The Art of Photography

Ep 35 - How Sarah Lyndsay turned her roughest time to blossom as a person and an artist

Sarah Lyndsay is a Self-Portrait & Landscape Photographer based in the beautiful Canadian Rockies.
She specialises in ethereal self-portrait work, putting herself in the landscapes she photographs no matter the season or weather.
Rain or shine, she will walk out in that lake in a flowing gown. She is widely known for her breathtaking long exposure work and her signature yellow dress. 
 
Link to images mentioned on the podcast - https://www.sarahlyndsayphotography.com/Portfolio-/Self-portraits/
 
If you want to learn more about Sarah’s work, you can find it here:
 
• Website - www.sarahlyndsayphotography.com
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73iAchNebceqyF3I0qskiA
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahlyndsayphotography/
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/sarahlyndsay_
• NFTs - https://opensea.io/sarahlyndsay
 
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• Apple Podcast - https://bit.ly/Theartofphotography  
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• Website: https://podcast.thewickedhunt.com     
• Tune In (Alexa) - https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr  
 
For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography by Stanley Aryanto:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedhunt/     
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewickedhunt/
• Masterclass: https://www.TheWickedHuntPhotography.com     
• Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/ 
 
Don't forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation. It would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers. 
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Transcription:
Sarah Lyndsay  0:00  So when you hit that rock bottom moment, I think you, it doesn't matter if it's with your career or your relationships or whatever, you're at rock bottom, and you're at this place where you just feel like you have no one, you're completely alone. And you're just faced with yourself, like you're faced with all those inner demons that you have. And we all have them. And I feel like this is the defining moment of where people either blossom into this amazing person or they go down even further and they go down the wrong path. And I think when you're when you're at the rock bottom, you have to make like a choice there.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  0:40  Hey, weekenders Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast, where we talk to other photographers and share their journey and how photography have given them hope, purpose and happiness. And today, we have somebody from the Canadian Rockies, someone who's really good at taking self portrait. Sarah, how are you doing, sir?
Sarah Lyndsay  1:00  I'm good. How are you? Thank you for having me come and do this. I'm really excited to be here.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  1:06  Very excited to have you. And I've been following your work, you know, ever since I got into the NFT world, and it's it's incredible that you know, your your, your art is just great. And I love the commitment that you put in to get those self portraits. Yeah, I'm so glad to have you here. Now, before we get started, can you give us a short introduction of who Sarah is?
Sarah Lyndsay  1:29  Okay, yes, I can do that. So in this current moment, this year, we will say, I am a self portrait and landscape photographer. I've been a photographer for 12 years. But the self portrait part has definitely just been in the last few years. And I do pretty much photography, or at least I have done it. All right now what I'm doing for work is I do photo tours and FTS YouTube, that's a big one as well. And just focusing on those with my photography and just trying to grow it and working at it every single day. And that's pretty much me in a nutshell. And how Wait, how could I forget this? You may see me around in a yellow dress. Yes, pretty important part.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  2:13  You call yourself the bananas? It's It's hilarious. It's great.
Sarah Lyndsay  2:19  That started in the NFT space. That's where that came from.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  2:23  So how did that come about? What's why the bananas? I'm not
Sarah Lyndsay  2:27  sure I just everybody was talking about you. I think you know like what the apes the board apes because the banana was a thing with them as well. And I just saw everybody talking about a banana. And I was like, Well, I can I am a banana on all the time. And then it just took off from there. So now everyone pretty much refers to me as the banana.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  2:46  That's hilarious. Yeah, it's really funny when it when they come out. And it's just so funny. And so what, what makes you what makes you love photography? Why are you doing? You've been doing this for 12 years, you say, right, yes. And you're still here. And you know, you've done a lot of different stuff. And I know you know, like doing YouTube and you know, getting all this thing happening is not easy. So what makes you what makes you fall in love with photography and what makes you stay as a photographer?
Sarah Lyndsay  3:17  That's a good question. Okay, so Paul, I have like it's the same answer to both of those questions why I love it is that I was just actually out shooting the other evening and it was a really great reminder of why I love it. Just when I was done shooting the feeling that I had of just creating something was so good. And like I noticed when I was shooting and I was so you know invested in my camera and the process of creating the image I was thinking about nothing but that moment and creating and that's why I love it and that's why I keep doing it because it's a when you're doing it you're out there in the field creating things you're in a mindful space that no problems can enter no people can enter it's just the camera and you and you're focused on something that is that that's why that's why I love it that's why I'm gonna continue doing it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  4:07  It's as simple as that a like yes what did they call it the whole meditation of being a photographer being there with the nature so do you get this feeling when you like do a different type of photography as well because you say like you have done few different genres as well. Does does that give you the same feeling or is is the the landscape and self portrait are the one that gives you the most and that's why you're doing it
Sarah Lyndsay  4:31  that's a tough question to answer I'm because okay, I've have photographed everything like I have worked in all of the genres. I think just creating no matter what gives me that feeling like it honestly doesn't matter if it's a landscape or if I was shooting weddings, well wedding is a lot more work so but when I'm creating images for them, I'm pretty excited about it. I think it can can be anything and I'll feel pretty happy creating it but I just gravitate towards like landscape with the self portraits because that feels like that's my heart. You And a best represents, like who I am and what I want to build. But yeah, I could probably be shooting anything and have a good time. It's just the creation, like the whole process of creating something is what keeps me there.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  5:12  That's awesome. That's fantastic. Yeah, I think, I don't know many people that can say the same thing, you know, enjoying the whole genre, but it's good that you're enjoying the whole thing. And I, you know, I, myself have tried a whole bunch of different things. And I don't think I could say I enjoy everything. So that's good on you.
Sarah Lyndsay  5:32  Whatever I'm photographing, like I used, I do it in my style. So like, just thinking back, I used to photograph family shoots. And I remember just I loved like, I mean, there's the whole point of customer service. That's not always the fun part. But like, even just bringing back their images to edit and creating something really special. I just loved it. I loved being absorbed in that.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  5:53  That's awesome. And so do you have like, a certain moment that you can pinpoint that makes you like that, that reminds you of how you started photography in the first place? Like, what was that one moment that make you pick up a camera? Like, for me, the first thing that made me follow my passion was when I went to Europe. And you know, it was a five weeks trip. And you know, it was a great trip. But I was so disappointed when I came back, you know, with my photos. So do you have a moment like that, that makes you say, You know what, this thing is awesome. And I want to do more of
Sarah Lyndsay  6:29  it. Yes. So this goes back to when I started photography, like when it all began the whole journey. It's kind of funny because it's backwards. Like I didn't pick up a camera first. I actually found Photoshop first, which not many people do. I know. Oh, so I was on a this was such a long time ago, I think I was 22 or 23. And I was on a date. And I remember we were just sitting on his couch. We were having some drinks, just hanging out listening to music. And he brought out a quote, he brought up Photoshop. So he was a photographer. But just like a hobbyist photographer, not he didn't do it professionally, but he liked to make album covers so he would go and photograph like Barnes and I don't know just anything and then he would come into Photoshop and you know, layer it and put textures on. And I just loved watching this process of him creating something so I asked him I was like, Oh, could you help me get this programme from my computer? So I got Photoshop, I didn't have a plan to be a photographer. I just wanted to play around like I'm a little bit computer nerdy. So yeah, I got Photoshop. And then I was like, Well, what am I going to do from here? I need to, I need something to work on. So I found my parents like old vacation point and shoot in the cupboard. And I was like, okay, and I just went outside and I started taking photos of things like everything, even jewellery, I would photographic jewellery. I love to like, I love playing around with depth of field, I first picked up the camera Anyways, that was
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  7:52  on f 2.8. I would
Sarah Lyndsay  7:56  I can't remember what the point and shoot like what it would go down to or what Yeah, I don't know. But I just I just remembered I picked up the camera. And again, it was that feeling of I'm creating something, because I think like my backstory, and I was coming out with something that was quite, I guess traumatic in a way. And then when you latch on to something, when you're feeling so alone, it's like, the camera gave me purpose again. And I will forever like I am forever grateful for that moment, because it breathes like life back into me and then put me on this path that and now I'm here. Like, it's amazing. The whole journey is really, really incredible.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  8:35  That's incredible. And, you know, I think, you know, not only me, but a lot of other photographer are the same thing, right? Photography have kind of something that, you know, for the public, like, basically help them to give them a new purpose, a new direction in life. And it looks like I get you know, we see the same thing and you and what was what was that like, like, you know, like, you know, from your, you know, the experience that you said it was difficult, and then you know, moving through and then being where you are today. I know that like, you know, the transition, especially it's never easy. So would you be able to share a little bit about that and maybe, perhaps give some inspiration to our listeners?
Sarah Lyndsay  9:17  Yeah, so I mean, I come from because this is pretty, like a pretty big part of my story. And I do share it quite a bit. So I come from, like a family of abuse there was it just wasn't a childhood to grow up in and like I'm in I'm in a lot of therapy now, which is amazing. It really, really helps me. But I what I've learned is that, you know, if you're not coming from a stable home, you don't really know what to do you you don't know what path to go on. It really really messes with you. And I guess I just didn't I didn't ever know who I was and I was so like, I was into relationships way too early on in life, you know, way too invested with men and it just wasn't good. So I didn't I didn't Know Who Sarah was. So when that moment when I picked up like the camera and I just kept doing it, honestly, it was like, it was just this moment of okay, this is me, this is who I am. This is Sarah and then it like the camera alongside of my own growth, like it plays a really big part in who I am today. It's it's wild to see that and because of the because of my past, I just, I don't know, I feel like I latched on to photography, because it was finally something that was mine. No one else is not my parents, not my not a boyfriend. It was just me and the camera. And yeah, it's an amazing feeling.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  10:39  That is such a inspiring story. You know, like, I think it a lot of people don't know where you know who they are, and where to go. And you know, you're coming from a past that's quite difficult like yours. It's just incredible that how you're able to turn that around. So, you know, made massive congratulations to you. And you know, massive kudos to you for making that happen. That is very inspiring. So if I were to just, you know, hypothetically, if you can no longer touch a camera, how would life be?
Sarah Lyndsay  11:14  Oh, man, obviously, that could become a reality for anybody. Really? I mean, I'd accept it, it would definitely suck. But I would I would have to obviously change career paths, which I probably don't what I would already want to do. It would really suck. I just, I feel like I could handle it for a little bit. But I feel like I would start really missing it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  11:35  That's yeah, it's fun. You're on? Yeah, how the camera something that is so simple that basically capture lights and shapes can can really change your life and can really give us new identity. Newhall? Yes. Yeah. So I am so glad that you share that. You know, I think that, that that is someone that, you know, that is something that people kind of maybe aware, but not exactly latch on to. So one of the things that I find most people, most people kind of never follow through with photography, right? Is because they kind of buy a camera, they start taking a photo with their phone, he's like, this is awesome. And then they're like, they buy a camera. And and after a while, it's like, you know what, this is too hard. It's not working out, you know, I can't I'm not good enough. I can take photos like all these great people do. And looks like you have pushed through that, that, that time or stage and get to where you are right now, which is you know, incredible. You know, 12 years of being a photographer is just absolutely incredible. And there's so much commitment to it. So what are Do you ever go through some struggles? While you you know, like, while you're learning and you know, carving your path into this photography world? And how, how do you keep track of it like, so how do you stay on track and keep going to where you are today?
Sarah Lyndsay  13:02  Yes, I definitely go through struggles, I go through struggles with how much obviously things change like it. It's kind of like you learn you learn social media, you learn how to operate the camera, you learn how to create art, you learn all these things, and then you're kind of like, okay, yeah, I'm set. I'm good. Now you, you just want to keep doing that. But it just seems like that. There's always something new, there's always a new thing to learn. And I find that that I really struggle with that because I since I've been a photographer for 12 years, you can get really stuck in your ways that you shoot, like I, I still shoot the same way that I did say, five, six years ago. So I often feel like I'm behind the times. And actually a lot with editing, I feel like I'm behind the times because I like to stay with the way that I do it. But I think that can be bad. If you don't evolve, I really, really do. So I struggle with that. Just like I want to stay on my one path of how I know how to do things. Yet I know it's important to keep learning and evolving and change with the times and new cameras coming out. That's what I struggle with. And I do I just I mean, you have to look at it almost like work, right? Well, it is work for me. But you, you, you got to show up even when it's not fun even when you don't want to learn those things. And then I think honestly, I think that's where a lot of photographers start to fall off the waggon of like turning it into a career because they don't understand it's a lot of hard work to do this and not just one time hard work every day hard work and constantly learning. That's my struggle, but I just know mentally, like you just have to show up and you have to push yourself to learn and keep evolving. You really really do.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  14:37  That is such a great advice you know, I think it's it's funny that a lot of the things that kind of happen in whether in our head or you know, it's usually doesn't it's not going to happen in real life right and it looks like you have guarded your mind and your mindset really well and just push through with whatever you know. You no doubt struggle was with a change of platform change of technology and everything. My question is, how do you do that? Like, what do you do? You know, because because the mind is very powerful, right? When you believe you can, and you can, and when you believe you cannot, then you cannot, it's as simple as that. But what do you do to guard that, to have that positive outlook to keep pushing through even the hardest time to you know, all these changes and so forth?
Sarah Lyndsay  15:29  So well? Since this is a tough question to answer, because I do photography as a career, so I know that and like, I know, a lot of hobbyists, you know, listen in on a lot of these things, and, and people that do it as a career, so I'm doing this for a living. And it's not just like, it's not just my passion. So I think this is important. So I did started as a hobby, I did not, I did not jump into photography as a career until like, probably eight years in. So for a long, long, it was simply because I lacked calm, I obviously lacked confidence, and just the knowledge of how to run a business. Those are the two main things that hold people back. So eventually, it got to the point because I was just working as a server, well, I was hobbyist photographer. And you know, I, as I get older, you know, you got to the point where it's like, okay, I need to do something with career wise with my life. So it's either I turn this photography obsession into a career, or I go off and go to school, and I actually have this crossroads, I almost went almost quit photography, and almost became a police officer. And it was because I was doubting that, like photography would pay the bills, basically. So I know many people end up in this position. So I mean, you know, at that time, when I was at that crossroads, I was making some income from photography, but it wasn't like I, you know, wouldn't sustain me for the year. So I just kept plugging away at it. And obviously, I noticed, like, I didn't go off and do these other jobs, you know, I kept going out and taking photos, and it was around 2017 2018 2019. Slowly, the business just kept, like evolving for me by word of mouth, because obviously, I got better. So it started to look like okay, I could really do this. But I can, I was so afraid to honestly take that plunge. And this is the important part of the story. Because I really was afraid I needed like a major catalyst in my life to push me to go full time into photography. So COVID was obviously one of those things, even though COVID took away all the work in the first place. It's kind of weird, it took everything away, but pushed me to go at it full time, if that makes sense. Because it it just took away everything. And I also went through a divorce at the same time. So I had these, these two major things happen in my life. And if you like those things change you. And I do a lot of like, why I wasn't doing photography as a career, and actually why I got divorce was was because of me. So I had to become very self aware. And I did that and I became like mentally strong with a different mindset by I put myself in therapy, and I knew I just needed to learn and keep learning and learning and learning and learning. That's how I changed my mindset. Honestly, if it wasn't for those two major moments in my life, I probably wouldn't have like this strong of a mindset because it all changed the way I see photography. And I, I now am at this point where like anybody is capable of doing this. Anybody is but like you have to understand what is involved to do it. And like, you really got to humble yourself to eat. If you take pretty pictures, that simply is just not enough. And your mind needs to understand that. And if you can get to that point, and you are patient, you can you can do anything. Honestly, anything with photography. There's my answer.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  18:50  Inspiring. Yeah, that's that's crazy, right? Like, sometimes we need that push right in life, to to put us at rock bottom so that we can Yeah, we have a good foundation to blast off. That's that's what I usually say. Right? And so how did you I mean, you kind of, you know, scraped through that whole experience. But what is it? That makes a big difference when you turn that around? Because, you know, when when people go through that kind of thing? I think most people would get discouraged instead of encourage.
Sarah Lyndsay  19:20  Wait, you have to ask that again because it froze.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  19:23  Ah, sorry. So when when people go through that kind of experience when it's going through a difficult experience, many people would get discouraged, not encouraged, right. But you turn this really tough time into something that you can strive in your life and actually doing something that you are passionate about that you love, you know as as your main way of living as your lifestyle. So how does that mindset shift change and what is it that makes a big difference? What is it that make you encourage instead of discourage?
Sarah Lyndsay  19:58  I love this question. Okay, so when you hit that rock bottom moment, I think you, it doesn't matter if it's with your career or your relationships or whatever, you're at rock bottom, and you're at this place where you just feel like you have no one, you're completely alone. And you're just faced with yourself, like you're faced with all those inner demons that you have. And we all have them. And I feel like this is the defining moment of where people either blossom into this amazing person, or they go down even further, and they go down the wrong path. And I think when you're, when you're at the rock bottom, you have to make, like a choice there. So how I saw it was it was like, okay, my career wasn't really taking off, I'll be like, my marriage failed, everything just seemed like it was failing. And I'm a big believer in being self aware, and that we actually create a lot of our own homes no matter what it is. So I just thought to myself, I was like, All right, I can keep doing what I was doing before. Because that clearly drove me to the bottom like it did, all of the steps that I was doing did not help me at all. Or I could take a step back, and try to properly learn how to do this and do the right steps and start listening to people who know a lot more than I do. And really, really, like, follow those proper mentors and those healthy people. And that's what I decided to do, because I felt like I had no choice. It was either it's gonna get worse, or you can turn this around and start doing things differently. And it'll get better, and it got better.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  21:27  That is great. Yeah, I think, you know, one of the biggest thing that I got from Loyola, your answer is they're like, if you, regardless where you are in your your life, or your struggle, you never really lose that belief in yourself, you know, you decided to go back and build, you know, build, build it over again, start over again. And that's, that's amazing. You know, I'm, I'm so inspired just by listening to this.
Sarah Lyndsay  21:52  We're all capable. Totally in the mind, and it but like, the thing is, is it took these really hard moments to get there's eight like, flips a switch almost. So I'm grateful, not well, not grateful for the bad things, but I wouldn't be who I am without them. Surely, yeah.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  22:11  Yeah. For now, for sure. You know, the hard times is the things that define who we are today. Right? So that's yeah, that is such a great answer. So thanks for sharing that. And what, so for people out there, you say that like, anyone want to pursue this full time, or you know, want to pursue this passion and make it your lifestyle, you can do it. But you also mentioned that, you just need to make sure that you have you understand that it's not a path to heaven, or so they're like, there, it's not gonna be as smooth sailing. So it goes through your experience as a professional photographer, and some of the things that some of the challenges that you came across, and how can people learn from this journey so that if they do decide to pursue their passion full time, they it kind of, you know, it makes things easier for them? What, what would that be that you would share to these people?
Sarah Lyndsay  23:11  Well, I think I'll start off with like, the struggles. So we're talking we're debt, we're talking about it like as a professional career at this at this point, right. Okay. So the struggles are, okay, you definitely have to recognise the struggles first, because it helps it helps understand, Okay, well, this is hard. Why is it hard? So it's not really the being a professional photographer. It's not like, you don't really go to school for this, you don't, there's not really like a road map laid out. And a lot of other photographers are very, very private, and you can hire mentors, you can do mentoring sessions. But there's not really like this laid out step by step plan for photographers, and most people will always kind of drill it in your mind. Career, like a lot of people look at it, and it's like, oh, okay, that's not, you know, photography is I have a fancy camera, I can just do it, right. Like, there's this, this whole stigma around it, that it's very challenging to do as a career, which it is not gonna lie, but I think the reason why it's so challenging is because you are a business owner. Like there's no really other way to do photography as a career other than running your own photography show. I'm sure you could get some jobs in big cities with other people, but you're running a business and not everybody is a business owner. So there's all these skills that you have to learn and you don't really have anywhere to look other than YouTube or trying to read about it online. So you feel you don't really have like that support. It's not like you're going to university, you have all your classmates with you you have a teacher that is kind of accountable for you, right it's it's just different. So your end because you're alone. Like there's just no one to turn to. So those those are the struggles and I find it with photography and doing photography as a career. It's very like you have to mentally understand what it's it's the mindset like you just have to be aware of these things. But know that there still is a way forward. And if you can keep pushing and keep learning and keep growing, and change your perspective about it, like you will succeed. So how I do this is, I mean, I constantly feel like I'm learning, always, always learning, but I look at it like, Okay, I've chosen this as a career. Let's say I chose to be a nurse, you know, that's for five years of university. Why is my photography, learning and my photography, career business growing any different, you know, give myself a few years to do it, right. And you kind of have to like it just as if you're deciding to go to school to be a nurse, you know, you have to figure out your your finances to be able to go back to school, right? Your you got to sort out your living situation, look at photography the exact same way, and just be patient and give yourself that time to actually properly grow a business. Most business owners fail in the first year. They do. And that's okay, though. Because how do you learn you learn from every mistake that you make? So those were the struggles, but with the right mindset, it's totally doable. Anything is doable? It all is.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  26:09  I love how you say that. Because I have I gone through this phase, exactly the same thing where I thought by the first year, everything would just be right. And you know, I go the first year, and then the second year, and then I was like, Huh, you know, it hasn't happened the way I want it yet. And then I had exactly that exact thinking, like, you know, I was an engineer, and it took me four years to become an engineer. And I expect that this thing will happen in a year. Right. So that is such a great thing for you to say and mentioned. I think that really grounded us. Right? Yeah. Because like, so give
Sarah Lyndsay  26:48  yourself time. That's all like, it's simple.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  26:51  And like, I get it, like, you know, like Instagram and stuff. Like, you know, some people are really made it overnight and stuff. Okay, you know that that's their path. And you know, for most case, there are a lot of things that kind of line up with that. And also, this, the reason why I made this podcast is that most people that look like it's an overnight success, actually, and put a lot of work behind it. And you just see that change. And you're like, Well, he was like this yesterday, and then he's like this today, but why they didn't see is this all these years and months and weeks of, you know, being depressed being struggle being having that. Yeah, yeah. So that's yeah, that's, that is such a great thing for you to share. Yeah, thanks for sharing that. So you, like you know, like, recently, the NFT world can come in, and you jump ahead in first and you just get in there and you know, put yourself in there. So tell me, what is it that make you make make NFT intrigued you that make you want to be part of the NFT community as well as the NFT movement in the web? 3.0.
Sarah Lyndsay  28:02  I, this NFT thing has been such a wild ride, I definitely did not think I would be there, like here in the NFT space. Like last year, at the same time, I didn't even have a clue. So I'm think I'm like everybody else. All other photographers that were curious, you know, you just come in and start listening and see what's going on. And then by how it's like everybody's supporting each other and the community building, which is great and amazing. But I do think that there's a lot of negative stuff in the NFT space around this community around the community stuff. So yeah, I just kept listening and kept showing up every day. And then I was like, Okay, well try to start building something here and seeing like, where it can go. And I just kept I just noticed, I kept showing up every day. So obviously I had an interest in it. And then you know, you get to your first collection that you put out and then something happens there that's like oh yes, I can keep doing this. And then your your second collection and you keep going on and on and on. Now I'm about four months in and I would say I'm pretty invested into this NFT world and like how I see it now is like this is we are I truthfully believe we are on like the edge of that this change. And especially for like web three and all of that. I believe it's the future. And then I thought to myself, I was like, Okay, well what if it's not? And what if all this fails? If it fails, it's okay, because I can always go back and do something else, right? I can go to other one other income arm of photography and start investing in that and take this year of failure, whatever. It's not that big of a deal. But if I don't give it a shot, and let's say it does take off, right? If I invest in it and it just skyrockets while I'm here and I'm ready for it. So that's that's where I say that what the NFT space right now is I do believe it's the future. And if it's not going to be the future, I've accepted like I'm okay with that loss, and that I can fall back and go and do something else. Like I'm okay with the failure if it fails, but I don't believe it's going to fail.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  29:59  You Wow, that's, that's great. Thanks for the insights. And, you know, you mentioned there, there are a lot of positive and negative and, you know, having been in this space for quite some time, what are some of the positive things that you have seen from this NFT space and make you kind of think that this is a great way for artists to be recognised, to be able to sell their art, as well as to be, you know, to authenticate there are?
Sarah Lyndsay  30:27  Well, it's so funny, I don't know if you are the same, but I will probably say a lot of photographers before, if they're in the energy space before they came in the NFT. Space, they likely didn't see their work as art. So there's that that's, that's definitely changed my perspective with photography is I now am like, Okay, this totally photography fits into the art world. I mean, photography is a medium of art. So it's changed my perspective on how I see my own photography, definitely. But there still is a difference between like wedding photography, and your fine art landscape prints there there is, so I don't really consider you know, going to shoot a wedding and delivering them 1100 image images aren't like what maybe it is, but in my mind, it isn't. So there's that it's definitely changed my perspective on how I view photography. And now I'm more so looking at like, an artist path because an artist path is actually a lot different than a photographer path. But photography is just the medium. So that's really important to note, if you do decide to come into the NFT space, like you're, you're turning yourself into like an artist basically. And then you're great, there's a different way to like build your brand as an artist. And it's been fascinating, the learning journey of the NFT space. And like what I noticed, like the positives again, so obviously the community building, how we do all want to succeed, and we do all want to support each other, it is very, very connecting. The only thing I will say with the community building and a little bit of the negative is that we're all still human. And we still have those other sides of human emotions, like jealousy and anger, like just because we're community building doesn't mean everything else goes away. And I don't like I think people you can't be naive when you come in there use it's not all sunshine and roses. It's like anything else in life. So that's, that's the negative that I don't think people really realise when they come in.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  32:25  Yeah, no, I think I think you're absolutely right. You know, people kind of see this, actually, you know, before I go through this, I would like to ask you, what are some of the negative thoughts that people you know, if you ever have people come across to you, and you know, say like, you know, like, what are you doing this? Like, you know, an SD is a scam or whatever it is? Do you have any objection? Or any doubts from people about NFT? And what are those negative thoughts that people think NFT is, it's not here to stay?
Sarah Lyndsay  33:00  Well, I haven't like other than negative comments, I haven't come across like a negative conversation with someone, I've definitely seen some of their comments on like my Youtube, Instagram, or they'll send a message, like in response to a story I post about NFCs. Right now, I choose not to respond simply because a lot of it is about the environmental impacts that NF T's are causing, but I just look, I know that that subject is a lot bigger than what I know. So a that's why I don't engage in that conversation. And I think for the person, the people who are constantly complaining about the impacts it has, I don't even think that they have the knowledge to understand it right now. And let's just say if it you know, if it is bad, whatever, it's clearly being worked on, and it's evolving, like it's innovating, it's not always going to be this negative way that they think. So that and that's usually the thing they try to kind of counter you with is the negative impacts on the environment. I believe that if people are being negative about it, it's not it's not going to be for everybody, and that's okay. But if they are constantly being negative about it, it's simply it's because they're afraid they don't understand. And that's our reaction when we don't understand is to be negative. So if I know it's going to turn into a battle, honestly, I don't respond. And I just I just let it go. Because I also feel that like the NF T space is going to prove itself over time. Yeah,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  34:24  absolutely. And, you know, I love that how you say that because it's funny, like people will come to me and say, you know, like, oh NFT world is this and that and this and that. And you know, and I would ask them, it's like, okay, you say all this, right? You know, where, where do you know this? Or there is this article and this article, and it's like, okay, well, do you own an NFT? It's like, no, do you know how they work? No, it's like okay, if you're not in it, then how do you know that it is all these bad things? Right? It's it's like it's like when you when you when you're running a business versus you're looking at business from the outside. We we could look at this Does that look like it's striving but it's it's struggling, you know, and about to go bankrupt. And it could be the other way around. It looks like it's struggling, but it's actually building a foundation and it's suddenly take off, right? Tesla was a good example where, you know, many, many hedge fund was betting against them because they think it's not the future. But Elon, just keep investing on on the on the company to build that foundation. And now it takes off like there's no tomorrow. So it's really funny when when I heard people have this negative comment, and one of the things that I would always say is like, well, you maybe try to be in it, immerse yourself in it, and then judge it, right? Read the whole book before you judge it by its cover. And with the environmental bed is, you know, everything every change, go through struggle, every change, there's always gonna be pain when you go when you go through change. So it's the same with electric cars, electric cars, you know, was disposable when there is any small changes or any small problems? They need to buy a whole new one? So? Yeah, I'm so glad that you share that. I think, you know, I'm a big advocate on the NFT. Yeah, just because I know, the potential that the technology has, right, because people think NFT is this like, way of selling, but it's actually a tool? And you know, the utility is just absolutely, we haven't even come across like 9% of it. Yeah, it's just like, just the tip, the very tip of the iceberg. So, and I'm a big advocate to help other artists to be able to use this medium, because I know it's so yeah, I'm glad that, that you share that and going back to your photography. What are some of your most memorable moments in photography? And and why? Like, you know, the photo that if there is one photo that you could pick, which one would it be, and you know why it is so memorable?
Sarah Lyndsay  37:09  I want to say, Okay, well, this, this will probably change in about a year. But like looking back, the fondest memories that I had was actually right before COVID, shut down the world, I went to New Zealand, and at the time, I was dating this fella, and he's from Australia. So me and him went to New Zealand together for two weeks. And he is not a professional photographer. He's a hobbyist. And that's all we did the whole two weeks was photography, but for ourselves, and we just like toured around the South Island. And I remember just not even being on my phone. Nothing. We just toured New Zealand and took photos. Like, it does not get any better than that. But sadly after that, though, COVID obviously came with her as soon as I got back home to Canada, and he was in Australia. And we were separated for two years. Because of because of Australia, Australia is tough. And yeah, so it's like, I have so many fond memories of that trip, but also a little bit of sadness, too, because it was probably the last time like, I've ever fully felt content actually in my whole life. So yeah, fine, but sad memories at the same time.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  38:20  Oh, that's great. You know, like, I guess, you know, the big thing is like, you know, be thankful that it happened, right? Yes. Because it ends. So I'm glad that you had that experience, because I think it's really important. You know, what you say there earlier is that you create for yourself? And I think that's when we really happy as photography photographer, isn't it? So? Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's definitely something to learn there. Yeah, that's, that's awesome. And so, with, going back with, you know, like, now that you have your NFT you have all this means of you know, being a professional photographer. When it comes to, like, you know, life in general, right, like being photography and being everything that you're supposed to be in as a person, it's very difficult. How do you find that time? How do you find that, that balance that, you know, between spending time with your friends and families between going out shooting between hustling and grinding between you know, social media and so forth? What what are some of your advice to, to face that? Well,
Sarah Lyndsay  39:34  I feel like when you run a business, you're obviously you have you have flexibility, which is good, like you can you can schedule all your own things in but I just feel like naturally I'm, I'm constantly always working on it. But if I want to go out with like my friends, or I want to go do something that is not photography related, which is actually very rare, like my life is photography, because even my friends are all photographers. I just schedule it in like I don't I honestly don't worry about it. But the thing with me and this is probably important to note is that I don't have kids. I don't have like, I'm not married. So I don't even have family around me. So I'm fully able right now at this stage of my life, to invest in photography. But if I want to go on a trip, or I want to, again, go out for dinner or something or go for coffee, I just do it. And that's kind of the the good thing about being a business owner is you don't have to ask for permission to have time off. Because it's like I and then I figure it out. Like it's getting to the point though, where I would say I probably can't just take off as much as I want, especially with the NFT space because of how important right now in these early stages we are in with the NF T space to brand build. So I've right now I've kind of made this choice, you know, to like, keep myself very grounded at home and not go off and do too many things, because I'm focusing on the brand building, but I know that that will lift and then I'll be able to incorporate more back into my life. I feel like for people who have kids, though, it's very tough. Like, it's you've definitely got to work on your balance and schedules and roof. Yeah. So I'm fortunate in a way that I'm alone, and I have all this opportunity to put into
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  41:14  it. It's funny how you say, you know, like the work never ends, because every time my friend asked me, it's like, so it was like How was your day you finish your work? So like, well, it kind of never ends.
Sarah Lyndsay  41:25  It never ends. Like, there's always something that I always something to work on with your brand building. Yeah, it's either it's things that people don't really understand is work. Yeah, updating your website, your website always needs to kind of be like worked on. There's endless things, endless things, collections, videos, YouTube, like the I'm always working on something, I think it's really the one thing I'm bad at, because I'm a bit of a, I'm a scattered person, like, I'm just because of my upbringing, I feel like, I'm a little bit quirky, the kind of weird, I guess, I'm not very good at creating my own structure, I actually work much better under someone else. Well as in like, they will keep me on task. But if I'm given the brute like freedom to myself, it's hard to create a routine for yourself. So I'm actually also in therapy for business and to get help with all of this stuff as well, because it is challenging to grow. And I know I need a little bit of guidance.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  42:24  So that's great. You know, I'm glad that you say that, because I think many people are either not humble enough or don't have or don't think that, you know, asking for help is important. And it was an eye opener for me as well. Like, you know, like, I was like, I think I need to like learn this thing. And you know, I could learn it myself and go through, you know, all these years of trial and error. Or I could just go to someone who already know what they're doing and try to model them. Right. And of course, you have to, you know, fit it to your life and your, your business and everything. But at the end of the day, you have most of the answer there that you can, you know, try trial and error instead of trial and error during the trial and errors. Make sense?
Sarah Lyndsay  43:07  Yes, yes, yes.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  43:10  That's amazing is there and, you know, we come to our mark, and it's been such a great conversation, you have dropped so many wisdom and advice it is and it's just been so inspiring to Italy to to learn your journey. And you know, how you turn a lot of that struggle into your strength. And that is that is something that most people doesn't do enough that usually if there is a struggle, there are strength that you could turn it into. So that's fantastic. So one of the things that I always ask my guests is that if there is one advice that you can give to, you know, either photographers or even just people in general that you know, might have come come across the journey that you are in today, what is that one advice that you would give them.
Sarah Lyndsay  44:01  Honestly, give yourself a lot of patience, no matter what you're doing. If you want to be a photographer, you want to be anything else, give yourself patience to grow it and to show like show up for it every day. Even if it like even if you show up and put 30 minutes of work into it every day, it will still grow. Probably not going to grow as fast as someone putting eight hours a day in, but just showing up and doing something for you. Let's just say photography, your photography each day, it will grow and it will keep growing. And then also to give yourself that patience and have integrity. So if you're going to fall if you're going to do something, follow through with it. And that speaks volumes. actions always speak louder than words. So like yeah, that would be my voice patients and just show up.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  44:44  Fantastic. Well, Sarah, it's been a pleasure to have you here. You know, do you want to like let us know how can the listener you know, learn more about you or connect with you and get to know you better? Yes,
Sarah Lyndsay  44:59  so All probably right now the best way to learn about me and get to know me as a person is my YouTube, which is Sarah Lindsay. Next would be Instagram. Again, that is Sarah Lindsey photography, I'm assuming we'll have links somewhere as well. Okay. And then Twitter if you want. I think this is important for in people wanting to get into the NFT space because I offer a lot of help there. So if you want to learn about NF TS or any of that stuff, come find me on Twitter with the same handle. And then of course, my website, I have my website, which is Sarah, Lindsey photography.com.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  45:33  Fantastic. I will include all that in, in the link on the description. So you could literally just go to the description and find those link. And don't forget to say hi, I see is such an amazing person as you already listened to. And just so grounded, so chill. Very approachable. So yeah, it's been such a pleasure, pleasure. Hopefully, I get a chance to go back to Canadian Rockies and spend money on COVID. Again, it's, it's fun, you know, because I was there for two and a half years and, and then I left. And I got into the NFT space. And I was like, man, there's so many ographers there and like, how come I never come across them. So it's it's funny how that works.
Sarah Lyndsay  46:16  I just moved here. I just moved to the Rockies. So I'm past your time. But yes, there is. I do not care. I live here now. But I will say a lot of people do kind of stick within their own little groups. I noticed that. Yeah. But when Oh, well, that's okay. It's hard to meet people as an adult very hard.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  46:32  That's true, especially when everyone else in the mountain and the mountain is so bad.
Sarah Lyndsay  46:36  Yes, yes. Yes, definitely. Definitely.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  46:41  All right. Well, is there thank you very much for being here for sharing your journey for, you know, sharing all those wisdom with us. There's a lot of inspiration to be taken from that.
Sarah Lyndsay  46:52  Well, thank you. Thanks for having me. I always love chatting.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  46:56  While we get into this, thank you very much for tuning in. If you haven't already subscribed, do hit the subscribe button so that you don't miss out on the next chat we have. And don't forget to give Sarah a visit. Give her a shout out. You know, whatever you do, and check out her work per banana work. It's work. Yes. You know, with that being said, thank you very much for tuning in. And I'll catch you guys next week.

Ep 34 - the importance to connect with mother nature & to be able to use storm photography to express his emotions for Justin Snead

Today we chat with Justin, a travel nurse and one of the most passionate storm chasers out there capturing awe-inspiring extreme weather photos.
 
He started photography wanting to shoot live events and bands before he came across his passion of storm chasing on a rural Minnesota highway one afternoon.
 
In this podcast, Justin will be sharing how important it is to connect with mother nature and to be able to use storm photography to express his emotions.
 
Link to the Photo that was mentioned on the podcast:
https://foundation.app/@TheDreadlockTraveler/foundation/43328 
 
If you want to learn more about Justin’s work, you can find it here:
 
Social Media:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DreadlockTvlr 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedreadlocktraveler/ 
• Print Website: https://thedreadlocktraveler.smugmug.com/ 
 
NFTs:
• SuperRare: https://superrare.com/thedreadlocktraveler 
• Opensea Collection: https://opensea.io/collection/supercellular2021 
 
Other ways to listen and subscribe to the podcast:
• Spotify - http://bit.ly/twhspotify  
• Apple Podcast - https://bit.ly/Theartofphotography  
• Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/TheArtOfPhotographyWithStanleyAr  
• Website: https://podcast.thewickedhunt.com     
• Tune In (Alexa) - https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr  
 
For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography by Stanley Aryanto:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedhunt/     
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewickedhunt/
• Masterclass: https://www.TheWickedHuntPhotography.com     
• Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/ 
 
Don't forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation. It would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers. 
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Transcription:
Justin Snead  0:00  I still wanted to stop Chase, but I wanted to put down the camera because if you can't convey for me personally, I can't convey my emotions. And that's the number one thing that I want to do is convey my emotion so others can feel it, then I'm failing as an artist
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  0:22  Hey wiki hunters Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast, where we share our journey and how photography has given us hope, purpose and happiness. And today, we have someone very special. Someone that's very passionate about chasing something that's quite different than what most photographers do this storm. And it's always been my dream to chase the storm. And yeah, I'm just so excited to be able to talk to Justin. Hey, Justin, how's it going? Well, actually, before I asked that question, what makes you start photography? Like, what is that one thing that makes you you know, what photography is cool. I want to do more of it.
Justin Snead  1:02  You know, it's, it's kind of funny, because I think a lot of people think I started out with storm photography. That's actually not the case. I back in like 2016 or 17, I met this guy named Matt booj at a rock festival, huge rock band, love going to rock festivals. And he had a couple of prints that I wanted. So I met up with him. He signed them and you know, I bought them and I actually wanted to start out with my photography journey as a concert photographer. You know, it's it's kind of funny, because I think a lot of people think I started out with stock photography. That's actually not the case. I
Unknown Speaker  1:43  Yo, what's going on, man? And you're still muted.
Justin Snead  1:50  Us too. Can you hear me now?
Unknown Speaker  1:55  Yeah. Hey, how's it gone?
Justin Snead  1:57  Good, man. How much so? Can you hear me pretty good on these headphones? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker  2:04  it's good, man. It's pretty good quality
Justin Snead  2:11  okay
Unknown Speaker  2:19  how's that sound? Does that sound better?
Justin Snead  2:21  Oh, yeah. Yeah, you sound good. I just want to make sure these headphones sound okay. Versus uh, maybe just using the computer audio.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  2:28  Night. You're good, man. How's things? What's going on?
Justin Snead  2:33  Thanks for good, man. Things are good. Just work has been busy. It's been pretty hectic. I've been kind of under the weather the past day or two. So yes, going through that. But But yeah, can't complain. Just ready for storm season to get here.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  2:44  Are you back out chasing yet? No, no, I've
Justin Snead  2:47  got about two weeks left to work. And then I'll be I'll be heading out after that. Taking a few months off and chasing.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  2:53  Nice sick? And is has the storm brewing and brewing already?
Justin Snead  2:58  Oh, yeah, there have been a couple of setups already. There's actually a set up tomorrow that I'm considering going down for but I will have to do it afterwards. It's like five hours away. So it'd be a it'd be a big investment and gamble would just even probably wouldn't make it in time. But I'm thinking about it. I'm gonna look at some model data tonight and kind of make up my mind in the morning, I guess.
Unknown Speaker  3:19  Cool. Fantastic. All right. Yeah. How
Justin Snead  3:23  are things working dude?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  3:24  Yeah, doing some pretty well, pretty well. Like being in Bali for for a while now. And just like, you know, being with family and stuff, so that's good. So can I put the travel part beside for now. But I'm going to Nepal in about less than a month now. So going to Nepal in about a month, and I'm not sure I want to go somewhere and the end of the year as well. I'm thinking back to Canadian Rockies. And yeah, that would be so nice. And then I was thinking like to do what I wanted to do when I was there. You know, like, so be there until like March and then drive down to the states and do storm chasing but I'll have to see if it's like yeah, that's one hell of like, that's one hell of a trip, right? Because if I guess I want to be there during the large season, that's when the Alpine pine trees turn to yellow and stuff and that would be like so sweet. So the transition is actually the best and that's between like around October November, probably all the way to December and then after that it's kind of just flat you know ever too much snow and all you can see is just everything covered in snow, water and water and land so it becomes less interesting. And then become more interesting again towards the end like the spring because it's you can start doing the hike again. You know and chase like a lot of the Milky Way's towards towards this spring. So that will be nice, but yeah, there'd be like two months. I guess I could do snowboarding so it's not a bad thing. But yeah, I didn't know that
Justin Snead  4:59  but uh Ma'am, we're getting so many solar storms right now you might be able to get some good overhead stuff.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  5:04  Has it hasn't been haven't been checking it for a while, but it hasn't been like, a lot more active recently has it?
Justin Snead  5:10  Yeah, yeah, we're coming out of that solar minimum now. So we had an employer launch day or two ago. And I'm not sure if it's impacted right now. But I know they had a pretty good show in Alaska last night. I think if this is the same employer, I'm thinking about the issue to watch for Wednesday. So if it is, it's really slow moving, but you never know. You know? Yeah.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  5:31  Yeah, for sure. Because like, usually I'll see, like, everyone in Canadian Rockies would be like, you know, posting shot. And I'd be like, Yeah, I want to be back. Because I want to go to like, Norway as well, that would be pretty sick to go there. So yeah, I mean, I don't know, man, there's so many places I want to go. It's just so hard, you know. But yeah, it's now I'm just like, here, I'm planning to do like a, an NFT event here in Bali. So that's, that's kind of exciting as well,
Justin Snead  5:59  that will be that will be pretty sick, actually. Especially if you can get a good crowd. They're like getting blocked by out to it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  6:05  Ha, man, I don't think it's that hard, you know, because like, everyone want to come to Bali. Right. So
Justin Snead  6:10  I definitely want to
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  6:13  like, I mean, you know, if that's something you're interested in, I'll keep you at the back of my mind, you know, and we're looking for guests and stuff. I'm not sure yet if we can afford to pay speakers, but I'm hoping so. Because I hate getting people to do something without paying for it. You know? But yeah, I'm, um, I'm just putting a proposal together now talking with like, the local community, local NFT community and also the local exchange, you know, like, like the, the by Nance version of Indonesia, type of thing. You have, like, a lot of you. So I mean, chatting. Yeah. I mean, every every country has their own kind of exchange right? Apart from like, the binance. And the coin. What coin base, the popular one. So, yeah, I've been talking to them. And you know, hopefully, they say yes. But did you go to any of the NFT event it?
Justin Snead  7:12  I went to our basil, which really wasn't a NFT event, but they had some NF T things going on, right. And I did fly out to eat Denver. I didn't even go to any of the events because it was just a, it was a train wreck of a mess, man, like, I've got there like super late Friday, I could have went out Saturday, but I was just I wasn't building it. So I just went out with some brands, you know, met a couple of brands and didn't even like go to any of the events? Pretty much. Yeah, fair.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  7:37  Fair. And what's the event? Like? Is it mostly like networking and exhibition? Is that how they usually set it up? Ah,
Justin Snead  7:44  yeah, I mean, the eath dimmer a bit was from what I heard, it was a little bit different, just because it's more so for, for like, like engineers and programmers who are, you know, building building different things on the Etherion platform. Obviously, there was some, you know, like, NFT events that kind of surrounded it, but it wasn't actually part of the official material, eat timber conference, they have one or two things in FP related, but that was on top of a tonne of other things. So it
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  8:13  was more of a crypto event. Yeah, but you just
Justin Snead  8:17  make connections and you know, hang out with people talk that type of deal. Party. Yeah,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  8:22  sake, man. And, yeah, I was thinking to do that, because like, Bali is pretty sick place for that, right. Like, you know, half like the general admission, and then a VIP, and then the, and then like the, like, I don't know, VVIP I suppose if we were going to put a name for it, and then the VVIP will get access to this, like, private, like party, by like, the cliff or something like that. And I was thinking to do like, a mastermind programme and stuff at the end of it, you know, just to, like, help people who really want to achieve something by the end of the by the end of that mastermind, right? Like, whether it's like, you know, they just started they want to get to know what what's NFT or like, you know, they're like, want to learn the marketing side of it and you know, those kinds of stuff basically. So yeah, I think it'd be really cool to like bridge that gap between the people who been wanting to try it out but you know, don't know versus and the people and the NFT world basically right as well a really hate is that I start seeing this I mean, you know when it first when you guys were when the OG started it, you know, like, you know, when tactics and stuff like that, right. He was pretty good set up and then now we come into where a place where everyone just hope to get in and they just do whatever it takes to do that. And, you know, and like, I mean, like, I've seen arts that's selling for like 00 Is that the other eight 0.003 eath. And I was like, Well, I get what you're trying to do right now. Um, but it's killing the market. And it's killing the whole idea behind the NFT. Like, you know, it's like, we're just back to the normal thing now of selling prints, you know what I mean? Yeah,
Justin Snead  10:11  pretty much. I mean, you know, like, doing a dish like other good additions, print work.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  10:17  Yeah. Like, don't have any, like, addition makes sense, you know, but one of the one man, this was a one on one, one. This was one of one, it's zero point. It's not even, like, I think your addition was 0.04. Right? His 0.06 or 03, or something? So it was like, really cheap. And, yeah, I don't know. Like, yeah, it's gonna be interesting how it all changed. So, I think, you know, I mean, if we have a plan behind it, you know, on, you know, what he's planning to do forward and how you're going to use that then. Okay, fair enough. But if you just do it for the sake of doing it, then you know, that's gonna be a problem. Because then yeah, I guess that's, that's all the education that I'd love to, like, bring to the table, you know, like, why you jump in there? And you know, what, what, what happened if you do a and how it impacted others and stuff like that, and, yeah, but, yeah, so the podcast is more about? Well, first of all, do you have any piece or collection that you want to promote in the podcast?
Justin Snead  11:21  Ah, I normally when I do podcasts, I try to actually kind of keep the NFT side out of things are like limited. We could totally talk about I'm totally fine with it. But I don't really have any. I mean, I have like a super weird drop that I'm gonna do later this week. But okay, I don't know if it's gonna be Wednesday or Thursday. That's cool. Yeah, right. I heard about it. Yeah, we could talk some NFT stuff I don't mind at all. Yes, you want to go but it basically,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  11:48  no, it's not going to be heavily. That's what I was gonna say is, it's, it's more about you and your journey as a photographer. And of course, the NFT partner, you know, we're going to touch we're going to touch base to the NFT part, because you kind of landed on that. So probably gonna be like, you know, the last 1015 minutes as it cuz that's, that's where you end up right now. Right? But basically, it's like, think of it like we're hanging out in a cafe. And, you know, I'm just, we're just getting to know each other. And that's, that's what I'll literally do, like, you know, I don't know much about you. And I just like, I just want to get to know you as a photographer. Right? What, how are like how you started? What makes you excited about it, and all this stuff? So yeah, just just go with that. And also, when I asked the question, you know, feel free to, to elaborate, but try not to go on to the next topic, you know what I mean? So, the reason behind that is like, so we have this interaction so that I can ask the next question. And that makes it more interesting, instead of you like having a monologue of it. And, yeah, so towards the end. The, the thing that I always ask my podcast guests is, if there is one advice that you could tell any photographer or a creator out there, what would it be. So that's something that you could think about now, as we talk or whatnot. And then that's when I will ask you, you know how to find you and stuff like that. So if you do want to give a plug to, I don't know, your workshop, your prints your NFT, feel free to do that. I will put the link on the description. I usually put three links, website, Facebook, and Instagram, but I think you're more active on Twitter instead of Facebook. So you could do Instagram and Twitter. And then, you know, if you have any collections or any photo that were talked with talk about then I will include the link in there as well. But yeah, apart from that, and then just pre chill, just free. You know, nothing. It's not like I don't have a list question like literally. Yeah, it's
Unknown Speaker  13:51  just like hanging out. So what's that one thing that I want to only say I got no,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  13:59  no, he'll, it'll come up. But um, I so we'll start a little intro, just say, you know, welcome to the podcast. And then I'll introduce you a little bit, you know, and then from there, I'll say, Hey, Justin, how's it going? And then you know, you can say hi, back. And then that's where we start with a question. I'll start asking you the question and stuff. Cool. Cool. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Awesome. Do you want to grab last minute water you guys go water to perfect. Do you want to do last minute bathroom break?
Justin Snead  14:30  I probably shouldn't do that. Because it's a good idea. Yeah, no worries. All right, man.
Unknown Speaker  15:41  All right, let's get it on. Let me just show you this recording. This is one time where I did like the whole podcast and I didn't press the record button.
Justin Snead  15:51  Alright will be horrible embarrassing I just like it's all good. Mistakes learn. Alright man.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  16:02  Alright, let's get started. Hey wiki hunters Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast where we share our journey and how photography has given us hope, purpose and happiness. And today we have someone very special. He is, you know, someone that's very passionate about chasing something that's quite different than what most photographers do the storm. And it's always been my dream to chase the storm. And yeah, I'm just so excited to be able to talk to Justin. Hey, Justin, how's it going?
Justin Snead  16:39  It's going pretty good, Stan. Thanks for having me on and waking up at what, seven or eight o'clock in the morning to do this? Yeah, man. I'm waking up at
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  16:49  night. It's good. It's good. I've been trying to change my routine and stuff. So it's kind of helped me, you know, it pushed me to wake up early. But yeah, what's so you know, like, I've come across your work. I think it was last year, early last year. And you know, I, I'm a big fan of storm chasing, because that's one of the highest bucket lists that I've, I've wanted to do. And you know, I've almost done it, because, but if it wasn't for the pandemic, but what? Well, actually, before I asked that question, what makes you started photography? Like, what is that one thing that makes you you know, what photography is cool, I want to do more
Justin Snead  17:25  of it. You know, it's, it's kind of funny, because I think a lot of people think I started out with storm photography, that's actually not the case. I back in like 2016 or 17, I met this guy named Matt booj at a rock festival, huge rock band, love going to rock festivals. And he had a couple of prints that I wanted. So I met up with him, he signed them. And you know, I bought them. And I actually wanted to start out with my photography journey as a concert photographer. I just loved rock festivals so much, you know, it was just, it was my thing. And I always wanted to get into that, and meeting him just kind of inspired me to pick up a camera. Well, little did I realise that rock, like rock photography, in general, it's very hard to get into a lot of the people who are at these major festivals, or work with these headliner bands, they've been doing it for 1015 20 years, before they even get to that level of expertise to shoot those concerts. So I just kind of, I kind of let that go. And I started looking for other other genres of photography to get into. I started looking at general landscape photography, wildlife photography, and astrophotography. You know, those things that nothing ever really clicked with me, as far as you know, just filling it in my soul. Like, that's what I wanted to shoot, until I came across a random random cloud that I knew nothing about in the state of Minnesota in 2018. And that's kind of where the passion started for storm photography was just driving along to, to a tribal contract that I was working in, ended up running across this cloud. It's like, Oh, that's pretty cool. But then something clicked, you know, something. It was like, a little something inside of me said, man, like, this is it, this is what I've been wanting to do the whole time.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  19:13  So cool, man. You know, I mean, concert photography, or you know, rock photography would be so sweet. But I would just say, you know, I'm glad that you decided to keep going because you're you're a storm shots, oranges, you know, they're different. And, you know, that's, that's what I really enjoy the most about it. So, how long did that take you to kind of come to that conclusion or, you know, come to that moment, light bulb moment and come across that experience that made you say, You know what, this is like, like, I know that you can share that a little bit but just tell us a little bit about it. What like what was it what was it about that moment that makes you feel like this is what you want to do you know what I'm what I mean?
Justin Snead  19:57  Yeah, know what you mean? I think it's I think it's the connection that you have with Mother Nature. You know, people bind those connections in various places. And, you know, again, that's what photography is all about. It's about helping people connect with Mother Nature, usually, in some way, shape or form, that's portraits included, you know, I think a lot of people forget that, you know, as humans, you're part of nature. You know, it's not just animals and trees and mountains, you are a part of nature, what you do in life, is, you know, detrimental to what happens in nature. But I think, for me, what really clicked was just seeing the storm and pulling the winds getting swept into the storm, you know, having my phone go off with this loud noise, because they had a tornado warning on it. And the adrenaline started building and see this cloud just rotating underneath this storm. And don't get me wrong, it wasn't even a beautiful storm, it was, you know, I look back at that now. And I'm like, I would have never put my camera on board. But back then it was just, it was it was magical. That's, that's all I can say. But more than more than anything else, it just, I can't really put it into words, it was just something clicked. And it was kind of like, at that moment, I knew that this was where I needed to be, this is what I needed to do to be able to express myself to be able to connect with mother nature, and then to be able to share it with others in the hopes that they are able to connect with not only the storm photography and mother nature, but whatever's going on in their lives. Wow,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  21:28  that's that's incredible, man, I think you put that really well, you know, and just like that whole What do you call it purpose on you know, capturing the storm, there's so much more purpose behind it. That's awesome. I love that. I love to hear that. But I can totally relate about connecting with Mother Nature, like, you know, I'm the same I love to do a lot of different genres of photography, but when I do astrophotography it's just especially when I do like, you know, like, like an adventure Astro photography is just like something that really excites me or, you know, like, everything feels like, like nothing else matter. And I think I know, like, as soon as you say that, you know, you connect with the nature. It's like, I think I know that feeling. So that's pretty cool. Yeah, so, you know, going through your journey. So you're like, you're are you doing this full time or part time or just kind of as a side hustle at the moment? And what are your plans for the future.
Justin Snead  22:29  So when I first started, like actually shooting storm photography, it took a year or two just to learn how to forecast properly. You know, and then not only that, but you know, finding the time to be able to chase you know, for those who are not familiar with storm chasing the United States Midwest is is vast Tornado Alley, as it's called, stretches from Texas, all the way up into North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa. So there's a large area you have to cover sometimes, and I never started out full time or even part time, I would just kind of there was a local setup that I could get to a few hours away, I would end up you know, getting off work at two or three o'clock driving for hours and hoping I could catch the end of the song. Slowly after that 2018 2019 When 2020 rolled around, I had plans to actually take off a month, maybe two months and chase well COVID-19 hidden and that just completely crushed any plans for chasing so I ended up ended up maybe chasing eight days that year and it was probably the roughest moment of my life as far as photography is concerned because I just got I got super depressed you know, because there were a lot of there are a lot of setups that I know I could have brought back spectacular work that I just couldn't Chase just due to due to work on the tribal health care nurse and you know, working at surgery, a lot of people ended up being not laid off but you know, being sent home or even working on different floors. And as a traveller I'm required to come in pick up the slack so it really required me to come in and you know, just really focus my attention more so on Mark than photography but I'm kind of put a goal in my mind. Okay. 2021 It's going to be the year I'm just going to take I'm going to take off the whole summer spring summer I got off work may 9 I think my contract ended and just hit it as hard as I could probably drove 60 plus 1000 miles within the span of like three months. And I'm glad I did because things just kind of things just really fell and clicked into this beautiful journey that I never thought I would have went on even with even with starting photography like I knew it was something I wanted to shoot but I never thought I would be dispassionate about it. But last year, last year just it did something you know it, it really put that chip on my shoulder that you know I can do this
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  25:01  Wow, that's awesome, man. I mean, first of all, thank you for you know, your services as a nurse. And, you know, it's, it's incredible that you still have time after, you know, being a nurse because I know it's a, it's a one of the toughest work out there, I've got a few nurse friends, myself, and you still have the time, you still make the time to go out there and, you know, chase this as your passion. And I think that's really cool. You know, that's something that I always tell everyone, like, you know, you don't have to pursue your passion full time, but make sure you have the passion and do that, like, make sure that you make time for it. Because otherwise what's what's life without it right?
Justin Snead  25:41  You're definitely right, man. I mean, I started out, you know, just kind of shooting after work to kind of going, you know, kind of part time. And luckily, with the job that I do assigned, go to new contracts at various hospitals. So I can, you know, basically just work during the offseason, and now work full time and storm chasing. So it makes it very easy for me to, to just have that time off and really chase that passion. So last year, I did it this year, I'm gonna do it even harder. And this is what I'm going to do the next 20 3040 years of my life probably.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  26:13  That's awesome, man, that is so sounds so exciting. You know, I just like, man, like, I could feel the goose. It's like, man, that would be legit, awesome thing to just storm Chase. How's that dynamic between the two? Like, do you enjoy being a nurse? And, you know, are you planning to still do it as a part time? Because I know some people really love their profession. Right? And but they love photography as well. And they find that balance. But or are you You know, it's your passion? Do you find that your passion is in storm photography now that you are going to shift into that full time? What What are your plans in the future.
Justin Snead  26:52  So my passion is in storm photography, one or set. The thing about storm storms in the US is that we kind of have a season. So from you know, mid April, up to August, September, October is kind of like what I would call that elbow most for the season. That's when you get your bulk of severe weather in the United States. So it kind of makes it easy for if you want to pursue storm photography and storm chasing full time, but it's still work a job afterwards makes it kind of easy. As long as you have a job that's flexible or seasonal. You can always work in the fall and winter and spring and summer off. That's kind of been my plan moment. I've been I've been a surgical tech and a LPN for the past 12 years of my life, I've worked in surgery for 12 years now. I'm not sure if that spark is still there, like it once was, I do enjoy it, I enjoy going to these new hospitals and meeting new people. But when it comes to the actual surgery, I've done it for so long, it's just become routine for me almost. So that's something that I've been contemplating whether or not I want to try a different career path are, you know, maybe just sit back and really focus on just promoting storm photography and storm chasing year round. And who knows, I don't know, the thing about you know, doing work is that, I find that it kind of helps you balance out some of the stress of being a photographer. Because it can be a very stressful and you know, it can be a very stressful job, you know, especially when you have months of no sales or limited sales and the bills are piling up and things of that nature. And honestly, I've enjoyed being able to work part time help people and then still be able to pursue my passion bullet.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  28:38  Yeah, man, like, I totally agree with you, like, you know, like, sometimes that shift between creativity and I suppose, you know, the stuff that's not less, that's the are less creative, right? Most of the nine to five job are less creative. Compared to photography, it does help out the balance, right? I feel like you know, as a human being, we kind of need the two to stimulate one or the other. But I get what you mean with the with this, like, you know, getting things repeated, and it becomes like a routine. That's one thing I could not handle as well. And I know some people love routine. But you know, that's why I decided to do a travel photography, because like when you travel, there's always something new, right? New people, new places. And yeah, I can handle the routine as well. So I know exactly what you mean. That's cool, man. And so, you know, it's been one long journey for you and to get to where you are right now. And you you started to, you know, do tours and stuff you do NFT you have pretty good success in there as well. But along the way, what are some of your biggest struggle, you know, in that journey that make you almost, if there is any moment that make you want to quit photography and ended up you know, altogether and you know, you know, because I know that I have that moment where it's just like, I don't know if you know I still Want to do this and stuff? So do you have that moment? If not, then what are what one of your biggest struggle within the journey?
Justin Snead  30:10  I would say my biggest struggle was shortly after, I kind of like, learn how to forecast with storm photography or storm chasing and, you know, put myself in the right positions, and I started having those opportunities to catch storms. I really struggled with being able to convey my emotions within the photos, I couldn't get my edits to properly display. How are you I felt that that time when I was doing the store, or how I felt at the moment, I was looking at art as an extension of yourself, stitching of your emotions, what you're, what you're putting out, there is an extension of you. And your, and it's looking right back at you. So when you're not truly connected with it, for me as an artist, not as a photographer, but as an artist, it doesn't sit right with me. And I became really frustrated with that to the point to where I still wanted to storm Chase, but I wanted to put down the camera. Because if you can't convey for me, personally, I can't convey my emotions. And that's the number one thing that I want to do is convey my emotions so others can feel it, then I'm failing as an artist. But I really had to, you know, put aside a lot of the doubt a lot of that a lot of that failure and use it as as fuel. You know, because many people give up when they're feeling frustrated when they feel like they can't do this. But the one thing about art is that you're always chasing something that you're never going to find success as an artist, you can, you can never say that you're wonder percent successful, or you know, 100% Perfect. In that journey, you're always reaching for something different, you're always looking to convey something different. And once I realised that, that's when, ironically, that's when I was able to start for some reason. I mean, how I wanted to convey my emotions through my photography, but then be really putting into perspective what being an artist is, because I think a lot of people don't realise that a lot of people don't realise that being an artist is a never ending job. You know, you're going to take this job to your deathbed and not feel like you've done your best.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  32:25  Yeah, wow, that's, that's so inspiring. You know, like, when, when I first studied engineer, like, I studied engineering, because it was like, you know, the easiest spot, I always saw it as the easiest path to, to, you know, have like a comfortable life. And I used to look at this art student and I was like, Man, this case, just, whatever you're doing, they're not doing anything. It's just like slapping things together. And like, and then, you know, ironically, I pursue something that's artistic. And when I started photography, I know exactly what you meant. It's like, you know, as an artist, it's just, it is one of the hardest thing to do in life. Like, you know, it's, it's, you, you creating something like you say, you make you create something that's truly connect to you, and so that you can be proud of it. Because otherwise, even though they're as beautiful as it is, and people love it, just go like, yeah, it's okay. Right, you get that feeling.
Justin Snead  33:18  I know exactly what you're feeling. I know that feeling that oh my god, I've had that so much on like, just Instagram before this whole NFT explosion. You know, people will say, Oh, my God, I love this photo. I'm like, okay, they're like, What are you talking about? Like, it's, you know, it's alright.
Unknown Speaker  33:35  I really hate how you know, the popular places, or, you know, the popular time is the one that gets most exposure and likes, right? And that was just like, ah, like, it's, I mean, like, 1000s and 1000s of people would have this exact same shot, like, you know,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  33:50  I'm not that proud of it. But yeah, it's so funny that you say that as an artist. It's a never ending journey. And that's, that's something that, you know, perspective I, I guess I knew deep inside, but I didn't know it until you said it. So thanks for sharing that. And it's very searcher. But you know, as an artist, I think the hardest part is having that self doubt having that imposter syndrome, right? Thinking that? Will I ever make it and what you say was was great, because I think not only as an artist, but as an artist, I think this is a lot more apparent that usually the journey is flatline, right? It really small rise, and then all sudden something happened that makes it all the difference. And then that's where everything becomes exponential, right? And that's why the people that doesn't give up are the people that made it that the people that passed that point. But what are some of the things that you that that that had helped you to get out of this like impostor syndrome or you know, your self doubt, and to keep to just keep going to believe in the process. Believe in your journey and believe in your goal?
Justin Snead  35:00  I would say that having friends who have been there to the ups and downs, who can talk me off that ledge of, you know, whenever I'm feeling a certain type of way, they can remind me that, hey, you know, this is not the way that you should feel, you know, who you are, you know, who you are doing the uptimes Why are you building like this during the doubt downtimes at, you know, really kind of uplifted because it's, it's human nature to build down sometimes. And it's perfectly normal. For me, personally, I've now found the ability to somehow be able to create, when I met, like, my worst, you know, and I think that being able to translate, like those feelings of when I'm feeling that self doubt, and, you know, the failures of like, being able to translate that into my photos, it's actually kind of a therapy for me. And then it just kind of, I don't know, if it makes the journey much easier. So those feelings of quitting or feeling like I'm an insufficient artist, I haven't had those in a long time now. But it's because I know how to, I know that I've been here before. And more importantly, I know how to take those emotions, those negative emotions, and turn them into positives by releasing them out through my photos into the world. And then seeing other people, you know, even though they don't know what I'm feeling at all, then message me on Instagram or Twitter, you know, thanking me for posting the picture and saying, Oh, I was stealing this type of way. And this picture just kind of resonated with it. And then here, you are sparking up a natural conversation about those emotions that you are building with, sometimes a complete stranger. There's a very beautiful thing in that. And it's helped me a tonne along with my friends, and it's just kind of a just kind of a snowball effect, I guess you could say, and it's really helped me on my my journey a lot. And it just, it helps to push my passion even further seeing other people not only resonate with it, but help them in their personal life.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  37:06  Goal, man. Yeah, that's, that's definitely one of the thing that had kept me going a lot. Especially to, you know, the hard time is when you get like, people that are inspired with the, you know, our journey. And, you know, that's, you know, and when I started this journey, I never thought that people would do that. Right. And just like you just like what you say, I think that really fuel you know, who we are as an artist? Because then you know, we kind of feel that our work is not just being ignored. Yeah. Oh, I just lost my train of thought there again, getting too old for this
movie, I've tried to do this, yeah, JT did this, not too much. Coffee thing. So it kinda like, doesn't really help as well. What I was gonna say was with with your journey, and, you know, a lot of that negative thinking, is that mostly, like, just in your head? Or is there actually something that, you know, something that had happened over and over again? And, you know, what you say was, this messages and, you know, like, people appreciation can really make a difference, right? But for like a small creator, who kind of just started right, it might, they might not have that, what you call it mass switch, to be able to have enough people to kind of be able to see their work and have that appreciation, what would you say to them on, you know, what are the things they should do to be able to push past this and keep going until that critical point where they, you know, in quotation mark, make it
Justin Snead  38:48  I would say, and, you know, every person is different. So, what has helped me probably won't help somebody else, but it may, I would say, to, to really focus on your vision with your work. Everything that's happened to me on a positive level, you know, regardless, you know, whether or not it's NF T cells, print cells, working with Tor companies now, but storm chasing, it's been a byproduct of really focusing and sinking on my vision. I've had a lot of brands on Instagram, who have really focused on gaining that following, you know, just chasing that big number, you know, gaining that those large amounts of likes, and, you know, they would always, you know, try to beat up on feature pages and things of that nature. It was always about the numbers. And luckily for me, like, even when I first started out, it was like, for me, those things never counted. They never mattered. And the reason why is that that's not what I was after. I never photography as a business. And ironically, I still don't look at it as a business. What I Do put my focus on is my vision, what I want to portray my art, and then let things just go, you know, because if you're not focused on that, then your mind is going to be all over the place, you're going to be chasing those numbers chasing those likes trying to get the attention of people. And for me personally, that's not what art was about. For me, it was about releasing, releasing the negative things that have happened in my life, into my art, and then having people resonate with now, you know, regardless of if it's, you know, 10 people, 100 people, 1000 people, that doesn't matter, at the end of the day, you know, there's one person who resonates with it, then I am successful as an artist, it doesn't matter, I've made money off of it or not, I think for a lot of us who are within the NFT space, especially, when you, when you look at the way we are people, sometimes chasing money and things of that nature, you got to realise that part of being an artist is not necessarily focusing on the money, let that be a byproduct of what you're trying to go after. So really focus in on your vision, what you're wanting to actually portray, but your art, and then just let it be let let the failures and the successes, you know, right, because it's going to be a wait no matter what, it's rare for people to, you know, come out with their art and instantly just skyrocket. You know, as an artist, it's almost a duty to go through the highs and lows, and enjoy the journey, because that's what makes being an artist great is being able to navigate it. That's awesome, man. That's
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  41:32  such a great advice. And I think like people have that have that unrealistic expectation of thinking that, you know, if you made it in Instagram, then you made it as an artist? And you know, I think that's, that's a bit backward, because that's not why we started photography. I'm sure it wasn't Instagram, right. Instagram is just a platform, right? Yeah, I think, yeah, sorry, Kevin.
Justin Snead  41:58  I was just gonna say, I think a lot of people kind of found inspiration through the Instagram platform. But then, you know, with the influencer thing, and, you know, obviously, you know, seeing numbers, big numbers. As humans, we're automatically we gravitate towards that. Now, you want all the money, you want all the followers, you want all the likes, but I've been very lucky in that, that was never, ever my focus ever. Like, no matter what I've been doing, I've never been like, you know, oh, I need to have this many followers to, you know, I need to have more reach. And you have more does that, because at the end of the day, my vision with my art doesn't correlate with that. And like I said, everything has been a byproduct of the grind, you know, doing photography for six years now. And just recently started having success with it a year or two ago, four years was a long time to, you know, not have success. But the thing is, is, I've been happy without that success. And even if my successes overnight, just alter and I'll go back to making no money on this, guess what? Still gonna be out chasing the storm, still gonna be out, just putting my emotions to it. And going from there. That
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  43:09  is so awesome, man. Like, you know, one of the best advice. I mean, it's one of the reason why I do this podcast because people literally look at Instagram and think that, you know, these people just like born yesterday and have 2030 50,000 followers, and they're like, Okay, I wanted to do that. So, right, it's not like that. And, you know, you just shared the grind and the journey and it's just, you know, for listener who's out there who's like, in this space, like, you know, there'll be a time there'll be a time where, you know, everything makes a difference and everything just makes sense. Right? And it might not today might not be tomorrow, it might not be in next month or next year but if that's something you love, then just remember your why right? And I really love about what you say that because you just stick to just remember why you started or why you do storm photography and you just stick with it and it just kept going because of that so that's that's so it's such a good advice and hopefully creators out there who you know are feeling this feeling can resonate with this and can take this as a as an advice. And so what you do is incredibly dangerous, right? And not only from the store and but also from the traffic the weather, you know, all this stuff if the storm turning the other way towards you and stuff like have you ever have Have you ever been into in in a sticky moment where you just go like, Ah, I shouldn't be here.
Justin Snead  44:39  Yeah, yeah, me and my strategic partner, Matt Holliday. We've had a couple of instances where it was like, oh, it's time to go. We almost got mowed down by a potential tornado last year in South Dakota. I also almost got struck by lightning twice last year. Luckily that didn't happen but I know storm chasers who have been struck by lighting multiple times at that. So it's definitely a dangerous thing to do that. And again, like you mentioned, not only with the actual storms, you know whether or not it's a tornado, or lightning, other chasers who are out there driving erratically, wildly, because we oftentimes chase them to sunset, kind of through sunset, and then we're driving back in the dark. Well, where we're at in the Midwest, it's very, it's very desolate. There are a lot of deer, wherever you're putting on deer or elk, depending on where you're chasing it. And people get into wrecks all the time. So it is a very dangerous, dangerous genre of photography to get into. That's why I always have advertised when people approached me about storm chasing. And, you know, they're asking me questions about, you know, where should I go work? Or should I go? Where should I go? I want to see a storm. And I'm staying saying to them, yeah, do you know, do you know what you're looking at in the sky? Can you tell if this storm is about to produce a tornado? Before it produces a tornado? Can you tell if this storm is strengthening or weakening? And then do you know your position relative to the storm? Because it's very important, extremely important. And the last thing I would want to see is anybody getting into danger or potentially dying? Because I told them of a spot to go to, and then they're in front of the storm and don't know what to do?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  46:26  That's it. Yeah, that's, that's awesome that you did that. I know that people kind of don't, people who doesn't understand just think like, oh, yeah, just go to sport and watch this. And I remember I was reading, because I wanted to do this don't chase. And I remember, I was reading up a lot about it. And it was, it was crazy how the biggest casualty was happened because of car accidents. You know, just as just as is like, oh, like, you know, the actual danger is not the storm but or the lightning, but it was actually the, the other chasers, yeah, I reducers. And people are, you know, looking at the storm, and they didn't pay attention to the road when they were driving. So actually one of my idol or in one of the photographer that got that got me into, you know, shooting storms and lightning back in birth was died. And because of a car accident, I'm very sad about it. But yeah, it was it just goes to show how, how crazy it can be. But tell me about that moment when you almost get caught in a tornado. And I love how you
Unknown Speaker  47:29  just say that. And he just like, brush it away as if he was like, No, I was like, hold on, hold on, you always get slapped by a tornado. What happened? And I tell him,
Justin Snead  47:41  almost, yeah, so we were me and Matt were chasing in South Dakota. And we ended up driving down to the storm, our original target, just it didn't pan out. And I could tell that the storm that was south of us, it was the storm to be on. So we're driving down to it. And, and I see it and you know, it's just this massive storm, it's what we call a high precipitation Supercell, which means that it's dumping a lot of rain. And within what we call the the mezzo, it's rain wrap. So you can't see if there's a tornado or not in it. You can see it on radar. But visually, it's very hard to see if there's a tornado or not. So while we're driving down the interstate, this storm is probably seven or eight miles to our to our west, it's putting on a tornado, you can see it oh radar that it's putting out a massive tornado. So we start to get in position to where we are going to be able to shoot the store because it had some some decent structure on it. And, you know, we're trying to get east of the storm so that we can get a really nice visual on that, well, I make this critical mistake of having us go south a little too early. And sometimes what happens with the storms is they will deviate. Which means basically, they're moving in a certain direction, but when they get really strong, they'll start to turn erratically. And I knew within a mile or two of making that decision to go south that we have made the wrong decision. So we literally stopped and within this is where it becomes really important to a know where you're at be visually be able to see what the storm is doing. See, visually be able to see what it's doing on radar. Because radar was looking at the radar, I was like This storm is turning right into us. And it's probably putting on a tornado right now. We might get caught. So within a matter of 30 seconds me and my partner were like can we make it back north? Nope. Okay, which we're going to get out of this. So we ended up being able to go a little bit further east on some dirt roads, which kind of suck if you get at the storm in South overtaking you which it kind of did. So we got called into the outer circulation of a potential tornado. Now, the tornado itself hadn't lifted. There was a little bit of circulation but I don't think there's anything tornadic now But we ended up having to drive through 95 mile per hour straight line winds for about a good 10 minutes. And it was gnarly, you know, we knew we were safe, just because we can tell by the wind direction that we were out of the area of what we call the bears cage, basically where the tornado might be. But it's still very horrible, you'd have trees getting blown down into the road, you can't see anything, because the rain is getting blown straight into you. And I don't know, I wish I would have been streaming that live on Instagram, just so people can really see what it's like when you're in those situations. Because sometimes you have to make life or death decisions within a minute or two. Granted, that storm had already lifted up this tornado, but if it had not, there's a very high chance that we could have been in the outer bands of the tornado. And knowing how to get out of those situations, it's very important being out there, especially when there's other places you could potentially block the roads are just drive slow, because they don't know what you're doing. And but you know yourself like you're in a very dangerous spot, you got to go, go go. So that's why I advise people to just really be safe when they're out chasing. If you don't know what you're doing. Find somebody who does join a tour. There's plenty of tools out there and where people who do know what they do know what to do can keep you safe, because we want everybody to live and go home at the end of the day. Yeah, wow. That's
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  51:23  crazy. That's that's a wild wild story. Man, I just yeah, it's just, it's just like imagining being, you know, being like sitting on your passenger seat and going through that. I'd be like, Ah, we're lift to lift off. That's, that's, that's insane. Yeah, so thanks a lot for sharing your journey, sharing your, you know, your struggles. And I think it's important to, for photographers who kind of already made our, our journey further to share that, you know, it's not, it's not all fun in game, like, there's a lot of things that goes through, and it was great to be able to hear your perspective on how to get out of it as well. Now, I'd love to hear about your successes, you know, what are some of your proudest moment, being a photographer, I know, you, you, you kind of started the tour last year or this year or something like that.
Justin Snead  52:21  So I helped out with a tour company last year. And I think that kind of kind of helped me realise that I really wanted to take others out to see storms. Because seeing those, those clients face what we got in front of massive super cells that have beautiful structure, and, you know, they see us get giddy, and then it's like, they know, like, oh my god, this is it. It's very weird how storms are because they can go from looking just kind of garbagey and whatever. And, uh, you, you'll slowly see it starting to take structure and, you know, people who have chased, we could we could tell we're like, oh, it's starting to do it. And then clients start getting happy. And they're like, oh, is this gonna be it. And then next thing, you know, you have this massive Supercell and everybody's cheering, they're going crazy, they're getting the shots they want, you're getting the shots you want. It's just a very beautiful thing. So this year, I'm actually Co Co leading with two different tour companies of summoner and workshops. So it's gonna be pretty exciting, I'm excited to get a chance to take other people out again, and, you know, just see if we can get in front of some storms. And one thing about storm chasing is it's, there's no guarantee with what we can get. So it can be, it can, it can be hard, you know, we have you know, especially with climate change in the way things have definitely been us, you can have weeks of you know, just nothing in, you know, if you're caught on a workshop with that, if it gets very hard because even though people know, you know, we can't guarantee you them something in the back of your mind, you're still expecting somebody, even though you know it. So I'm just, I'm excited. I'm very excited to take some people out. And hopefully we can catch some, some Supercell structure, some tornadoes, some lightning and also eat some good food because, you know, I love my food.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  54:04  Yeah, that's, that's awesome. Yeah. And, you know, that's, that's cool that you, you get to find that last year and, you know, continuing forward with that moment, too. And I know that you you made really good success in the NFT world as well. But you know, out of everything that had happened in your journey, what are some of your proudest moment that, you know, it could be something that that had happened with, with the business or with the NFT? Or with with your tour? Or maybe it's just a moment that you are managed to capture with your camera? Well, you know, do you have that moment that you think about, you know, if nothing else, like if everything else didn't happen? This one moment makes everything worth it?
Justin Snead  54:48  I do have that moment right now, but I know it's going to be replaced later on down the road as I'm chasing. For me. I would say my most successful moment was capturing the Lubbock, Texas Supercell last year, if you're in an NF T space, that piece is called breaching the void on foundation. And it was the first piece that ever sold on foundation. And so that's advanced, aka tactics. But what made that moment successful for me was the way the storm just ended up producing this gorgeous structure and the lighting that was underneath it while we had dust blowing everywhere. It really kind of symbolises what my journey has been within nursing. And my personal life. There's been a lot of a lot of things that I've been through personally, I don't talk about too much. But I've had to make a lot of sacrifices to get to where I am now. And some sacrifices were just, they were, they were very life changing. I'll just put it that way. For me seeing that storm, and just at that very moment, feeling like it was just a accumulation of all of the emotions and things I've been through. Like, I don't know how to really explain it, but it just, it was a bittersweet moment, I guess you could say, because it was everything that I had been looking for so far, with storm chasing, like, I had already photographed some beautiful supercells. But that Supercell and those 20 to 30 minutes of conditions that we had with it, were just life changing for me. And then, you know, the edit that I incorporated with it really helped to push home. What is a storm chaser, Bill, I was able to really, you know, like I said,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  56:35  thank you very much for being here, Justin. We I had a great time chatting with you and listening to your journey and your wisdom. So that was
Justin Snead  56:43  amazing. It's been a pleasure. Thank you for having me on. And I've been a fan of your work for a long time. Obviously, we've talked on Instagram for what, a year or two now. Keep doing what you do, man. I love it. I love seeing your work. Did your Aurora panels are just mind blowing ly good. So I may I may need some advice here. Maybe we can do like a little trade, you know?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  57:03  Yeah, man. Awesome. That would be awesome. But I appreciate your kind words very much. Thank you, Justin. All right, we can't as well. That was one awesome episode. And yeah, you can check out his work on the comment below, through different social media. But also check out you know, his printshop if that's something that you want to support him or you want it hanging on your wall, I know. He got just amazing, amazing shots of the storms that I could never dream off. Yeah, you're one of one of my favourite storm chaser there are like a good handful that like you know, truly my favourite and I truly like when I saw your photo, it was just like very different. You know, it's not only about the storm so I really love watching that from you know, from your work so, but yeah, like, if you do want to chase storm, you know, like, you just didn't say to hit him up on the tours or find other tours before you try to do it yourself. If it's especially if it's your first time. You know, not it's, I mean, it might cost you a little bit more but at the end of the day, your life is precious, more precious than money. So, but thanks a lot for tuning in. We can hunters and if you haven't already, so hit the subscribe button and hit Justin up. Say thank you if you know what he said has really resonate with you. As he's, as you said earlier, these are the things that kept us going and we really appreciate it. We'll see you guys in the next episode.
 

Ep 33 - The Journey behind extreme weather chaser Lori Grace & how she put everything on the line to become the best version of herself

Hey Wicked Hunters, 
Today we have Lori Grace, also known as the “Lightning Queen”, an extreme weather photographer who is a big advocate of gender equality and underrepresented artist.
We chatted about how she put herself accountable to be better by telling everyone that if she didn’t get better in 2021, she was ready to let everything go and “hang up the towel” - quit.
She also shares her journey in the NFT world and how she started from zero, opening Twitter space with only a few people to a point where she can reach more and more people and become one of the most respected figures in the NFT world.
 
You can see Lori’s Genesis Piece - the photo that we were talking about on the podcast here:
https://twitter.com/lorigraceaz/status/1515070519300685828?s=20&t=FRr18BeAWQnR69to7krP6A
 
If you want to learn more about Lori's work, you can find it here:
• Website: https://www.lorigraceaz.com/
• Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/lorigraceaz
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lorigraceaz
 
Other ways to listen and subscribe to the podcast:
• Spotify - http://bit.ly/twhspotify  
• Apple Podcast - https://bit.ly/Theartofphotography  
• Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/TheArtOfPhotographyWithStanleyAr  
• Website: https://podcast.thewickedhunt.com     
• Tune In (Alexa) - https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr  
 
For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography by Stanley Aryanto:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedhunt/     
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewickedhunt/
• Masterclass: https://www.TheWickedHuntPhotography.com     
• Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/ 
 
Don't forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation. It would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers. 
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Lori Grace  0:00  I tweeted out that if I didn't Excel if I didn't, if I didn't do better this last year in 2021, than I've ever done before, as far as my chasing my photography might the quality of images, the type of extraordinary shots that I was getting, if I didn't do better than I've ever done before I was going to hang it up. I was going to hang up the towel I was gonna throw in the towel and hang it up
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  0:30  Hey, weekenders Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast, where we share photographers journey and share how photography have given us hope, purpose and happiness. And today we have someone who have been such a big support such a big figure is especially in the NFT world, as well as in photography world, her name is Laurie grace, and Laurie has been someone who is a big advocate for the underrepresented for, you know, the bipoc That woman and all the people out there that you know, do not get as much voice to be heard or, and Laurie has been really active in Twitter spaces to create this spaces for for these people. So I am so excited to Yeah, to talk to Laurie, about her journey, her photography, and how she, you know, bring and help these people who are underrepresented so that they have more space to be able to voice their, their, their messages and there are so let's get right into it. Give us a little bit background about yourself write about who you are and who, who you like to be known by other people in the industry as well as as a person.
Lori Grace  2:00  Yeah, I mean, so I am, I've kind of been all over the place it through through my life and doing different things. When I was young, I always had a fascination with weather. And by the time I was in high school actually wanted to become a meteorologist and a tornado chaser back in the day before There even were there before there even was something such as a thing called storm chasers, there were pretty much tornado trackers, or whatever you want to call it. And I wanted to go to Texas Tech in in Lubbock to study and learn the science of tornadoes. But life took me a different journey. And it got married ended up, you know, ended up pursuing a degree in psychology different, you know, which is vastly different. And then from there just we ended up moving out to Arizona, over 20 years ago. And And finally, back in 2015, I became a wedding photographer, which is something I wanted to do. And once I was doing wedding, once I was shooting portraits and weddings and shooting people, I also discovered rediscovered my passion for for weather, again, especially living out here in the desert, you know, the summer storms can just be some of the most beautiful thing that you've ever seen, especially if you're standing out in the middle of the desert, at sunset, and all of the colours of that you can imagine are just filling your brain with with just this, this, this chaos of beauty. And so I decided to take those same, that same gear right, the male canon five d mark three and the lenses that I had with it, and started shooting storms with it as well when I wasn't shooting weddings. And since then that's been what I've been kind of alternating. During wedding season, I'll shoot weddings or portraits or whatever throughout the year. But then during storm season, you know, I'll either drag out to the high plains and take pictures of storms and supercells and the marvellous storms that are out there or even in eastern New Mexico and in West Texas. Or I'll wait again for the monsoon season each and every year to try and capture something extraordinary each and every day. And then last year, I jumped into you know, I jumped into NF T's I took some of that knowledge and I took the the images that I was creating. And I decided to come into and take a look at NFT because I was already into crypto a little bit. So for me, because I was already investing in crypto NF T's actually wasn't that that far of a reach and a lot of people have trouble getting their understanding their purpose and the potential for success with them as an artist as a photographer. So you know back in June, July is when I really started to look into it. And then I dropped my my first pieces on foundation last August. And I quickly sold through two or three pieces on foundation which surprised me because I really didn't know anybody. And then I spent time in the community slowly prepping my my collection. My first collection which is the passionate pursuit, and after that, yeah, I mean, I've now sold through two collections and several pieces. Excuse me In an almost another collection of time, lots of pieces on foundation. And I host spaces like crazy, just because I love it. I love this community that I'm part of. And yeah, and that's where I'm at today. And I'm looking forward to just so many people being on boarded into into crypto now and NF T's and, and I'm looking forward to storm season again to probably more than anything. I'm so ready to get back out there and chase Chase storms and do things a lot differently.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  5:26  That's incredible. Yeah, that's, that's really cool to see, you know, how everything can flow through. Why did you want it to do wedding photography? I'm curious. That was like, What is that one thing that makes you you know, what, I want to do wedding photography. And, you know, many people can do it for, you know, because it is a good industry to make money off. But when I listen to you, talking about your wedding photography, you really passionate about it, you really care about your your your bride and groom, and you really care about capturing those moments and being able to create a memory of a lifetime. So share us a little bit about that. That passion in wedding photography, I think you're still muted.
Lori Grace  6:13  was talking Go figure. It didn't I mean, sorry. But here was you know, with wedding photography, I really enjoy taking photos of people. And ever since we had our kids and their babies, I loved just using the original canon, what was it a digital rebel x t, just such an older camera. But you know what, even those, even those cameras are taking just incredible images. So I want to do, I wanted to do something that kind of offered a little bit of a of an adrenaline rush. And that's what I love doing most about weddings is that it's not for everybody. And I jumped right into it, I did all the studying, I bought all the gear learned everything I could about off camera flash, because I just didn't I see a lot of the wedding photographers who I saw it locally, they're just flash on their camera, they're shooting weddings that way. And that is not the kind of quality I wanted to see out of out of from photography. And there are a lot of great wedding photographers who really are a master at crafting light with off camera flash, that that's something that I really, really do enjoy using is OCF. But not only that, being able to maximise the dynamic range that these cameras have. So you know, I do see a lot of wedding photographers who I think the style or the style is called light and airy. And there's generally hardly any, if you know, none, to maybe very little of off camera flash or on camera flash. And they essentially, you know, it's kind of an overexposed, slightly overexposed image, just so everything is super bright. But I don't care for that style, it's not my style. I know, it's, it's pretty much what you're gonna see on any bridal magazine that's out there, because it's such a popular style. But for me, I was always about capturing the sky, also capturing the breadth of the dynamic range and your camera. So I wanted to see shadows, I wanted to see the sky, I like a blue sky and not a white sky that you typically see in these other kinds of shots. Whether it's a blue sky, or a pink sky, or whatever is happening in the in the environment. And of course, that translates into my experience as a as a storm chaser weather photographer, you know, I want to maximise, I really want to capture everything that I can. And I'm because I really think that's important to not only properly exposed for the clients, whether it's a wedding couple or a portrait of some sort. So, so that's what I ended up, you know, making sure I expanded into using softboxes, you know, whatever tools I needed to get the shot that I was looking for, and to craft that, that's what I did. And that's where I'm at today is I still love, I'll take a softbox if I'm shooting a high school senior, for example, you know, up on a mountain like I did this past weekend, I will take the softbox with me, and I'll have a friend standing with a giant softbox just to create that light, that beautifully diffused light, and then have that sunset in the background, that golden hour down in the valley below. Just going nuts to create that, that beautiful, you know that that that beautiful extra light, that's just the that's just surrounding the client and it just makes them glow with this that extra warmth. So as you can tell I'm, I'm really technical about it all, but I just really love doing it. And that's what keeps me juices going.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  9:31  Yeah, that's really cool. You know, when you do something that you're passionate about, that's when you really create something truly unique, right? I think like you really have to love what you do in order to create this images. And it's interesting to hear that, you know, you you studied psychology, right, if I heard you correctly, and how did that transition to to photography, like from from psychology, like I was an engineer as well. So, you know, there's a lot of things that can I take There's a, it's always interesting to hear, like, you know, how did that kind of flow through to make to spark the interest in photography?
Lori Grace  10:09  Right? Well, you know, it's the, the degree that I was going for what I originally wanted to do when I was in college was, I wanted to be an industrial Organisational Psychologist, but wanted to be able to find out how we can take care of an employee, how a business can maximise their profits by taking care of the employee first, right? If you look at it, it's always been a no brainer. And unfortunately, you still see a lot of companies operating in the opposite of the way, right, where they're kind of abusing someone where they No break for, you get back to work, you know, and they're just pushing them to the limits. And then when you look at some of the other corporate structures, like some of the companies in Japan, some of the large companies in Japan, where they would actually take a small office room where they would take a room, and they would put several chairs, it was their break room. And it was actually they were massage chairs that you could completely recline in, and the room is exceptionally dark, and they would let them power nap for 20 minutes, right, they would go in there, they would, they would put, you know, they would sit in this complete dark room and just be allowed to rest in power nap. And those those companies found out that their productivity went through the roof, by giving them the breaks that they need the rest that an employee needed, instead of how we do it in the United States where it's like, you got to work 10 hours a day, 15 hours a day, and just keep on trucking and work to your till you're exhausted each and every day for the full week. And maybe you'll get a vacation out of it. You know, when you actually look at these other companies that cause that forced their employees to take those really needed rest breaks in the middle of the afternoon, or the middle of the shift, those employees came back and excelled in their performance through the rest of the afternoon. And that was something that intrigued me, I loved the psychology of the human working spirit, if that makes any sense. And so you know, we're human, we need to take breaks, we're not robots. And when companies treat humans like robots, you're going to experience burnout, you're going to experience employee discontent, and all of that. So I really wanted to work with large companies with that. And that was where I went with a psychology degree. But I of course, I discovered that you could apply a lot of that a lot of that learning that I've done to pretty much anything it applies to anything in life. And so when I finally made it up to becoming a wedding photographer, the psychology of just taking care of your clients, you know, I was an assistant pastor also. So with church was kind of the same thing, you just you have to take care of the people, and you'll see me actually quote, I actually tweet out probably at least once a month, just the same, just a simple line that people don't care about how much you know, until they know how much you care. And to me, that's, that's so essential. In whatever you do, if I'm just a spaces host, people don't give a crap up. Until that they know that I'm I'm in it for the community, I see value in them as well. And I mean, it's really down to something simple as that is that you have to take care of whether you are a boss, then you have to take care of an employee, whether you're a parent, you have to take care of you know, your family, ever kind of relationship structures that you have, you have, it has to come from a position where you're you're giving of yourself you're providing of yourself in order to get something and in return or to even expect something positive in return, if you're looking to get a return on investment, basically. So that being said, being in spaces, I just love the community, I love being a part of this, there's something amazing to have so many people supporting me. And so I am doing these, these spaces that I hold, I just love returning the same support that's been given to me. And there's, there's just a really great cycle with that. And so I don't really use that anymore. But what I do, as a wedding photographer, I do still use that principle, that same principle, when I'm actually directing a client, right? Like, I just want to make sure that I do everything that I can to make them feel comfortable and focused on each other. And if I can disappear as a photographer, and help the couple to connect, then those authentic moments are really going to be what really sells my work. So being able to capture an authentic moment is is the is the is the best thing you can do as a wedding photographer. And so that's what I strive to achieve. And I really love doing that. And I love the clients their images from any kind of session, whether it's an engagement, whatever it would be, and to see just the smile on their faces knowing that capture, you know, real moments is is there's nothing
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  14:46  Yeah, that's really cool. I think you know, this is why it's really good to kind of hear people background and you know where how they can get to where they are today because it really makes sense right when I hear you talking about your your client's as wedding photographer, I can see how much you care about it. And you know, when you're in spaces, I can also see how much you, you know, try to uplift each other and care about other people mental health, as well as you know, their successes. And this is, this is why like you this, this, this was your whole purpose altogether. And I think that is really cool to finally learn that, you know, I always love to learn what it is that that drives them. And when you learn that you can see that everything that person do comes back to that one purpose. So that's really cool to be able to, to know that all of you. Now, I know you from your striking shots, and no pun intended there. Because I love lightning as well. It's exhilarating. You know, the feeling when you see those lightning strikes, and especially when you capture one on camera is just so addictive. What, how did you so you said that, you know, at one point, as a wedding photographer, you were able to rediscover your passion for weather, and you can tie that into photography, and you start taking photo of the storms and everything right? So how did that spark like? How did how did you manage to rediscover that passion for photography and decided to, you know what, I'm going to chase the storms.
Lori Grace  16:24  You know, it all it all started with, with the reinvestment into the new camera equipment. Because I've always I've always been just enjoying the storms living out where I live. But I really didn't have a means, you know, taking a picture with my old, we're not talking about the new iPhones, right? Or the new, the new Samsung Galaxy fold. We're talking about the old phones, where you take a picture and it would be so pixelated, and just wasn't worth keeping, trying to take a picture of a sunset. Like you're standing there. How many times have you seen pictures, people post pictures of the Moon from with their phone, especially 510 15 years ago, like, oh my gosh, the sunset was amazing. When you look at Facebook, and you're like, that is the most hideous photo I've ever seen. And then you just go Oh, I'm so glad you enjoying the sunset. You know, it just didn't translate, right. And that's what I love about about just investing when I first invested in my first camera, my first DSLR I should say, professional body DSLR. I did have a seven Ed before that. And it was a great camera. When I got the five d mark three, and the sigma 50 millimetre F 1.4 Art lens, I tell you what, there was no looking back, you know, it was once you go once you go full frame, there's, you know, you don't go back. And so I just love that the beauty and the quality of of a full frame image and capturing that. I don't know, I really do. It's, it's almost sick, like I have an addiction to wanting to capture photos and my love for photography really grew. So back in 2015, when I started the wedding, the wedding business, the wedding photography business, when the storms were there, it was like, Okay, now I have this drive, to relearn a lot of the forecasting that I needed to do, because you don't just wait for a storm to pop up. And just go outside and take a picture that that's a disgusting, terrible way to storm Chase. But to be able to figure out where you're going to be, and to maybe find locations where you can position overlooking a valley if you can, as the storm comes in, off of the mountain peaks, and drifts into the valley towards you, and all of that all of that takes so much work and effort and driving for hundreds and 1000s of miles just to finally get into that position, only to find out that the storm doesn't pop out anything, you know, anything worth even capturing other than maybe a few clouds over a mountain peak. So, you know, the agony of defeat is much greater when you're storm chasing, because you're not always there might look like I have, like I go out there every single day and, and just scoop up success with my images. But that's not the reality. The reality is you've got to just grind each and every day. And more often than not, you're going to come home with nothing, nothing that you want to even share. So, you know, so you learn to enjoy the journey like I have, and I'll have my dogs with me and there's nothing like it even if I don't get anything. You know, I still spent an afternoon driving 300 miles into the desert or maybe into the, into the foothills of a mountain range in southeastern Arizona where the grass or you get to see the cattle and there's nobody around for 3040 miles. You know and just to be at peace with that. There's something really cathartic about being out there storm chasing, and even coming back with zero because you really don't come back with zero if you have that perspective.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  19:37  That is awesome. Laurie, I think you know, a lot of us, especially the newer photographer really need to understand because you know, they look at Instagram and I mean I get these comments all the time. It's just like wow, you always captured this I was like no, it's like you don't know how many times I went back to that place driving you know how many hours hoping for something and I got nothing and That's exactly it. You know, I love that you share that. I mean, like, I did that a lot with Aurora chasing in Canadian Rockies. And, you know, a lot of people can say like, wow, you Oh, like you captured a lot of origins like now just out of law. So that's, that's it right? You gotta increase your chance to capture it. I mean, yeah, the planning needs to happen as well. But if you don't go out, you're not gonna get it, you get it.
Lori Grace  20:30  You're not going to catch the storm? If you don't if you don't even leave the house. That's very true.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  20:34  Yeah, that's awesome. I think you know, it's really powerful, and also translate to a lot of the human. So the mental health issue that we are having is that when we go out there, we have a certain expectation, right. And when we don't get that most people get angry or resentful about what they've done. But if you can enjoy the journey, then that's when you actually just enjoy it. And that's, that's great. Thanks for sharing that was I just lost my train of thought that is, that was a really good point that you brought up,
Lori Grace  21:07  you just have to take a chance on it. Even if you think that there's only a 2% 2% chance of capturing something extraordinary. Guess what, if you don't go out, there is a 0% chance of you capturing anything extraordinary.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  21:20  That's it. And I think that is the difference when you really enjoy what you do versus when you just do it for the sake of doing it. Right. Because when you really enjoy what you do, you're passionate about it, you want you know that 2% is a massive fuel, right. But when you're you know, just doing it for the sake of it, you want that serve a certain expectation that it's gonna get met. So. So if you were to look back, what are some of the biggest struggles or challenges that you have come across to get to where you are today?
Lori Grace  21:52  Oh, gosh, first of all, finances are a huge challenge, right? If you don't have the money for the gear, you might just be stuck using your phone. Looking back on it, though, you know, I'm still glad that I would, I would use whatever kind of gear I had in my hand. You know, like I said before, that old Canon digital rebel that I spent $600 for at the time, back in 2002, or 2003. That was a lot of money for me back then. And even that that crappy old 50 millimetre What is it the 18 to 55 millimetre kit lens was such a trashy plastic lens that doesn't even give you the potential to see what you can do even with that kind of camera, and slowly bought a couple of different lenses for it 70 to 300. And I loved that little piece. And it was just, you know, the biggest challenges were the financial thing, just being able to save up when you're not doing it professionally to, to continue to pursue that passion. So I was always taking a little bite into photography, one thing at a time, like I started from zero, and I was a wedding photographer, there was, there was a build up to it. And you just, you know, you save up for it. If you care about something, you're gonna save up for it. And that's what I was doing. So finding, finding the time and the money to be able to slowly build up a collection, not a collection of lenses, but two or three good lenses. And then I finally upgraded at the time, you know, what was it about 2013 I would say is when I got the Canon seven DD and that was a huge step up, especially with the video capabilities and using dual pixel autofocus, and a lot of the great features that are 70 D would would provide, but even a seven ad at night. didn't cut it for for any kind of Astro because I didn't have anything wider than like an F four lens or an F five F 6.3 lens or whatever it was. And so I guess one of the bigger biggest barriers was just having the fight the fight the the finances to afford the better gear. But even then, you know, I used what I had, and I still love doing what I what I did with uh, now it's funny because now I shoot with a lot of Sony's I have four Sony cameras, including the eighth one. And people tell me Oh, I have Lori's there's an old Canon 60 D, and I'm like, Give me that 60 D and I'll shoot the shit out of a wedding. If I had to. I promise you I would I could get some banger shots. I could shoot with a 60 D with the right lens. I could kill the Milky Way with that I could get some kick ass Milky Way shots, you just get to know how to do it. And you can't be afraid to use whatever tool is in your hand. And so even sometimes when I see a sunset, one of my most viral images was from an iPhone of a lenticular cloud at sunset and it was all pink. It looked like a huge it looked like a huge cotton candy ball, right? And it was it was moving over the mountain near where I live, and that the horizon was horrible. There's all these mosquitoes ugly mesquite trees. So there's nothing beautiful, beautiful about the horizon. But that little iPhone at the time captured such depth of the colour of the pink in the sky. And of course you know, the time lapse of the sunset. I can't actually using the the Canon YB mark three, that nobody gave a crap about that everybody loved that peak lenticular cloud. Online. You know, I think that that had, I can't remember how many 1000s of views and, and retweets and all of that stuff and comments. And then of course, I post the time lapse that I had, that the reason I was there, which was the time lapse of the sunset, and I think he got like 100 views on total. So you never know, you know, you never know what the sky is going to provide for you. And if you have an iPhone, use your iPhone, use the tools that you have with you at the time. Yeah, that's, that's
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  25:33  a really good advice. I mean, like, especially with the, you know, the technology that the iPhone have today, right now, you could take a pretty good night shot, handheld, it's crazy. And like, I think a lot of a lot of photographers doesn't realise as well, especially the ones that are quite new to the, you know, to the genre is that when you capture with a lesser quality camera, there are different ways to push that limit, right, with post processing and all that stuff. And I'm not even talking about, you know, compositing or anything like that, but you could clean up a lot of that photo by by working on it on a post. So, yeah, that's a really good advice there. Laurie, what are some of the things that you know, kept you going through all this? You know, I know that I'm pretty sure that you have a lot of things that stop you from where you want to go from where you are, to where you want it to go? Right? I mean, especially with, you know, with a wedding, you know, getting started with the wedding couldn't be easy, as well as with storm chasing, you know, like, I remember when I tried to learn all this, the forecasting, I was just like, wow, what is all this? So what are some of the things that keep you inspired and keep you going? And when you have that low point in your life where you know, like, you feel like you can't do it, or you're unworthy of it? What do you do to push past that? And, and, you know, get to where you are today.
Lori Grace  27:02  That's a tough one. Because there's so many different things. There's so many different forces at play, that try to ruin you. Sometimes it could be somebody who was a gaslighter, right? Someone who's telling you that, that you're a piece of crap, or it just in a subtle way tell you that your storm images and that you're forecasting and that you're always doing the wrong thing. And that was something I dealt with, even as recently as a year ago. And that was huge. It had been just such a defeating mindset that I felt I just didn't feel like I would ever measure up to anybody else. And wow, what a lie. You know what I mean? Looking back on, like, if I could tell Laurie from a year ago, I would say, Are you kidding me? What do you take a look at your work? How could you believe that? How can you believe the lie that somebody else is trying to tell you look at look at the truth, face the truth, you have been kicking ass for a long time, but you've only been getting better, you did start off, you know, look back, when you look back at your first photos, right? Like my first song chasing photos. Oh my gosh, they're embarrassing. You know, but at the time, I was so excited that I captured lightning, you know, and that I edited Super Bowl into into the photo and oversaturated it and the focus was completely blurry, I was still excited. But over time, you start to I think, I think more than anything, you end up defeating yourself, whether you give in to somebody's you know, gaslighting or people who are trying to be gatekeepers, those types of things, you know, those are all just constructs. You know, if someone can convince you that you're a piece of crap, then you really do have to look inside yourself. And it took me it took me jumping into NF T's and getting crapped on for me to finally be able to break free from that. And now I look back and I'm just I feel the self confidence, self doubt and this lack of self worth, in what I was doing. I have no idea why I was so down on myself, like I really do. That's one of the biggest things. You hear me in spaces now. And I'm all excited and yeah, I'm such a badass, you know, it's not me. It's not, it's never been me to have that kind of bullish attitude on myself. But it was being in spaces like this and listening to just inspiring people like Jack Cordell saying be bullish on yourself, you know, and that realness of things when others finally see how genuine you are and how awesome you are, and you finally stopped to believe it yourself. And that just sparked something, and it heals a lot of those wounds. And so I would say that the biggest barriers wasn't the knot wasn't the ability to have, you know, just have to save up for extra lenses. It was the ability to believe in yourself that really was the biggest limiting factor. Because if you have the greatest lenses, and you're still out there killing it, and it takes and people are are trying to cut you down and you believe it. You know what eliminate you what a limiter you know you're trying to be you're trying to overcome things, but when you don't see your own and potential and how, what an amazing journey you've you've been through, you know, that it's, it's such a blinder you know how they put blinders on horses? Right? You know, once you take the blinders off of my eyes, you know, once people in this space can just poured their love and their, their, their support into me, and were able to kind of grab me by the head, right, force me to look back on my own work and see how far I've come. You know, wow, it's just and I think that that's such a limiter to all of us, you know, to finally, cause me cause caused me to stop looking at everybody else and comparing myself to others, and just missing things missing out, and being upset that somebody else succeeded. And of course, we are happy when people succeed. But at the same time, it's like, when is my time ever gonna come? And just focusing on those things, that's not important, your successes already come? You're already successful. And it's just a matter of time for other people to see that, whether it's a collector, or whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. For me, my success? Isn't the sales that I've made in NF T's. My success isn't the people that I've met. I have to admit, when I look back, if I if I were to look back and write a book right now, the story where to end, right now, I would say that my biggest success is oh, sorry, my headphones cut out. Yeah. So I would just say that, you know, that my biggest biggest success has been the relationships that have been forged over the, you know, through the fire of NF T's over the last six months.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  31:31  Yeah, that's really cool. Um, yeah, I mean, like, it's funny, because for a lot of people looking from the outside, I know, like, you know, I have a few artists friend, and they try to, you know, onboard, it's like, you gotta jump in here. And you know, it's a beautiful community. And we have like, a massive future for it. Like, it's a big potential of what you can do, whether you want to share your art, or you want to use it for a different good causes. There's so many different applications that you can do with NFT. And they were looking from the outside saying, like, Yeah, but just don't like the grind of, you know, like, you have to do this. And it's like, no, you don't have to do that. Like, it's your choice. But you know, when you're a part of a community, and it's, it's like, if you have a friend and a family that you know, in real life that you really close to, you want to cheer them on, and you want to share their wins. It's not like it's a grind. It's a human nature that we want to be happy for our friends and family that we care about. And, yeah, that's, I think that's really interesting to be able to see that some people have that perspective of people on Twitter or spending, you know, time here, because they have to end it when it gets sale. And probably there are some people who are doing that, but I feel like you know, they are, the core community doesn't do it for that purpose. You know, they are genuinely there to support you and not looking for anything in return. And I think that's what's beautiful about this community. But yeah, thanks for sharing that. Laurie. So do you have any other like, you have any shots that you're like, that is your favourite? I know, like you have a lot of amazing shot. And it's really a hard question. But is there like one, it doesn't have to be your your best one. But just like what the most? Yeah. And is that the most memorable one as well? Absolutely. Okay. Do you want to share like the story behind that? Or do you have that in, in your tweet that you can pin tweet so that we all can look at it? Well, you telling the story
Lori Grace  33:36  bookmark? Cool? No, this is this is going to be the podcast, so people won't be able to necessarily see it. But it is my Genesis piece last year. Last year, I actually tweeted out somewhere in like talking to you the same time. But last year, I tweeted out that it was somewhere like around in March, or what was in March or April, or somewhere around, somewhere around there. I tweeted out that if I didn't Excel if I didn't, if I didn't do better this last year in 2021, than I've ever done before. As far as my chasing my photography, might the quality of images, the type of extraordinary shots that I was getting, if I didn't do better than I've ever done before, I was going to hang it up, I was going to hang up the towel, I was gonna throw in the towel and hang it up. And people of course, were like, No, don't say that. That's such a negative thing that I'm like, No, I'm not being negative. I just need to, I need something to take a risk. I need to I need something to push myself. And so I'm telling myself that if I'm being serious about it and telling you all to put it on line that if I don't, if I don't do better than I've ever done before, if I don't push myself, then I quit. I'm not going to do it anymore. I would still be shooting weddings, because that's a business but I would be done chasing I would be done trying to capture something extraordinary. And, you know, I pushed myself I knew I knew that I had to one up myself. And so this past year I If I would, if there was even a point 02 chance of there being a thunderstorm out and out within a 300 mile radius, I would get in my car, I didn't care if I only got two hours of sleep, throw the dogs in the Honda Pilot, and go for a drive until I finally saw something. And I, you know, I've, I've learned how to target monsoon storms quite well at this point, which is not easy to do, because they're just, they just kind of pop up seemingly at random. But there's actually a huge skill that goes into kind of figuring out where they're going to pop up. And so, this particular shot up this that little, if you're looking at the photo, and I know, in the podcast, people weren't gonna be able to see that. But that little goldfish looking cloud on the left is known as a as a mezzo cyclone, it's actually a little Supercell, the kind of storm that you see out on the Great Plains, a rotating storm is all it is. And so that little storm came off of the mountains, and I have positioned myself, as you can see, by the photo, there is nothing, there's nothing blocking the image of the storm here. And what you can see on the right is, is golden hour, right, you can see the sun, fiery red colour has been pushed in on the left and on to the left. And then on the left side, you have blue our creeping in and you have that bluish colour. And right in between these were these massive strikes just reigned over this, this valley. And what people don't know in this image is it right behind me, I'm standing on a bridge, you know that that goes over this river. And right behind me are these is a huge power plant. And some of the some of the poles go up as high as 5070 feet, maybe 100 feet, I'm guessing it's one of those huge power lines that go through the dug. And it was just completely dropping element. So to position myself where I did to capture the colours and the sun, I challenge anybody else who, because I've been told the same thing by other people that that's probably the best shot of lighting they've ever seen. And it's definitely the best shot I've ever captured.
I have refused to make this a composite. You know, some people have told me Well, you know, if you if you if you, you know, maybe put a castle or a Pegasus in there, you know, that would make it more sellable, you know, and then I'm like, No, this is a real freaking picture, you have no idea what went into this, this was all six years of storm chasing that has gone into my brain. And to be able to get to this spot to see to know that this little storm was going to spit that little cloud was spitting out these bolts was responsible for creating these bolts. And I ended up capturing this in a time lapse too. And I have this in a time lapse, I have not meant at the time lapse. And when I posted this, I have since increased this, this is my Genesis piece. And I've since decreased it to 30 eath. And when I'm laughed at by people that I'm being, you know, ridiculous, I just point people to, you know, the fact that if you're gonna look at PFPs, you know, if an ape can sell for however many eath. But not only that, look at look at Blue Chip photographers like Justin Asano, and drift and Kasam Ward, they're selling pieces for 100. Eve. So I don't ever want to be told by anybody how to price my work. Granted, this photo might not sell for a while, but I'm okay with that. And I just don't care. I'm not here, it's not up for discussion. It's not up here for negotiation. I do have a lot of pieces when I launched my collections that are averaging about point three right now. And I sold pieces in my last collection, that people were laughing at me that where I had listed them at one each, and the collection sold out and people at the very end came in and swept the rest of those one eath. So I had three photos of lightning, going through rate a double rainbow, and all three of those different shots got picked up within two days. So you know, I just I don't like having that discussion about pricing, because it's about worth. And if it even if those didn't sell, I would still be holding on to that because I know, I know. And if anybody wants to find out how hard it is to capture what I do, that's what I would tell them here's the story, and here's why it is priced out and if you don't like it, don't buy it, but this is where I'm at. And of course I do provide other shots that are a little more approachable, which is why I do have an addition piece of a banger of a shot that's been doing extremely well. That's a lot of stuff but that's my favourite shot. Absolutely.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  39:14  Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, like just that whole you know the lights between the golden hour and the blue hour and half the strike the lightning striking in the middle of it and you capture it really well that you know you manage to preserve all the details because especially right in the middle there where you know the where it actually strikes it's always difficult to to be able to preserve that and I know I have a lot of shot lightning shots where when lightning like this happen. You just lose a lot of details in that area. We get to go into a little bit detail here but how do you make that happen and And, you know, what are some of the trial and error that you have to go through to get there, especially when you do a time lapse, because you know, when you do the time lapse, you do like an hour or 30 minutes of it, and you just hope that it goes, All right?
Lori Grace  40:14  Well, and that's the trick to storm chasing, or at least to capturing lightning is knowing where to put your aperture when taking the shot. Because I guarantee you when I saw this, right around the same time, some of the other bolts that were landing, were of similar brightness, and, and a couple of drove up to me, and they're like, What is going on. And I was like, Look at this, you don't need to understand what you're looking at here. It's a rare kind of storm that we see here in Arizona. And they were just marvel, you know, it was like they were looking at a spaceship entering Earth. And to see that on their eyes. And the excitement was incredible. It was incredible. But as a photographer, not only did I have to position and do all the forecasting, and get to the right spot right at sunset, and be in the right position at the right time. But now I had to get my cameras out, I was shooting two cameras, on tripods. And I had to make sure that those settings and that I had nailed focus, you know what I mean? I didn't, there was no autofocus, everything was manual focus. And so I had to also make sure that my aperture was going to be closed down enough so that when this bright bolt just flew out of the sky and landed on the ground, that it wasn't blown out. Because if you're shooting at f 2.8, F four, F 5.6, F 6.3, I can assure you, if I had done that the shot would have been overexposed. But without the lightning, it would have just been a really dark shot at those F stops even. But so I had to step down to, I don't even remember, I'd have to look at the settings, I think it was F 7.1 Maybe F eight, where I shot this out, I'd have to look at the metadata again. That's something that you just have to see on the spot and make the adjustment and hope for the best because sometimes there are bolts that will be so bright, that they'll even be overexposed. That f 13 You know, and that stomped down a lot.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  42:05  Yeah, so you basically have to underexposed the shot, right? But you say you were capturing the time lapse so how do you do that because you know, when you do the time lapse, everything else is gonna be just dark when you underexposed the shot, or do you have like two different camera with a different exposure?
Lori Grace  42:21  Yeah, so the other camera that I'm so this shot wasn't done with time lapse, this was done with a lightning trigger. So you know, I can adjust my settings, and my shutter speed I think was about 1/15 of a second. And capturing lightning actually doesn't isn't about under exposing the shot as it is about adjusting the light that comes in when it comes in. I like to liken it to if you know how to use off camera flash, you know that if you're going to use off camera flash, the first thing you're going to do is dial in your ambience, right and you do that by using shutter speed. So it's it's amazing how my wedding photography has helped me to becoming a better storm photographer. Because if you know about using off camera flash, you're going to have to adjust your shutter speed before you even bring in any kind of off camera flash. So you know, if I want the ambient, if I want to capture the candles in the background, or the lights or whatever of a of an event, I'm going to want to make sure that my shutter is open to maybe 1/30 of a second, maybe boost my ISO 115 1/20 You know, yeah, now you're gonna have to worry about embodied stabilisation or whatnot, or a tripod. But then you're going to, you know not to maybe boost your ISO a little bit, but your flash is entirely dependent on your aperture. So if I then bring in off camera flash at one one of one power, and I take that picture and my aperture is F 1.2. Guess what, you're just going to blow out your hole, you're gonna blow out the entire image. And so that's where you start adjusting your aperture to dial in the kind of power that of light power to properly expose your subject. This is this is kind of photography, one on one off camera flash photography, one on one. And so I'll dial in my shutter speed if I can, maybe 1/15 of a second during this late golden hour early, early blue hour image, maybe 1/25 of a second somewhere around there, but then I will have my aperture, I'll need my aperture to be a safe bet would have been F 11. But then the bolts wouldn't have been so bright, if that makes any sense. If I was at F 2.0, F 2.8, the bolts would have been well overexposed and you wouldn't have been able to recover those highlights. So there has to be a technical medium and you just have to it comes with experience over time when you are shooting on this on the fly. And you're you're hauling butt spot to another to get to storm because we're also moving so you only have a very short window of time to find a spot that you can you can capture it get your camera set up, adjust your settings and hope that your aperture is the right setting so that when the boat does flash, you're not over exposing underexposing You know, when if you underexposed too much, then your bolt is just underwhelming and it just looks like any other bolt that anybody else captured. So there's a little bit of finesse to it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  45:10  And that is why I asked the question because, you know, a lot of people can think and see, you know, this kind of shot or, you know, any other photos and feel like it's, it takes, you know, it's like, you just, you just hit that button. You know, it's not that hard. But the thing is, you know, it takes a lot of practice a lot of failures, a lot of trial and error to be able to know exactly what you need to be doing at that particular moment, when you add a flash, second, right, especially when you're capturing storms, like everything changes all the time, but when changes the direction where it hits the ground is always different. And a lot of people kind of just think that that's not hard. And you know, when when people see that, that's usually where art get undervalue. But you say yourself that it takes you a lot of trial and error you takes you time, where you just go out there over and over again, and just try to find that one strike. And you know, that that is all the effort that we put into as a photographer to be able to capture what we love. And yeah, thanks for sharing that glory. That is, it's really, I think it's really eye opening for people to be able to see that. Do you have any bucket list shot that you want to capture or your type of? Okay, cool. Tell us about that.
Lori Grace  46:29  Absolutely. So I actually saw a picture of a friend of a fellow storm chaser friend, he's actually done it, he has a Netflix show. And it's very popular does a podcast as well. Greg Johnson, he shared a picture, I think it was in the United States of a tornado, a very dusty, dirty looking tornado, you know, picking up a lot of dirt, just so you can see the entire vortex. And it's those kinds of tornadoes that aren't that aren't just, you know, low and contrast. But this is very clear that you can see and it's exciting to look at, but he also captured a bolt of lightning going right through that dirty tornado, and it is the most incredible thing I've ever seen. And I tell myself one of these days, I'm gonna get a picture of lightning going through a tornado. And then I'm just going to take the rest of my cameras and donate them because I'll be done. You'll be so excited, I'll probably just be ready to call it quits at that point. So that's my bucket list. But the other thing I love to capture are something known as TL E's. They're also known as transient luminous events. And what they are is, you know, at the nighttime, during storms that are huge, large storm complex is known as mezzo scale, kind of convective systems. Basically, they're the ones that just they can span hundreds of miles. And it's a line of storms. And those storms often produce larger bolts of lightning, call them positively charged lightning. And above those strikes when you when, when you see a positively charged lightning bolt, which accounts for probably anywhere between one to 2% of all lightning, when that happens. Above in the upper atmosphere and actually into space. What happens is, there is a discharge above the clouds. And that is known. Sometimes, you see them known as red sprites, which I've captured, and the one that I captured last year, which I have yet to mince, maybe for super rare or something. But there, it's been known that there are only about 100 images of something called Blue jets. So imagine, like at the top of a thunderstorm, a picture, a picture of someone squirting this bluish purplish colour of neon light into the upper atmosphere above a cloud that you can only see at the highest highest aperture opening and or the video setting, with very, very, very wide aperture, very good equipment, high sensor capable equipment. And so that night last year, in addition to this shot, I captured another 10 Blue jets shooting up over a couple a system 100 miles from me. And it was the most beautiful thing that I've ever captured. It's just as purple colour of light that emanates above a storm on the darkest of nights, and you need all of that to happen. And I killed it. I nailed it. And I got it in video and I have a hole of five or 10 minutes of this happening on video. And I may release that as an NFT one of these days, but that's gonna go for a shit tonne of money. Just because it's so rare. And what I what I dislike most about it is that I got paid extremely low when I went to sell the footage to the media for this extremely rare event to capture. They paid me breadcrumbs for it. And so when I look at why nfts For me, you know and I get paid extremely well for my photography and for what it takes to capture my work and I see that people are willing to pay what I believe It's worth it, it's just a no brainer for me, I'm so sick of getting taken advantage of by these companies that are going to go on to market the hell out of that rare footage, but only pay me, you know, pennies for, for what I've done and all the effort I put into it. And so when it comes down to the why, and why don't we didn't discuss that, but that's the why. So
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  50:19  that was gonna be my next question. So I'm glad that you mentioned that. But like, so, I mean, like, you know, like, going into NFT. You know, like, it's a lot easier, like you say, because you already in the crypto space, and you're already an investor in the crypto. But there's a lot of people who are quite sceptical about it. So, you know, I know, you kind of say that, that's the why you got into NFT but maybe elaborate a little bit? Is that the only reason why you got into NFT? Or is there another reason? You know, I know that being able to be good, like, to be able to sell your or, Yes, I guess sell your art, that that's what we think is worth is a big thing in this space. But what are what are some of the other reason that that makes you that brought you into the space?
Lori Grace  51:15  You know, if it weren't for Jessica Moore, and guys, you know, like Justin Snead, who were already here before me and, and getting into NF Ts and, and kind of helping pave the way I don't know if I would have done it because I didn't have an example I didn't see to the other side of the bridge. And I think that's important to, to look back on because now I find myself on this side of the bridge, and a lot of other people are looking at us going, you know, how how's it looking over there? Are you getting assaulted? Are you being that? You know, are you being harassed is you know, are you killing the planet? What's going on over there? And I think it's up to us to say, Come on in the water's fine. But here are some things that you need to know. You know, I really think it's imperative that people know that it's not all that everything's not always coming up roses, you know, FOMO if you're an artist and you you struggle with FOMO, guess what, you're going to feel a lot worse here. Unless you do what I think I like to say this to answer your question, I came for the coin, but I stayed for the community. Right? You know, I saw the potential to be able to sell my work through my photography through as an NFT. And I ended up finding just an incredible community that stood by me, that shored me up when I was discouraged, and, and don't get me wrong. Like I said before, I am not my entire life, I have struggled with self worth. And to this day, I have to admit, I don't struggle with that today, it's probably a new horizon. For me, it's a new dawn for me, which is so unreal. And I have to thank the community for being there for me to help, you know, the friends and the bombs that I've made. So I really do think that the the best thing about this, this whole thing is the community that that's around, there are there are nefarious people who don't give two craps about you. And that's okay, too. But there, there is a tribe out there for everybody. And I really believe that, you know, if you stick to that tribe, you're going to make it in the space. So, yeah, so I'm here for the community at this point. That's what I love most. And I like to sell an NFT you know, not gonna lie.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  53:21  That's, that's, that's awesome to hear. Yeah, I think, you know, it's, I don't think this has been done before, right? To be able to connect in, like, through voice, I mean, club has kind of initiate that. But you know, like, I never met you. And I feel like I know you like you just a friend because he just listened to your voice over and over again and hear your perspectives, your your, your thoughts on things. And I think that's what's really cool about this space. And that's why, you know, we spend a lot of time in this space, because it's like, we're hanging out with friends here. So I totally agree with that. I think it's really cool to be to be here and to be part of it. And sometimes I just wish, I have a clone. It couldn't be on Twitter and could go on adventure at the same time. But I don't want to take up too much of your time, and we're coming to an hour now. One of the things that I really want to get your take on I know you're a massive, massive advocate on this, and I know that it's it's something that artists and human in general struggle with, right, being able to being able to handle that self worth being able to push past their, their self limiting belief, you know, to lift their self back up when they're down. When you know, when people crush you and stuff like that, and I know you know, following your journey, I know that you you kind of it's really cool that you really open about it when you're feeling down and you tell everyone that you know what, I just need space and I'm dealing with this and I think that's really inspiring because when you hear when we hear you talk, it's as if you had it figured out right? But what One thing that I'd love to learn and for you to share is that, what are some of the things that you do in order to overcome this feeling in order to come to the other side of it, and, you know, be able to push through this self limiting belief that stop you from getting to where you want it to be?
Lori Grace  55:21  No, that's a tough thing, you know, it's really going to come down to, even though people are there for you, you know, you can have your family like my wife, who has been my support, and she's at my side, sometimes I'll be in a space, and we're just sitting down, she's watching TV or whatever. And I'm just sitting sitting on the bed together, and we're just chilling. And, you know, she's listening in sometimes. And, you know, she's my support, and my rock, but the community has been there for me also. But guess what, after all that said and done, they can't be there for you. They can't, they can't show up for you. At the end of the day, you really have to make the decision to show up for yourself each and every day. And it's tough. You know, you want to give up, you want to quit, you've cried already, when nobody's looking. Ill like you're just, oh, that feeling I know. It's not just a bruising feeling. It is crushing. My closest friends know that I know what that that feels like. And so I don't know, I don't know if that makes it relatable. But I can see you in the dark as what I'm trying to say. Because I was there too. And I've been there way, way too many times. But it really does take after all that said and done. You know, when tomorrow comes, you just have to choose to step up and say, I'm going to show up for myself today. And I'm going to I'm going to do it again. Because I had another chance I breathing up here, the sun rose. So I'm gonna get after it again. And the when I'll finally have stopped losing the chance, you know, I'll finally lose the chance when I finally stopped breathing. And so I've got another breath in my lungs. So let's get it done. You know, if there's a 2% chance for success, then there's a chance for success. So let's get after it. And if you don't make it that day, guess what, there's another day. And it's okay to not be okay. I know it sounds so cliche. But it's so important to just understand. When you're not feeling it, that's okay, break away, step away from your phone, get out and do what you love and create and get back to doing, you know, the very thing that you're creating, you know, get back out and create. So I don't know if that's my best advice.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  57:27  Yeah, that's awesome. Thanks for sharing that. Laurie. I know, the one quote that really stuck with me was when you're tired, you rest you don't quit. And you only quit when you only you only fail when you quit. And I think you know, you summed that up really well to, you know, give yourself a break. Give yourself some love. And you know, at the end of the day, if that's something that you really love, then you don't really want to quit anyway, just want to keep going. So yeah, thanks a lot for sharing that. Laurie, it's been great talking to you. Learning about your your story. And you know, learning why you care so much about people. I think that's really cool. To learn that. That's that's the very first time i i heard that. You were you were a psychology psychologists. But yeah, it really is you can read I can, like you can really see how you care about the community or care about people and other people well being. So that's amazing. Now, would you like to share, you know, a project or a piece that that you want to that people want to kind of see if they haven't met you yet? So that, you know, they can see the amount of work? I know you already share your Genesis piece earlier. And but is there any other project that you want to share with the rest of the world before we close this to an end?
Lori Grace  58:48  You know, I think if people just wanted to go to my link tree, I have so much now that I've shared and I'm actually working on something. My pin tweet is actually something that I'm doing now, I actually want to change the way I do things when it comes to my ability to affect change. And I started I started a new collection on open sea. This is an addition to other projects, I'm working on my new and I don't care about scarcity and all that crap. There's no rulebook for me, right? Like, oh, well, collectors aren't gonna want to buy, but whatever, you know, I'm not here to attempt to follow old rules. But I started a new collection, it's just a one, I'm only gonna drop one at a time. It's called the elevation project. And every single NFT that I dropped, it's going to be one at a time, once once that sells that. I'm dedicating, dedicating 50% of that sale to an organisation that uplifts women that elevates women that supports women, nonprofits, whether it's in real life or if it's if it's if it's a woman led project or non binary project, you know, in web three, and I want to just make those donations because a couple of weeks ago, there was there was some basically there was someone there had said some transphobic homophobic things. And it just kind of stunned to see that people are still out there in this space doubling down on that kind of hate. And I just decided that I wasn't gonna, I wasn't gonna be angry about it anymore, people are telling me Screw that guy, Laurie, you don't need them, you know, we'll take care of them. And I don't I don't want that kind of action anymore. I think the best reaction is to take a good action for the positive. So what I did a couple of weeks ago, I just took a piece that I was going to drop on, like upcoming Slyke a collection. And I took it and I put it on a foundation, I listed it for point to eat. And I just said, whatever the final purchases, or whatever the final bid is on this, I'm going to take it all. And I'm going to donate it to an outright International, which is a huge LGBTQIA advocacy group worldwide advocacy group. And the final bid was to eat. And I took after foundation took their slice of the pie. That was something like 1.75 eath. And I made that donation straight to outright international again. And that's like, at the time, it was what 69 $7,200 worth of eath. And wow, that felt so good, you know, to be able to do that. So I decided what I'm gonna do with the elevation project is I'm just gonna list one on ones, and they're going to be reasonably priced, it's not going to be two or five eath projects, they're just going to be simple pieces of shots that I really value. And when they sell, I'm going to take half of that sale and give it to one of many projects that I want to give to you that I just have in mind. And I just want to, I want to do that, because that's what I want to see, I want to see I want to do things differently. And if this becomes successful, then I can start to constantly give at least with this particular collection, I can make make giving a bigger part of of my own journey in NF Ts. So as much as I've received, I can also give back. And so yeah, you can look at my pin tweet, I hope it sells. Because the first one is going to the you know my friend Jen, who has just started a group called girls who chase which is dedicated to seeing women, girl, young women who are getting into STEM and other you know, other other weather, aspiring weather photographers, weather enthusiast scientists, and it's just dedicated to elevating women in the meteorology field or the science field. So I want to do that for her. And for that this new organisation. And then after that, I have some ideas and actually want to, to sell my NFT. So that will be dedicated just to buying other women and other underrepresented groups who are just to lift them up. Because why can't I? If I can rise? Why can I help others rise while rising? Also? I don't know, it seems a little idealistic. You know, I'm just not gonna let anybody telling me what the rules are anymore.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  1:02:46  I don't think there's anything wrong with being idealistic at all, and you know, hearing your purpose that's, I can see why you're, you have so much drive behind what you do. And I think that's amazing. And this is, you know, the big possibility of NFT that, you know, we can make the world a better place. You know, despite all of all the naked negative feelings that we see in the, in the media and all that stuff. But it's such an inspiring story. Laurie, I will be sure to put all the links on the description. But thank you very much. I'm Laurie for today. I know, time is the most valuable things that we could ever give someone and you just give, you know, not only me, but everyone your time today. I know that you're in here all the time. So if you guys do want to hang out with Laurie come to Twitter spaces is here all the time. And she holds spaces all the time. And she's very, very welcoming and inclusive. To you know, to everyone, basically. But yeah,
Lori Grace  1:03:43  I wanted to congratulate you on selling that store shot that you took just recently was it yesterday and the day before I saw that it sold. So good for you on selling a storm piece.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  1:03:53  Oh, thank you, Laurie. That was actually the very first day I went out. So like, you know, basically the whole collection was about my my first journey. But yeah, that was the very first day I went out and I got really lucky with that one. So thank you very much. I really appreciate Well there you have it we can do is hopefully you have great, you got a lot of inspiration from that talk. Glory has been someone who I admire and have been someone who have on boarded not only myself but a lot of people into the Twitter space and the NFT space so she's definitely someone to follow in, you know in this space. But if you haven't already, so make sure you hit the subscribe button so that you can get notified when the next artists get interview as well. As you know, don't forget to leave a review. Don't forget to leave a comment so that these artists and those people who are wondering what this podcast is about, can know you know your take on it, but highly recommend you to connect with Laurie either in Instagram or in Twitter and I will put all the link below so that you can get in touch with her. But with that being said, thank you very much for being here, and I'll see you guys next week.
 

Ep 32 - How can artists leverage & thrive through NFT? or is it one big scam?

I've just finished MCing NFT Bali 2022 as a representation from The Wicked Hunt but also from the Photography community. While it's still fresh in my mind, I thought, why not put out a podcast on NFT and how it applies to photography and other art?
NFT had been one of the biggest trending searches on google not long ago. Many people jump into NFT, some thrive and made a lot of money, but some are scammed and lost a lot of money. So what is NFT? How can it be leveraged, and how will it change the world for artists?
I've spent about a year hanging out on Twitter space and clubhouse to learn what is NFT. At first, I thought it was a quick cash grab scheme, but the more I immersed myself in it, the more I fell in love with it. 
The possibilities are endless, and I can start imagining how will it apply to The Wicked Hunt and its future brand. 
It's a new technology, a new ideology and a new opportunity. It's exciting!You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, come and join me and decide for yourself. 
But there's always more than the surface. 
If you're interested in getting access to my NFT and how I use it to help me fulfilled my mission... Where it has become a representation of a journey to living the best life, you can go to the link below:
https://opensea.io/collection/thewickedhunt
https://foundation.app/@thewickedhunt
Adventure of A Life Time - NFT Collection
A Symbol of "A Journey To Living The Best Life"
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Collectors will get:
Customised airdrop for the next 3 collectors - (Value of 0.2 ETH)
           +
1 Hour 1 on 1 session - (Value of $350)
16" x 24" Canvas Print - (Value of $237)
8" x 8" photobook (Canada, Australia, Indonesia) - (Value of $600)
              +
​10% off future collection pre-sale (you will get notified for upcoming artwork to be minted & have pre-sale discount exclusive to collectors)
Exclusive access to future NFT Events
Exclusive access to future products like Two Red Tabs Photography backpack
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Other ways to listen and subscribe to the podcast:
• Spotify - http://bit.ly/twhspotify  
• Apple Podcast - https://bit.ly/Theartofphotography  
• Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/TheArtOfPhotographyWithStanleyAr  
• Website: https://podcast.thewickedhunt.com     
• Tune In (Alexa) - https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr  
 
For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography by Stanley Aryanto:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedhunt/     
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewickedhunt/
• Masterclass: https://www.TheWickedHuntPhotography.com     
• Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/ 
 
Don't forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation. It would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers.
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Transcription:
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  0:00  and some people just think it's a big scam so
hey, we care hunters Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast where we share photographers journey as well as topics on photography and how photography giving us hope, purpose and happiness. And today, I do not have anyone with me, I don't have any guests. It's just me, myself and I, but I want to talk to you about an F D, what is NFT? Why NFT? Is it a scam? And I know there are, you know, a few sites in the US some people absolutely love it jumping into it. You know, and some people kind of heard about it. And you know, they might have a mixed, mixed feeling about it. And some people just think it's a big scam. So I'd like to share a little bit about what it is, and why I am jumping into the NFT world and why I am excited about what NFT can do for the future. And at the end of it, you are free to make your own decision. Make your own. Make your own judgement of what it is. But I think it's it's always, you know, something that I always tell everyone that think NFT is a scam is unless you immerse yourself in it, then I think you will never know the full story. I mean, when you think about it, right? When we looking at a business, for example, it's easy to see from the outside whether or not they're making it, but we know the people who are in the business, they know whether or not they're struggling and they're doing everything they can just so that they're keeping afloat and looks like they're doing fine. Or they're actually doing better than it might look or you know, it is a true representation of what it looks like on the surface. Right? And I'm in there is a saying that goes like you know, it's isn't always what it looks like on the surface. And it's absolutely right, wherever it may look, there is a good and a bad thing. Of course to it. Like everything in life. Is it a scam? Well, I know that there are a lot of scams out there, which is really unfortunate. unfortunate because it's ruining the reputation of NFT it is a big, big opportunity, a big, big way to change the way we approach and move forward. But this, this game that coming through, are really ruining people trust in it, right. But like everything else in this world, when there is a lot of hype, when there is a lot of interest, people will exploit that it's no different than the internet is no different than the phone when it first came out. It's no different than the internet when it first came out. But we know that it's it's Well, when you immerse yourself you will find out that NFT is such a strong technology. And it is also such a such an incredible thing to utilise, especially if you are an artist. So why will NFT disrupt the future of the art? Well, as I already mentioned, it has a new technology, a technology that can automate a lot of the contract side of things so that you know it is a lot more objective, you know, there's a less, less greediness, you know, people are getting paid what they are, it's going to be a lot harder to be scammed. Because it is more traceable. It is it is what they call it, it's more transparent. Right. And it's very, you could basically track everything. Of course there, you know, people find ways to kind of run away from it. But that is the whole idea. Right? The new technology. There is also a new ideology, we call it the old way is the web 2.0 And the new way is the web 3.0. And there is a big difference in ideology, right? Well as in the web 2.0 It was more about okay, you know, I'm me and I need to strive and oh, you know, this other guy doing the same thing. I better compete with this. But in the web 3.0 We're seeing a lot more collaboration a lot more a helping hand and, you know, it's a rising tide, you know, and we rise together as a boat, right? And that's what one of the coolest mindset of the some of the community in the NFT is that?
You know, we always look for ways to to To lift each other up now, is there is that mean there is no jealousy? Is that mean there is no fear of missing out? Is that mean there is no, you know, imposter syndrome. Of course now, at the end of the day, we are human, but from what I've seen so far, it's really nice. And I will go into a little bit more detail on this. But, yeah, the other thing is that there is a big, big possibilities. Right. And, again, I'll go through a lot of this in a lot more details. decentralisation, you know, the power shift to the artists and individual in the old days, where, you know, a lot of the issue was an artist who might need to get to go to Gallery to get all this all their stuff selling, and the gallery will take a big cut from the artists, right. And at the end of the day, they ended up with 20 or 30%. And I get it right the gallery need the in marketing's expands need to pay for the electricity, whatever it may be. And, yes, although crypto currency is currently using a lot of power, but I think I highly encourage you to look at what you know, the conventional banks are using, you know, what, you know, galleries would have used right there using like, really high electricity. And, you know, at the end of the day, I think for every technology for every emerging technology and groundbreaking technology, there's going to be some pain, there is no way that we will change without pain. And, you know, there's already so many things that is happening, trying to address this, and I, you know, in a year or two time, I feel like a lot of this issue with the environmental problem gonna be solved. So I'm really excited about that. But the really cool thing is that this NFT world is like the Marvel like think about it, like the original of Marvel comics when it first came out, right? It is the OG and, you know, right now it might worth 0.21 eath, which equivalent to what a few $100, do a few $1,000. But in 510 2030 years time, you know, I'll be I'll be thinking that some of these will go 400 1000s of dollars, especially some of the artwork that are truly unique. So it's such an exciting landscape in the world. So what is an F T? Right? Nf T stands for non fungible token. Now, non fungible basically means it cannot be replaced, it cannot be altered. And it is truly unique on its own. Right. And what it means by that is that when you think about it, right? Think about it like $1 US dollar, right? A coin of US dollar with another coin of US dollar, they're not unique. You could interchangeable interchange them with the same sort of representation, as well as the same value, right? 50 cents is the 50 cents, they're looking at the same and you know, sure some might have things on it and whatnot. But it is interchangeable, right? Well as an NFT is not, you know, each have its own token, and each have its own smart contract behind it.
Now, the second part of it is tokens, right? And that is, you know, non fungible token. So the token is the part where it represent the representation of something else, right. And in the NFT, or in the cryptocurrency world, it's, it's basically a series of numbers and letters that represent that particular art that get connected to a contract that we call a smart contract, because this contract is sitting somewhere in the system in the blockchain, and you can make decision on its own and you don't need people, you know, executing this and that's why going forward, the application is just so, so broad, and of course, I will go into a lot more depth in a little bit. But what is really cool about NFT why people are crazy about this NFT right. So I think there's five main pillars to this NFT first is authentication because with each With each art, suddenly there is a token that represent the art and artists of that particular art will always get linked to it. Of course, you know, with everything, there's going to be a way to explore it. But I'm just gonna go, you know, with the positive note the possibilities, right? Why, you know, it's all get authenticated, it's all get linked to the art between the artist and the art. And there is there no way, you know, in quotation marks, I'm sure there, you know, if you try hard enough, I'm sure there is a way to do it. But for now, it's really really, really, really, really, really difficult to change that authentication. Now, just think about it, like, a Mona Lisa, for example, Mona Lisa is a piece that is truly unique. And for you to authenticate that it's very difficult, right? People have been trying to fake it, and they try to, you know, and in order to check that there is going to go you, it has to go through a series of forensic analysis. But with NFT now, it's all it's all there visible in in the system, traceability, right, where it goes, when it goes who by who created it, it's all in the system. And it is a lot more a lot easier to track. And that's why it's great, as well as a transparency, right, is transparent, you could see each transaction, each price change even right. So if you say like to, to one of the collectors, I know this one is like this collection values have a lot of value. But you know, in actual fact, you just pop up the value, and then you just change the value of the price at that current time and then bring it back down. It's all visible. So it's a lot harder to scam. Utilities. Now, this NFT has been crazy in the world, right? And Gary Vee has been using them as part of a way to access him, right? If you look at the bigger kind of project like Word, ape, and so forth, it gives you access to a community and some other project. Actually, when you purchase that project, you are a kind of an adopter to a foundation where they donate most of the proceeds most, if not all of the proceeding to some sort of cause. And most of all community, right? We love to belong to a community, we love to hang out with the same people. And I think this is why NFV is really cool thing, especially the people who got it right, because it is a new technology, it is a new ideology. And it is a new path forward. And with this, it becomes really exciting. You know, because the possibility is endless. But we know that a lot of people are going to try to exploit it a lot of scammers. A lot of people try to make it look bad and try to destroy this, you know this ideology. So that is why if you find the right community, we actually protect the idea behind web 3.0 or the NFT. Right? And you know, it's just such a cool thing is really hard to explain in words. But if that's something you kind of want to find out, we usually hang out in Twitter. So why turn an art into an NFT? Right? What's the point? Well,
one of the thing that really draw me into it was, of course, the first thing is, you know, it sounds like you can make a lot of money from it. And one of the things that I always say to everyone is that if you if your sole purpose to jump into NFV is to make money, then you probably shouldn't jump into it because first you just gonna destroy the ideology. Second, you probably not gonna make it because people are getting better at identifying the scammers and people who just in it for the short term. And third, you know, what's the point like, you know, you will burn out, you will hate what you're doing anyway. But one of the things that's really cool was the legacy part of it, you know, knowing that, you know, I've sold a lot of brands, I've sold a lot of photo books, but I know that one day, you know, maybe there is a big fire or whatnot or even, you know, paper degrades even the archivable material. So one day a lot of this material going to degrade and we'll lost its value. Well it's lost it all together, but you In the blockchain, it is a lot more secure, a lot harder to get rid of. So it's kind of cool that once it's there, it's there forever, right. Now, the next thing is some of the thing that I've already talked earlier is that the power shift, suddenly, an artist can be appreciated for their work, right? In terms of money in terms of as well as in terms of their art. I know that in the web 3.0 People really enjoy the connection with the artistic connection with the art instead of just, ah, it's a pretty photo, right? I mean, if you are an artist, or you know, whether you're a photographer, a sculpture, whatever it may be, aren't you tired of people just like looking at your art, and you say, it's like, oh, cool, that's awesome. Right. And you put your, your heart and your passion and everything you have into it, you know, I know that some of the shot that that, that I've captured, you know, I carry a 10 kilogramme backpack onto the top of the mountain or negative 25 degrees Celsius, I was freezing cold, I don't know, if I will have to cut my toe by the end of the trip. But you know, that's what we love. That's our passion. And the one thing that we want out of it is to be recognised and to be appreciated. Of course, we need the money, right? Because we need to live and that's what gonna put our food on the table, that was what gonna put the roof on top ourselves. But at the end of the day, the appreciation is priceless. And this is what's cool about it, I've seen a lot of indie indie artists raising money for the film that they want to build, and people are buying into the project because they believe in him. Right? That is the key word they believed in him, instead of you know, because this person have a lot of followers or because this this, you know, this person have connection or whatnot. And I mean, I've seen people so out there connection, you their collection, with only 800 followers. And of course, on the contrary, I also see people with 3040 50 100,000 followers that saw the collection. And at the end of that, at the end of the at the end of there i i believe that, you know, there is a big, big opportunity as an artist to bring this power back to us. And with the smart contract. Now all of a sudden, we can decide what is there and what's not, and upload it to the to the blockchain as a smart contract. So that you know that it is how, so that the term is how you wanted it. So that is really exciting. So, then, okay, you know, hopefully by now you're convinced, you know, it's like, whoa, that's cool, like, NFT. Perfect. That sounds amazing. So, I guess I'll share this from the photographer's perspective, right? But from artists perspective, and from the collector perspective, you just kind of flip it inside out, and I'll show you what I mean. But so
then a lot of people can ask me, Well, Stanley, what do I meant for NFT. Now when I say meant, it means basically putting it in the blockchain and tokenize it as an NFT. Right? Now, if you're like me, you know, I have over 200,000 photos on my hard drive, it becomes really, really difficult to curate and think about what you want a minute. But I think the most important part of this, you know, as whether or not you're looking at it from a collective perspective, or artists perspective, is to stay true with your journey, right? Why you started your journey as an artist, like a good example is that, you know, when I first started, I started because I went on this five weeks trip in Europe, and I was just like, man, it was such an awesome trip. It was the road to Oktoberfest, I was a lot younger there. And, you know, looking back into this memory through some of these photos really got me disappointed. Because I felt like it didn't capture the experiences that I experienced. So my first thing was, I want to be able to capture memories, right? And the next thing is that you know, when I fell in love with it even more as it given me hope, purpose and happiness. I Want to do more of it, I want to travel full time I want to capture all these things, right. But along the line, I realise it's not about the pretty photo, but about finding unique perspective, just, you know, finding that unique perspective of the world, because, you know, we, we see, we see a lot of these popular spots, and that's cool. But when you can find a unique perspective, or a unique photo of that of that particular spot, it become it became personal to you as a photographer, and that makes it really emotional, right. And that's sentimental. And that's really cool about photography. And for that reason, you know, I know that I go through a lot of Summit during stupid hours as well. And I want to be able to share those magnificent beauty with with the bigger audience because I know that a big portion of the world don't have the energy, the opportunity and the ability to be able to explore such place, right? To be able to travel the world to do what I do to quit my job, and travel and just like leave everything sold everything and just pack my bag travel the world. But at the same time, I want to help those who really want to pursue their passion, but they don't think they can to show them that it is possible. So when I sell my, my very first collection was was about that it was about the journey and the journey behind each photograph or behind each NFT you get this like a little magazine, right on E magazine that I've put together about my ledger about the story behind me why I put this together about the wicked Han? And what is the wicked Han right about each photograph and the story behind photograph and why it is significant and why it is unique, as well as, when I was in that path as a photographer, what was the mindset and you know, I'm hoping for that to be a symbol for those who want to pursue their passion in whatever it is it may be, whether it is as a full time as a hobby or as a part time. Right? But that collection, help me to do share a lot of my work with with more of the world, right? To be able to
motivate and encourage and hopefully get people to go outside of their comfort zone and chase their dreams. So at the end of the day, I think it's really important to to know your why and to stay through with it because it's not going to be easy. And if you don't follow if you don't have a purpose, then you will burn out and you will stop and you know you will give out altogether. So know your why. Now, once once you kind of know your why you start curating it right based on you know, what, what are based on, you know that that why why you know, all these different art that support that journey or of what you want to share. Now, once you have that, then think about the platform and the coin, right. And the platform is usually pick based on the coin that it supports. So for example, you know, open sea Foundation, slowly kind so forth are on Ethereum and exchange art is one example from what they call it Solana and so forth. Right? But one thing that you need to remember or to decide is that your niche and where your audience where are your collectors sitting predominantly before you, you you pick this right? Because essentially, those are the people that you want to talk to. But there are other things about the platform itself. So for example, each platform have different fees, each platform have gas, different gas fees, right? And gas fees is just think about it like if you're driving from one place or another to another right, it is the energy that it requires to for that transportation. So it's the same thing when you make a purchase, from you know, my quotation, my crypto wallet to your crypto wallet, there's gonna be a movement of assets and that's gonna cost money. Right now The next thing is the royalty. So again, when I mentioned about, you know, traceability and authenticity, right? When the art is sold to a collector, and that collector decide to sell it to someone else, you have the option to get royalty, so that, you know, let's say, I have this, I've got one of these shoulders really, really rare with a comment NEOWISE. And it was aligned with Aurora Borealis and the Milky Way and got published through like petapixel epoch time. Focus magazine in, in Germany, basically everywhere, right? And is such a rare moment, because it will not happen again in many lifetime. In fact, the next new comment near was going to be in 6800 years. So, you know, when, when it's at the moment, the market in the NFT is quite small. So it might sell for, let's say, you know, five, eath, five Aetherium. But going forward, it might, you know, people might discover it, and it might sell for 100 Aetherium, or, you know, 200, and you get a cut of that you get that part of the appreciation as the original person who captured the art that that create that art, right. And all of this is controlled by smart contracts. So it's actually really important as well, because each smart contract, sorry, each platform have a different smart contract, and some are better than the others like everything else. Now, the next thing is exclusivity. Like for example, you know, foundation. Sorry, let me start that over, for example, like super rare unknown origin and slow car, you know, it's it required for you to apply and get accepted. Foundation require for you to get invited. So it's a community curated platform by you know, other people. And a good example where you could literally jump in right now and meant your art is repairable and open see, right, and one other one that I will talk about is Tux dot art. And it is one that is created by Vince or Caltex. He is one of the first collector that made that populars and popularised NFT photography. And he created this platform as a fully decentralised platform. What's that mean? Is that no one is running anything behind it, there's just a bunch of code that you know, if you do this become that and you this income, then.
And that's the that's kind of a cool thing about it, right? I know that a lot of nude photographer, for example, could not pose their stuff on Instagram, you know, because it would get censored and stuff like that. So, with decentralisation is a lot more power to it. But yeah, with great power comes great responsibility. But there's going to be another a lot of other benefits as well. For example, some are, can have the ability to buy it now, or to put an offer or to do an auction, some doesn't. Some can do collection of multiple artwork, and some doesn't. And some can do also do you know different ways of meeting your art as well. So I'd like to classify NFT art into three at the moment, right, I'm just going to make this simple for all of you a series or a limited edition. So let's say you got this photo and you want to sell five of them for X amount, right? And when you do that, it's become less rare and therefore it's usually price lower. Now, if you have let's say a theme for so my very first collection, so that was series and the second thing is collection, right? My very first collection is about my journey from you know, not knowing how to take photo, or my very first trip that really started my photography career to you know, leaving my engineering degree to where I am today where you know, I've captured countless once in a lifetime moments. A lot of that is captured in that collection, you know, and that is one theme, right? So in collection usually there is a theme about what it is what's happening and so forth. Now there's also a rare more rare one is one off one basically it's just a one off. So for example that night when I got the shot of the Milky Way the Aurora as well. As the comment NEOWISE, that's not going to appear in six less than 800 years, that's probably going to be put out as one of one, right. And of course, as it goes up, it becomes a lot less, a lot more a lot less supply, and therefore it become a more valuable. So why collectors buy? What is the value right? Now I guess you have to think about it like a business you know, each art have to overvalue whether it's an entertainment value, whether it's a, it's a while value, whether it's a uniqueness value, right, or whether it's a representation of the art. But so one of the things that that can make a big difference is the artist, their journey, their mission, their popularity, whatever it may be. Basically, if if there is a strong purpose, there is strong journey, and you know that the art is gonna become gonna keep going, and keep putting the investment on itself and keep creating, keep growing, keep creating groundbreaking stuff, then you know, that that artists will make it one way or another. And for that reason that artists will become more valuable. Because essentially, I mean, if you think about it, you know, like, Leonardo da Vinci a lot, all of his art become valuable, because you know, now he has in quotation marks make it right. But next thing is the art itself, right? The art itself might have a sentimental value or connection to the collector. Maybe it's where James was proposed to Jane. I don't know why I picked James and Jane, but it's the first thing that come into my head. You know, and it might be a shot in, in New York of that particular place. And when they saw that, they were like, Oh, yes, you know, does it remind me of this and that, and, you know, it's just, it's triggered their emotion, their sentimental connection to it, and therefore they buy it. Regardless, they're artists, because the community goes, whatever it is, but they just love the art. Now, the next thing is the community right?
Now you have to think about it, like, when people purchase your art, they become not only a collector, but part of your journey, right? So they are they because there is a community around you. And that can be powerful. Like, for example, people who probably gravitate towards me is going to be people who felt like they have been in this stuck in life with no passion, or people who love adventure, or people who love snowboarding, right? Basically the things that are that I love that I have a mission for. And that's probably the things that people will resonate with. And the other thing is utility. So for example, coming forward, a lot of all of all of my photo trip gonna come with an NFT. And the NFT is going to be unique, and it's going to be more and more valuable, because, you know, as time goes by, it becomes I'm still not sure the whole details of it. But one thing that you can do is, you know, make it more desirable by adding value behind it now, what is that value? And you can go as crazy as possible, right? But that is the beauty of it. Like it's just so powerful, you know, all of a sudden, when they go for a photo trip, not only they get the photo trip, but they also get this investment for free or this bonus for free, that become an investment for themselves. Alright, so one way that I really like just to simplify things, is that you know, like, it's just a way of thinking about it right. So, in the old days, we used to call it company and in the in the NFT world we call it project right creator is a founder Dao or decentralised autonomous organisation is basically like the management collector become the shareholder. So when they collect one of your photo, they become a shareholder of you because if your value goes down, most likely to everything else will go down, right. J pack is like the stock certificates. roadmap is basically you know, the company plan forward their business plan, utility is their product right? So utility could be my photo trip now, you know, in a company that my cell in the tour company and again, it's the same thing they sell a trip right community Add a you know, become part of the marketing and royalties is revenue. So when you have that royalties when you sell part of your part of your if when somebody else sell your your your art, then you get the royalties and that is pretty much a revenue and token is the dividend, right? All right. So how do you market this thing? Alright, so I've already mentioned how important it is. And this is why NF T strife in Twitter, no in Facebook, no Instagram, because in Twitter, you can you can be in spaces where you could chat with fellow mates and you could basically, you know, build connection with each other. You know, that goes to the second thing. And if people really resonate with your story resonate with who you are, then it will trigger their emotion and they'll make them comfortable or make them more connected to your art. So Twitter is absolutely the biggest thing here. Right. And the next thing is the word of mouth, of course, right? Somebody telling somebody, it's been one of the best marketing and it's, it still is the best marketing. But if, you know there's a lot in there, and I know it's gonna take some times for you to go through, but I think I'm gonna leave it with this, you know, if there's anything that I want you to, to get out of this podcast is first to believe in yourself to believe that you are worth it. Because a lot of times Me included when I put my work out there I look at it, I was like, Well, you know, I'm a nobody and you know, I, I just jumped into this space only get 1000 Well, at that moment, I was like couple 200 followers, you know, why would people want to buy like this art for me, right. And the second thing is believing your art because sometimes the value of the art is good enough to stand on its own without our utilities without, you know all these things.
But for example, for my case, the first five people that purchase my collection will get an airdrop now an airdrop is basically a bonus where I dropped them one of my other art and it is fully customised. So for example, if you do purchase one, then you can tell me what sort of photo that you're interested in, and I will send you like an album that you get to pick from, and from there. You could pick your customise NFT, that goes along with the one that you purchase. So well, why why did I do that because it is part of my mission. Right? Going back to what I was saying, I believe that the art itself stands enough to stand on its own. But at the same time, I want to be able to fulfil on my mission to share my my art. And, you know, I think I'm okay with rewarding the very the first few collectors out there that are believing in my journey, because that's gonna help me to reach more people out there. But you know what to make it is simple, but it's not easy. Today, I give you a lot of insights on what you need to do. And if you just do that, and you follow through with it, you're probably going to make it but it's not easy in a sense that every one solution is going to be slightly different. What's worked for me might not work for you what's worked for you might not work for me. And you might need to find this two millimetre shift, right, because that's all it takes. And it's incredible, because if you, for example, go to plastic surgeon, they're going to tell you this, that it only takes two millimetre shift to change the looks off your face, right to change the looks of whatever it is that you want to want to change. So and it is exactly the same thing. Just need that two millimetres shift the smallest thing that that will work for you. But you do need to figure that out yourself. So it's not gonna be easy. But at the end of the day, you know, when your time's up when you're on your deathbed thinking about what have I achieved in my life? What have I done in my life? You know what it's gonna be worth it's gonna be hard but it's going to be worth it. So I encourage you to go into the into Twitter, right jump into spaces follow some some of the key people in art or NFT or photography NFT? And, um, you know, and if you don't know, let me know, shoot me a DM I can, you know, show you who are the people to follow and listen to them when they're talking in Twitter spaces, Twitter spaces, basically a place where people can talk with each other. You no true voice app. Yeah, you cannot see each other. But at this, at the end of the day, it's much better than, than Instagram, right? Cool shots dude. Like, this is though good tones, man, you know, all this thing doesn't really make us feel appreciated as an artist. So I really highly encourage you to check it out. Because this technology is groundbreaking, and it will change the future. And what have you got to lose, right? At the end of the day, if you spend 236 months, 12 months, and you realise you don't want to do it, you can always go back to what you always do, and you got nothing to lose. But mark my word, this is going to be a game changing technology in the industry, people have come out with so many different ways to create or to, to create it's such a unique art of a true NFT. And it's just so exciting. And it's so exciting how the community is a lot more connected, that people, you know, the power is shifted back a lot more to the artists.
And yes, it is not perfect. There are a lot of things that you need to look for, especially, you know, with the scams, I know that imposter syndrome is a big one here, people get depressed because, you know, they, when they see people selling out and they're not they can't sell anything, it becomes very difficult for the mentally. But, you know, at the end of the day, I think there is a much bigger benefit. And then the disadvantages, so I highly recommend you to jump into Twitter, connect with me and shoot me a DM if you have any question I'm happy to answer. But hopefully this has been insightful for you on what I've been into and what I've been working to, and what how this NFT world can really change your world as an artist. Yeah, so if you have any question, feel free to shoot me a DM or an email, whatever it may be. But hopefully you enjoy that little chat, if you haven't already. So hit the subscribe button. Make sure you leave a review so that you can you know share your point of view with other people and help other people to find this if it's if you find it useful, or just share the link to your friends, your family who's been looking for a different perspective of what is this NFT world is but we can hunters. Thank you very much for being here. Thank you very much for listening in and I will see you next week. Until next time
 

Ep 31 - Tiba’s Journey to Capture One Of The Rarest Moment of A Mountain Gorilla Pounding His Chest

Hey Wicked Hunters, 
Welcome back to The Art of Photography Podcast season 2, where we share how photography has given us hope, purpose and happiness!Today we have Tiba from Brazil. He is a Capoeira expert and a photographer and over the years he has worked with many famous singers/artists and travelled to many countries around the globe.
In this podcast, he shared his journey in the NFT world sharing the story of his adventures to document Mountain Gorilla in Rwanda. He was able to capture a very rare moment where the gorilla was pounding his chest and have that photo hanging on Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (Museum and research centre). He shared his journey as an artist, martial art teacher and why he decided to jump into the NFT world. 
He made his NFT collection of Mountain Gorilla available on OpenSea; you can check it out here:
https://opensea.io/collection/themountaingorillas
If you want to learn more about Tiba's work, you can find it here:
• Website: https://tibalism.com/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tibalism.eth/  
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tibalism
 
Other ways to listen and subscribe to the podcast:
• Spotify - http://bit.ly/twhspotify  
• Apple Podcast - https://bit.ly/Theartofphotography  
• Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/TheArtOfPhotographyWithStanleyAr  
• Website: https://podcast.thewickedhunt.com     
• Tune In (Alexa) - https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr  
 
For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography by Stanley Aryanto:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedhunt/     
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewickedhunt/
• Masterclass: https://www.TheWickedHuntPhotography.com     
• Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/ 
 
Don't forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation. It would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers. 

Ep 30 - The Journey Behind Jules Ingall Pursuit To Live The Life She Always Dreams of As A Kid To Become a Professional Photographer

Hey Wicked Hunters! I can't believe it's been 30 episodes so far!  In this episode, I'm excited to have Jules Ingall with us sharing her photography journey. Jules is a Community Manager Canon Collective Facebook Page and has been living her passion at an early stage of her life. Unlike many of us who fall in love with photography at a later point in our life, Jules had always wanted to be a photographer ever since she was little. She followed her lifelong goal and live the life she always dreams of as a professional photographer.  Jules' work includes motorsport, travel, portrait and many more.  If you want to learn more about Jules' work, you can find it here: • Website: www.julesingall.com  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julesingall/  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulesIngall  Other ways to listen and subscribe to the podcast: • Spotify - http://bit.ly/twhspotify  • Apple Podcast - https://bit.ly/Theartofphotography  • Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/TheArtOfPhotographyWithStanleyAr  • Website: podcast.thewickedhunt.com   • Tune In (Alexa) - https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr  For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography: • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedhunt/    • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewickedhunt/ • Masterclass: https://www.TheWickedHuntPhotography.com    • Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/  Don't forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation, it would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers. 
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Transcription:
Jules Ingall  0:00  You hear a lot of photographers say that they kind of fell into photography, they were doing something else I know you were like that and you you know your journey kind of changed and you ended up in photography, even though it's now your passion. I always wanted to be a photographer
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  0:24  Hey wiki hunters Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast, where we share our passion as photographer and how photography have given us hope, purpose and happiness. And today, I have someone who's been in true so many different genres of photography, and I'm so excited to introduce Jules Eno. How're you doing, Jules?
Jules Ingall  0:45  Hey, Stanley, how you going?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  0:48  Yeah, pronounce the last name right. In England goal. Okay, perfect. Sorry about that. Yeah, it's so good. It's great to have you here. Um, so, yeah, you know, I've been chatting with you and I have read a little bit about your journey. And it seems like you have really long journey. And I think it's really interesting to have to have that. As someone who have gone through those different phases, because I know that each one of them requires a different, not only type of photography, but also a different type of approach. So yeah, welcome to the podcast and let us know a little bit about yourself and the history behind how you got into photography.
Jules Ingall  1:29  Thank you. Well, I guess, you know, you hear a lot of photographers say that they kind of fell into photography, they were doing something else, I know, you were like that. And you, you know, your journey kind of changed. And you ended up in photography, even though it's now your passion. I always wanted to be a photographer. When I was, when I was little, I had an older brother, and he was really a big motorsport fan. And so we used to have a lot of banter and, and so my aim as a kid was I wanted to be a Formula One photographer, so I always had this, you know, passion for photography. So obviously, I started my journey in motorsport photography. And then like you said, it kind of, you know, saying, I've had had a lot of changes, you just actually hinting that I'm just really old, basically, because I keep changing. But I think, you know, it's also about developing, it's not just do it, you know, you do the one genre of photography? And do you find like, you kind of, you get to the point sometimes, where you like, you're doing the same thing, and then you want to challenge yourself. And that was how I kind of progressed, I started in motorsport. You know, I lived overseas and, and, you know, travelled all around the world. And then, you know, then I ended up in tourism, and now I do portrait photography. So I think you just kind of keep evolving as you as your skills develop. And as you want to change kind of, you want to, you get really good at White, or you never, you never perfect photography that I think but you get really good at one genre. And then you want to challenge yourself and try something different. And that was kind of how I ended up progressing to all different sorts of photography.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  3:10  Oh, wow, that's really interesting. So you've been wanting to be a photographer ever since you were like a little girl. That's, that's crazy.
Jules Ingall  3:17  And I didn't end up as a Formula One photographer, unfortunately, I think I went to Europe and reality here to bed. And also, when when I first got into photography, it's really interesting, particularly in the current environment in the world, when I first got into it, I was photographing the, what's known as supercars in Australia now, and I was the only female and it was a very male dominated industry. And it was really difficult, like people just didn't accept why a female wanted wanted to do it, and why you're interested in sport. And this is, you know, we're talking in the 1990s. And I think back then, you know, like, even at school, I was taught how to iron and men's business shirt and be a good housewife kind of thing. So, so when I went to Europe, I found it was actually really difficult to try and break into it. I mean, obviously, it's great. Now things have changed a lot. There's, in in all industries, you know, there's a really good mix of men and women, but back then it just it there wasn't really a place for women. And it was such a tough battle. You know, a lot of other circumstances, but I never I never fulfil my dream of being a Formula One photographer, but I'm a photographer, and I absolutely, like it's my passion. I love it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  4:31  Yeah, that's, that's, that's been an interesting kind of shift, isn't it? I mean, it's, I haven't really experienced that that big kind of male dominant type of things. I know that we talk about it, but you know, a lot of my where I, my community and also all my friends actually have a good like, you know, a good balance of both female and male. So, I really, you know, I don't really have as much experience of having that out. that big diversity, or I suppose that big, that big difference in in the in, in the male and versus female kind of industry in photography, but how how was that a challenge for you when you try to? Yeah, break into the industry? And what do you do to try to? What do you do that make you succeed? You know, in breaking that really tough industry, especially back then,
Jules Ingall  5:27  I think. I mean, I was a little bit fortunate, I was breaking into motorsport in Australia, and at the time as well, I didn't know photography was different back then, too, because it was the pre digital age. And now a lot of there's a lot of photographers, and it's a really saturated industry, I think back then it wasn't so much. So the fact that I, you know, went to all the events, and everything helped me as well. So I had an advantage, but then I probably cheated a little bit, I ended up dating, and now I'm married to a racecar driver. So, you know, that obviously opened a lot of doors for me, and, and we moved overseas together. And so you know, that, that gave me a lot of opportunity. So there was a lot of persistence. But I think, you know, if I'm totally honest, it helped a lot that, you know, I was, I was with who I was with, and I had opportunities that probably somebody else wouldn't have had. So, you know,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  6:30  being too modest. You know, like, it's, I mean, it's a big learning from there, you know, in a sense that, you know, networking is one of the most important thing, and I mean, especially like, I remember when I was doing a little bit of high fashion kind of shoot, there was a lot of groups where you could, you know, reach out and you know, have that access, especially now with, with the Facebook group and stuff like that. So I think that's a very valid point to, you know, find friends, families, and one of the things that I like to do as I used to break down so one of the things that I like to do in and incorporate in my photography is this crazy pose. And when I go back to birth, I know who I'm gonna call to is, which is my niece and nephew, because they do like, you know, gymnastics. That's so cool. So that's, you know, it's not it's totally a valid point. So, yeah, thanks for sharing that. So, you know, you've you've gone to all these different genre, do you have like, any favourites amongst the like, you know, amongst these different one? And how, how does the evolution can kind of go like, you know, why, why you kind of, like, you share a little bit about how you got into motorsport and wanting to be a Formula One kind of photographers, but what really shift your journey into this different genre.
Jules Ingall  7:49  Yeah, so where I said, I always wanted to be a photographer, that I always wanted to be a photographer, but the way I fell into the different genres was probably a bit more just circumstantial. So like I said, we were living overseas, you know, travelling around, I was doing the motorsport photography, came back to Australia, still did a little bit of it. But then I got married, I had kids, you know, just my husband had a really busy career, I just didn't really have much time for photography anymore. So I probably took about 10 years off, have really, I didn't earn a living out of it for that period. It was more just, you know, photos of the kids and a bit of fun. And then once my children started to get a bit older, I started, you know, getting up and doing sunrise and just taking photos around my local area. We travelled around Australia a lot with my husband's job. So I was taking a lot of landscape kind of photography. And then I started getting approached by tourism agencies about doing tourism work for them. And you know, someone offers you a pay trip to amazing places, and you have all these incredible experiences, you know, doing helicopter flights over the Great Barrier Reef and diving and snorkelling with, you know, manta rays, and it was just who wouldn't want to do that. So that's where my motorsport kind of, I've went away from that and then started getting into the tourism sector. And then, probably about four, four or five years ago, the tourism particularly with the introduction of digital photography, it was so oversaturated influencer market, you know, and you were getting all these influencers, and I mean, that's a whole nother podcast, isn't it with these people with their followers and selfies, and that just wasn't I'm not a self promoter. I just like taking photos. So I kind of started to steer away from the tourism stuff. And then I just, I mean, I love people. I've travelled a lot. I've I've met a lot of really diverse people over my years and I love meeting new people and interacting with people. So then I just got into portrait photography, so I think none of them are fibered I've had amazing opportunities with every single genre at the moment My passion is shooting people and photographing people. And I love photographing people who are inexperienced, I did a shoot yesterday with a girl who had never been in front of the camera. She was so nervous. And I just really find I love that challenge. So, yeah, I kind of fell into the different genres. So I don't know what's next. I don't know, where do you where to go to next. But at the moment, I love the portraits. Actually, Next, I want to be your assistant and travelling with you to some of the amazing places that you go to.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  10:29  Year to CHI. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's really interesting, isn't it, like, trying different genre and kind of just following where the industry goes. And it's interesting that you say, you know, like, the way the way your life kind of steer away where you go with photography, but photography was always there for you to be like, you know, that anchor. So I think that's, that's the other cool thing about photography, right? Because, you know, you have that ability to kind of just document whatever it is in your life. And, yeah, that's, that's amazing. One thing that I'm interested to kind of learn from you, and I'm sure the audience can, would love to hear this as well is like, you know, back then, I'd love to hear what's the How was business in photography, like, you know, making breaking into the industry in photography back then versus now how is that different? I know that, you know, a lot of people say, all photography is oversaturated. But I know, we also have the privilege of social media where it's easier to put our work out there. So it's kind of like, you know, like, you win some you lose. So I'd love to hear your, your, your perspective on how does that change over over your journey?
Jules Ingall  11:46  Well, I think now, like you said, you know, there's always people complaining that it's oversaturated. But I think, you know, the cream always rises to the top, and if you're good, and you have good work their work ethics. And you know, I think there's always work and there's plenty of work because because back when I was doing photography, it was digital, but there was no internet like, Oh, God, I sound so old, don't I but, you know, I had my own darkroom. And it was, so the demand for photography was probably less as well. So now, there's a lot more photographers, but there's so much more demand, because everybody wants digital content. So I think now you know it, I actually, to be honest, I find it probably a little bit harder now. Because it is very oversaturated. And people undercut your price wise, because so you know, that's one thing. But back when I back when I first started in the photography, I think my advantage back then was, you know, because I was doing the motorsport, I was the only one going to every one of the touring car races back then. So that gave me an advantage. And I got to know people. And then I got some big contracts with big car companies, big race teams, because I was always there. So actually, when I look back, and I was earning really good money back then. So I think it was probably easier back then than what it is now. Because even though even though it's it's a lot more saturated, now, there was a lot less people who were professional photographers back then. So even though there was less demand, there was also a lot less photographers, so you know, think, you know, between then and now, there was a lot of differences, but there's always work. I mean, there's always, for a good photographer, there's always work.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  13:29  Yeah, I find that really interesting that you mentioned that because I feel that, you know, back then it's a lot easier to find a niche Wallace. Now if you kind of have to, you know, dig deep, a little bit deeper into the niche and find that, you know, to be a person like you, who was the only person in that in that particular thing. And, yeah, it's interesting that you mentioned that. But you know, I love how you how you share that you were just hanging around all these people. And you know, even with social media, I found that that works really well with you know, if you can provide value to the, to the to the company or the audience that you want to provide, or who want to be your customer, I find that you know, it's still kind of work the same thing, except it's just like you need to be truly unique in your own niche. So one thing that Yeah, I'd love to hear about what are your take on being like, how do you separate yourself from you know, from all these different photographers out there right now? What are some of your, your advice or your take on that?
Jules Ingall  14:37  Oh, if someone works out the secret to that, let me know too. But I think you know, people get to know you and there's a lot of word of mouth and you say with porch or social media people see your work and that's the kind of style that even though there's a lot of people doing the same niches. Everybody's different. I think you You said it in one of your previous podcasts, you can have a lot of people in the same place taking the same, you know, the same scene, but they're all going to be different photos. So I think kind of, that's one thing, but I think one of the first things I ever learned in photography is, know what you want, like, people always say to me, oh, I want to be a photographer. What do I do? And it's like, okay, what what do you want? Do you want to earn money? Do you want to? What is it that you're actually trying to achieve? And I think once you realise what you're trying to achieve, it's easier to start, you know, focusing on that. It's not just I want to be a photographer, what are you find your niche that is a really difficult one, like you said, you know, I think a lot of people struggle with that. But also, if you're trying to make money out of it, go do something else. Because it's, I think photography is about passion, and doing what you love. And as long as, as long as you really, honestly love what you're doing, it comes out in your work, and then that ends up resulting in you getting more work, because, you know, if your work is good people, people want to use you.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  16:08  Yeah, that's, that's really interesting, you know, that perspective of finding, finding what you want, I think that's a really cool way of saying it, because I see that a lot of people that, that struggles to create something that's truly unique is because they're still like, in this emulation, period, and kind of just never get out of it, because they don't really know what they want. And they ended up just recreating some of those, you know, some of the photo or the perspective that people take, so that's really interesting that you mentioned. And, yeah, it could be really hard, especially now in the social media era, with kinda like everything just out there. But what are some of the ways that, you know, cuz, I mean, you were in, in travel, and now you're in portrait? And, you know, there's a lot of portrait photographers out there, like, how do you separate and create something that is different that makes people go back to you and find you as a photographer? And yeah, what are the different ways in your photography that kind of like, separate yourself to help to help your audience or your customer decide that, yes, I want to be on duty shooting my my portrait kind of things.
Jules Ingall  17:30  I think, like I said, I love people, and I love working with people. And I think making the person feel comfortable, you know, a lot of I think it's like you said, a lot of people go, Oh, you know, there's that photo of the Sydney Opera House, I want to take that photo, you know, and I agree with that, it's a good way to learn to find, I always said, say to people find a photographer that you love, like on Instagram, or Pinterest or something. And, and if you love their style, yeah, you can try and copy it to start with, but you do start to develop your own style. So with portrait photography, I looked at, I always try and, you know, bring, I try and spend a bit of time with the people and, and I don't try and do a portrait photo. So if I'm looking at you sitting there right now, I don't just try and take a photo of your face, I try and spend 15 minutes with you first. And you know, normally the first 15 minutes of a shoot, I throw away the photos because it's me getting to know you and and then I find out I hear a little bit cheeky and a little bit fun, and then try and work that into the shoot and bring out the person's personality a bit. And, you know, just try and be authentic with your photography. I think I think photography is a lot like a lot of other things. People think I want to be a photographer, and I'll go out and buy a canon or five and I can be a professional photographer. Some people just don't have a natural, you know, you still have to have a bit of a natural eye for photography. So I think unfortunately, should I say like, there's some people that no matter how good or equipment you give them, they're just, I guess you you still have to have a bit of that natural eye. I mean, you can learn it but there's got to be some sort of It's like saying I want to be a racecar driver, but I'm never ever going to be good enough because I'm just not naturally talented at it. So I think photography is the same sort of thing. You have to be a little bit artistic, have a bit a little bit of that natural ability, equipment and all of that sort of stuff helps you can learn and you'll always develop and get better. But yeah, just try and try and be authentic with what you're doing. I think he's my best piece of advice Don't try and you know, people will take a sunrise photo do an amazing sunrise and they'll just go out and take a photo. Think about what you're doing and and what's the photo of and I think when I take a particularly with landscape photos, I always think would I handle this on my wall? So it's not just a photo of the beach or the sunrise it's got to have Have some sort of subject and some sort of story when you look at the picture, so, I don't know, I guess Yeah, that's the way I look at it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  20:08  That's, that's, that's a great way to look at it. You know, I love how you, you the way you say that, you know, when you take a portrait, instead of just taking a photo, you try to get to know the personality and try to bring the personality and capture that in, in a form of photographs. So, you know, I think, like going back to photography, like you say, with with landscape, most people can just go there. And then like, you know, it's like, oh, you have beautiful sunset or sunrise, but there's no really soul in it. Because, you know, that's, that's it, like, it looks great. But what is the story behind it? And yeah, that's, that's great to hear that. It's story is definitely one of the I think it's one of the most powerful things in photography. And
Jules Ingall  20:53  so that's what really draws me to, I think that's what really draws me to your photography, you know, you obviously go to some amazing places, but you know, every photo I look at, and I just say, oh, it just blows my mind, because you obviously have a natural eye. But But I look at it, and you don't even have to say anything, and there is kind of a story. And I think yeah, if people can, can really think about what they're doing, and not just snap off. And that's the that's, I think one of the things that you learn a lot, because I started with film camera, when you took film camera festival, it was really expensive. So you couldn't just shoot off, you know, some days, I'll do a one hour shoot and take 400 photos, whereas back then you really had to think about every single photo was like, Oh, this photo is going to cost me money. And you know, say the same thing. Now really think about what you're doing. And don't just snap off a photo really have taken the scenery or whatever it is you're shooting really have a point of what you're taking, don't just take a photo. So
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  21:59  when you say like a point, like what do you mean by like, have a point like, like a purpose behind that like that? That photo itself?
Jules Ingall  22:06  Yeah, why are you taking the photo? Like? Are you taking the photo? Because you want to get 100 likes on Instagram? We'll just relax, because that's a total waste of time. But yeah, what are you trying to say with your photography, so if you can achieve that, so if you're doing a landscape photo, don't sit and take the scene in and, and experience sometimes even I'll, I'll go somewhere, and I'll take my camera and I won't even take it out of the camera bag, I'll just sit down and I'll just enjoy the experience. You know, it's not all what you really need to think about what you're doing with your photography.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  22:43  Yeah, that's, that's, that's a great advice. Yeah, I think, you know, especially like you say, with the digital era, you know, every click is, is free. And we take it for granted. So. And I bet like half of the photo is as well. You know, the problem with the digital is that hover over the photos, we probably never look at it again. And you know, with the film, like everything counts, because you have to print it to have a look at it. So you're always revising to that. So yeah, it's really interesting how this, you know, the, the easier it is, with technology, to take photo kind of can actually make it harder to become a better photographer. So yeah, really interesting kind of point. So, Jules, do you have any, you know, what are some of your most memorable moments in, in photography?
Jules Ingall  23:38  Oh, geez, I wish I'd have thought about that question. Like I said, I've had some unbelievable experiences, I think, you know, obviously, I think the tourism thing is the most memorable with the motorsport I got to travel a lot. And I experienced, I travelled all around Australia and a lot overseas. We lived in Germany, Japan, the UK, like, you know, had some crazy experiences living overseas and doing that, but the tourism side of things, I think, you got to do things that that were just so cool, like, you know, because Because tourism boards are trying to show off their best but even got to do cool things like you know, I flew out to a cattle station and in the middle of winter and it was freezing cold and had a bath, you know, out in the outback from bought a ball water from 500 metres under the ground and it was just so cool. Like it was such a raw authentic experience, you know, surrounded by the Outback and no diving and Great Barrier Reef. I've obviously done probably the majority in Queensland but even overseas with Canon in 2019 I did a trip to the Baltics and Russia went to Finland like that would just blew me away because it was some way i i never ever would have thought to travel. It was no Ever on my bucket list, no interest at all. And I had a two week trip over there. And it just was mind blowing, I was absolutely loved it, you know, we were staying in castles, you know, that were 1000s of years old. And it was just amazing. So I feel so fortunate with the photography. And I think that's one thing with photography, even if you're just an amateur, and you have a full time job, and you do it on weekends, it, it makes you even experience your backyard, more than what you you did before photography, you know, you'd go and travel to places, there's places on the goalpost that I'd never been, until I picked up a camera as I'm gonna go photograph that. So I think it's, you know, it's such a positive, whether it's a hobby or a profession, there's so many positives about photography, and it's, you know, you always feel so rewarded and satisfied after you take a great photo.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  25:53  Yeah, it's, it's really, I love how you put that because it's, it's interesting with with photography, it really changed your perspective. And it did it really push you to go to, you know, the places that you never think of, isn't it? I mean, you know, like, like you said earlier, like, I go to all these places, but and a lot of that is motivated by photography. So yeah, I believe photography have a lot of great impact in and actually can bring a lot of great impact. Even, you know, even though the people haven't gotten into it, too, into their lives, so, and it's kind of why we do like, you know, this podcast because, yeah, like, you know, photography has changed my life. And I know, you know, it has made your life a better part of it. So it's great to kind of hear that. Yeah. So I know that you're super dedicated, not only with photography, but also with like, you know, community around photography, I know you like one of the admins in, in canon collective, which is like an Australia, Canon Australia community. How does, you know? Like, how do you manage or all that? And where does this passion come from, to, you know, like, I know that you're busy, and you have a lot of this things like that's happening, but you keep pushing to do this, you know, everything around photography, not only not only taking photos, and you know, supporting your, your life through photography, but also, you know, having that community and also building buildings, connecting with other photographer and creating that safe space. You know, how does that where does that passion come from, and, you know, what kind of push you to keep going.
Jules Ingall  27:38  I think the Canon collective page, I feel very fortunate that Canon asked me to be involved with that, because I was obviously a member of the collective page for a long time before they asked me to be an admin. But I feel like I've had a very privileged life. Like I said, I've, I've lived my passion, my job, it is my passion, you know, to be paid to take photos is for me, I I just feel so lucky. Like, I love doing it. You know, I feel so fortunate with the life I've had the travel, I've had so many amazing experiences that the thing that I find with photography is there's so much more and more, there's so much negative in the world social media, there's so much nastiness, you know, I hate all that stuff I hate. I don't like any of that sort of negative bullying, online bullying, and I find with the photography communities, it's just not like that, particularly the Canon one. I mean, that's obviously the one I'm most active on. I never see anything negative, you know, people are supportive. And the great thing about the Canon page, which is why I am so passionate about it is, you know, there's people on there who only shoot with their iPhone. So they're not photographers, and I don't pretend to be photographers, but they're passionate about photographers, photography, they've got a full time job, but they love taking photos. And, and people see good photographers, and they're like, Oh, gee, I wish I could take a nice photo and I, and the satisfaction that you get when when, you know, in that Canon collective page, what we're trying to do is give people skills to improve their photography be a great community, you know, supportive community encouraging each other. But also, there's a lot of amazing photographers on there, like you like you're very active on the page. And the way that, that the good photographers inspire the people that are just learning, and then you get messages from people that are just learning. They're like, Oh, wow, I took this photo today. I never thought I'd take a photo like this. I'm going to print it and I'm going to put it on my wall and you just hear the joy that that gives me so much joy that, you know, I'm so passionate about that side of photography and what a positive. I just, I can't see anything negative in it. And I think if we had more things like that, you know, how good would the world be if people were more like that all the time. So I think that's what what inspires my passion for it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  30:01  Oh, that's, that's amazing. Yeah, like, you know, that's hearing that that is really good to hear, you know, especially being able to hear that, you know, even people who don't have a proper a proper camera, um, for those who's listening, I'm doing this thing, okay? To see. But yeah, cuz, you know, a lot of people think that you know, you need a proper camera, but in true fact is that you could shoot with any camera and it will still bring happiness and I love that you share that, you know, I love that you share how much the community can get inspired by other other other photographers or other people photos that have been like, taken and shared. And I must say you already do you and Steven is doing really, really great job in that in that community, you know, it's more alive than ever. So, you know, one of the reason why I want you to be part of this podcast is for that reason is that you're just make make the community more alive, you know, make everyone more connected. And that's, I think that's, I think we need more of that in this world. And it's good to kind of see that. And you mentioned earlier, which is interesting topic, especially in this whole social media era is, you know, about this negative some of the negative comments or perspective in social media? What what are some of the ways that, you know, maybe you can share with the listener to, to try to avoid that, to try to harness a more positive community, you know, whatever, wherever it might be in social media, is I know, it's a big problem. And, you know, I see it over and over again, where people just, I feel like people just like to bring other people down, you know, for whatever reason, but do you have any advice on you know, how to stay away from that, and how to, you know, stay positive and create more of an inclusive community around photographers, or, I should say, around everyone, including, you know, people who might not have the right kind of gear or the, again, called professional camera or DSLRs?
Jules Ingall  32:18  No, that's, that is such a tough question. Because you could talk about this for hours. I mean, from my experience, being married to a racecar driver, and, you know, celebrity quotation marks, whatever, someone famous, I've seen some horrible, horrible stuff written about him over the years about me about my children, you know, and I think when I was younger, I would read the things and I would get so hurt by it, because people are writing these really nasty things. And they don't even know you, they've never met you. And it's the same thing. So then you see, the same thing happens, you know, someone will post a photo on a, on a thing, and on some sort of photography page, or whatever. And to me personally, like I hardly ever post because I'm so self conscious about my photography, and I don't want to be judged, you know, but for someone to post a photo, they obviously think it's good. Because if, if you think it's a bad photo, you're not going to post it on a public forum. But then you get smashed up by other people and are That's rubbish. And you should learn, I just, I don't understand why anyone would do that. And it's really, really difficult. And I think for me, personally, it's just experience that has taught me that people that do that it says more about them as a person than you as a person of photography, your skill, you know, and it's very, very difficult, but you just have to ignore it. I that's what I love about the Canon group and Canon Australia are very determined that there's none of that. I mean, I haven't experienced any of that. So far, I've been doing the job for seven months. So that's what I love about I have not experienced at all but canon Australia have given us the directive, we will not tolerate that. So I think, you know, one of my best pieces of advice is there are groups out there that are really nasty, and people are very judgmental, and don't be in those groups. And if someone is giving you nasty messages, block them, you really need to just you need to just be really brutal about it. If someone's horrible, put them set them aside, because that's not your people. They're not the right sort of people. It's not helpful. It doesn't even if your photo is bad, what is it? Why is it I see people post photos, you know, and now say what can I do to improve and then people will jump on and go, Oh, straighten the horizon, you know, look at the source and it's constructive and it's helpful. Nothing wrong with that at all. And I think people appreciate that. But for people to smash you up, just you really need to just, it's very difficult to do but You just need to move away from that, because it's all it does is upset you and it's I hate that sort of stuff, it just, I'm very passionate about that i There's no need to be nasty ever in any circumstance.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  35:13  That's, that is such a great advice. And, you know, how you said that it's, it's more about them and you know, just just, you don't have to deal with them. And it's that is very true. You know, you don't have to take it personally and you just let them go. And like, you know, don't deal with them. So that's the really good advice. And I know, there's a lot of people and, you know, I experienced that as well, when I first started is just, you know, like, we all started somewhere. And somehow, you know, some of these people when they get to where they are right now, they forget how bad they were when they started, because, you know, I can guarantee you they didn't get that good right away. So, yeah, really good advice. And I appreciate that you share that. I think that's really important, especially in this in this era of social media, like a lot of people have different opinion. And not everyone can, you know, say their opinion in a way that can be constructive? Like, like you mentioned? Well, that's, yeah, that's really great. I'm having a lot of fun with the conversation here, Jules. But we're coming connect to the end of the podcast. And one thing that I always ask to all my guests is that, you know, if there's one advice that you could give any, to, to photographers out there to the listeners out there, whether whether it's about skill set, about motivation, or about mindset, what would that one advice be like, you know, what would that what what would come up in your mind right away that people should, you know what you have to do this,
Jules Ingall  36:48  okay, a couple of pieces of advice, know what you want. So if you're, if you just want to take photos for your own, you just want to have fun, that's great. If you want to take photos, because you want to earn a living out of it, you know, that's a completely different situation. And you need to approach it differently. So know what you're trying to achieve. And then look to other people that you admire, join groups, ask lots of questions. So, you know, look at a photo that you took, oh, wow, Stanley, I love that photo. How did you do that? You know, look, and, and that is how you learn and grow as well. So, you know, I always think follow people whose work you admire. And then always ask questions. 99% of photographers are always happy to answer questions, join groups, similar sort of thing. You know, like I said, the Canon collective page, there's so many helpful tips, people are so generous about sharing their knowledge, and just keep learning all the time. There's, I don't think there's any photographer in the world that is a perfect photographer, everybody's always learning. So, you know, whether you're just starting your journey, or, you know, there's always more to learn. So, just keep asking questions. And, and the most important thing of all, I think, especially with photography is, you know, just keep passionate about it, and keep enjoying it because it's such a fun, hobby profession, whatever it is, it's it brings so much joy to so many people. So enjoy it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  38:12  Oh, that's that's an amazing advice. You know, I wish I had listened to this, or I had talked to you about this. Because when I first started, I felt like I was alone. I felt like, you know, there's no one to reach out to. But, you know, the groups like the one that you you take care of those, those really show like how people can be really supportive. And it's I think it's really good. A really important point to share with people out there that they are not alone that you know, there are groups and people who are willing to help you. So that is a really great piece of advice. Well, just it's been a lot of fun. And thank you very much for sharing not only your stories, but also some of the wisdoms that you've learned, you know, throughout your journey. And I know there's a lot of listeners that would be interested to learn more about you to see more of your work. What is the best way for them to reach out to you and to learn more about your work?
Jules Ingall  39:12  Thanks, Stanley. I'm just like everybody else. I'm on Facebook and Instagram and really just my name Jules Engle. And always, always happy to answer any questions as well because like I said, I think that's how we all learn. So thank you so much for having me. I've loved talking to you and I love your work. Like you're my pedestal if I could be half as good as photographers, you Stanley, I'll be happy.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  39:38  I know. You're blushing it's, yeah, it's yeah, like honestly, you share a lot of wisdom in that group. And yeah, if if anyone who cannot want to get to know, photography or have any question, definitely reach out To us, because you're very giving in in terms of the skill set, you don't hold back on helping others to be a better photographer. And it's just amazing to kind of see that what you call it like, again, why I'm doing a lot of quotes in this podcast, but yeah, one of the secrets a lot of people, a lot of photographers kind of hold it, you know, to their close to their chests. It's like, oh, this is my recipe, but, you know, I love how you how you share a lot of this. Not only the way you think, but also the technical side of it. So yeah, that's, that's, that's great. Um, so yeah. Weekends as hopefully you enjoy that, that conversation. And like I said earlier, check out Jules work, she got some amazing work. And she'd been doing photography from all the different genres. So there's so much to learn from jewels. And I will make sure i'll put the link on the comment below. So if you do want to learn, if you do want to reach out to her or work with her, you can do so on the link below. But thanks, thanks a lot for tuning in. And I'm glad to have you here. And if you haven't already done so don't forget to subscribe so you can, you know, get notified when I have the next amazing photographers and inspiring photographers like Jules in the podcast. But Jules, thank you very much for being here. Thank you very much for sparing your time. I know you're a very busy person, and I really appreciate to have you here in the podcast. Thank you. Okay, well, we can just, that was it. And I'll see you guys next week. Until next time,
 

Ep 29 - How Alex Cearns Turned What Was Considered A ”Stupid” Idea By Her First Business Consultant Into a Thriving Photography Business

Hey Wicked Hunter,
This week, I’m very excited to introduce an inspiring figure in the Photography space. Someone who turned what was considered a “stupid” idea into a thriving business. Alex Cearns is a pet photographer and photography, business mentor. She has published book, win awards and recently become an Ilford Master.
Tune in to the podcast to discover her journey and what are advice she has shared for those who are thriving to build something like her.
If you want to learn more about Alex's work, you can find it here:
Pet photography site: http://www.houndstoothstudio.com.au 
Business mentorship site: https://www.blackcatconsulting.com.au 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houndstoothstudio/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1918712611578342/
Other ways to listen and subscribe to the podcast:
Spotify - http://bit.ly/twhspotify 
Apple Podcast - https://bit.ly/Theartofphotography 
Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/TheArtOfPhotographyWithStanleyAr 
Website: podcast.thewickedhunt.com  
Tune In (Alexa) - https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr 
For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedhunt/   
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewickedhunt/
Masterclass: https://www.TheWickedHuntPhotography.com   
Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/ 
Don't forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation, it would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers. 
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Transcription:
Alex Cearns  0:00  And I've got a free one hour consultation on my business idea. I said to him, you know, I want to photograph animals in a studio, like what people do for people but for pets, and he actually laughed at me and said that will only ever be a hobby. That's like no one's going to come to that. That's stupid idea.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  0:24  weekenders Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast, where we share our passion and we share how photography gave us hope, purpose, and happiness. And today, I am so excited to introduce Alex who's been crushing it as a pet photographer and she also crushing it in, you know, creating a business and coaching kind of a business to help other photographers to crush it just like her. So I'm really excited for you to to hear some of the story behind her success. Hey, Alex, how you doing?
Alex Cearns  1:01  Good. Thank you. How are you? You made me blush? That was such a lovely introduction.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  1:05  No, no, your your well deserved. I feel like I mean, we're gonna go into that a little bit later. But I feel like you know, everything you created just go crazy. So that's amazing. To see. Yeah. So you know, thanks for joining us and introduce, give us a little bit introduction of who you are. And you know, a little bit background on what really got you into photography, and what would life be for photography.
Alex Cearns  1:36  So I'm a professional pet and animal photographer based in Perth in Australia, but I work quite globally, particularly on different animal charity projects. So my photography is my day job. Mostly I photograph pets in a studio. And I photograph wildlife in a studio as well for rescue groups. And then I also do natural light photography and tours. So kind of weird combination using artificial lighting for some things. And then, you know, the non pet stuff I do outdoors using natural light. And I also photograph wildlife in the studio as well. So it's kind of a weird mix that I started photographing, probably about 15 years ago, I went on a holiday to like an old kind of prisons, tourist attraction, it's an old prison, you know, ruin, and I was walking around the ruins and I had a small point and shoot camera. And I just thought this camera isn't enough. It was just kind of a hobby. I bought a camera cuz I was going on holiday. And when I got home, I thought cameras with the big lenses. So I can you know photograph birds and just by using the smaller camera but kind of outgrew it pretty quick. So I came home and I bought a $350 entry level digital SLR it was a very cheap kind of budget camera. And I thought, you know, I'm going to photograph everything, you know, this easy, I'm going to photograph still life and landscapes and animals people. So easy. Just point the thing and push the button. And little did I realise that it's not all very easy, some things are quite hard. And animals are what I gravitated to and found the easiest and found I was getting the best results in. So I started that fairly quickly. I'm about eight weeks in, I just decided I wanted to photograph animals. And I guess now my life is just consumed by animals. They're some of my best friends. But you know, one of my best friends is a cat. And don't tell anyone. And I also, you know, animals are surrounded by them in my home, I've got my own pets, I travel and I work with animals. You know, my charity works revolves around animals. And I just think that's a really nice energy to be around. I feel very lucky. Before photography came along, I was in audit and compliance kind of roles. I was a police officer for 14 years and I was a airport auditor so she's gone airport audits for their counterterrorist security measures for five years. So might have like checking boxes and enforcement and compliance and to switch into something, you know, lovely like the arts is a real shift. And I'd much rather be where I am now than doing those jobs.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  4:09  Oh, that's, that's awesome. And like you always you always have a creative side of you or like photography really appeal to that creative side all the sudden, how's your creativity, you know, in your life all together?
Alex Cearns  4:28  That's a great question. I didn't have any I don't think I really had any creativity. But I was in my early 30s And I was kind of looking for my thing. Like I really wanted my thing that I could just do that brought me joy wasn't even something I had to be good at. And you know, something that it's easy exclusive. Like I didn't have to be number one in the world. I just wanted a thing that I could enjoy. My grandmother was a very talented painter. She would paint on China like cups and mugs and plates and she was a very good artist. And you know my I'd always took photographs when I was younger. So there there was a bit of a family history of, you know, being artistic. But I can't even draw a picture like, my drawings are like see figures. And that's why I take photos because I just can't what I say with my hand, but I just when I picked up that camera, I found that I gravitated towards animals very quickly. And I loved that they became like the natural focus on my lens pretty much. And I found that probably six months before I went on that trip and bought that camera I was I thought maybe, maybe I'll be a soccer player. That sounds like fun. And so I went to a soccer training, I bought all the gear because I thought I spent less money on the gear and got there and it was my turn to kick the ball that was only training and I kicked the ball in a way it went for miles. And the coach turned around and said, Did you just kick that off your toes? And I was like, yeah, yeah, it went really far. She's like, we don't kick like that. It's off the side of your foot. And I was like, Oh, I don't know if this is gonna go so well. And then you had to run and you had to bend down. And I'm like, I don't know if I'm up for this exercise thing like that. So I realised fairly quickly, it wasn't going to be soccer. Then I started writing a book on other people's supernatural experiences. And I thought, well, that got a bit weird. And I wasn't going off there. And so I was trying to find the thing. And, you know, I was actively trying stuff to see what I enjoyed the most. And I'm still doing it. So because I still love it. So yeah, I was glad that that stuck.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  6:22  That's, that's interesting. And what what is it that one thing that makes you feel because you know, you just say you try a few different things. But you know, what is that thing that makes you like, feel that photography is that thing that you want to pursue?
Alex Cearns  6:37  Yeah, I didn't really have any I played tennis and basketball, but I didn't really have. So I had sport, but I didn't really have any hobbies, I had a little house I'd built and I do gardening and but beyond that, like I was like, I didn't really have a passion, like, you know, I just kind of go to work and I come home and I wanted something that I just got a lot of enjoyment out of that I could do. And you know, photography ticked that box. And I think I've always loved animals. I'm an only child. So I grew up around animals, they were actually some of my first friends. You know, I grew up on a farm, we had, you know, bottle fed baby lambs and rescue kangaroo Joey's and, you know, little animals that we found and rehabilitated. So I grew up around guinea pigs and dogs and, and that's, I just love it that kind of, you know, it was incorporated into my life now. But I feel like too, before photography, it's kind of walking around, but not seeing anything, you know, like, you understand to as a photographer, even if you don't take the photo of the dog, you might look at it and go, that would make a great photo. I'm like that with landscapes and environments, and I see a cobweb and it's got some do shining in the sunlight. I'm like, wow, that would make a great photo. I don't take it because I can't do it justice. But I still see stuff that other people just trade on, you know, because they don't, when you're looking for images all the time, the world is seen in a different way. And I travel a lot, and I do these tours, and I'm always looking through the barrel of my lens. Sometimes I think, you know, am I missing out on the true experience? And I'm like, Well, no, for me, that is the experience, I see more looking through that camera than I say, just sitting here going, you know, because I'm here, I'm just looking at all of it there, I'm trying to find bits that really jump out and that are interesting to me that I can share as something I see as a story I want to tell about that animal.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  8:22  You know, that is that is awesome. And we get we get talked about this a lot. You know, like, most of the time people say it's like, oh, maybe you know, like, just put down your camera and observe and you know, enjoy and take it in. And it is true in a way but the way you put it is also very true and something that I never think about, which is really interesting. Because, you know, when when I when I teach my mentee or my students, that's what I tell them is that you know, like sometimes like you know that a lens is going to be restrictive. So you need to think about what part of the landscape because it is overwhelming to you. Yeah, so it's really interesting that you two point to point out that you actually get more experience by looking through the lens that is really interesting. Something that is a perspective that I never think about before. Yeah, that's that's that's really awesome. So would you say that you know, your your the fact that you grew up in a farm may help you to find a niche and you know, fall in love to that particular needs and, and stuck with it right away?
Alex Cearns  9:34  Yeah, I think it's a good lesson. I think even even for other people who are trying to find their thing. What do you love doing? What do you love being around? Do you love nature? Do you love watching sport on television, maybe your job as a sports commentator or just to go and play sport like you know, whatever the thing is that you love. I have always had an affinity with animals. I've always loved their company. I respect them. I see them as sentient beings you know, and I I used to volunteer at some rescue centres cleaning out, you know, dog Cade, kennels and cages and stuff like that. And so to be able to photograph them, and then use those images to give back to them in some way, which is really important to me, too, is is a real, I feel is a real gift to me. You know, they're like, well, we got these images for our rescue. I'm like, No, I got the meet your amazing animals and being their company. So I think just looking at your life, if you you know, it wasn't ever for me about even it being a business. It's just what I really wanted to do. If anything, in the early days, when I thought you had this little room in the bottom of my garden, it's now my office where I am now, my first studio, it's very small. And I thought I might make that a studio. I struggled photographing pets outside, in natural light. Fine, we even our little bit hard, I don't know why assisted disconnecting with my brain was not my skill set. So I wanted to photograph animals in a studio pets in a studio, because I love that. And so I converted the little room and I went to a business advisory centre, and I'm going to free one hour consultation on my business idea. I said to him, you know, I want to photograph animals in a studio, like what people do for people, but for pets. And he actually laughed at me and said, that will only ever be a hobby. That's like, no one's gonna come to that. That's stupid idea. And I was just like, Oh, I thought oh, well, maybe he was not a dog person. And I left. And luckily, I was too stubborn to listen, because I just wanted to do it. If no one turned up, well, I just photographed my own dog in the you know, and, you know, now looking back, I always think I wonder if I should send him a Christmas card, let him know how it's been going for last 12 years, it's been going pretty good. So you know, don't let anyone tell you that your thing isn't the right thing. If that's what you really want to just do it. No one else's opinion matters if it's making you happy. Yeah.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  11:45  I love that. I love that, that that is such an inspiration. And, you know, there is I, you know, as someone who who empower who, whose mission is to empower others to be better in photography, I get crushed when I when I hear, you know, people, people say that kind of thing. Because, you know, I believe that, yes, it might be hard, but it's never impossible. It's about you know, how you can find, find that creativity to create, you know, something out of nothing. So, I think that is really amazing that, you know, you kept stuck with it. And, you know, looking back, you can you can link to those days, and actually, you know, use that. And I know that you're an educator as well, and actually use that as a way to, you know, exam as an example to those people who doesn't believe in it. Because quite clearly, you know, usually you're the person who doesn't believe it, and your mentor is the one that push you But right off the bat, you're like, No, no, it's not. Like, that is incredible. Yeah, that is incredible. Thank you. Yeah. So do you know, share us share with us a little bit about, you know, what is? What is day in the life of Alex, you know, like, what, what, what's not, not only you know, the business side of things, but also in, you know, like with, with photography, you know, you just say that your business, your business, I don't know, mentor or whatever he may be or consultant. Think it's impossible. And yet here you made it. So what do you do to kind of make that work?
Alex Cearns  13:37  I think for anyone that's in a portrait photography kind of area, the best thing I did was just photograph dogs, you know, the more photographs you take for clients, the more other people see that work, the more your brand starts to grow. I also had this really clear picture at the start that I kind of saw myself in the middle, and all my clients were around here. And then I was surrounded by all these other photographers doing similar things or taking photos and trying to vie for that market as well. And I kind of felt, you know, these clients are never going to know who I am if they if my peer group of photographers don't know who I am, you know, unless I have a brand name in photography, then how am I going to push out to the public expect them to know me when my own peer group doesn't know who I am? So I used competitions in the beginning to grow my profile, I entered a lot of competitions. They're not really things that have ever bought me a client, a client will say, Oh, you won a prize. And I say, Oh, is that why you booked a photo session? No, no, no, you photographed my friends German Shepherd and I saw their photos, you know, it's not there, but they will recognise it. So for brand building, it's good. Doesn't necessarily prompt them to pull the trigger and book a session. So I just, you know, started pushing out amongst photographers and going to camera clubs and speaking at camera clubs and doing presentations and sharing information with, you know, camera clubs or kind of anyone from really, really strong, their own fouzia His level of really strong level to like, amateur hobbyist, beginner kind of thing in the range. And I started judging at the camera clubs and doing judging and, you know, now those camera club people are the ones who if they get asked by a friend, can you photograph my dog, you've got that camera, they go, No, you've got to go to Alex, she comes to our club, and she's lovely. And she talks to us and she judges and, you know, they're the ones that book my tours, they buy my books, they, you know, you know, participate in the things I do listen to the podcasts, you know, so I really grew that profile. And then I pushed out then from that into the public as well, just because I kind of, you know, photographers, were partly doing the job for me and recommending me, you know, to, to their friends and family, and it started to grow. So it was important for me to make sure that I was known, you know, in my own profession. And then I kind of stretched out from that. But just photographing, you know, even if we were very lucky to have some amazing experiences. But if your ego gets carried away with the number of books you have, or how many times you've been on TV or awards, and you don't look after your core group of clients, the whole house of cards falls down, no photos, no books, no photos for awards, no people telling you how good you are, because you've dropped the ball, you know, you've got to consistently keep up with the business demands the standard of service, you know, all your professional outputs, and make sure the clients are satisfied, because they're taking those images into their homes, and other people are seeing them and they're talking about you. And that's where business comes from, first and foremost, your customers. So I really am glad I learned early on to not get caught up in I've won a probably an award or people telling me how great I am about because I've got this or, you know, I really was like, that's all lovely, but that's not what generates core business. You know, that's clients and servicing. The needs of those clients are making sure they're looked after and they're happy.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  16:51  That's, that's great. You know, like, some of the stuff that you just shared there. It's, it's really, it's really amazing, especially for photographers, it's, you know, usually, we, we don't really connect that sort of things, you know, we just like taking photo, do you always like, you always know that, you know, ever since you pick up that camera, and you always know that, okay, you know, like, this is awesome. This is for me, I want to make a full time, like, way to support my lifestyle? Or has it been a process to kind of get there and to actually realise that? Yes, this is what I'm, you know, was born for this is what I want to make out of my life.
Alex Cearns  17:36  Yeah, another great question. When I first started taking photos in 2006, it was just fun. You know, it's just kind of, if I even showed you some of those pictures, now, I was good at cell phone to myself, only 9% sharp don't show any ones I was kind of good at, you know, learn and grew fairly quickly. You know, some photographers take a million photos and they stay at the same level. Some I've got some friends who take photographs and just accelerate in what they do really quickly. So I kind of had a really clear picture of what I was doing there. I just wanted to elevate my photography and take the best photos I could for me. And then in time, that kind of the hobby, I kind of thought, oh, you know, people started saying we photograph my pets. I realised within about eight weeks of getting that camera that animals were my focus. There's a really pivotal moment at a park with a friend and her family. And she said, can you take some photos for us of the family, and the daughter was doing some ballet twirling. And while she was twirling around, I kind of just kept spinning and a bird flew past. So when I got home, I had more photos of the bird than I did of her doing her ballet twirling. And that started happening more and more often. So I kind of you know, realised that that was a thing that I was gravitating towards. So I listened to that. And then it was just meant to be fun. I did a few pet shoots with people. They were I was charging 19 $95 for a disk of 100 photos of dogs outdoors, and I wasn't really enjoying it. And I kind of thought, you know, I just want to do wildlife photography and had some studio lights I was using for a rescue and a backdrop. And I thought I do like the studio stuff because I can control the environment a bit more. I can control the animals a bit more. And so I just really stuck with that. And the progression was just doing what made me happy. I honestly thought my best case scenario would be maybe working four days a week in my government job and doing photography on a Friday and a Saturday that would be my plan. And I opened my studio on the Fourth of July 2009. And by October 2010. So about 15 months later, the demand was so great that the business was going to collapse if I didn't give up the other job because I didn't have enough time I was travelling to airports a lot and I was away a lot. And I was like well, I either stick with what I've known for 20 years safety superannuation, you know, job security government, you know, get looked after, or do I just go and run a business and I knew nothing about doing and I didn't I have a lot of debt at the time. And I thought, You know what, if it all fails, I'll just gone working in a pet product store, be around animal people. And so, you know, dog treats. So if you ever see me working in a pet store, you know, it didn't turn out so well, that never happened. And so there was no pressure. But I also followed opportunity, and I took the opportunities as they came along. And I think that's really important to make sure you follow, you know, if something presents itself, you make good informed decisions at the time that aren't going to cripple you financially and cause your stress. But you're farther along, and I've literally been fully booked for, like, you know, the last nine years doing, you know, 30 to 40 sessions a month, consecutively and consistently all the way through. So, yeah,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  20:41  wow, that is incredible. You know, that's just so inspiring to, to be able to thrive in the business in such a short period of time. You know, like, I think, as a photographer, the business side of it doesn't necessarily come natural to a lot of, you know, creative as well as photographer. I mean, you know, a lot a lot, a lot of time I realised that photographers are enjoying what they do. And so, you know, they don't compel to charge for what they do, because just being able to share their photo is already given them so much fulfilment, and this like, you know, a happy feeling. What are some of the some of the most important aspects on you know, within that turning point between you, you're starting to making it full time, that had to really become one of the most important thing to turn your photography from, you know, a siping as a hobby, all the way to being a full time a full blown, you know, running it as a business type of thing.
Alex Cearns  22:00  Yeah, I think that's a really good point, you hit on, you know, I work with some of the best photographers in the world in my business coaching, but some of them have trouble getting clients in because they just don't have a, an ability, they don't have an ability to market in a certain way, or they don't have a structure to run clients through that's consistent and, and stable. And so you know, that having consistent communication at a professional ethical level, gives clients confidence in the business and wants, you know, it gives it a professional outlook. And so, for me, it was implementing systems and processes, I have this thing where I'm like, I don't have enough life left to live to spend 20 hours a day in the office, you know, I don't anything I can shortcut by clicking a button, good database in system with all my clients in there that sends emails and contracts. And so just automating things as much as I can, you know, just having a system. It's like building a house and you want to run your clients through the house through the tour of the house, but it's all systemized, you get them to turn up by marketing, you run them through, you don't want them to go into the, you know, like I say, the attic or the basement because they're out of bounds. So there's rules and boundaries in your communication, that a rule could be where they park on the day, what they were for a portrait shoot, and all that sort of stuff, when they have to pay for their order, all those clear communication things you need with clients, and then they get to the end of the house to they love it. So they give you their money. That's they're making their order and they leave happy, then they come back again another day and do the house tour all over it. No, come back as a repeat client, tell their friends, you know. So it's about kind of building a house, but it's a business structure. And, you know, for me, it was just really important to make sure, you know, when a client does this, I know I do that. And it's and it's consistent. You know, they do this, I do that they respond with this, I do that. So just having a system in place. Because I mean, I've heard that comment that you can take rubbish photos, and still make a lot of money in business, or don't entirely, you know, you might one person may be able to do that, because it's a gimmicky thing. But I don't entirely believe that I think you have to have good product for good money. That's the exchange, oh, great photo, and you'll give me great payment, you know, and unless you have a business system and structure to be able to facilitate those clients through, you can't sell to them. And it was interesting to see a lot of people just like to shoot for fun. And I remember I did a business talk a few years ago was on it was called Mind your own business or something. And this lady about two minutes in, got up and walked out. Anyway, a bit later on, I caught up with her and some friends and she's come up and said to me, I have to apologise to you for leaving your talk. And my friends here told me it was really good. And I should have stayed. And I said, Well, why did you leave? And she said, Well, you mentioned the word business. And I'm just a hobbyist. I'm not interested in running a business. So I thought it wasn't for me. And I said okay, what if though as a hobbyist, I said do you put your photos on social media? Yes, I do. What if I saw one and I wanted to buy it as if as a as a photograph, you know? Would you sell it to me? I'd be so excited to sell it to you Alex, is it great? So you know what products does it come in? What sizes? How much is it? How do I make the paint meant, you know, do I collect it do deliver it. What's the guarantee? Is it archival? How do you communicate with me about all this said that is what business means it's any sort of transaction. It's not about starting a business and having to then commercialise everything. I said, business can just be you selling a picture to someone that they've seen on Facebook, but they love. And she was like, Oh, I didn't realise that I said, That's what I was talking about. She was like, well, it's very silly. You know, like, business can be that simple business can just be, you know, to be honest, if we take photographs, we don't take pictures, you know, to take a photo on our, you know, our phone, and we don't go, wow, this is the best photo ever. And when you say, Can I see it? No photographer goes, No, it's just for me. You know, photos are for sharing, we can look at this photo I took, it's the best, you know, we put it on our websites, we show our family, even at a hobbyist level. So if someone then comes and says, Can I buy that, that's thrilling, you know, and that's a business transaction. So you don't have to be in a business where you get a business name, and a building and a gallery, if you don't want to do that, but just even knowing basic steps, in case someone ever asks, Can I buy that, you know, kind of important things to think about?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  26:11  Oh, that's spot on. And that is really spot on. And, you know, I think we have a journey as a photographer, you know, I know, I have, you know, we started with our mobile phone, and then we buy a entry level camera, and then it gets, you know, deeper and deeper into our craft. And, you know, a lot of photographers and especially the hobbyists, kind of have that mindset of, you know, business is this money thing, and therefore, you know, no, no, no, it's not what it's not for me. But I think what, especially the listeners here should consider is that, it's like, winning an award, you know, it being somebody buying you a photo, it's not necessarily about the money, but about that sense of pride that you know, somebody else want to buy your photo, to be hanging somewhere else, or to be used as a as a as a website. And there is a sense of pride there. You know, that's, that's a big sense of pride. And I think one thing that I want to touch here is that, you know, the more expensive you charge for your art, the more it's gonna get appreciated. You know, just think about if you buy this big canvas for $20. And, you know, somebody's scratching you like, dollars, right? Like you buy that for $1,000, there is no way you let any one near that is to scratch or even to dodges. That is a great point. I like, you know, it's very important, I think, for people to think about, and, you know, at the end of the day, all of this costs money, right? The camera costs money, the travel costs money, your studio lighting costs money, even if you do it as a hobby, they still cost money. So it's important to kind of consider that. Oh, that's fantastic. That's, I think that's that story is, is really great to, to share, you know, just to open up people's mind as was towards not necessarily having a business, but just understanding that side of things in case that happens. That's, that's amazing. Now, you know, you have mentor a lot of students and mentee, and what are some of the most important thing when people want to take their passion in photography, and do it full time to support their life? What are some of the most important step and most important thing they should consider? And make sure they understand before they jump into, into that side of things?
Alex Cearns  29:00  I mean, firstly, you're in the best position to transition to a full time business if you're not under financial stress, because, you know, going into it, there's no I've had years ago, had someone write to me saying, you before I was coaching, but you have to help me, I have to make money. I decided I'll photograph pets to make money and I have to start next week. What do I do? And as she wrote, they never wrote back, which was kind of he told me a lot about them. But I kind of wrote back and said, Well, firstly, you know, you photograph animals because you love them dogs particularly can pick up if you're just photographed, you know, if you're not truly their friend so do you actually love animals? Do you know about animals? You know, do you know about safety? Is this really what you want to do? Have you just decided it's a moneymaker? What's you know, you need systems and processes and structure and the pressure of that to have I have to earn money next week doing this or I'm dead, you know, it's way too much like that's the worst case scenario. So anywhere where you have an existing job, you can slowly transition to not put yourself under immense financial stress would be my first recommendation because when You can just take photos, and a lot of photographers aspire to, you know, what we show was this well known famous landscape photographer made all this money on his pet photographer or whoever it is, they aspire to that. But you know what, when you can just take photos for the fun of it, that's the best type of photography, it's great to be paid. But I also have a job, I have to consistently deliver, I can't have a bad day, I'm just out shooting and I miss a few shots for myself. But no worries, I had lots of fun, I can't do that in my business, I have to get that shot every single time for my client. So there's a different pressure and stress still amazing, but it's it shifts, there's an expectation, and there's a consistency that has to be maintained. And, you know, you've you've got to do that, regardless, with pets of the level of training of that animal, you have to get the same photo of this untrained dog as you did have this really well trained dog, you know, that kind of got it because they want this photo they've seen. So I think just having listen as little stress and pressure as you can is, you know, the first thing, you have to make sure animals do you have images people want to buy, like I said, they have to be of a good standard that is actually has a commercial value. And then, you know, it's just working out in a slow progression, I don't think anyone should just go right I'm, you know, I'm going to drop this and start full time tomorrow, it's normally a progression with things, you know, he's off some of the other work, increase a bit of this work. And then as that rolls out the business, Rosa, it'll dictate to you, you know which paths you should take, and when you should jump off that cliff and kind of end up going full time. For me it was kind of go full time or the business is going to collapse because I couldn't do the orders I was getting behind on the emails, you know, that sort of thing. So and then having a plan. I mean, I certainly think, you know, working with a coach can facilitate you because they can help you skip the mistakes they made. You know, regardless of what genre of photography you do, this coach is out there for everything. And even that, I think, find a coach who has had the business you aspire to have, don't go for a jack of all trades, try and find the person that coaches in your genre, no matter what it is, and to find the person that does that, and has actually had a career successful career and that you would like to have to. So find someone to help you along the way. If you can invest in that that investment should pay itself back at some point. But having a plan and a support team, a lot of photographers to even the ones that I speak with, you know, some have really supportive partners, some don't have supportive partners and family, I think pet photography is you're never gonna make money off that it's silly. And that's really hard. So just even crossing that boundary around, right, we're not, you're not going to talk to me about it in that way, this is what I've chosen to do. And, you know, if they believe that, that's fine, but please don't let that energy come into me because I have to pursue this and I can't have that voice in my head saying you're gonna fail, no one's going to spend money on this, you know, like you said, we all doubt ourselves enough, you know, we don't need other people's opinions in there, too. You can make money successfully of anything, if you have a strategy and a way to market anything in the world. So you know, affect your pet photography is very popular, because there are a lot of pets. And there are a lot of good cryptographers out there who are doing really well in it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  33:01  Yes, that is so much jam. And you know what I likes I, I wish I had talked to you and interview you before I started all this because that would have saved me so much, so many miserable, like just, you know, being stuck and not knowing kind of where to go. But you know that that first point about Don't be in a desperate place. I think it's really important, especially in this industry, because we are in the creative industry, you know, when you when you're in a desperate place that creativity is gone. Like it's all about money, right? And then it's everything's different. So that is incredible. Now, one follow up question with that. You share how sometimes, you know, like, building a photography, business, it's not all sunshine and rainbows, there is a lot of work that goes into it, there's a lot of things that you need to consider, and also work out yourself. And you also mentioned that, you know, like sometimes it's nice not to have that pressure of just, you know, being able to shoot and kind of go with this like know what, get it great, no, no worries. You know, there's a lot of photographers out there who are thinking about pursuing this full time now, one question that I want to ask you is what's your advice for people who are on the line who who are asking themselves I'm enjoying this I'm at the point where I'm not sure I'm at a crossroad should I pursue it full time? Or should I keep it as a hobby and still do you know their own nine to five or whatever profession that they're doing?
Alex Cearns  34:53  I think timing is very important. So right now I mean the whole world is in a state of You know, still upside down on its head pretty much with the pandemic. And that's brought with it a whole lot of financial impacts on lots of different people, depending on where you live, you know, I say to my pet photography clients, you got to understand right now there are very few people globally sitting at home going, you know, what I feel like a pet photo shoot, let's pay for that. They're not, you know, they think they're saying, you know, what, I feel like not dying today, not going to antes COVID funeral, not losing my job, again, not wondering how we're going to eat next week, you know, there's a lot of stuff going on globally, which is, in our lifetimes, unprecedented for us, you know, to be experiencing that. So I think timing is really important, I certainly probably, you know, now is a while, everything's kind of still in a pause, and kind of slowly coming out of that a little bit. With the pandemic, you know, having been locked down and stuff starting to ease a little bit in most places. You know, hopefully, I feel like it's a good it's been a year, people have used that downtime to make a plan. And that's really smart. You know, if you're sitting at home, you might as well make a plan for when this shifts, it will eventually shift in some way, shape or form, there may be a new normal in how we live, but we'll get there, there always is, there's always up swings and down swings and stuff that happens. So I think timing is really important. And again, because you don't want to put yourself in that desperate situation, that's a horrible place to be, and there's no enjoyment in thinking you can't pay your rent, if you don't make the $2,000 sale of this client. And then somehow, subconsciously, you're sitting there or nervous, and the client picks up on it and goes, oh, you know what, actually, I'm not going to spend anything today. And you're like, Oh, I'm gonna, you know, it's horrible. It's not fun. So I think timing, and looking at the market, you know, looking at the troughs, and peaks, you know, right now, I'd say the world's gonna do here a little bit, we're gonna wait till it's maybe up here a bit. So it's looking at when, you know, one of the things that happens whenever people are restricted and limited, like in a lockdown is when you let them out, they go crazy, you know, they want to go and spend money. And they, you know, if they have been in kind of more affluent countries, you know, people haven't been travelling, so they have some disposable income right now to spend on things that make them happy. People have been doing, you know, home handyman stuff and buying artwork for their houses. So perhaps some of the still life and landscape photographers can cash in on that kind of particular bit of the market. Be I think timing is very important, making sensible decisions and having a timeframe plan, I'm going to, I've got this much money in reserve, I can live off that without the stress. And I'm going to do this for six months. And if I don't get from this point to this point in six months, then you know, go back to whatever you know, something else, you kind of, can't keep throwing money at the wall, if it's not sticking, you know, at some point, it's got to lock in for you as well. So think my backup plan working at the store, you know, as my backup plan. And I think that is important too, to make sure you know that there's an out if you have to take it, you know, hopefully won't, you know, and then just go for it, put everything into it, why you've got to do that, you know, initially when I started, I was working 100 hours a week, it's crazy. Now I coach my clients with that knowledge on how to make their business work for them. Because I've gone through that, and now, you know, I shoot when it suits me, and my clients are happy with that. And I have all these boundaries about times I work and answer emails, and when I'm available, and I pass it on to my clients, so they're starting from scratch with, you know, a better system in place with work life balance, and they're not just strung out 100 pounds a week, you know, doing that stuff.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  38:20  That's, that's fantastic advice there. Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. I'm sure listeners at home, hear a lot of wisdom in that. Now, in terms of, you know, should they pursue their passion full time? What would you say to that? You know, should they keep it as a hobby? Or should they monetize it and do it as part of their lifestyle,
Alex Cearns  38:48  I think monetize along the way, you know, with business, like even for me, it wasn't like, I'm just shooting now I'm going to stop and put a value on this into business, it was a transition. So anyone that's got another job has the blessing of being able to transition into that role. So I think start setting up some structures and practices along the way. So that may be just doing a Facebook post saying, Hey, I've been photographing the mountains, you guys have seen my pictures, I now offer these prints in three sizes for three prices, three by three, you know, or three products in three sizes for three prices, like this really simple philosophy about products and pricing. I mean, that's another thing a lot of photographers struggle with, what products how much, you know, just go with what you times that by three or four, I don't know what there's not, you know, there's all these different formulas, you've got to be comfortable with your pricing. You know, you've got to be think I kind of initially went by what would I pay? You know, what would I pay for this? You know, I didn't use any formula or anything. I was like, what, what's enough to make a profit and what would I pay for this particular product? Because in pet photography, I'm my own client. I'm an animal lover, and I see value in photographs on my client, you know, so if I want to know what my clients think I asked myself what I think and I get the answer. So I think I'm all for everyone for showing up. action into something more. But do it in integrated steps be like, Okay, for the next month I'm going to really promote that I'm selling these for money. Then I'm going to put a little shopfront on my website. You know, this great sites like red bubble, you know, if you ever want to go there, I started out there, you can go on there and you can put a photograph on anything shower curtain, I went on there and just dropped some colours like blue on this little template and printed it out as blankets for my dog, because the blue match the bedroom that they sleep in, you know, like, the paint on the walls, you can put stuff on mugs, clocks, clothing, they sell prints canvas, you can use all sorts of different, you know, products on there, even that, and you can have a markup on there. So you can do you know, particular print run and say I'm selling 50 of these prints through red bubble when they're sold. They're done. And in there, people go online, they pay red bubble, you get the profit margin, red bubble gets the wholesale price, even after red bubble dropships they print and ship to the client, like it's even at a starting point, then you move on to pro labs and you get more involved, you know, depending on where you want to go, but even just to getting a feel for that. There's always someone if anyone says I love this photo, then you think maybe they would bought what Right, right? How much do you love it? I'm doing a little focus group, what would you pay for these? What products would you buy this on a mug, I might do some mugs, you know, just something to start the ball rolling. You have to have that entrepreneurial kind of spin to stuff and start thinking about opportunities. Someone's saying they love your photo, don't just go thank you say thank you and say thank you and then private message him and go, hey, send you love my photo? If I put that as a limited edition print of 10 Would you be interested? Would you also be keen if it was a canvas? And also do you like mug so you know, like, just do some research? And yeah, if you can then you know transition that follow those steps. When you work towards something, stuff starts happening, then doors open minute you go, I want to be full time in this in six months, you'll be there in three because it you'll make it happen because you're taking action. So follow those steps take action. And when opportunities present, as long as it's not against your ethics, your morals are what you're comfortable with. Say yes. Even if it's scary, you know, suddenly someone comes in says great, I see you're selling the landscape pictures. Can you photograph? You know, do you do you know, commercial shots of buildings? Are you we want you know, 15 buildings photographed with this big job. And you're like, Well, I've never done I'd never know about commercial. Find out say yes, find out later. Yeah, I'll do that. Then I'll just get some quotes to you though. And then quickly do your research. There's enough groups and you know, other photographers, you can get Google and you know, there's, there's even, you know, some of the Getty Images has a cat image calculator price for stuff like that. Get on there and find the answer and then just an act like you've done it million times. Fake it till you make it Yeah, I do. I photograph buildings. I've got a fair 15 people things. They're going to be on billboards and magazines, I don't know, you know, just, you know, we can get overwhelmed with the job. But most of us who take photos, we can take a photo, why do we get so scared of these big things when it's just us doing what we do? When we get to, you know, had to photograph for grass to photograph for a movie poster dogs for a movie poster and had to go on set the last day of shooting. And I've never photographed a film poster, like, wasn't even on my bucket list. It was so outside my realm of thinking that I could do that. And I got so nervous I was I've got to go and photograph dogs. And I was like, Alex, you've got to go and photograph dogs, you photograph 1000 dogs a year, like just go and do your job. And I walked in there, and they all look to me, like, how should we set this up? Because they didn't know they do film? And I'm like, alright, we need the backdrop here. Okay, where do you want the trainer, and I just did my job, you know, and they weren't like, they don't know. So you know, I just do my job and got the photo, I really got myself a talking to about getting ahead in your head. So follow the steps, push forward, and by all means, yeah, I'm fully for anyone who thinks they can, you know, get to that point of being professional and successful in photography. It's brilliant, you know, but don't do it, where it's going to cause you great stress and be you know, and then not work how you want go slow, have a plan, and then execute it. And then when you have a plan, write down goals. Goal setting is really important. Every year I write down five things I want to achieve. And I put two or three things on there that are just insane that I'm like this isn't it. And normally within a month I've done the first two and a half and like wow, that was quick. And then next thing that random hard thing drops in and there's only you know one or two more things to go and you know if you don't achieve them that year, because they'll be moving on to the next year. But writing stuff down moves you towards it means you take action to making it happen. So yeah.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  44:43  Wow. Like I want to do a slow clap here but speech just dropped a bomb there and listeners if you've been thinking about you know, starting your photography business, this right here, right You just gave basically a framework on how to get started. And that is incredible. Yeah. Again, something I wish I had, you know, figured out a few few years ago. So that is great. Like, I want to talk about your book, you put together a book. And yeah, so share with us, I'd like you to introduce your book and share it with Share, share with us how that came about. And what's, you know, what's the idea behind the book?
Alex Cearns  45:31  I just, I've actually got seven. But the latest one was seven books. got seven. Yeah. This is the latest one that came out late last year, the one that I knew Yeah, that's the caucus guide to happiness. That sold a record number of copies in about two weeks. So that pretty much is sold out. Other than a few copies still in, in some stores, it's all sold out in the warehouse. I have one on animals with disabilities, because I'm very big supporter of, you know, saying, you know, this little dog with one eye is no different to a dog with two eyes. It's just a cute little dog that needs love and care and, you know, gives love and a lot of joy, I have a book on rescue greyhounds. Up until October, I had a little rescue Greyhound who passed away at seven, but she was awesome. Got one called Zen dogs, dogs meditating and the eyes shut. And there's a couple more as well. And it's an interesting story, how I got into books, these are all with publishing companies. So I get I get paid and money of the sales. And it's all it's all really fabulous. I first got into books, because I was asked by a client to the neck donate a photo for free of a rescue dog to a book about rescue dogs. And because it was for charity, I didn't get all weird and go, you must pay me for that. And I said, Do you know what your dogs the rescue the books were rescued, you can use that photo, just put a credit on it. So they did, then the book went really well. And now we're doing a second version of the book or part two. And one of my friends had a little rescue dog that the publisher wanted for the cover of the book. And I they are on the other side of that, Australia. But I had photographed that dog when she was over here visiting once. So I had these studio shots, the only studio shots of this dog. So my friend, the dog's owner said to the publisher, you need to go to Alex for the photos because none of the photos we've got there just on our phone, you need to go to her for one of these geo shots. So they came to me and said, Can we use your picture on the cover actually have colour here? And so I said sure. So that was this little dog on the cover they they pitched her out on the put on the cover. And so there's just a story book about rescue dogs. And you can see there's a few pictures. This is how my original picture was used kind of like this in the first volume. So said yes to that. But now I've got on the phone two editors from a publishing company, you know, talking to me about the cover of this book. I'm very careful when I you know make approaches to people, especially like editors, can you imagine they even go out to dinner with their friends and their friends are probably saying, Oh, I've got this great idea for a book. I was just thinking I could write you know, like, Oh, honey, like, I just want to have dinner, you know, because it editors everyone's writing them up for their great ideas. I don't want to be that person. You know, it's like, I've got some celebrity friends. I never asked him for a favour. I never go hey, can you introduce me to pink? They know pink? You know, I just because that's not the better boundary? No, no, I don't want to do that. So I but I don't miss an opportunity. So I had these editors on the phone, did the given the pitcher for the cover got paid couple covers of good income. And then just said to them, Hey, by the way, I have 4 million photos of animals in my image library. If you ever need animal pictures for anything, we'd like to do a book of something, please keep me in mind. very noncommittal didn't require yes or no art. So it wasn't even going on. He goes a book idea, you know. And literally two weeks later, my phone rang. And it was one of the editors and she just said Hi, do you want to do a book. And that was my first book with them. Then I did my second within the same year. And then I moved to a different publisher. And I've done all these ones with the same publisher since then. HarperCollins, who I just love. In New York, they come out globally around the world they've sold around the world, which is really cool. All because I just very casually put out I planted a seed, you know? And that's what I like to do if someone says, you know, if I'd, if I'd said, Do you need any animal photos? And then went no, I would have said Oh, that's okay. If you ever do please keep me in mind. I just leave the door open, you know, without, you know, putting any pressure on them or asking you know, Can you Can I do a book that would be like No. annoyed them and I wouldn't hear from them again. So yeah, that's uh, that's kind of how they come about. When I finished with that publisher. I put these end dogs pictures online on a website called Bored Panda. It's a great site with that. Websites and new sites troll for pop culture, kind of fun content. You know, funky, interesting stories about animals people found stuff. So I put this on Bored Panda and it went viral. And 24 hours later my phone rang and it said New York City on the phone and I was like New York City's ringing I'm very excited. I was about 1030 at night and I answered the phone and it was the Huffington Post. And this lady said, I work for Huffington Post. I've seen the Zen dogs photos on Bored Panda, can we please run these tomorrow in the health and well being section of the Huffington Post, it was probably about
probably about a year before the US election and all the political campaigning was happening, not the last one, like four years ago, four and a half, five years ago. And everyone was a bit stressed, because there's a lot of information and a lot of stuff going on. So they're like when people really need like something right now that's happy. And it takes them away from all this politics. So I said, Sure. So they read them the next morning on the Huffington Post, and 24 hours after that, I had an email in my inbox from HarperCollins, New York saying, we saw the pictures on the Huffington Post, do you want to do a book. So just by getting content out there? Now, you know, no book guarantees the next one. So I still have to write a book pitch and have an idea and a concept and we work through it. And it has to be something that sells and something that hasn't been done before, in the same way and something that, you know, it also depends on my brand reputation, you know, are people going to buy the things I put out to people like me enough to go yes, you know, and get this book, because I know, she helps rescue and my social media following impact, and all that sort of stuff comes into play as well. No, because I have to contribute to, you know, promoting it and hope get the word out there. But yes, I feel very blessed to have all those books and the little one, this one's just was just, it was put together before COVID. And it's just meant to make people happy. It's it's really cute little animals that just make they've like the happiest animals on earth. They make people laugh, basically, they're really cute little things. And it's got sayings, but some of the sayings are things like, you know, now very relevant to COVID. Things like just hold on better days are coming. And you know, we'll get through this together. And they're always really cute little things that now have a different meaning post COVID than when we actually did the book. But I think that's partly why it went so well. You know, if what people joy, it's a simple happy book, sometimes the easiest concepts, you know, doesn't have to be anything too tricky. Just saying it makes people happy. They love it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  52:06  Wow. That's, that's incredible. So you actually made that book before the COVID hits?
Alex Cearns  52:11  Yeah, I finished. Probably it was all submitted about four months before COVID. Hit maybe January. So maybe three months before COVID came? Yeah. And it was published the noise you submit the content takes about a year for it to be printed and edited and stuff. So yeah, and you before it came out, but came out? Christmas? Well, you know, COVID was kind of still around in most places. That's awesome.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  52:34  Yeah. And for the listeners out there who don't know what the clock is, which is the cover or to what the book is all about is basically an animal that you can only find in Western Australia. I'm pretty sure it's it's you can only find in Britain, this island, right? Yeah. And yeah, it's the cutest thing. It's, it's always smiling. It's the happiest animal on earth probably. Just look it up goes search. It's it starts with quo. A K is their rights,
Alex Cearns  53:08  qu o double K, AKA
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  53:11  Obamacare. And you'll, you'll know exactly what we meant by, you know, the happiest animal on earth. But I like it's been, you know, an incredible hours talking to you, you know, you've dropped so many wisdom and advices. And it's just been so many learning, and so many takeaways that we can take from this conversation. Now, I always ask my guests is one question before we all end up the podcast. If there is one thing that you could give us an advice I know you have given Hibbs if there is one thing that you can give advice, either you know, as for photographers, or in or in more business sense, what is the one most important thing that you think people should consider and focus on?
Alex Cearns  54:07  I think the best bit of advice is a lot of photographers doubt their own work and ability. You know, they have that that, like, Is this good enough. And the comparison to other photographers, and it's that thing, if you ask for 100 opinions, you'll get 100 opinions. If you have a photograph that you love, and no one else hates it, it doesn't matter. You know, there's stuff I love of mine the most is the really abstract, weird stuff that other people will get and go that's blurry. I'm like, No, that's art, you know? So don't let anyone ever tell you that, you know what they'll tell you but don't take it in, don't let it in, you know, have that just be like, Oh, that's I asked for your opinion. So I'm gonna get it. It differs to mine. You know, there comes a point where you might stop asking for opinions, and just trust what you want. You know, I like this photo, therefore, I like this photo. I'm going to print it. So just don't don't doubt your own assessment of your own work, you know, but also, don't be too hard on yourself. Not everything you take is rubbish, you know, you know when it's a good Photo. And notice self audit, you know, you get those people that post, you know, 100 photos on Facebook with the same thing. And you're like, you could have said that into shots, you know, pick the two best and use those don't do the two best in the 98. Okay, I'm not very good down to rubbish, you know, like, don't put the whole series on it. And yeah, and just forge ahead, seek help if you need it. You know, like you've said a few times, I wish I had someone I could have worked with in the beginning, I've spent 10s of 1000s of dollars and countless hours of life, I don't have, you know, that's gone on making mistakes that now I can help my clients not make ever again, you know, they start from I started from here, they're now starting from over here, and they can skip that through my knowledge. So find support, if you want to take it to the next level, find the coach that fits you. And just keep shooting, best thing you can do as a photographer is just shoot. And, you know, if you do end up doing it as a business, and you have days where it is sometimes like anything, sometimes there's days where it's just a job, which, you know, you don't want to stay in those days for too long. Because we're very blessed to do what we do. If you do just have a day off work and go and shoot for you, where there's no expectation, go and be in nature, beware makes you happy, and just shoot for fun without thinking I have to sell this product as a result, or it's got to be this certain type of photo, just have a have enjoy it, and get it back to what it used to be. And then you've got that balance between, you know, the commercial side and just doing it because you love it as well, because you never want to lose that, you know, you know, there are a billion West jobs in the world and taking photos, you know, so you never want it to become a bit of a chore where you're because it can be dealing with the public, you've got systems you got to do admin 70% of its emailing back about print orders, and you know, all that sort of stuff, it can bog you down. So you just have a good plan and make sure you always enjoy it and put time in there to enjoy it if you need to, as well. And don't ask for too many opinions.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  56:48  All right, well, that's great. Alexandra, you know, same with you, you know, I wish back then I knew a concept of mentorship. And I wish I knew that, you know, somebody that that could mentor me or that I can relate to that. I'd love to be mentor. But to be honest, like you know, back then I'll probably wouldn't take it anyway. I was like, damn. It's a progression. I feel that, you know, you have to go through it. And then you look back, you're like, Man, I could have just
Alex Cearns  57:25  asked for two grand. Yeah,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  57:29  everything started in one day. It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's a great advice. And I love how you say, you know, find a mentor, that not just a mentor that is good, but a mentor that you can relate to that you want to be because, you know, just because they're good in their photography doesn't mean they will be a good mentor or even if they're a good mentor doesn't mean it will suit what you wanted to do. So it's really important. I think that is one of the most important thing when picking a mentor. So I'm glad that you mentioned that. Well Alex it's been such a pleasure to have you here. Now I am sure that the listeners want to you know find out more about your very cute you know Zen dogs and workers and all these very cute animals. So where can they you know see more of your work and you know, get in touch with you they want to to get that mentorship going and you know, save this years of gains and frustrations.
Alex Cearns  58:37  Yeah, sure. My so my photography businesses called houndstooth studio and other Facebook pages houndstooth studio. If they search houndstooth studio by Alex Kearns that will pop up. And I also have a Facebook page that's a private group for photographers, small business owners and creatives so it's a little bit different to the standard photography groups. And that's called Inspire I NSP hyg HDR like Inspire is in higher up with Alex Kearns and that you know, they can apply their to be joined the group and I'll let them in and, you know, just shoot all sorts of different stuff in there people share success stories, and it's just kind of a really nice group. You can ask advice, but it's also it's mostly the small business based genuinely with quite a bit of a slant towards photography in the creative arts so they can find me there too. But yeah, house to studio if they want to find me there. I can always send them information or anything else and they can check out a lot of cute animals too, while they're there.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  59:29  antastic Yeah, now, I'll make sure that I'll put it on the on the description so you know, they can just click on it but yeah, thanks a lot for sharing that. Like it's been you know, first of all listeners those you know if you can find that group on the on the description below, jump on there, Alex would drop some of the her greatest advice and wisdom there as well. So, if you get a lot from this, you will get a lot from that. group as well. So, but yeah, like, I'll put it all in there. But I just want to thank you for, you know, no, no only being here but sharing a lot of this wisdom and advices that I think it will give a clarity to a lot of people that want to make this happen. You know, I know, just listening to this, you know, I honestly wish that I had listened to this, you know, two to three years ago down the line, it would have saved me so much time. But yeah, thank you very much for being here. And thank you very much for sparing the time to share your knowledge and I love how you don't hold back on your knowledge as well. You're so generous with them. So we absolutely appreciate it.
Alex Cearns  1:00:50  Thank you for having me. It's been great. It's been good to chat.
 

Ep 28 - How photography took Ryan Dyar life around from a college dropout working a dead-end job to world-class landscape photographer

Hey Wicked Hunters,
You might notice that I was MIA for 2 weeks, I had a stressful move from Canada to Indonesia. 
But I am very excited to introduce to you Ryan Dyar. He’s an extraordinary photographer who has such inspiring stories behind his journey.   He shared the story on how photography gave him a purpose in life and turned his life around - from getting discharged from the military, a college dropout working a dead-end job to a world-renown landscape photographer. 
He shared one of the most inspiring journeys I’ve ever encountered from photographers so far, so make sure you listen till the end!
If you want to learn more about Liz's work, you can find it here:
https://www.ryandyar.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ryandyar/ 
https://www.facebook.com/RyanDyarPhotography/
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Website: podcast.thewickedhunt.com  
Tune In (Alexa) - https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr 
For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography:
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Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/ 
Don't forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation, it would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers. 
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Transcription:
Ryan Dyar  0:00  I'm at a dead end job wasn't making a lot of money, you know, just kind of bored. And I was, I had been discharged from the military, working my crappy job dropped out of college four times. And yeah, I just kind of had no direction in life. And, you know, picked up a camera and it became this reason to travel, it became a reason to go hiking. You know, it just it gave you at least me it gave me a sense of purpose. Like he said that
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  0:43  hey, wicked hunters Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast, where we share our passion and share how photography helped give us hope, purpose, and happiness. And today I have a photographer who's been in the business for such a long time, and he is crushing it. Ryan Dyer. How're you doing? Ryan?
Ryan Dyar  1:06  Doing? Well, man. Thanks. Thanks for having me, bro. Yeah,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  1:09  man, like, you know, I heard you on a on a clubhouse. And I came right at the end of it. And I saw your work. And it's like, Man, I need to talk to this guy. He is just crushing it. And, you know, ever since that, I start watching some of your tutorial. And it's it's amazing, you know, the work that you put in your profits. It's incredible. So do you want to introduce yourself to the listener? And, you know, share a little bit about who is Ryan and what got you all in love with photography?
Ryan Dyar  1:43  Yeah, I'm just some average landscape photographer from Seattle. Just like to point my camera at stuff. Getting into photography got almost 15 years ago now. Yeah, I was just bored. I was kind of, I lacked any sort of direction in my life. I didn't have any hobbies, I was just kind of a board human. And I got to a camera's a gift. And you started taking it with me just on road trips and things like that. taking it with me snowboarding you know, and you just kind of get bit by the bug. You know, some people would pick up a camera, and they never think anything of it. It's just snapshots to share with family and friends. But there's a select few of us who pick up a camera, start taking pictures, and then go, oh, this picture was better than that last picture I took I wonder why I like this a little bit more. Or though this picture sucks. I wonder why. And so you start researching photography and looking into it. And for me, it was back in the day finding Flickr. You know, I got on Flickr, and just started seeing Oh, there's a lot of people who do this type of thing. And they're really good at it. And how can I get good at this? And um, you know, 15 years later, I'm still sitting here going, how can I get good at this? But um, yeah, it just become became an obsession for me, you know, kind of filled this void I had in my life. So yeah, I mean, it sounds really lame and like, nerdy art guy. But, uh, yeah, just something with a clicked in me, you know what I mean?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  3:27  That is awesome. Brian, and, you know, like, this is what the whole podcast is about, you know, like, it's the same for my journey as well like, photography really give me that purpose. So it's amazing, you know, to hear that, and you know, to take it to where you are right now. What was like before photography, like, what do you do I know that you say, you know, you were kind of like, lingering around not trying to think what's next and stuff like that. But yeah, what was life before that?
Ryan Dyar  3:56  I had a dead end job wasn't making a lot of money. You know, just kind of bored and I was I had been discharged from the military working my crappy job dropped out of college four times. And yeah, I just kind of had no direction in life. And you know, I picked up a camera and it became this reason to travel it became a reason to go hiking. You know, it just it gave you at least me it gave me a sense of purpose. Like he said that you know, now I have something to focus my energy on instead of just working my shitty job and going home and drinking beers and watching Netflix you know, there was Netflix wasn't around back then put a watching DVDs back when I used to watch DVDs. Yeah, so it just kind of gave me a passion that I didn't have for anything else.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  4:58  That's That's amazing. You know, thanks for sharing that. Right? You know, it's that's awesome. What so what what can you fall in love with photography? You know what, I know that you got that camera as a gift and you start taking photo and but what was the point in in that journey where you're like, you know what, this is really awesome and I want to you know pursue this, you know further and I want to get better at it. Is there a turning point anywhere in there? Or is it just a constant of hunger that you want to be off now that I know how to do is I want to be better at it.
Ryan Dyar  5:34  It was funding Flickr, like I said it was, you know, it was just me with my camera taking these dumb photos of trees or mountains or whatever. And not knowing anything about photography. Actually, I took photography in high school, a 35 millimetre black and white film class. And I skipped class almost every day, and I almost failed the class, but I cheated and passed. I just I thought photography was the lamest thing. I I took it because I thought it'd be an easy a, I was a really bad student. So yeah, I, I was never into photography. I thought it was LAME. But um, you know, I got that camera as a gift. I started snapping photos, not to try to do photography, but just snapping photos. And then I found Flickr, that online community of photographers and started seeing others people who are really good at this. And that was when it clicked for me is, oh, I could learn how to be good at this. And that would be fun. And so yeah, it was just kind of finding great photographers online. And and it kind of sparked that interest in drive to learn what the hell I'm doing with a camera.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  6:49  That's cool. Do you have like any, anyone that like was, you know, that you remember as an inspired that you look through, you know, their work, and they're like, You know what, I want to be able to take that photo or be like him or whatnot.
Ryan Dyar  7:03  The first guy I remember seeing and really loving his work, who was Michael Anderson. He's Colorado based, but he had taken many trips to the Himalaya. And those photos he had back then it must have been 2007 When I came across them. And I just fell in love with his work. And so that was the guy I looked at, like, Oh, this guy's awesome. And look how he frames his photos and, and his composition is just everything made me fall in love with his work. I still love his work to this day. But um, that was kind of the main guy. But I'd also always loved oil painters, Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt, I grew up watching Bob Ross on on public broadcasting channel, the guy with the afro paints the happy little trees. If when I was younger, I tried to oil paint and I sucked at I've got no no reason to be holding a paintbrush ever. But um, I tried to oil paint when I was younger, and I couldn't. But I still loved landscape oil painters. And so I took a lot of inspiration from you know, the those classic guys like Albert Bierstadt and the way he handled light in an atmosphere and stormy conditions and, and transitions from really dark areas in a scene to really bright areas. That that was instilled as a huge inspiration to me.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  8:43  That's cool. You know, it's really interesting to hear your story and you know, you sharing this, the struggles early on in your life, you know, and it seems like you want it to be artistic and creative, but it felt like you know, it was a struggle that it was a barrier that you felt like you can't get there and I'm sure there are a lot of people in the listeners right now thinking like you know, I love photography but you know, I'm just not cut up or I'm not creative or whatever it may be and you know that that is something that goes through a lot of our head and thinking about that we're not good enough you know, we're not like this guys in Instagram that make this awesome photos. Was there a moment in time where you know, you become comfortable or you become confident that this is something that you can do and what makes you feel like you know, you can excel in photography and what can the listeners who have who are in this situation right now you know back when you were you were there can take out of your journey to help them push across this mindset that stopped them to pursue this Passion?
Ryan Dyar  10:01  Well, I think photography as an art form is easier to get into than most types of art Well, yes, there is some, some people are very naturally talented with, with a camera. But I don't think you need natural talent to become a great photographer. Photography is one of those things I think anybody can learn to be good at it with enough practice and patience and, and investing in knowledge. You know, it's, it's, it's not like becoming some God on a guitar, some Eddie Van Halen type level guitar player. That's the dip, most people will never be able to get there. But with a camera, I mean, it's, there's these set rules that if you follow these rules to composition and colour, and transitions, and light, you can you can be a good photographer, there's people out there who follow those rules, and then somehow take it, you know, 20 steps further and become these legends. But, you know, there's people like me who I'm not naturally talented with a camera or with Photoshop, you know, I've just invested a shit tonne of time, you know, so. And the other cool thing is that, I mean, you never stopped learning in any art form, it doesn't matter what it is. You never reach the pinnacle of what you can do. You know, I'm 15 years into it, I'm still learning new things. Every year that I go, Oh, crap, I never thought about it this way. Or, you know, you try something new and processing you try something new compositionally. You know, if it's an ever evolving journey until you decide you're not interested anymore, or you die, I mean, it's, if you're really in love with photography, then you just stick with it. And you'll always be learning something. And you don't have to be naturally gifted, to become good at what you do with the camera.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  12:16  Yeah, so that's incredible. And you know, like, hopefully, a lot of a lot of you who are listening to this, who are thinking that you're not good enough to take that into heart. And you know, if that's if photography is something you enjoy, you heard it yourself from Brian, who's, you know, I think we can agree that he has made a good success out of his, his photography journey.
Ryan Dyar  12:38  But the other thing is, is, is early on, it's easy to look at other people's work, compare it to your own, and then feel like oh, shit, I'm, I'm not as good as that guy, I'm not as good as that girl. I'm not, I'm not good enough to be able to, to, I'm not good enough to keep doing this, I should just give up. That that's the wrong way of looking at other people's work. In my opinion. It's easy to look at people's work and compare it to your own and feel bummed out. The healthy way to do it is to look at other people's work, and go, This is what I like about their work, and how can I take that and then spin that as my own thing, or take inspiration from the work instead of just comparing going there doing this awesome stuff? I'm not that makes me feel bad. Look at people's work objectively, I like this about their photos, I don't like this about their photos, and let that inspire your own work. You know, it's, I've always said in interviews like this that I treat. There's a lot of talk in the industry, or whatever this little community of landscape photographers is about people copying each other's work and all that. And I've always said that, you know, when, when you first sit down to learn how to play guitar, you don't write music, right? You you sit down with a guitar and you learn how to play Smoke on the Water with doing one of the most popular simple riffs of all time on guitar. You and you just kind of learn other people's music until you become proficient enough at your craft to be able to write music is the same thing with photography, you know, you know, take your camera out, take inspiration from other people's work, combine everything you'd like from all the photos you see. You kind of create your own Frankenstein monster out of it and piece together your own style and your own thing you want to do you know so, you know, I don't like a lot of the crap talk that goes on with younger photographers by more advanced photographers, saying how they're just copying everybody else because that's what artists do in the beginning. They didn't know artists sits down for the first time and create something insane Only good without any inspiration, you know? So
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  15:04  thanks for sharing that, Ryan. You know, I wish this is something that I was, I heard earlier on my photography journey. You know, I think, for a lot of people who kind of just started as well, I'm hearing that, you know, it's not, sometimes when you start it, you just don't know, right? You know, what you know, and what you say there about, you know, taking inspiration from other people work and looking at what, what you like out of it and make it your own. That is such a great, you know, just phrase and it's inspiration, that little sentence itself, because the key is, take the inspiration, you know, like, copying is, you know, it's sure, like you might want to do like, the populars framing, we all do that. But, you know, taking that next step of taking the different aspects of that photography and creating your own, that's where you can differentiate yourself and create something that you actually proud of. That's, yeah, that's, that's an amazing advice that you just shared there. I'm creating Thursday, in terms of, you know, just talk about, you know, creating a photo that is like you need this yourself, you have any photo that, you know, that you are most proud of, in terms of you felt like that was the photo that you know, that you that was yours, or you know, photo that, yes, like, I absolutely take this, when you see this, this photo, do you have any photo in mind
Ryan Dyar  16:33  that you I have, I have maybe five of those in my entire portfolio that I look at, and I go, this is what I want to do, this is what I'm striving to make and I did it. But the first time I'd ever got one of those photos was in 2000 is 2008 or 2009 in Glacier National Park. And it just everything came together perfectly I was I found this scene that that I hadn't seen photographed before this nice waterfall leading down this hill you know, grassy mid ground with big heads a Bear Bear grass growing up, it's like these big stocky flowers. And then off into the background of these peaks and a waterfall coming down and, and I remember finding that and shooting it and getting incredible light. And going this is what I had been striving for. And I nailed it. That and the memories from that day I was sitting there by myself in this waterfall, watching this crazy light go off. And then there were there were mountain goats walking by, like coming within a couple of feet and just sitting there and watching them then looking at the light and taking my photos and it was just this all encompassing moment of this, this is this is why I do this. You know and and to have that experience early on. That was one of the moments in my career. Now that this is a career for me, that that kept me motivated and kept me stoked on photography. And I think those it's interesting, there was probably five photos I have that I think are like really make a statement about what I'm trying to do with the camera. All of those photos also have incredible memories attached to them. And so maybe it's it's weird and lame as it sounds you like trying to be some deep artist or whatever. I think it's interesting that the photos I think are my standout moments with the camera all have really good personal memories attached to them you know and so, so maybe I think they're really good photos and other people might not but I get emotionally attached to certain photographs of mine just because I remember the place I remember the smells I remember what was going on in my life at the time. You know, maybe I was struggling with something or maybe I was really stoked on something. The I get personally attached to those photos and and those five that I have that are my favourites all have really good memories attached to them, you know?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  19:28  Yeah, that's interesting. I feel the same way about my photography most of my photography that are really love or have really amazing like memories attached to it. Just out of curiosity, do you find that? You know like going back to what you say like you really love that. But is that you know, is that what your audience love? Or do you tend to find that your audience like more like your photo that are more relatable? What I mean by that is like a photo that are more in A popular landscape and stuff like that. Yeah.
Ryan Dyar  20:03  I I always think the, the viewers don't connect with an image the same way we connect to their images just because we have those memories of shooting them. And maybe we accomplished something with that photo that we're trying to do that. Nobody else knows we're trying to do this thing with this photo. Yeah, so I, you know, that's why I don't pay too much attention to likes and comments and things like that, because you get too wrapped up in that you start shooting for likes and comments and thinking about, Okay, well, this will do well on Instagram. I try not to think about that ever at all. I just do what I like to do. It's to the point where now, I don't even look at a lot of photography anymore. One because I, I've looked at so much photography and been inspired by so much over the years that I've kind of got my own thing, you know, I have found my own way of doing things in my own style. And while Yeah, it's still good to find influences here and there. I'm also at the point in my career where I want, I don't want a lot of outside influence anymore. You know, I want to influence my own path, you know, I've gotten proficient with my tools. And now I kind of want to, you know, taking it back to the music analogy, I've gotten proficient with with my instrument, and now I can write music. So that's kind of the stage I'm at now is I don't want to have a lot of outside influence. But um, yeah, I don't look at Instagram a bunch. I don't look at photography websites a lot. And part of that is I don't want to shoot in a way that I think is going to be the biggest mass appeal. In I don't want a tonne of outside influence. So So yeah, I I definitely don't think about the viewer. When I'm taking the photo, it the only thing I think about is, how is this composition going to help hold somebody's attention within the frame? That's the only thing I think about.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  22:21  Yeah, that's, that's a really interesting perspective there. I know, I struggle a lot with that, you know, especially on my first second year of my photography journey, you know, looking at those awesome photos, it really you write it like it takes me to this path. I was like, Wow, that's awesome. A mastic you know, photo like this. Yeah. So like finding that balance is all it's really hard. But one thing that I really like about what you say there is, you know, like, you're you're talking about the photo that you one of those favourite photo that you still remember that smell and the feeling unit. And we know that photography is the medium right photo is a speaks 1000 words as well, people say it's a medium to share those stories. And you just mentioned that you're thinking about how your composition can hold and share those stories to your audience and, you know, being able to convey the emotion that you have. So I'm, I'd like to hear a little bit about, you know, what are some of the ways that you find really useful and effective that you do in order to be able to convey that the emotion and the story behind behind the camera, when you actually experience it yourself? at that particular moment.
Ryan Dyar  23:43  I'm a very emotionally stunted human. I don't really I don't look at it so much as I'm trying to convey some emotion or some deep thing. For me, it's just about sharing my interpretation of a scene, you know, what they were what I looked at the scene and go, This is why I like this place. And I'll try to put that into a photo I don't I don't get too deep into the meaning behind the photo thing. A lot of people get really deep into that, and I'm just not emotionally intelligent enough. I don't think to consider those things in my work. Yeah, for me, it's just about trying to find a way to keep somebody's eye in the frame as long as I can. And so that's using things like leading lines or balancing foreground subjects, lines that lead off into a mid ground and then that mid ground somehow ties into the background. So it's just about keeping the eye moving throughout the frame from front to back in the slowest way possible, if that makes sense. You know, I I think the biggest thing people overlook in compositions are mid grounds, mid grounds, to me are so important. So all of my photos that I think will work the best all have really strong mid grounds, it's easy to draw it to, like a mountain scene, and go, Oh, here's, here's some flowers, and there's a mountain in the background, and you snap the photo and walk away and you've got a decent shot. But without any mid ground, tying the foreground and background together, it's just flowers, mountains, done nothing else to look at. It while I used to shoot a lot of scenes like that, and that was like, my bread and butter is I just, I found a cool looking mountain, I found some interesting flowers, and I got really low and wide and, and shot the scene of just flowers and mountains. And it makes a nice pretty photo. But it it's also very straightforward. It's not complex at all. And so, you know, these past several years I've really been focusing on on mid ground and how to tie a foreground into a mid ground and a mid ground into a background. Just to keep the viewer interested in there's more to look at, and especially like bigger prints, you know, mid ground doesn't, you know, you can't convey it very well on Instagram on, you know, on your iPhone. But in bigger prints, those are the things that I'd like to look at. And a big print is all the little interesting details in the mid ground and background. You know, if I'm, if I've got a big print on my wall, the foreground flowers aren't going to be when I walk up to the print and look closely at you know, I'm looking closer. There's a little waterfall back in the background or look at that little lake that's down there in the mid ground. So that's kind of what I'm focusing on lately. And again, it's not me trying to tell some emotional story. It's just me trying to hold the viewers eye as long as I can. You know what I mean?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  26:58  It's that's really interesting. I know that, you know, a lot of landscape photographer are focused on the foreground, right? You know, most people say it's like, oh, yeah, make sure you find a good foreground. But yeah, that's, I think you're the first person that says, you know, find an interesting mid ground. That's really interesting.
Ryan Dyar  27:18  Good foreground. So very important, if you're shooting wide angle stuff. You know, the foreground is how we it's how we enter a scene, you know, it's how you feel like you can walk into it, you know, you know, long lens does it say you take a 300 millimetre shot of a mountain with some interesting clouds and what you don't feel like you're walking into that scene, the same way you do with big, wide angle, like grand landscapes. So foregrounds are super important, for sure. Because that's how we that's how we enter the scene. But um, you want something to look at beyond entering the scene, you want them to go, Okay, where am I going past this foreground? If that makes sense?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  27:59  Yeah, that's, that's really cool. So in terms of the photo that really excites you the most you have a particular scenery or, you know, or genre, I suppose, in landscape photography that you you that excite you the most. I know you do a whole bunch of different stuff from seascape you know, you do a lot of mountains as well as like, you know, storm chasing with which, which is high on my bucket list, but I my plan got got shut down by COVID Last year, unfortunately. But yeah, like, is there any any part of it that really excites you that you know, if there was one that you could choose? Which one would that
Ryan Dyar  28:41  be? Mountains, easy mountains, if if I could only shoot one one subject for the rest of my life, it would be mountains I think that's because that's when I first started shooting. If that was me taking my my camera with me snowboarding, it I grew up in Portland, you know, just 30 minutes away from Mount Hood, pretty much. And so snowboarding was a huge part of my childhood in my teens and early 20s. I'm too old and fragile for it now at 37. But um, yeah, that's, that's where I love to spend my time when I was younger is in the mountains. And so I think that just translated into photography for me. It also mountains are pretty easy to photograph, I find it's a lot easier than easier than photographing a desert or a seascape. So maybe, maybe I choose that because it's easier than everything else. And I'm a lazy photographer. But um, yeah, I just love the mountains. And when I first made a trip to Glacier National Park, in Montana with a camera that was like, huge. I thought, you know, because I've been shooting In Canada, my local mount on Mount Mount Hood Mount St. Helens Mount Adams just here in the Pacific Northwest Mount Rainier. But um going to the Rockies and shooting the Rockies for the first time was life changing for me it Glacier National Park is still a place I go to all the time. Still have fun photographing it. Still have you know, new places out there I want to see in photograph. So yeah, it for me the mountains all day, every day. If I had to choose one, that would be
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  30:35  awesome. Yeah, like, you know, a spent two years here now almost. Yeah, a little over two years in, in the Rockies. And I know exactly what you mean. It's it's funny, because when I was I used to do a portrait here. I would take their photos and and they would send it to their families. And they think it's a it's a green screen. It's
Ryan Dyar  30:56  beautiful. That is the Canadian Rockies up there. Just gorgeous. I was supposed to be back last year again. And, you know, they don't let us Americans over the border anymore. But uh, hopefully later this year, we'll see.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  31:10  Fingers crossed, hopefully. Yeah, hopefully like, Yeah, I can't wait until he can travel again. Yeah, me too. That'd be awesome. So I was reading up on your, on your bio here. And then you know, what, one of the thing that you wrote here was that, you know, photography had helped you guide towards being a better human. So I think that's really cool to hear that. And if you could, like, you know, elaborate and share with us, you know, how does photography have impacted you? I know, we can touch base on you know, how it gives you like, purpose and stuff like that. But is there anything more to it than that? Yeah. So.
Ryan Dyar  31:53  So I was a, I was an opiate addict when I was younger. And, and when I got clean from drugs, that's when I picked up a camera. I had this void in my life that was, you know, drugs Once filled, and then no longer filled. And so it was just kind of trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do in my life, you know, dead end job, you know, didn't have a lot of friends anymore. You know, because all the friends I had were drug users. And so I had to cut them out of my life. And I picked up the camera and started travelling, and then yeah, kind of filled this void and gave me a sense of purpose and something to do while being sober. And then I kind of grew up with a camera in a way, you know, I was, I was a young adult, you know, it was in my 20s. But I started a lot of growing up to do and yes, I mean it through photography. I met my best friend in the world. Myles Morgan. Don't let him know I said that about him. He's, uh, yeah, the the, my best friend of the world who on paper, he and I should not be best friends. But I was this newly sober snowboarder, kind of punk rock dude. And he was 13 years older airline pilot, very successful well to do, man and, and we met through photography, just, you know, we met up in Mount Hood one day, and just hit it off. And, you know, 15 years later, he was the best man in my in my wedding. I was the best man at his wedding. So I met him and he was he was this well to do man who I looked up to, I still look up to a lot, but I'm kind of, okay, yeah, it's time to grow up. You know, I've, I've got to be more of an adult now. And so having his kind of guidance and friendship and mentorship in Life helped a lot and that I met my wife through photography. You know, she's choosing photography. She commented on one of my posts on Facebook who long time ago, and then as creepy man does, I was like, Oh, cute chick comment on my stuff. And I looked at her profile and then responded to her comments just because I'm a piece of shit. But yeah, we just got to talking on Facebook about about oil painters of all things is not about photography, but photography is kind of how we connect it. And yeah, and so now I have this wife and this family and my wife is actually the reason I'm doing this for a living in 2012. I moved up to Seattle with with my then girlfriend, my now wife was having trouble finding work. You know, I always work kind of crappy dead end jobs. And I couldn't find work for a long time. She was supporting the family. After we moved, and we got it, we got into a big argument one night, like one of those really big blowout arguments you have in a relationship. And it was because I was so frustrated about not finding work and not contributing to the family like I should be. And she was a pianist, you try to do photography for a living. And I thought that was the stupidest idea I've ever heard. She said, Well, what else are you gonna do? That's, that's the one thing you have that you're, you're good at. And if you try it, just see what happens it, it can't hurt. And so I've reluctantly decided to try it. And it's almost 10 years later now, and I'm, you know, this is my career, it's I pay my bills, I pay for my house. And, and, yeah, so I don't think photography was what helped me in my life. It was the relationships I made through photography, that, uh, that really changed my Maya, my path in life, you know what I mean?
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  36:06  That is incredible. Right? Wow. You know, thanks for opening up and sharing them. That's, uh, I know that, you know, I've heard stories of people going to finding photography and get to the, you know, their addiction as well. But, you know, hearing it firsthand from somebody who, who make a full time and a successful career out of it, such an inspiration and, yeah, that is incredible. Appreciate. I know, it's not easy to, to open up like that. And, yeah, appreciate. So. I know that there's a lot of people out there who are thinking about, you know, pursuing their career, they might be, you know, on the same situation of, you know, like, I'm not enjoying what I'm doing. And, you know, this, this, this, this nine to five, or whatever they doing is not, it's not doesn't really spark their life, and they wanted something more out of it. What are your thoughts and, you know, advice for people who are thinking about pursuing photography, especially landscape photography, you know, like, it's, it's considered one of the toughest way to earn a living from, especially when you're just starting out. So I'd love to hear your your take on that. And your advice,
Ryan Dyar  37:25  put in the time, pay your dues, get really good at what you do. You know, if, if you're not creating images that are unique, that stand stand out as your own, you're going to have a tough time making a living at it, because the market is so saturated, there's so many photographers right now. And so you have to find a way to make your photographs that are distinctly yours, you have to get good, you have to be, you know, I'm an okay photographer, and I'm able to make a living at it. But, you know, if I was on year 123, of when I was a photographer, I was I was bad, I was a really bad photographer, and I don't think I could have figured out how to make a living at it. But um, it's a grind, man. I mean, you've got to find your niche and what you do that nobody else is really doing. And focus on that and try to become the best artist you can be. And become so, so different, and so distinctly you that people have to take notice in what you're doing. Do you know, it's hard for me. While I've had a good career so far, and I'm paying my bills with what I do, being self employed, it's not easy. The stress of wondering about the future and, you know, paying for your health insurance and you don't have some company matching your retirement fund, you have to invest in retirement yourself, you have to, you know, worry about the future, okay, 15 years from now, am I still gonna be able to do this for a living, you know, it's, it's a very emotionally taxing business to be in being self employed as an artist. Especially, you know, with COVID, like, so many people relied on running tours as their sole source of income, and then COVID happened and those people, Hey, all of a sudden, you're, you're out of income for two years, you know, and that's, that's terrifying. I'm lucky, you know, tours and workshops, were only a small part of my business. So I've been able to maintain throughout this this mess, but um, I've seen a lot of people really struggle the past a year. And so it's If you're thinking about doing it for a living, really consider the emotional toll it takes on you. It's, it's not, it's not easy, you know, having a guaranteed paycheck, you wake up, you, you punch the clock from nine to five, you know, you're getting paid, you know, you've got health benefits, you know, you've got a retirement fund, your boss may be an asshole, but at least you know, from from 5pm to 9am, you don't have to worry about the company, you don't have to worry about, you know, the future of the company, you know, you don't have to be concerned with the company's revenue. So just really think about it before getting into it for a living because it's it's not glitz and glamour. It's not just going out and shooting all the time. And it's a lot of stress and worry and planning and business and marketing and, and all that crap that comes with it. So make it work, make it work, because there's nothing better than getting paid for what you love to do. But there's also nothing worse than being having the entire company on your shoulders. And going salpa works out and 20 years, we'll see you know, so yeah, it just just think about it hard before you give up something really good. You're paying your bills, you've got financial security and a future. It's, it's hard for me to tell anybody to give that up in pursuit of something really hard to accomplish. You know, I'm a full time college dropout who discharged from the military medically, I work dead end jobs, I've got nothing to fall back on if if this doesn't work, I'll probably go work in a warehouse somewhere or, you know, go be a waiter somewhere. Who knows. But so, you know, maybe if, if you're giving up a successful career to try this, maybe you have something to fall back on if it doesn't work. And so maybe there's more security there, but I don't have that sort of security. So it's a little freaky being being a business owner right now.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  42:11  Do you find that, you know, that, that, that, that circumstances of not having anything to fall back on one of the keys, you know, to push yourself and make it work and you know, not give up? Because I know like you know, a lot of times, like like you say, you know, this is not an easy thing to do to make you work. But a lot of times when you have a fallback sometimes you know, we think about, well, you know what, if it doesn't work, I can always have this to fall back on. So you might not put as much effort on it. So just wondering if you think that is part of the key success to your, to your journey.
Ryan Dyar  42:52  Yeah, I think partly did not having a safety net definitely is a motivator. It keeps you striving and hustling. But um, yeah. I also just think there's a certain type of person who, who can pull this off. I'm not the type of person I'm talking about, I don't know how I'm able to make it a career this, I feel incredibly lucky and blessed and, and undeserving. But there's, there's certain type A personalities out there who just, they set their minds to something, and they just go do it at any cost. They'll they'll just jump headfirst and make it happen no matter what. I'm not that type of person. And so yeah, I think not having the safety net is my big motivator. It's not because I'm some type A personality who strives for success. This is just my only option for making a living decent living, you know, I can make a crappy living some doing something else. But how to make a decent living, this is my option. So I've got to just stay hungry. You know,
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  44:00  you are so humble. Brian, you know, it's a lot of how you say that you're not you're not made for this, but you make it work anyway. And, you know, I think that's, that's a true testament to a lot of people that thing that they might not be able to make it work because if they put the hard work that and the dedication that you do, you know, the results is there, like you know, it's it's a proven so it's, it's such an inspiring story to listen to that. It's amazing. Yeah, that's, that's awesome. So going back to what you say there, you know, about, you know, like, with the social media and everything's being out there, it's really hard to stand out. And now there's so many good photographers, it's not it's not that it's, it's not that it's hard to be a good photographer. It's actually it's hard to be to stand out among all these awesome photographers. And you talk about this notion of, you know, like, if that's something that you want it to do, especially to pursue full time, need to be able to find that this differentiation and that uniqueness that, you know, put yourself aside from other photographers. If you were to go back and you know, to your, to the beginning or you know, during the messy middle of your photography journey, what are the different things that you could share with, with our audience on how to actually create and present that unique perspective or Unique Photo or unique story so that they can differentiate themselves and have more chance to success in this saturated niche?
Ryan Dyar  45:40  Yeah, I think it's, it's like we talked about earlier, it's, it's taking bits of inspiration from every photographer, artists you like, for me, a lot of it was taking inspiration from not from landscape photographer, landscape photographers, but from landscape oil painters, just the way they handled light and, and contrast and an atmosphere was different than a lot of people were doing with photography at the time. And so for me, that was kind of how I approached processing my images. And that made me stand out from from other people who were kind of doing similar stuff that I was doing. So yeah, it's just finding the little things you like in other people's work, and combining them into this new thing that hasn't been seen before, you know, maybe this person handles texture in a certain way, that's interesting. But then this person handles highlights in a way that's different than what other people are doing. And so you find all these different things that you like, and you can combine them into one thing that nobody else has combined these these things before. So yeah, it's a lot of just looking at it, a lot of photography and finding what you like and people's work in and figuring out how to incorporate that into what you do. I think that's the only way to stand out is to just kind of cherry pick certain things and combine them into this new thing. If that makes sense.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  47:16  I love how you, you know, take inspiration from oil painters, you know, I think that's something that a lot of us might not consider. You know, I know when I first heard of that, when you just say earlier, it's like, wow, that is that is incredible, because, you know, different, different, I suppose, you know, the thing that's gonna make make make your photo unique is the different perspective and the different thinking. And you got that from from the oil painters as a as an inspiration. So that's, that's really cool.
Ryan Dyar  47:44  Yeah, I urge anybody to go check out our beer starts work. It's, it's truly incredible work that I think you can take a lot of inspiration from and put into your photography. So I urge people to check out his stuff.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  48:04  Awesome, awesome. Yeah, I could definitely get to check him out right afterwards as well. So that's, that's awesome. Cool. Right. And it's been awesome conversation. I'd love to hear your stories, your struggle and how you get here. And it is such a massive inspiration to see the amount of work that you put in your craft and the journey. It's It's just incredible story to hear. You know, that whole progress that you do one question, one last question that I want to ask you if there was one thing that you could, you know, give as an advice that you feel like the most important thing that they need to think about to other photographers, whether they just started or you know, they have been in it for a while. What would that one advice be?
Ryan Dyar  48:55  Hmm. We already talked about mid grounds, so I won't say that.
Here's one don't be afraid to shoot handheld. You tripods are good and all that you know, it's nice to use a tripod but I see so many people using tripod and I did it for the longest time it wasn't for it until like the past three or four years that I've realised why am I using a tripod it could shoot this handheld shooting handheld more often it's more freeing it's easier to find compositions when you're just walking around handheld with your camera you know if you can shoot at a shutter speed fast enough to to handhold didn't do it. There's no reason to use a tripod if you don't need to. If you're not blending exposures or focus stacking shoot handheld It is sometimes I've been focused on handheld you know the older I get the shaky or my hands are so I don't do it quite as well as I used to but um yeah, tripods can feel limiting sometimes. So yeah, shoot handheld more often. It's it's fun Wow.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  50:01  That's awesome. That's a great advice, something that I haven't heard before. So that's, that's great. Well, Brian, that's, it's been a pleasure. It's been such an amazing inspiration, hearing your stories. For the listeners who want to learn more and see how they can, you know, not only get in touch, maybe work with you, what is the best way for them to get in touch with you?
Ryan Dyar  50:24  Well, first off, thanks for having me on. And let me tell my my dumb little story of how I've gotten where I've gotten. Appreciate it. Yep. Ryan dyer.com. Ryan Dyer, on Instagram, Facebook, everywhere. Just Brian dire dire with an A
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  50:44  antastic Yeah, I'll make sure I'll put that on that on, on the description as well. So you can get there, you know, you can check on the description. But look, first of all, I just want to thank thank you for being here. sparing your time. But second of all, I want to thank you for should say most of all, for opening up and sharing your struggle that is such an inspiring stories. You know, I see a lot of, I've met a lot of successful photographers out there, but you're the first person to doubt her to such a big struggle and turn your life around to make this such a try being successful. And, you know, when I say successful, not only monetary, but you know, you're doing something that you fulfilled in your life. I think that's a much bigger success than any money can buy. So kudos to you, man. You're such an inspiration. I'm listening to this just getting goosebumps right now.
Ryan Dyar  51:42  Thanks for letting me talk about it. I'm sure there's a lot more people with a very similar story to mine in a lot, even more people who weren't able to turn their life around, so I'm happy to talk about it. You know, I think it's something we should talk about more. Just the struggles people go through, even if they seemingly have some cool career, you know, it's always a struggle. So happy to happy to open up about it.
Stanley Aryanto - The Wicked Hunt  52:10  Yeah, that's awesome. And, you know, I think with this new era of things that looks happening in the instant, it's really important that people realise the amount of work you have put to make this work. So that's something absolutely. All right. Well, I'm weekenders. Hopefully you enjoy that conversation that is so much inspiration, as well as wisdom within that with what Ryan had shared. So make sure you check out his work his works is absolutely amazing. He also offer awesome tutorials, which you can check in his in his social media as well as his website. So highly recommend you to check it out. And you will, I can promise you, you will get blown away. It's just but I'm glad that you tune in. And if you haven't already, so click the subscribe button. So that you know next time, you know, I interview other inspiring photographers, and I'll see you next week. Until next time. All right, thanks. Thanks a lot, Ryan. I appreciate your time. Man. That was great.
Ryan Dyar  53:20  Thanks for having me, man. I really appreciate being here.