First Newsletter! Nostalgia, and Waterfalls
Some Guy Who Thinks He's Hot Shit, Bridal Veil Falls, Oregon, 2019
In general I hope for this newsletter to be a place to share my work in a place free of likes, comments, and shares. Free of any stench of monetization or brand building. I miss the old days of Flickr where I would fill up a roll of film, get it processed and scanned, then dump all of the photos into void of the internet. Sure, I could see how many people viewed each photo, but I knew that that number was just my small circle of friends. I wasn't chasing engagement. The most engagement I ever received on Flickr was for a blurry photo I took of my roommate Mary showing off her skinned knee. It's a terrible photo taken with a FujiFilm FinePix F470. It got 506 views. I think that the reason so many people saw it was because I captioned it "Bike-Related Injury." You can't even see the injury! Sorry to those 506 people for the disappointing picture.
Mary, 2006, Portland, Oregon
Here's the very next photo in my Flickr feed, viewed barely 100 times.
A lot has changed! That camera was a total lemon.
I miss the innocent days of sharing photos with my little bubble of friends, and of making things for the sake of making them and sharing them. I miss zines! I want this newsletter to be like a photo zine I can make every week to share with people. Little mini-projects with low stakes. I have taken a HUGE amount of inspiration from a few other creative newsletters. Noah Kalina makes a terrific newsletter that can be found here. He shares his interests and side projects in a light and refreshing way. Julien Coyne is a talented artist living in Maine who has been my go-to wedding second shooter and island explorer since last year. They joined me on one of the funnest weddings of all time hosted by Thorgy from RuPaul's Drag Race. Julien's newsletter can be found here. Dawn Riddle really hits my Flickr nostalgia sweet spot with her newsletter On a Roll, where each post is from a different roll of film. These little newsletters are always a welcoming little dispatch from an interesting person doing interesting things. I get totally stoked every time I receive one. I hope that my letter can be like that.
A Guy Who Got Annihilated By This Water Fall, Bridal Veil, Oregon, 2018
I travel all over New England for photo assignments and I always attempt to make the trips a little more meaningful by giving myself side quests. I'll research historical landmarks, where to find vegan food, where the used book store is, where the best place to watch the sunset is, etc. I hope to use this space to share my side quests, and also share some of the work I make, the cool people I collaborate with, and who knows what else. My plan is to publish once a week, on Wednesdays. Even though I'm doing this to in opposition of social media and "engagement" I still welcome feedback, questions, PRAISE, whatever.
Elizabeth+Matt, Glen Ellis Falls, New Hampshire, 2022
For this first newsletter I thought I should keep it simple. This past weekend I did an engagement session for a very nice couple at Glen Ellis Falls in The White Mountains of New Hampshire. It made me feel nostalgic for my time in The Pacific Northwest where I was surrounded by massive waterfalls. My waterfall nostalgia paired well with my deep dives into Flickr, so I'm mashing them together into one post. My "first pancake always comes out weird" post.
Congratulations to Elizabeth+Matt!
On my trip out to The White Mountains I entertained myself by listening to the new Palace and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy tapes put out by Antiquated Future, and I ate two bags of KA-POP! Dairy-Free Cheddar Puffs purchased from The Valley Vegan in North Conway, New Hampshire.
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