Micael Widell Newsletter #25 🔹 Video-posting record 🔸 Discord growth 🔹 Aesthetics wiki 🔸 Instagram finds 🔹 Carolyn Mara
Captain's log
I have always wanted to post 2+ videos per week, but never ever have I been close to actually doing it. In April I did 9 videos in one month! I am so happy that I managed to do that. Don't know how exactly how I could pull this off, as I typically produce not more than 3-4 videos per month, even when I push myself. I didn't have more time than normally to work during April, so that is not the explanation.
I think what happened was that I have finally settled in to the new life situation with a newborn child and our older child, and managed to optimize every day so that I can make the most out of it work wise, even though I only have around 2-3 hours per day of pure time to work. One important factor is that I get to sleep a lot more during the nights now than before, so I don't have to take precious time out of my very short workday to take naps. Another factor is that once I had managed to squeeze out two videos a week for two weeks, I think I crossed some kind of mental barrier and I realized that it isn't actually that hard once you decide to do it and find a rhythm to the planning and the work.
I am also very happy with the quality of the videos I produced during April, so it isn't that I didn't put as much effort into each video, even though I have to admit that maybe I wasn't as perfectionist in every regard as I usually am. Regardless, the videos have performed very well when it comes to number of views and watch time. I am so very happy and proud to have held a pace of two videos per week for a whole month, and my aim is to keep this up indefinitely.
/Micael
The Discord Server
Another fun thing that has happened during the month is that the Discord chat community that I started has grown a lot. We are now around 250 people discussing all aspects and genres of photography, gear and so on. I am very happy with the vibe in there. Unfortunately I do not always have time to hang out on the discord every single day, so I did appoint two admins on the server who have done a terrific job on structuring the channels and keeping up the nice community spirit! So happy for this – a big thank you to Pierre and Jessy!
We are 250 people, but I am deliberately not posting invites to this server everywhere or all the time – we want to focus on a nice community over a big community. I want to keep a familiar feeling on the server, and therefore I try to grow it at a slow pace. If you missed the last invite link, here is another invite link that will last for a week from when I write this text.
Aesthetics
I found this very interesting list of different aesthetics. I find that a database like this can be a very good source of inspiration and ideas, not only for photography but for many different kinds of art. For example, an aesthetic I like a lot is Art deco, but it is also a lot of fun to just browse around and read about aesthetics such as Cottagecore (mastered on Youtube by people such as Jonna Jinton) not to be confused with Cottagegore, lol.
Instagram finds
Time again for me to list some beautiful photography I have found and bookmarked on Instagram recently. As always, click the artist's username to go to their profile and follow them!
@mattd85
@ariestyan_setya
@the_sound_of_the_shell
@doogle1976
@peterwyss
@dpflaufly
@oskarone1
@p_grob
@.l_a_r_a
@nicolewang1122
Getting inspired
Me and my wife found Carolyn Mara's mom-and-daughter photos adorable and very inspiring, so we decided to try to do our own. I first tried to tape my iPhone to the ceiling to take a photo with it on remote shutter, but unfortunately no tape would stick to our ceiling. So I took my small Sony RX0ii camera and put it on a long tripod which I held to the ceiling above the bed, and used Sony's remote shutter app to take the photo. Did not spend that much time but the result was okay.
My Published Videos since the last newsletter
- 3 Tips for Freehand Insect Macro Photography
- How to Approach Insects without Scaring Them Away
- Globe Diffuser for Macro Photography – 8 Things You Must Know!
- Canon RF 100mm Macro Lens Announced – My First Thoughts
- Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D Lens Review and Sample Photos
- Macro Photography with Tiffen Black Pro-Mist Filters – A Good Idea?
- How to take Sharp Macro Photos: 4 Things You Must Know
- My #1 Habit for Ideas, Productivity, Happiness and Health
- 3 Ways to Turn a 1x Macro Lens into a 2x Macro Lens!
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