Micael Widell Newsletter #24
Captain's log
March was a month where I struggled to find enough time to do my photography/youtube work, due to our newborn daughter still needing lots of attention 24/7 and a nasty cold that hit the whole family. We are now finally all in good shape again, so I am hoping that April will bring more hours to spend on photography, especially now since the macro photography season has really kicked off in Stockholm, with lots of insects outside!
/Micael
I started a Discord Server
On a whim, I decided to start a Discord server this month – join here for free. Discord is an app in which you can create a chat community, which I have now done for the people who follow me.
I have chosen to grow this community as slowly as possible. The reason is that I want to prioritize a friendly and familiar feeling of community, rather than having as many members as possible. This is why I am only inviting new people in at certain moments. Today is such a moment. The invite link above is only valid for 7 days, so please use it now if you want access to our photography community on Discord. The app is available both on smartphones and on computers.
The Spirited Man
One of the first YouTube channels I followed and was a big fan of was Casey Neistat, a real legend on the platform. Recently, his previously "unknown" brother Van Neistat started a channel. I was a bit reluctant to check it out, but gave one video a chance. And I absolutely loved it.
His channel is not about photography per se, but Van is a very talented photographer and videographer, and I feel inspired when watching the videos. They are simply beautiful. His storytelling style is also beautiful, and his videos are similar to his brother's, but with a more poetic Wes Anderson feel to them. If you have a few minutes to spare, go watch a couple of Van's videos!
Trying the worst lens in the world
I did a video where I spent one day with the awful Holga lens on my Sony A7III camera - just a fun experiment to see what kind of photos you can get with the worst lens in the world on a good camera. Below are some of my favorite shots from the day.
Minting my first NFT
I bet that many of you have witnessed the craze around NFTs lately. It is a way to securely give someone a certificate of ownership of a digital artwork through the use of blockchain technology. The owner can then sell this "certificate" (the NFT, or Non Fungible Token) to others, just as with a piece of traditional art. Anybody can still of course copy your digital artwork and keep an identical copy of it, but the unique thing with NFTs is that you can be the "official" owner of an artist's piece.
Sounds silly and a bit weird, right? But it seems to work, as artists are selling crazy expensive NFTs. I think part of the reason this is so popular is that digital artists have for a long time wanted a way to make some money from selling their art, but it hasn't really been possible earlier - all the while cryptocurrency prices have gone through the roof in recent years, and many very rich holders of cryptocurrency are probably looking for ways to spend/invest that money further. So NFTs fills a demand both on the seller's and buyer's side.
I tried minting a couple of NFTs of two of my favorite photos, and put them up for sale. This is the first one, and this is the second one. Still haven't sold any of them though. I guess you need an audience who are already NFT collectors to get them sold quickly. Also it would probably help if my account was approved on Rarible, something I have applied for weeks ago and still waiting for. I think they have a huge backlog due to the NFT craze right now.
If I sell these I will mint more NFTs, otherwise I think I will not bother for the time being. But this is a good chance if you like my work and want to be the owner of my first ever NFTs. Might make a video later about the whole experience.
Macro Photography with a $20 Soviet Lens
I did a photo walk with the legendary Soviet swirly bokeh Helios 44M-4 lens. It resulted in a video. Below are a couple of my favorite shots. I have ordered more Soviet lenses as this is something I want to explore further in the coming weeks!
In the comments on that video, Larry Rhodes (thank you!) posted this wonderful set of photos taken with a Helios with a reversed element. Mindblowingly cool photos! I want to try that and it will likely be a subject of a future video.
Beautiful light
Sometimes, all you need is some beautiful morning light. This winter has been very dark, as most winters in Sweden, but now finally spring is arriving and we can enjoy some beautiful light reaching the inner corners of our apartment. The shot below was taken with the Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 lens for Sony, which I might do a video about later.
My Published Videos since the last newsletter
Goodbye for now
Thank you for reading this far, and see you in a month! Feel free to follow me on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter in the meantime. And also feel free to tell your friends about this newsletter, and to reply to it if you have feedback or comments :)
/Micael