarsgaard wore for 1/2 the film looked like it was rented from a discount halloween store.
6. Most Likely to Succeed
At times brilliant, but a mostly contrived and under-researched documentary about drastically changing the education system in America. They only focus on one school in San Diego that has abolished standardized testing and textbook learning, and repeatedly claim that there is no way to prove that this method won't be a total disaster until the "graduates" of this school make it to the workforce and we can then study how well they perform and if they are more likely to succeed than children educated the traditional way. This movie needs to be re-made 10 years from now with real facts and data.
7. Last Days in the Desert
If you like "Biblical" stories that don't even remotely adhere to the actual story in the Bible but instead just borrow the names of the characters and the settings, and you also like movies that are compromised of at least 20 minutes of nothing but footage of the desert, and you also like Ewan McGregor playing Jesus with his full Scottish accent intact, you might actually enjoy this film. I did not.
8. Things of the Aimless Wanderer
I'm not sure what to say about this film besides it was incredibly thought provoking. It was part of the "New Frontier" category which I'd like Sundance to rename to the "what the actual hell is going on in these films we don't know and they defy standard categories" category. I guess New Frontier has a better ring to it. The Q&A after this movie really helped me out a lot. I was totally lost. Then the actor and producer really helped clear it up for me and make all the connections for me. I even asked a question during this Q&A I was so confused. I never ask questions at Sundance Q&A's! I think my question was about one of the editing techniques used in the film that was wonderfully jarring and creative.
9. Diary of a Teenage Girl
This was one of the most hyped films of the festival, and the most disappointing, to me. Kristin Wiig was incredible, all the actors were... but the content and the premise of this film just left me feeling so disgusted it negated all other good qualities. You'd have to be a special kind of person to enjoy a film about a 15 year-old sex addict who seduces her mom's boyfriend and then gets into prostitution, all while whimsically doodling away her fantasies in her diary to the cute backdrop of 1970s San Francisco. I didn't find it cute and I wonder why there are so many films at Sundance with super dark sexual content.
Best Album Covers of 2014
CARIBOU "Our Love"
Matthew Cooper - Design / Jason Evans - Art Direction, Design, Photography
East India Youth "Total Strife Forever"
Painting by Tida Bradshaw / Design by Kohhei Matsuda
Iceage "Plowing Into the Field of Love"
SBTRKT "Wonder Where We Land"
Glass Animals "Zaba"
La Roux "Trouble In Paradise"
Foo Fighters "Sonic Highways"
Coldplay "Ghost Stories"
Weezer "Everything Will Be Alright In the End"
How To Dress Well "What Is This Heart"
Rustie "Green Language"
Switchfoot "Fading West"
Peter Matthew Bauer "Liberation!"
