…

I’m wondering…Are you starting to see the daily life you live more in terms of story? 

I hope so–as story is what connects us more deeply to ourselves–and to others (especially your clients)! 

I was speaking with my friend Shannon this weekend who shared a story about her not being able to run the NYC marathon after 2 years of training–and finally qualifying. A groin injury left her barely able to walk, let alone run 26 miles! 

click here to answer the call to adventure.

Quite literally, she was sharing about her tests, allies, and enemies in her own journey as she has worked to heal her groin, so that maybe she can qualify and run the marathon in the future. 

In this phase of The Hero’s Journey, Shannon must build out her plan to run the NYC marathon on everything that came before the injury–but with the help of a mentor. She has been challenged with her physical recovery (and mindset!). If Shannon wants to run the marathon in the future, she must put her new abilities and knowledge to the test. 

What’s this look like, specifically? 

The main conflict (or test) is her groin injury—it’s been hanging on and has never fully healed the past couple of years. So, Shannon knew she needed help. She hired a PhD in Sports Injury (her ally) as her personal trainer two years ago. Shannon learned that the groin injury actually happened because her hips were TOO flexible –and she was constantly overextending the ligaments. 

As Shannon has learned new ways of movement to prevent further injury (strengthening the back and abs), she has grown to appreciate the new knowledge and new way of movement. While her body is definitely stronger, Shannon is questioning whether or not she has what it takes to train for the marathon again (her mindset is the enemy here). 

Will she overcome the physical and mental tests and setbacks ahead of her to qualify and run the NYC marathon in the future? We do not know yet…

But I do know this…

If you have ever wanted something in your life –and worked hard to achieve it–only to have an obstacle get in the way–then you can RELATE to Shannon’s story (even if you don’t care to run a marathon!).

Story connects us deeply to one another–and deeply to our future clients. 

Your clients are on a journey of their own, and they are just waiting for you to be their mentor and guide. 

Are you up for the challenge? 

Hit reply or book a call through the link below, and let me know how you help your clients transform their “everyday” life. 

click here to answer the call to adventure.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you! 

with care,

Eric LaCour | FILMMAKER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Are you refusing the Call to Adventure?

We are diving into The Hero’s Journey in this series–and I shared with you last week a personal story about my new assistant Kenzie. 

As a recap, it was a normal day in the yoga studio, when Kenzie and I started talking–and we both recognized The Call to Adventure. Kenzie was looking for a mentor in filmmaking, and I knew I needed help getting out of the day to day tasks required to run this business, so I could  help more clients tell stories that matter to their customers. 

We both said YES to this adventure. But did it really happen “that” fast? There was a moment, at least in my own mind, where I considered if I would Refuse the Call. 

Are you Refusing the Call to Adventure? 

We will be looking more closely at this step in The Hero’s Journey today. 

Remember, every single customer buys relatability and story– and The Hero’s Journey helps you reach the heart and soul of what your customers think and feel when making a decision to work with you. 

What might have happened if I did not accept the quest to team up with Kenzie? Many factors often keep us from Refusing the Call of Adventure. Let me help you understand this step in The Hero’s Journey by sharing some personal thoughts. 

• Did I have what it takes to mentor Kenzie?  

• How much time would getting a successful partnership set up take initially, when I was already strapped for time? 

• What if bringing Kenzie into the business actually worked, but then I had to face new uncertainties - like how to lead a team or how to juggle a bigger client case load? 

I was at a pivotal moment in my own journey. I knew that if I didn’t get the right help for this business, I couldn’t serve more clients. I also knew that mentoring was important to me and my values–but did I have what it takes to be a great mentor?

Can you relate to a time when you were at a pivotal moment in your own business or life - - and had fears and uncertainties ping-ponging around in your mind? 

The Hero almost always refuses the call of adventure, eventually reaching the point where they must take action. Instead they let fear, resistance, and avoidance “win”--and we are creatures of comfort. Growth is often uncomfortable. 

Maybe you have also felt this way about partnering with me to tell your brand story with video? Have you had any of these thoughts? 

• Partnering with Eric is too risky of an investment.

• I don’t have a brand story. 

• How will I look in a brand video? What would I even say? 

• What will others think when they watch my story? Will they believe me? 

• Will Eric tell my story in a way that is authentic to me–and relates to my future clients? 

If you are in this place –you are normal! You are the Hero, considering The Call to Adventure to work with me, your guide.

Will you answer the call–so you can reach more clients? Or will you Refuse the Call–because of fear, resistance or avoidance?

Many of us stay stuck in a painful cycle that keeps looping us time and time again into more pain everytime we pass through the cycle. In other words, we Refuse The Call To Adventure, and stay right where we are–until we SAY YES to Answering The Call. 

Is it time to say YES to an innovative approach to reach more of your clients with a documentary-style brand story that reaches your ideal clients/customers? 

with care,

Eric LaCour | FILMMAKER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Your Call to Adventure

When you understand strong story structure, through the lens of your everyday life, you will also understand The Hero’s Journey on a much deeper level. 

And, your customers buy The Hero’s Journey–whether you realize this consciously or not. Today we are diving into The Ordinary World and The Call To Adventure. Over the next several weeks, we will be referring to this graphic in this series.

So, let’s start at the beginning: How do you reach your customers where they are, in their ordinary world, and call them to the adventure of working with you? 

When they answer that call, you become their guide:

• To a more promising and abundant future that involves more time, money, and/or freedom. 

• That helps them through their trials and tribulations, so they come back with more powerful tools, including a deeper or new understanding that allows them to implement serious change in their own lives.

• Who gives the “elixir of life”, so the hero (your customer) can now implement change in his/her daily life and use the lessons they gained on their adventure.

Do you realize just how powerful the work you do is for your clients? 

If so, are you using story structure to convey this power and call your future clients to the adventure of working with you? 

I’d like to share a story today to illustrate steps #1 and #2 in the above graphic. 

It was a normal day at the yoga studio. I was there teaching yoga and breathwork, when I met a woman named Kenzie. She shared with me a few of the things she was currently going through in her personal life. As we began deeping our conversation, I found out Kenzie has a film background–and she was working at the yoga studio while awaiting her next adventure in film. 

Little did Kenzie know, I had been thinking about my own Call to Adventure: How do I help more clients become heroes of their own journey with my brand stories and films? In the past month, I I realized something in my schedule HAD to change–I was too caught up in the day to day processes and details of my business to make the impact I’m here to make. 

What I wanted most was to free up some time from “being in the weeds”, so I could do the things that moved this business forward and helped more clients. 

As Kenzie and I continued chatting, she shared with me that she wanted to train with a professional filmmaker to get some practical experience. Wouldn’t you know–SHE was being called to an adventure–and so was I, as a visionary leader–and her soon to be mentor. 

We decided to go on our adventure together! Kenzie is now working alongside me, helping me with some of the day to day stuff that was bogging me down–and in return, I am mentoring Kenzie enabling me to work on a deeper level with my clients. 

The initial phase in The Hero’s Journey is always about the hero receiving a call to adventure or a reason to go on a journey. Kenzie and I answered that call together. 

In next week’s newsletter, we will explore what happens when we refuse the call to adventure. I can’t wait to continue this journey with you. 

Ready to STAND OUT and help your clients answer the call with you as their guide?

If so, let’s find a time to gather for a Story Discovery Call. 

with care,

Eric LaCour | FILMMAKER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Blog Takeover— M. Shannon Hernandez

We are doing something a little different here – a blog takeover!

I want to introduce you to my friend, client, and colleague, M. Shannon Hernandez. Shannon is a globally recognized messaging + marketing strategist and CEO of Joyful Business Revolution™. 

I recently traveled to New Jersey to capture the mission and deeper purpose behind the work that Shannon does with her clients. She is here today to share her story. 

Enjoy! 

Eric LaCour | FILMMAKER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

_________________________________________________________________________

Hello beautiful souls! 

Back in May, I hired Eric to write, film and produce my brand documentary. We released this documentary to the public just a few weeks ago–and the results have been amazing (more on that in a minute.)

We work with coaches, consultants, experts, and thought leaders to help them develop messaging and organic marketing that grows their business. As a messaging and marketing strategist, my communication is very clear –this is what I do for a living afterall. 

However, I want to share 3 Enlightening Moments of Brand Clarity that came because of my work with Eric on our documentary.

1. Before we ever met in person to film the documentary, Eric spent a lot of time with me asking deep questions about my vision, my mission, and why we do what we do. Throughout our time together in conversation, he was able to pull out the most compelling pieces of my story (pieces I often “gloss over” because they are so common to me), and arrange them into a fascinating story that captivated my audience immediately upon releasing the 10 minute documentary.

2. I learned that I use A LOT of jargon specific to my industry and niche. I am sure this is true for you, too. However, Eric helped me realize that the finished brand documentary needed to break down the barriers of language/concepts even more, so we could reach people on an emotional level. Eric was a genius at spotting where the jargon became a barrier–and how to say what I wanted in a different, more accessible way. 

3. Eric helped me realize that we can use my stories to position my current and future clients as the hero of their own story. This was HUGE–and he created a masterpiece that captures the hearts and minds of ALL WHO WATCH. Eric knew how to take my challenges and setbacks and turn them into triumphs–while showing my ideal clients they can do the same–especially when they choose to work with my company for messaging + organic marketing support. 

What is the result of our Joyful Business Revolution™ documentary release? 

We released this documentary just 4 weeks ago–and the response has been phenomenal: 

1. We’ve seen lots of new engagement with the brand–in terms of comments, likes, shares, and clients tagging friends with things like “Name, this is my marketing consultant! Now you know why I work with the best.”

2. Sales calls have been booked–in fact our calendar is FULL and I’m contemplating hiring an additional salesperson soon.

3. We’ve had an increase in requests for speaking engagements, collaborations, and referral partnerships. 

4. We have new and fresh energy around the brand–and people are visiting the website to watch the documentary, and they are signing up for our marketing workshops at a record rate. 

Now, I’m sure you are wondering where you can see this masterpiece Eric created for my business? Without further ado, you can watch it here.

If you are looking for a way to STAND OUT and make your current clients and future clients THE HERO IN THEIR OWN JOURNEY, I highly suggest you get on Eric’s calendar to schedule a Story Discovery Call. You will not regret it! 

(You can schedule the call here.)

xo,

Shannon–The Queen of Organic Marketing 

The POWER of your Brand Story

Tap into the POWER of your Brand Story–and why that is crucial for the success of your business.  

Did you know that your brand story is your “secret weapon" when it comes to marketing? 

Every brand has a unique story to tell, and by sharing your story, you create a powerful emotional connection with your customers. 

Why does this matter? Because, as humans, we buy with our emotions. 

When people see that there is a living, breathing human (just like them) behind your brand, and that you have a mission bigger than making a profit, expect this to happen:

• You will connect with the hearts and minds of your tribe. 

• You will earn the trust of strangers–and turn them into life-long loyal customers. 

• You will share your mission in a way that captivates those who align with your values. 

Every brand has a unique story to tell–and one of the biggest problems is that many brands don’t have clarity in their message. 

When this happens, your story is either: 

• Nonexistent, 

• Not fully developed, so your tribe doesn’t know what you stand for, or

• Not compelling, so your audience has no reason to remember who you are. 

At LaCour Studio, our mission is to help you humanize your business with a brand story that makes you UNFORGETTABLE. 

Let’s gather for a 15 minute Story Discovery Call. 

In this call, we will brainstorm ideas for your unique brand story and how you can use them to connect more deeply with your audience. 

We can’t wait to connect with you! 

Capturing Enchante with One Breath

“Freediving allows you and requires you to be more in tune with your body and the physiological aspects of yourself.” -Enchante Gallardo

I recently went on a trip to teach a breathwork workshop in Clearwater Florida. With a few days between workshops I drove down to the Florida Keys for some freediving. Enchante and I met on my flight into Baja earlier this year. I noticed her eating in the Dallas airport. This was when mask mandates were in full effect, so it was the only time I was able to see her face.

She happened to sit near me on the plane but I didn't speak to her until I was walking behind her on the way out of the plane after landing in Los Cabos. I noticed a hat hanging from her backpack and it said “formula freediving.” I asked her about it and she said it was her friend's shop. I asked her if she was into freediving or was just wearing the hat to look cool. Much to my surprise she was in fact a freediver and a good one at that. She actually holds a U.S. National Record, is a freediving instructor and divemaster. I expressed my love for the water and showed her my card for freediver level one certification with Fii, Freediving Instructors International. She happens to be an instructor for the same organization. 

My plan was to meet up with her on the few days I would have off during the 21 day workshop. I ended up growing very close to the people involved in the retreat, something that happens when doing the advanced breathwork we were practicing. I ended up spending that free time with them. 

Enchante and I kept in touch since the trip and I saw that she was going to be in Florida around the same time as I was scheduled for a breathwork workshop not far away. With a few days between events, I drove down to meet her, found a cheap place to stay and met her the next morning for a day of adventure in breath holding. 

She had a friend who had a boat but her friend with the boat got sick and we were unable to take advantage, so we joined one of the tourist boats for some reef diving. 

Before this, I didn't realize She was into photography, she told me she had a camera and much to my delight she had a quality Sony mirrorless camera with a good housing for underwater photography. What started out as an adventure in breath holding became an adventure in breath holding and photography. We were excited to explore the reefs of the Keys.

We had to wear these safety vests and were not happy about the aesthetics of the photos with these little safety vests on. We started off with diving down about 20 feet holding our breath and swimming along the bottom with the many colorful fish and coral. 

To be sure we were to get some decent photos without the vests on, I spotted a nice area with pure white sand and I suggested we shoot each other swimming along the bottom without any distracting backgrounds.We swam and dove for 2 hours straight just absorbing the peaceful nature of the underwater world. 

There is something relaxing and magical about the water. I never could really understand it. The Mammalian Dive Reflex can help understand this somewhat. It (MDR) is one of our abilities we share with other aquatic mammals. Actually, just throwing water on your face can lower your heart rate. This is a small piece of it. I do this first thing in the morning, and if you are aware of it, you can feel the changes throughout the body.

When your face makes contact with the water it triggers a reduction in heart rate. Bradycardia is the name used to describe a heart rate lower than 60 bpm. This can drop your heart rate by 10-25% similar to slow breathing. It is an evolutionary adaptation allowing us to stay underwater for an extended period of time.

Lowering of the heart rate reduces the amount of oxygen entering your bloodstream allowing your body to start conserving oxygen, which makes sense. The human body is quite amazing and tapping into these innate abilities have become an obsession of mine. Like certain types of breathwork practices we can learn to train the body to adjust to different environments and situations. 

MDR causes the body to divert blood flow from your extremities to your lungs and other vital organs. It Helps preserve your body's temperature in cold water and protects your body from the pressure of the deep waters. This exists in all kinds of aquatic animals. 

Contact with water on your face activates receptors in your nose and sinus cavity triggering a physiological override of your trigeminal nerve, our largest cranial nerve. 

Freediving is incredibly challenging. It is very much a mental game to trust your body can handle the extended time underwater. My yoga and breathwork practices have been great for preparing me to relax underwater but I was not keeping up with a professional, that's for sure. It was incredibly inspiring to see her swimming so gracefully 25 feet from the surface. 

I have always had this love for the water but where I'm from it's all muddy water. I spent many years looking at adventure magazines of people exploring these underwater reefs and now I was finally able to experience it for myself. The goal is to live somewhere where I can freedive more often. Stay tuned.

After diving most of the day we went to a coffee shop to transfer files, so I could have the photos for editing and hopefully to combine it with the videos I shot on my GoPro. With client work it has been hard to make a video out of it, hopefully we will see it come to fruition in the future. 

After diving all day I was interested in making some breathwork inspired content. Ya know, something for a YouTube video that I could use to attract people interested in getting into my breathwork courses (coming soon). After talking to Enchante about it she was not really in the mood. She wanted to take photos. It's funny, breathwork or photography? Which one of my favorite things would I like to do? We did both.

I may have gotten more breath training trying to take underwater photos than doing some static holds or breath training. When you are trying to get a good shot it's a little more motivational to stay under a few seconds longer.

We started out with the subject facing the light, which in this case it’s the ultimate light source, the sun itself. It is interesting getting the rippled light that we get from the un-obstructed sun. Occasionally the clouds would cover and we would get a much softer light. After experimenting with that for a while I suggested shooting into the light giving us some much more mystical looking images. Check out more images in my image galleries.

I hope for more freediving adventures with Enchante in the future.

Photographing DAN

Breathwork has significantly changed my life and has inspired me to help others through the many different techniques out there. Motivated to expand my knowledge of these techniques I participated in a “Breath Mastery” retreat in Baja, Mexico, in February of 2021, with Dan Brule.

Dan is a pioneer in the breath work world and has been sharing his amazing teachings for over 45 years.

I was very fortunate to have him agree to do an interview with me. 

By the end of the three week retreat I had done portrait sessions with a number of the other students. After showing the images to Anastasia, Dan’s partner, they were interested in doing a series of portraits with me

A portrait story is similar to what you would see in major magazines of celebrities. It is similar to a fashion story but involves a series of portraits. Photographing people has always been one of my favorite things to do. I love finding and creating moments that say more about the person. Studio and environmental portraiture have been my specialty.

When photographing people with a simple background, it's all about them and a great expression of emotion, an expression that says more about them. It has to be something that makes a viewer stop. I like to say “a moment that expresses and/or shows their personality in one moment.” Visual poetry.

I had left NYC about a year before it hit the states. I was happy to. One reason I moved back south from New York City was that I didn't really feel like working in “the industry” was all that great. I felt like the main character from the recent Pixar film SOUL… after he made it to what he thought was his purpose, he didn't feel any different. 

I had a billboard (when living in Los Angeles), was on a reality show (also in Los Angeles), photographed and worked with some of the top brands and magazines  but it never made me feel complete. I guess it only made me question more about life. I started to question what I really wanted.

I knew one thing, I wanted to continue learning and developing myself as an effective human being in the world. I had developed all these skills from photographing for major brands, but what was next? 

I actually had the idea for a long time that I wanted to photograph and learn from some of the most life changing people in the world. People who are doing things of significance in helping people become better in whatever way needed, like expanding consciousness and becoming a high performance individual. Spiritual Teachers are good at this. 

I thought why not take this style of editorial fashion stories used by major brands and apply it to these spiritual teachers. 

Now I find myself in Baja Mexico training under one of the top breath teachers in the world. 

This was a camping trip so I had no light equipment. I had to go with all natural light, which is fine, if you have an eye for it and understand the nature of light.

I’ve learned to love shooting with natural light. When we have strobes and other lighting equipment we can add a lot to the situation. We can add light to dark areas or use the sunlight combined with the strobe as a fill light. We can get some amazing stuff with strobes. It's just a bit of a different mental process. I am all about taking things as they come. Actually, the simplicity of it is extremely freeing. More gadgets is just more distractions, more pieces of equipment which means more organizing. Now I'm trying to photograph and film the process so I’m dealing with not only framing the subject but also me and the subject.

Luckily for the black and white photos of Dan with the white background I had found a white wall in the sanctuary which had some large windows at a decent angle to it. I angled Dan to where the light was just a little directional, so there is a little shade on the left (camera left) side of his face.

,

I like to call this “Avedon Style,” and it is one of my favorite ways to shoot. This style was made famous by one of the greatest portrait and fashion photographers of all time, Richard Avedon. It's very classic and minimalist in equipment and visually, with no distracting background to worry about. Just you (the photographer) your camera, the subject, and his personality, oh and the quality of light. 

At this point we had been talking for at least 45 minutes, so I quickly ran through a few classic simple things that are routine for me. Turn right turn left. Tell them to give me a “fake smile,” which turns out to be really funny because the subject's reaction is usually a real smile.. It’s tricks like that that separate the good photographers from the great. The more prestigious the subject the more restricted time you have, which really kills many of the chances for authentic laughing and fun photos, they end up being faked, but if it works it works. The good thing about photography is there is no sound, you can get only one great shot and no one needs to see the rest or hear your bad jokes.

One of the breaths I saw Dan do the most here was a sigh of relief. It is an exaggeration of what we want to do on a subtle level, on the cellular level. We don't really want to see people doing sighs of relief all the time. But it is really good for a certain level of relaxation. The relaxation we want to feel deep down. All the tensions and stresses in the body are the traumas, anxieties, repressed emotions and sometimes the resistance to the way things are.

If you have been following me for a while you may know that I photographed people in this white background style for years in NYC. I studied all types of people and just honed in my skills of working with people and using natural light to the best of my ability. I'm usually looking for a large source of light for a nice soft shadow. Open shade works really well.

When it comes to keeping a cohesive style, I was very fortunate to have those large windows at the angle they were and a white wall.

The first shot I did when we stepped out of the sanctuary was him standing in front of it with the sun directly shining down on him. I moved quickly and got him to stand there in a state of accomplishment and gratitude. I actually told him to just enjoy feeling the sun on his face. I think it worked out well. 

During the breath retreat I had seen him working in different gardens from time to time. I wanted to just grab shots of him then but I didn’t. I didn't want to overwhelm him with the camera. I think we all know and understand how uncomfortable it can be to always have a camera pointed at us. Something it helps to be very aware of as a photographer. If you are a developing photographer and you have not realized it, you will find out soon enough.

I still wanted to get a good shot of him working in one of the gardens and we ended up walking by this perfectly shaded spot. There was a thin sheet hanging over these plants diffusing the light, and it worked great for this shot. I like to use objects in the foreground to give the photo some fullness. It just shows more going on, there is more depth to the image. I just asked him to kneel down and work  and as he was working I noticed the light was brighter coming from the camera left.

So I asked him to look over his shoulder. This is something I use a lot in photography, especially when adjusting to the situation. We have to remember that the viewer’s eyes will always be drawn to the sharpest and the brightest points. To make more interesting images we have to give the viewer more to look at. A visual landscape. Some blurry accents here and there caressing your eye as it focuses on the sharper aspects. 

He and Anastasia invited me to their home where Dan wanted to play the guitar. I'm a big music fan as well and used to play the guitar before deciding I had too many different hobbies. I have developed a deep appreciation for it, and consider getting back into it all the time. It is quite the art.

He happened to start playing a song about being in the movies which was very fitting. “Act Naturally” originally by Buck Owens, covered by the Beatles and Ringo Star, and now Dan Brule!!!

 He may not be extremely well known in the Hollywood circles but to me he is a celebrity. The modern breathwork teachers are my heroes and, to me, Dan is the biggest star to me, and his version of “Act Naturally” is better than the Beatles. I think. Check out the video of the portrait session below and make sure to like, subscribe, comment, and share it. 

This shot was done with natural window light. Window light truly is some of the best light. It is usually soft, and when indoors it provides a similar look to a softbox. We also had a ring light off to the left (camera left) filling in the shadows. I adjusted it on a lower setting so it would not overpower the shadows.

This whole shoot was a dream of mine and a stress I was holding the whole time during the retreat. The whole time I had been wondering if I would be able to interview Dan and photograph him… and it worked out. I did a private breathwork session with him, interviewed and photographed him all in one day. It’s funny how these things work out sometimes.

New Orleans Street Portraits

I had a great idea. I had been approaching people for years on the streets of NYC but never captured it on video. I only made still images in the style of Richard Avedon’s “In the American West” series. After working in the Fashion and Advertising industry, which was and is over saturated with perfection and fake imagery, I had to put more of the truth out there, more on that in future blog posts. 

I had recently gotten into photography vlogs on YouTube, My head was filled with ideas and I knew I had a lot to offer with my ability and courage to talk to anyone. Combining that with a video camera could be amazing content. However, I found myself justifying not going out to the streets of New Orleans to photograph strangers, it’s easy to talk yourself out of talking to random strangers on the street. Somehow I would convince myself there were other things I could and needed to take care of, there always is. 

As I lay in my bed in the early morning, I remembered something my friend in one of my jiu jitsu classes told me. He was talking about how the way he felt had nothing to do with his performance in the training session. Sometimes he would feel great and would perform horribly. Other times he would not feel like not going at all but then after making himself show up he would find himself dominating every training partner. How we feel before our performance has nothing to do with the actual quality of the performance itself. I didn’t feel like going out on the street asking random people for photos but I knew I just had to take the first steps…

Get dressed, brush your teeth, Put camera(s) in a camera bag, once I get to that point I am thinking well I made it this far, I might as well get in the car and put gas in it. Next thing I know I’m on my way to New Orleans. 

I didn’t feel like going but in the end I was happy I forced myself to get out there.

Up until May of 2019, I wanted to be a pure photographer. A concept that existed in my head for way too long. I was a photo snob. What I mean by that is I never wanted to be in front and never wanted to touch a video camera. Being in front of the camera, I now realize, is extremely useful if you expect to photograph and direct people. I never wanted to adapt video into my work. I never wanted to write, mostly because I was discouraged from English in school. But look, here I am typing away hoping you are reading my words right now. I started realizing I had a lot more to say that could not be expressed in a flat silent three dimensional image.

Watching all these photographer vlogs, I realized they were mostly tech related. It seems as if the equipment was more important than what is created with it. It is the opposite for me. I want to create videos that explore the development of the artist though people. 

My favorite saying has always been 

“It’s not the tool, It’s how you use it.”

I felt like most of the photo-vloggers were setting a low standard. They had fun videos to watch but the image quality was setting a bad example. I also felt like I had a lot to offer. I want to offer a sense of adventure and curiosity of the world with a small bit of technical camera knowledge. 

I am more interested in the development of the artist outside of the camera, yet, I obviously do love the cameras. In fact, before I bought the fujifilm x100f towards the end of 2018 I had been going through some life changing circumstances. I had lost my love of photography for a few years even though I didn’t notice it. I was coming to the realization that it wasn’t as easy as I was led to believe by my education and peers, or was I just entitled? It’s hard to admit, but I was. I was an Entitled little s#!t. I never wanted to have to market myself. I just wanted to live by the saying “create great work and the money will follow..” that's not the exact quote but I assume you get the idea. I had been on and off with part time jobs in pursuit of becoming a photographer for most of my life.

Before the X100F, being a canon fanboy, I tried some of their smaller cameras. I wanted something small, light, and simple that shoots RAW so I tried a lot of the G series by Canon but the shutter lag made me miss way too many shots and was mostly just frustrating. 

The X100F had next level focus and quick shutter release. I felt like I was shooting with a real camera, a film camera. I aspire to shoot more with film cameras but I’m addicted to the instant images we are all accustomed to these days. 

The X100F made me fall back in love with photography. 

And as I write this I am falling in love with writing. How does one know when to stop taking on hobbies? Maybe I’ll blog about it...

 When I got the X100F I was still working for a clothing company in Baton Rouge, LA and I could not wait to get into the vlogging aspect of my photography life. With my dedication to jiu jitsu and a full time job I could not find the time to get enough shooting and editing done. I tried to get my employer to work with me on this but it was not working out even after I proved to them that I could get all my work done in less time on my own schedule. They could not loosen their grip. Some people just love to control others, it was more apparent than ever with that dude. 

After my experience of working with an unreasonable and controlling employer I was determined to be able to work for myself and willing to make the sacrifices necessary to do so. I decided to explore one of the newest most powerful mediums yet. Vlogging. 

I decided to purchase the X-T3, another Fujifilm camera that looks and feels like a film camera. Growing up shooting film, this design just did it for me. This camera had exceptional video capabilities like face finding auto focus, a feature that is extremely useful, if not necessary, when vlogging.

Being a fan of travel vlogs and photography, my idea was to create a YouTube channel that explores traveling but also street and portrait photography. It’s still evolving. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoGU_oIBHCQ2KxmXSdVqPZw?view_as=subscriber

Editorial Portraiture, street photography, and photojournalism are my favorite genres of photography. I want to use my images to tell a story but also learn about and from my subjects, which is why I recently started interviewing people as well. We may see more interviews in the future.

I love the idea of the “fly on the wall.” not interacting with the scene or subjects and just documenting what is happening without interfering with whatever is going on. This is not that. Just to be honest and upfront with people I started doing Street Portraiture. I occasionally catch shots of them before I interact with them and without them noticing.