The Photographer Mindset
The Photographer Mindset
How to be Fulfilled as a Photographer & Creator with Hannah Rheaume
Today we're joined by Hannah Rheaume (@hannahrheaume), a Seattle-based content creative and photographer with over seven years of experience, specializing in storytelling, editing, and producing authentic and impactful content for brands and destinations. Her work is heavily inspired by nature and her global travels, focusing on the intersection of culture, landscapes, and history.
Expect to learn:
- the reality behind the glamor of travel photography and influencers
- what part of the creative process fulfills you specifically the most
- why you should sacrifice engagement to produce original ideas
- how to shift your mindset to posting for personal pleasure
- how to work with brands while preserving your artistic integrity
Book a one time virtual 30 minute 1-on-1 session with Aaron or Seth entirely for FREE by using the code "FREETRIAL" at checkout: https://thephotographermindset.com/products/60-minute-virtual-1-on-1-session
Sponsor:
Thanks to WhiteWall for being our lead sponsor this episode! They're the top choice for photographers who want high-quality prints, with a variety of material options, and who want their work delivered fast in 9 days or less!
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Thanks for listening!
Go get shooting, go get editing, and stay focused.
@sethmacey
@mantis_photography
@thephotographermindset
INTRO:
00:14.46
Seth Macey
Hey, this is the photographer mindset podcast. I'm Seth.
00:18.46
Aaron
I'm Aaron.
00:18.50
Seth Macey
You are?
00:19.60
Aaron
I'm Aaron.
00:20.24
Seth Macey
Nice to see you again. 243 weeks in a row.
00:23.45
Aaron
Yeah.
00:24.66
Seth Macey
Nice streak, very proud of that. Today we had on Hannah. Reum, I should ask her how to pronounce her last name.
00:30.08
Aaron
Yeah, we did not.
00:30.16
Seth Macey
Well, that's what it's going to be for today.
00:32.29
Aaron
Yeah, shoot.
00:33.91
Seth Macey
Well, can't win them all. Hannah was awesome, very well spoken. And she does a bit of everything, some commercial work, some travel stuff, some wildlife stuff. I think we got into today. I think she actually said you don't want to be a travel photographer content creator, which is very in sync with our most recent episodes. You get to hear firsthand the tradeoffs that we've been talking about from somebody who has done this, who's done the virality Push on Instagram who's done the traveling?
01:05.23
Seth Macey
It's not all sunshine Let's get rid of the episode
01:05.66
Aaron
Yeah. and And what it came down to for her was, uh, like we've been saying is chasing your passions and doing what makes you happy and taking photos or video of what makes you happy and sticking with that. And if you continue with that in the end, you win no matter what.
01:25.98
Aaron
Let's.
01:28.60
Seth Macey
Hang on. Let's get right into the episode. Let's get right into the episode. Quick word from the sponsor and then we'll do that.
INTERVIEW:
00:01:10.78
Aaron
Welcome to the show, Hannah.
00:01:23.12
Aaron
Thank you for being here.
00:01:23.39
Seth Macey
Welcome.
00:01:24.86
Hannah
Yeah, thanks for having me on. I'm super excited to chat.
00:01:28.26
Aaron
Good. ah Let's start with.
00:01:30.02
Seth Macey
First guest in a while, huh?
00:01:31.83
Aaron
Yeah, we went on a, we went on a stretch, a stretch, a streak and a stretch all in one, a stretch.
00:01:33.07
Seth Macey
Refreshing.
00:01:36.61
Seth Macey
I thought you were going to say we went on strike, guest strike.
00:01:39.21
Aaron
No, no. Um, yeah, it was just you and I for a little bit. We just had a bunch of topics that we wanted to keep hitting. So that's fine.
00:01:47.12
Seth Macey
Yeah, thank God it's not just you and I now.
00:01:49.29
Aaron
I know.
00:01:49.33
Seth Macey
I was growing a bit tired of you.
00:01:51.19
Aaron
Yeah. It makes YouTube editing much easier, so I enjoy it. But Hannah's ruined the streak in a good way. Welcome to the show. Tell us in the audience a little bit about yourself, your photography journey. Let's start simple and then we'll start peppering you with the the tough stuff.
00:02:09.01
Hannah
Yeah, for sure. Like I said, thanks for having me on. The photography journey, wow. I think like every photographer that I think I've ever spoken to, it starts at a young age, some sort of creative outlet. For me, it was a black and white photography class. And I took that class, loved it, took all these super artsy photos of my friends, as you do in high school, and then kind of lost it when I got to college. and beyond really. And then i I was working in public relations, that's what my degree is in, in communications and ended up pursuing a career very shortly in that and realized this is really passionless in a way. And I just was a person that always wanted something more to kind of like satiate that
00:03:02.17
Hannah
Creative need I think that I had always had um And so I started Instagram it kind of came out when I was in college and I started um An Instagram account just posting like whatever photos type of thing wasn't taking it too seriously um And then ended up getting my hands on and the Nikon D3300 and yeah it was a great camera at the time I loved it and um that's when I started to take it a little bit more seriously and so then I ended up entering an Instagram contest.
00:03:25.24
Aaron
Nice.
00:03:37.55
Hannah
had never been outside the country before outside of the US where I'm based um and I really wanted to travel and this girl that I had followed um was offering if you enter her contest you and and you win, you'd be able to travel with her to Asia. And I was like, what the hell? Why not? like This sounds amazing. And like what a crapshoot it would be, probably, to actually win this. But I tried anyways. I ended up winning that contest and traveled to Hong Kong and Thailand as my first trip um out of the country.
00:04:13.44
Hannah
and my mind was absolutely blown. I think like it just totally changed my entire trajectory of what I was doing, what I wanted, who I was as a person, like to my core I changed on that trip and came back and my entire world just kind of turned upside down and I tried chasing that photography, but I think lifestyle or whatever it was that I had this idea about it, I chased that and I ended up quitting my job in public relations with very little money saved up probably should have kept working. um But I knew that if I didn't make a go for it then, then
00:04:55.94
Hannah
When else was I going to do it? And so I worked full time in this space since, oh my gosh, twenty I think it was 2017. I quit my job. And that was like six months after that trip. I quit my job and booked a one-way ticket to Australia.
00:05:15.52
Hannah
and spent a little bit of time in Australia and then just kept traveling after that. And it's really evolved into such a ah different thing than it was when it first started, which is crazy to look back at because I often think about like past versions of myself and how different I was, but like how proud of of that version I am because it got me to where I am, if that makes sense.
00:05:40.39
Aaron
Yeah, absolutely. what What was the moment in Asia? I mean, that's a big, that's a huge first trip. That's a absolutely like mind blowing first trip in terms of effort, in terms of time on a plane, in terms of culture shock, all those things.
00:05:55.89
Aaron
What was the moment that made you, I feel like go like this is what I want to do. Can you, can you slim it down to a moment or a feeling or a, ah just a spot where you're like, I need to do this.
00:06:07.09
Hannah
Mm-hmm. Yeah, it it was kind of a series of events. I wouldn't say it's just a singular event in that trip. I boarded the flight. I had never been on a massive plane before. And I remember texting the girl I was traveling with, and the engines turned on. And I had i had no idea what to expect because they were so loud. And so I messaged her, and I was like, hey, are these supposed to be this loud?
00:06:31.93
Hannah
And she was like, oh, yeah, totally normal. And which I i giggle about now, honestly, because i the amount of big planes I've since been on, it's quite humbling to think back about that.
00:06:35.21
Aaron
ah
00:06:42.29
Hannah
But um then it would be another time would be when I de-planed, went through customs for the first time. Like, what is customs? Like, what is this situation?
00:06:53.25
Hannah
I'm entering a new country, and they're asking for my passports. And then you're seeing signs that are in a different language. and then The third thing would be we packed our bags into a very tiny taxi to make our way to our hotel. Our bags didn't fit. We had to put one in the driver's seat and on the roof. And it was just this, like, whoa.
00:07:15.57
Hannah
but This is so different. And then you just see the the skyline of Hong Kong because that was the first stop on the trip. You see the skyline and matched with the mountains behind it. And you're like, whoa. I get goosebumps thinking about it now because it was that kind of like whole process of just getting there that I was like, oh my goodness. like this is This is what it's about, this feeling of like otherness and just how big the world is, you don't really experience that when you just stay in your small bubble.
00:07:48.62
Aaron
So this is 2017, right? Am I remembering that?
00:07:50.96
Hannah
Yeah.
00:07:51.80
Aaron
Where you decided you're going to leave your job, your secure sort of safety net job, does not have passion, and you're going to jump into this.
00:07:52.31
Hannah
Yeah.
00:08:00.86
Aaron
But what is the jumping into this at that point back in 2017? Is it brand deals? Is it doing marketing work? is it you know, modeling influencer, like what is the idea behind I'm going to quit my job and take photos for what like do what.
00:08:22.06
Hannah
Yeah, so the driving I think the driving point behind it was brand deals. And I was working in freelance marketing at the time as well. So I had one client where I would manage their social media. And that was enough, honestly, to get me by and to pay all the things I needed to pay at however old I was. And I don't even remember now. but And it just ended up working out. It was like so serendipitous to be able to have this freelance client that would afford me to travel. and Experience life in such a different way and the goal of that point was brand deals to be quite honest I don't think I ever set out with any sort of intention of and This is what I want out of this. I've always been someone that's like I'm gonna go after something if I feel
00:09:11.15
Hannah
Like it's calling me that I'm going to go in that direction and I'm going to chase that and follow that until it no longer serves me or it morphs into something else. And this that's what happened with this is it just totally morphed into something.
00:09:26.00
Hannah
completely different and could not have ever in my wildest dreams imagined the way that it's kind of evolved over the years. And like, of course I'm still doing brand deals and stuff, but being hired for commercial work and things like that, or it's just like a pinch me moment. I think like I come from a very small town in the state of Maine and I don't know, it just is like, it's it feels almost out of body sometimes to to think about the way life has happened.
00:09:54.51
Seth Macey
How do you know when something is no longer serving you? I found that an interesting criteria for you, switching lanes are going in a different direction.
00:09:57.54
Hannah
Mmm.
00:10:04.28
Hannah
Yeah, I think for me, it's always been if i don't if I wake up in the morning and I am no longer feeling great about what I'm doing or I'm not excited about something I'm going to be doing that day. It doesn't have to be the entire day. like Of course, there's stuff in this job that I have now that I just i don't like doing, like the managerial things, like the the emails, certain things I don't like, but the overall,
00:10:32.07
Hannah
gig that I have, like i I get up and I'm excited for it. And I can't think for a single second that I was excited to wake up and go work in PR. I remember just feeling, I don't even know what the word is, just like not miserable by any means, but just unhappy and unsettled in a way. And I like to feel like unsettled and I like to be on my toes and I like to be doing something new. And I think that was kind of that, aha, okay.
00:11:01.88
Hannah
this isn't serving me anymore. I'm not the happiest version of myself showing up for this job. And so being able to have this creative outlet of photography, I noticed this correlation of, okay, this makes me extremely happy. Like taking photos, telling stories, this whole thing is what makes me happy. Not telling stories of brands or Clients that I don't necessarily have a passion for and so I think it's that I think it just For me. I wasn't the happiest version of myself and therefore I kind of just thread the needle in a way of Okay, so this is no longer serving me. So what's going to and head first I went
00:11:48.05
Seth Macey
Right.
00:11:49.37
Aaron
With that, I think it's clear and and why I originally reached out to you. And Seth followed you, I think, before me because I think I found your site or your Instagram through some somehow, however, Instagram works and saw that he was following you.
00:12:01.99
Hannah
um
00:12:04.55
Aaron
And that's usually a key to make as Seth is a little bit more. um What's the word? He I think he audits profiles a bit more maybe than I do. And he he likes to see some sort of value from his follows, which I
00:12:17.74
Seth Macey
You make me seem pretentious.
00:12:19.45
Aaron
No, I don't think so.
00:12:21.34
Hannah
Intentional, I think that's very intentional.
00:12:23.03
Aaron
Intentional. Yeah. I didn't, I meant it as a compliment.
00:12:23.92
Seth Macey
Fair. That is true. I will give you that.
00:12:27.52
Aaron
So um that's usually a ah key factor to me. Like if I see that, I'm like, Oh, what's, what's this about? And the reason i The reason I initially reached out at the time, I don't remember what it was because it's been about ah ah it's been a while, but the story that you were telling, whether it was for Orvis or L.O. Bean or something a month ago, ah I think I wrote out and I was like, I love how you lay out like the visuals of the story, the narrative of all this is going on. like it's It's very clear you're passionate about the stuff that you're doing. So with that said,
00:13:04.20
Aaron
There's moments that you've described in in waking up and things aren't serving you, or your original job, even PR, was not serving you. ah There is a part, I think, of this this whole gig that you are you're tied to social media. You might be tied to narratives. You might be tied to marketing that you have to do. How do you wake up if there's something that's like,
00:13:28.00
Aaron
Maybe it's 50%, maybe it's 50% where you're like, i I need to do this for XYZ, but I'm maybe not the most passionate about it. Where do you fill the rest of that cup to give the best product? If that makes sense.
00:13:43.03
Hannah
Yeah, well, yeah, it does make sense. And thank you. I feel like one of the things, first of all, is I am grateful that the passion that I have for this comes through in my content. I think I hold myself to a very high standard, I think, as we all do just as creatives, especially when we're talking visuals, um like photo and video. So it nothing makes me happier than that, is to know that the passion, that connection that I have inside is somehow translated through these visuals.
00:14:12.46
Hannah
And I think like the other 50% of, okay. I might not like doing this one thing or it could be something I'm not super jazzed about to shoot or something like that. I think for me, it's always just, it's dialing it back and making sure I'm intentional with doing something else that's going to fill my cup and keep me going. Whether that's something within the photography space or it's something other hobby that I like to do or that I have. And so it's a balance and I just,
00:14:46.65
Hannah
It's one thing I lacked for so long because it's such a hustle. And I think like having balance has really helped with that 50-50 of like okay making sure I'm checking the boxes for my own like mental well-being. my own went mental well-being and also just my physical well-being and then got to check the boxes for work of course as well so it's like it's it's it's a fine kind of line that you walk but I think when we can step back and make sure we're we're checking in with ourselves as humans not just like as the machine that creates these things then that's kind of how I do it is just yeah through that
00:15:27.58
Aaron
Can you unpack some of those boxes, those mental health boxes, those physical boxes in terms of like, what's that mean? Because I do think there is a tie for those people that think, you know, it's all, it's all roses and, and vacations jumping into social media or marketing or influencing whatever you want to call it full time. There then becomes a tie to Instagram and social media in the last couple of episodes. We've been really,
00:15:55.40
Aaron
Diving into where's that healthy balance and is it the new smoking? Is it the new, you know, sitting at your desk? Will we look back in 20, 30 years and be like, Oh, I can't believe anyone did that. Where, what are those boxes in terms of that mental health balance and physical balance? Like what are the specifics there for our audience that they can hear kind of like what you're paying attention to and not letting go of or forgetting.
00:16:23.61
Hannah
Yeah, I think, again, like just going back to I think I think about myself at the very beginning of all of this and it's like the amount of sleep I didn't get in the amount of health boxes I didn't check as little as as like going on daily walks or and eating healthy like those things didn't exist at the beginning for me and I think I got a little older and matured a little bit and kind of just stepped into this role a little bit more fully and was like, okay, if all of this health that I have goes away, and all of this like,
00:16:58.63
Hannah
mental capacity I have to manage many things that once goes away, how am I going to do this job? I think it was just this moment of I felt extremely unhealthy. I felt kind of like checked out. And just because of the hustle that Instagram brings to this community, I think like it's just can be a little overbearing. And so I had that kind of moment and just since then I think I've prioritized that a lot more and I think for me the goal has always been with Instagram to like post and ghost. Like I don't want that to be my everything forever. I envision myself very far away from the Instagram hustle and to be quite honest it's exhausting still to this day.
00:17:46.08
Hannah
two to show up on an app constantly every day. I've taken a massive step back. And to be honest, it's helped a lot. And in terms of posting stories, I still do post every day because to be honest, it brings me joy to share my work and my words.
00:18:01.43
Hannah
and I think like stories are kind of my safe space like I'll show up on stories when it's important or it's a big life moment or it's a big wildlife moment or something like that rather than sharing every single second of my day which is what I used to do and so it's just kind of this prioritization in my own mind of Alright Hannah what are you gonna do for yourself today and then how is that gonna better inform the way you show up for your clients and for your your community that you've built and without showing up for myself how can i show up for anyone else like it's you can't you absolutely can't and so for me it's
00:18:39.45
Hannah
As simple as like going on walks with my dog or closing screens at a certain time, putting my phone on do not disturb, eating as healthfully as I possibly can every single day. Like little things like that that just, it it goes such a long way.
00:18:56.64
Aaron
What kind of dog do you have?
00:18:58.11
Hannah
I have an Alaskan Malamute and he's the cutest thing on the planet.
00:19:01.31
Aaron
Oh my goodness.
00:19:02.99
Hannah
His name's Rupert.
00:19:03.38
Aaron
I probably knew that. Rupert?
00:19:05.35
Hannah
Yeah.
00:19:06.24
Aaron
That's a good name.
00:19:07.23
Hannah
He's the best.
00:19:07.42
Aaron
Alaskan Malamute.
00:19:07.44
Seth Macey
That's, that, that passage was very, very well said.
00:19:08.67
Aaron
Fur everywhere.
00:19:10.90
Hannah
Oh, oh my gosh.
00:19:12.94
Seth Macey
And then the most important question Aaron comes up with is what kind of.
00:19:15.86
Aaron
What kind of dog do you have?
00:19:18.53
Seth Macey
I mean, valid, very valid.
00:19:19.50
Aaron
No.
00:19:21.61
Hannah
They're important.
00:19:21.85
Aaron
Yeah, they are important.
00:19:23.93
Seth Macey
Uh, that was very well said. And I agree with a lot of it.
00:19:25.99
Aaron
Yeah.
00:19:26.94
Seth Macey
We say all the time, apply your own oxygen mask before assisting others. You know, what you hear on the plane, this is fitting your travel photographer partly.
00:19:30.96
Aaron
and
00:19:34.46
Hannah
Exactly.
00:19:34.58
Seth Macey
So we've all heard that saying as we've been on planes, but it's true. I'm curious if. We can get a little bit more nuanced. It seems like you're somebody who has very good interoception, meaning you're very aware of what's going on inside of your body and brain, which is a hard, so I think that skill comes naturally to people and for others, it it takes a lot of conscious effort to work on that. Speaking for myself.
00:20:01.01
Seth Macey
So I'm curious to know, when you say I felt unhealthy, are you comfortable kind of divulging what that means?
00:20:08.02
Hannah
Totally.
00:20:08.25
Seth Macey
Like, how do you know you're feeling not well?
00:20:08.42
Hannah
Yeah. I was tired and very lethargic and just felt like swollen. Like it was a physical manifestation of what I was doing in my body.
00:20:21.60
Hannah
Like it was a direct result of not taking the right care of myself and not eating healthfully, drinking enough water, moving my body. And I think In our 20s, we kind of take health for granted. We're like, oh, we're young. We're kind of like in our prime. We're strong. All these things. And you take it for granted. And I totally did that. and When you sit on a plane for 16 hours and you don't, you eat the airplane food, you're not drinking the right water, you're doing all these like negative things to your body, then you get off the plane and you're in a new culture. So you're trying new foods. You are, again, not drinking water, you're not moving your body, all of these certain things. And this was a progression of like a few years that this was going on because it was, I was traveling like
00:21:10.08
Hannah
two to three weeks out of the month up until COVID. And then COVID happened and obviously everything changed. And that was kind of when I was like, whoa, okay, let's let's check in here. And I think there there was never this like,
00:21:28.15
Hannah
big moment of like, oh, I don't feel good. It was always this like little subconscious knowing of like, oh, I'm not feeling great. Like I all these things are going on. And so, yeah, but I i definitely think back to just being so tired.
00:21:44.47
Hannah
And that's like one of the number one things, too, to that is like a side effect of many other health things that end up happening if you just stop taking care of your body. And so I think the tired thing scared me.
00:21:55.56
Hannah
And then just just knowing kind of like this feeling of, I don't know, unhealthful living was lingering above me.
00:22:02.52
Seth Macey
Yeah. I know what you mean. You lose vigor and I totally, I totally understand what you're saying with that swollen comment. I've been there, whether it's like over-training or overworked, you just kind of feel 1% like inflamed, right?
00:22:13.49
Hannah
Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:17.29
Aaron
Inflamed, right?
00:22:22.97
Seth Macey
Yeah.
00:22:23.92
Aaron
No.
00:22:24.29
Hannah
Literally in flame.
00:22:24.65
Seth Macey
It's hard to put into words. I'm sure some people know like what we're talking about, but it's just, it's a good sign that
00:22:26.59
Hannah
Yeah.
00:22:32.59
Seth Macey
Something's got to change, not to mention your circadian rhythm was probably just whacked being jet lagged constantly.
00:22:37.19
Hannah
Oh my gosh. Yeah. and
00:22:38.89
Seth Macey
Your body would have no idea what where it was and in the daily cycle.
00:22:42.98
Aaron
down?
00:22:44.23
Hannah
Not at all and sleeping in a new bed all the time and just waking up before the sun to go shoot sunrise and a whole bit and then like going to bed super late like yeah, it's crazy.
00:22:56.16
Seth Macey
Yeah. Yeah. This is an important discussion because we've talked a lot in recent episodes about trade-offs and the, what you see sometimes on social media, I'm not saying you're guilty of this, but like the glorification of leaving a job to travel the world.
00:23:10.66
Hannah
Totally.
00:23:12.18
Seth Macey
And people think that it's, you know, this ticket to a golden life and things are way better and it's not, you're just, you're making trade-offs, right?
00:23:18.56
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:23:21.14
Hannah
Totally. And I think like to like, I would never recommend somebody follow suit of what I did, like, for so many reasons.
00:23:30.07
Seth Macey
Right.
00:23:30.26
Hannah
But it's just, I did it because it felt right to me. But I've never sat here and preached like, quit your nine to five, go on the road full time. Like, I saw
00:23:40.24
Seth Macey
What do you think of those reels? What do you think of those like hype reels when you see them?
00:23:44.28
Hannah
um I think it's probably ah affecting people pretty negatively, to be honest. I think that Instagram is such a highlight reel, and it makes us think we need to be in a place that we're not. So it makes us think, we see this reel. It makes us think, oh, we need to go live in a van. That's going to make me happy. That's going to solve my problems. And I think, again, circling back to those trade-off conversations of like,
00:24:07.68
Hannah
yeah okay it looks glorious but like what about the other 75 percent that we're not seeing of like what is world life actually like or like what is quitting your nine to five actually look like and it's i didn't have health insurance for example you know what i mean and it's like little trade-offs like that like you don't have health insurance you have everything that you're doing you're you're responsible for and i was this like young 20 year old just like figuring it out and No, I would never recommend anyone do that. And I don't understand why other people recommend people do that. It's just like, let everyone be happy in their own and their own life. I just, Instagram, sometimes.
00:24:51.34
Aaron
Yeah. And, and I, I think too, just looking at your profile, uh, especially as when you agreed to be on the show and like kind of, we've been in more contact. So I think.
00:25:02.31
Aaron
the algorithm shows me more of your stuff just because we've been chatting about being on on the show. ah One thing I have noticed is you're very true to your own craft and your own purpose and your own artistic style. There's very little like gimmicky highlight sort of I hope I hope this video works in terms of getting as many views as possible versus I am gonna be proud of what I put out and it's artistic and I'm gonna make the best seemingly narrative or video that I can sure I gotta film vertically sure I gotta keep it within a certain time frame however it's not I'm not just like
00:25:46.42
Aaron
bowing to the Instagram gods, I'm going to stick with what I like. And I think that speaks volumes in terms of following your and listening to your own self, listen to your own heart, listen to your own creative sort of juices that you need to get out there.
00:26:04.88
Aaron
And I'm curious, this see something about me, I always say this, my questions are 10 minutes into it like a rambling story, but you're just gonna have to
00:26:15.49
Seth Macey
People already get to work by the time you get this question when we're listening to the podcast in the car.
00:26:17.44
Aaron
Yeah. Yeah. They're, they're done. They're like, they're doing the skip ahead. 15 seconds. If the, if you know the podcast, you just do three skip ahead and you're at the question. That's simple.
00:26:27.41
Hannah
Perfect.
00:26:28.59
Aaron
My question is, what is the fire? Is there any dissonance between? OK, I have a company I need to work for. I have Instagram. I see what might get, you know, sort of millions of views, let's call it. And I'm going to stick with what I think is beautiful or attractive or my artistic way. And I'm not going to veer from that. What's the dissonance in terms of that sort of relationship in terms of in that?
00:26:59.65
Hannah
I love visual storytelling and it always comes back down to that and it's ah more so now like it's just evolved in such a different way of I've played the game, I've played Instagram, I've done the viral reels, the viral audio and it always just left me feeling like what the hell is the point?
00:27:21.58
Hannah
Why am I doing this? what I'm just spewing the same thing.
00:27:23.89
Aaron
thank you
00:27:26.63
Hannah
Thousands of other people have spewed onto Instagram, just like everyone else. What about that is special? And I had this like aha moment of what's the point in that?
00:27:39.55
Hannah
And when I was like, Oh, there's actually no point in that other than self-serving, growing an audience and like maybe going viral and having something perform well for a client.
00:27:43.82
Aaron
Thank you.
00:27:53.64
Hannah
But what is that actually doing? How is that moving the needle? Where is that moving the needle towards? And so since this realization, i've don't get me wrong, like I will use trending audio, and I will hop on a trend if it feels right for me. But at the end of the day, it's more so about, okay.
00:28:15.79
Hannah
what's What's the point in what I'm sharing and how is this going to move the needle in either a direction for where I want to go? Is this going to maybe like move the messaging for a critter I care about or a cause I care about?
00:28:29.34
Hannah
and It's kind of come back to that of like, okay, everyone can just post the same thing, but like how can I be different and how can I stay true to that? Because that's what lights a fire under my eyes, honestly, is like showing up in a different way, in a different capacity than what I see everyone else doing. And it brings me so much joy. like it That's why I can show up on Instagram and post photos and videos every day when I'm super fired up about something and care about it, or it's a story that I'm super happy about.
00:29:00.66
Hannah
then that it makes me happy and I think to my the clients I work with are incredible and that they allow the creative space for me to create these storylines around their product and One in particular, I work with Vera Bradley, which is a ah bad company. I think probably everyone is probably pretty familiar with them. um And I grew up using their bags. And so a recent real I created for them was um visual voicemails. And it was me leaving a voicemail to my mom.
00:29:36.37
Hannah
and all of the visuals were kind of what I was talking through on the phone. It was a minute long, real. And clients usually want 15 seconds with good audio, punchy, trendy, to the point. They gave me the space to be able to create this, what I think is art and tells a brand story, tells my story, and just creates this cohesive overall storyline of a trip to Montana and Wyoming.
00:30:01.87
Hannah
And it's clients like that that I'm so grateful for because they allow that space. And I hope to see more brands move in that direction of like, we hire you for a reason. We're essentially like mini directors, ah cinematographers, photographers, editors, sound designers. And we create these pieces and Essentially, it's like that's what they're hiring us for. You're not hiring me for a 15-second viral reel. If you are, what's the bottom line on that?
00:30:31.82
Hannah
so
00:30:33.23
Aaron
Yeah, it's almost like we're all becoming songwriters in a sense, you know, like, like, and and companies are going to want a unique song, they they're they're going to want the new next hit or at least a comprehensive album that makes sense.
00:30:36.94
Hannah
Yeah.
00:30:48.10
Aaron
There's a narrative, there's a storyline, there's something unique to it. yeah Just something different, I think, to stand apart. I couldn't agree more with the the trending stuff gets it's fun and the first person that did the trending thing you're like uh smart or that was funny or that was a good good thing but then after you see it a thousand times you're like this is not like this is just this has gotten old like i don't want to be even associated with this you know uh it there's there's a few like
00:31:18.11
Hannah
Right.
00:31:21.79
Aaron
there's a few brands out there, I'm not going to name any names, but you see everyone that's like toting it in the same exact way. You're like, they're like, this is the thing that i I got a free one to talk about.
00:31:35.04
Aaron
And there's 3000 of the same little reels that go over it.
00:31:36.70
Seth Macey
Thank you.
00:31:40.10
Aaron
And you're like, how do they not want something different? Like how, how is how is this fun at all?
00:31:43.03
Hannah
Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
00:31:46.71
Aaron
um So I think I think it is true that we're we're hopefully that'll be one side of the whole coin and then the other side will be like the clients that actually give that space to look for what unique story do you have? Like what what actual life story that someone could relate to do you have that you can show in visuals? I think that will become very important as time goes on.
00:32:13.54
Hannah
Yeah, I agree. And also, I just think about like my time in marketing. and i just These companies spend a lot of money on creators, on this space. I forget what the number is, but this industry is worth so much. And what I find interesting is that How how is it beneficial to have five different people telling the same story wouldn't it be more beneficial to have one person tell a very different story and that's kind of like where I find my sweet spot of. How am I going to do this different than what I'm seeing and it goes down to even not client work like even my own stuff of.
00:32:50.78
Hannah
whatever my thoughts are in my head of writing that day or editing a video and telling some sort of little story about the place that I'm in in a different way that maybe hasn't been told before but maybe has to a certain capacity. And so I think we will start to see a bit of a shift in the space of clients wanting different work. I think the commercial space for sure is has evolved in that way of My commercial clients very much appreciate a different kind of set of images versus the clients you typically work with when you have deliverables for Instagram. They oftentimes do want those viral reels, but I think we all know that the downfalls of going viral.
00:33:31.69
Aaron
yeah Yeah, for sure.
00:33:33.97
Seth Macey
How are you presenting your ideas pre production?
00:33:37.19
Hannah
to
00:33:38.42
Seth Macey
Yes.
00:33:39.80
Hannah
Um, to clients usually, um, it depends on what the deliverables are, but typically I'll kind of storyboard it in Canva and just kind of pull inspiration images into kind of like make my own mood board type of thing. Um, whether it's on Pinterest, which is to be honest, Pinterest and, um, like,
00:33:59.99
Hannah
cinema are two really big places that I find a lot of inspiration from and that is like something I've done over the years to kind of step away from this like Instagram mentality of creating an image for Instagram. No, that's not the point. It's like creating art for yourself. And where do you find the most inspiration? It's not through scrolling on Instagram. And so I pull images from a bunch of different places or sometimes it's from my own work that I've shot previous that i really liked and kind of just create this mood board and a loose story idea and knowing that these story ideas can evolve can change can be like weather dependent sometimes and so it's communicating that with the client and making sure that they're on board and making sure they kind of like understand my creative process and
00:34:46.08
Hannah
It's not always super organized but I try to make it as organized as possible because I find people that work in marketing definitely don't have kind of like the same creative like brain that I have and so it's bridging that gap of communication almost. so
00:35:02.09
Aaron
So what percent of your work do you think shows up? Is it for social media? Is it for different campaigns? um Is there a lot of stuff that you don't show? Because you're that's not that's not the point. It's not supposed to be on Instagram or through your own personal page. I suppose I wouldn't be necessarily following, what'd you say, Vera Bradley? for their I didn't have any of their bags growing up, so.
00:35:26.14
Hannah
No, I'm not surprised.
00:35:27.01
Aaron
i I might not see your storyline. So is is there a, what percent would you say goes through your own personal page that you're, you know, ah showcasing stuff on there versus stuff that's potentially unseen from someone that follows you?
00:35:42.88
Hannah
Yeah, I mean, it depends. Like i I truly love photography. So my camera comes with me when I walk my dog in the afternoon. I do a little series called Neighborhood Nature where I photograph kind of local wildlife.
00:35:54.56
Hannah
And yesterday I actually saw a bobcat. It was the wildest thing in a tree hunting a squirrel.
00:35:57.23
Aaron
It's sick. God.
00:35:58.21
Seth Macey
Nice.
00:36:00.93
Aaron
Everyone's seeing Bobcats, not me.
00:36:00.87
Hannah
like who the hell gets to see a freaking bobcat hunting um and so yeah who knows if i'll ever post that like i probably will but i more so work on that type of stuff as as a means of like honing kind of like the wildlife craft and just shooting um photography of animals and kind of just little small details but i do try to post
00:36:03.77
Aaron
Yeah. That's amazing.
00:36:24.60
Hannah
a lot of my work that I photograph and especially a lot of my trips now are more personal. um I'd say it's 50-50 with like work trips and then um the other 50% would be personal trips and I'm really happy with that because coming from a place of 75% work trips, it was always this, okay, you have to post it, yeah the whole thing. And so it's like the editing, the posting, um the writing, the caption, all of that. And it's so fast, the turnaround, versus where with my stuff, I like to sit with it. And like there's photos I haven't shared. I haven't even started sharing photos from my trip to India. And those are some of my
00:37:07.86
Hannah
Some of the photos I'm the most proud of because of I play with a lot of slow shutter photography and things like that. And I hope to share them. It's just like kind of crawling out of this dark hole of many other images that I also need to edit and and post as well. And I share a lot of stuff through my newsletter and and on my portfolio and things like that. but i I don't have an i like a specific kind of idea in mind of like how many i are like what percentage I would post versus what I don't.
00:37:33.67
Aaron
yeah
00:37:38.05
Hannah
I have a pretty strict criteria. like I'm very picky with my images, and I think that just comes with the art form of photography. I think we're all a little neurotic with perfection.
00:37:52.00
Aaron
Yeah, we are right, sir.
00:37:55.25
Seth Macey
Recovering perfectionist.
00:37:55.78
Aaron
Yeah.
00:37:56.75
Hannah
I actually heard on the podcast that you have some images from Churchill that you haven't posted.
00:38:01.76
Seth Macey
You don't even know half the images I have of them posted.
00:38:04.27
Hannah
I need to see these photos.
00:38:06.83
Aaron
Yeah.
00:38:09.24
Seth Macey
Yeah, it's like i i' I think I've said it on the show a lot. I'm someone who this may confuse a lot of people. I like filming and I like taking pictures of things.
00:38:23.10
Seth Macey
And like that's it. like I just like doing that. It's fulfilling to me at that stage full stop. like i don't I'm not trying to sound pretentious here, but I don't have the urge, and I wish I did, to to be like, I'm so excited to post this. It's like I'm fulfilled at that stage once it's on my memory card and I've edited it in Lightroom.
00:38:47.04
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:38:48.37
Seth Macey
But I'm also torn because I know people are interested in Maybe even people who listen to the show. I have a photography podcast, maybe I should share more of my photography.
00:39:00.17
Seth Macey
You know, duh, makes sense.
00:39:03.22
Aaron
Yeah.
00:39:03.74
Seth Macey
But it's just, it's so, the sharing aspect is so much lower on my list of priorities.
00:39:14.62
Seth Macey
And sometimes I feel guilty about that and sometimes I wish things were different. But my priorities, I feel like, are the way they are because I am who I am. And that may change as time goes on. Like, honestly, I'm i'm sitting here listening and looking at your page and thinking like, oh, it's so beautifully curated. She posts once a day because it fills her heart. Like, I'm that's so I wish I had that, you know.
00:39:43.46
Seth Macey
um But at the same time, I do have that when the image is done in Lightroom.
00:39:50.66
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:39:52.43
Seth Macey
Does that make sense?
00:39:53.96
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:39:55.39
Seth Macey
What do you guys think of this? Tear me apart. Let's go again.
00:39:58.39
Hannah
No, I feel like, I feel like though we're so conditioned to think we have to post that like any sort of ah value relies on us posting on Instagram.
00:40:09.33
Hannah
But like if if it brings you joy and happiness and you feel complete after documenting this image, then like, isn't that the point?
00:40:15.68
Aaron
Mm hmm.
00:40:16.74
Seth Macey
That's what I'm saying.
00:40:16.83
Hannah
Like, yeah, I think that's the point for you.
00:40:17.88
Aaron
yeah
00:40:19.63
Hannah
And it doesn't have to be like, oh, I need to go post right away. Like for me, what brings me joy about posting is talking about like the different things that these these critters that I'm posting go through like what their what their life is like out living in the wilderness like for wolves specifically like they're my absolute favorite and like if I could just go photograph wolves and live in the woods for the rest of my life and document them oh my god that would bring me the most joy possible but to be able to have
00:40:51.19
Seth Macey
Well, now you're really going to hate me because I have like 400 on my.
00:40:56.76
Hannah
Oh my god, yeah.
00:40:58.34
Seth Macey
I mean, that's what happens when you go to remote Manitoba ah was super fortunate to do that.
00:40:58.67
Aaron
Yeah.
00:41:01.28
Hannah
Truly.
00:41:02.58
Seth Macey
But I hear exactly what you're saying.
00:41:04.76
Aaron
yeah
00:41:04.77
Seth Macey
And, you know, I do I do post my images. I post them on 500 PX. Anybody who I know that's such a like there's probably a small portion of people who are very active on there. But it's probably my new favorite platform and full disclosure, like I've been affiliated and done work with them before. I'm an ambassador for them, but I am because I like it and I don't have to get sucked into the potential distractions that and the bells and whistles that Instagram offers. I am very much somebody who I am disciplined at the source. So when I'm at the grocery store, I don't go down the candy isles. I don't go down that stuff and it's not in the house. So therefore I eat healthy.
00:41:44.41
Seth Macey
If I don't go on Instagram, I save my time. Once I'm in there, all bets are off, and I know that about myself, so I try to stay as far away from the platform as I can. Does that hurt me at times? Would my career be further if I spent more time pushing my Instagram and my and my content? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know.
00:42:07.00
Seth Macey
I wonder that sometimes, but I also know myself that there's so many other things on the list to do that I can't jeopardize going down that rabbit hole of memes and reels and the death scroll because I have to get that stuff done. And I'm not saying that people who are able to engage in the platform have their priorities wrong or are wasting their time. Maybe they're just better than I am at managing their level of distraction.
00:42:33.80
Aaron
Yeah. Well, I think let's, let's rewind to when I was a kid, people did art to do art, right? They, they found peace in it. They would, they break out the watercolors and spend eight hours and share it with absolutely no one.
00:42:49.92
Seth Macey
Yeah.
00:42:50.16
Aaron
And there's still people that do that today. I play, I play guitar. I play guitar almost every day. I'm not posting songs or things that, um yeah, it's not, it's not that what you said about photography is me with music.
00:42:58.59
Seth Macey
No one hears it.
00:43:06.45
Aaron
It fulfills me at that spot right there.
00:43:06.59
Seth Macey
Interesting.
00:43:09.12
Aaron
Now you do stuff professionally. Occasionally I'll go play out with my friend and like we get paid and we go out for a couple of hours and we, we share it at that point. But every single day of it is not a, is not a share.
00:43:20.71
Aaron
I think. photography, painting, acting, like whatever it may be, whatever your passion is, your thing is, music, it was something that was done most of the time privately or within a small group, right?
00:43:35.25
Aaron
And then this idea of being able to share and get accolades, attention for it, which is great.
00:43:41.02
Seth Macey
globally.
00:43:41.91
Aaron
Yeah, globally, which which is wonderful. But then there's an overlap between people who truly love the art and are also sharing it versus people are like, what can I share to get some of this attention and feels?
00:43:58.31
Seth Macey
yeah
00:43:59.81
Aaron
So there there is this sort of saturation of it. And I think i think photography is something that more than maybe I'm thinking out loud and on the fly here. But photography this day and age, you can, if you have money, you can buy yourself a decent camera and pretty quickly can take some decent images. Now, whether you have the eye or the composition or the sort of natural talent that may go along with it or the work ethic, you can get to a point where a lot of people are saying, fire image, great job. This is awesome. Follow pretty quickly. It's not that easy with
00:44:41.92
Aaron
maybe a lot of other art forms. Oil painting, that's gonna take a long time for you to master that before you're sharing your work and people are being excited about it. Piano, guitar, years before anyone gives a crap about like what you're playing. Photography's a pretty quick bell curve, I think. You can argue me on it, but I think it's pretty quick to get to a point. You go to a beautiful place, learn how to snap a shot,
00:45:12.74
Aaron
Post it, you're gonna get some people that are like, that's an amazing place. You can pay your way a lot easier than some other things. Now that does not take away from anyone that has put in tons and tons of time to study the craft and perfect it and work on editing for hours and hours and hours and hours. But I think that that whole art form was an easy and true way into a lot of attention from a lot of strangers, right?
00:45:44.12
Seth Macey
Right. I know for me too, I don't know about you too. Maybe there's different moments throughout the creative process that this occurs for you too, but for me,
00:45:55.51
Seth Macey
The most, one of the most exciting moments is when you film a sequence or a clip or you take a photo of something and you look at the back of the camera and you go, oh my God, that's so good.
00:46:07.80
Hannah
Thank you.
00:46:10.08
Seth Macey
Like I'm so proud of what I was just able to capture and it's a tingly moment. So that tingly moment is at that stage for me. And I wonder where on the creative process from pressing the shutter to posting on Instagram where people, the majority of people where that moment is the strongest, is it at the publish or the post moment?
00:46:38.72
Seth Macey
Is it at the reply, even after that, is it the replying to those 50 fire emojis? I know people have gone way better now that it actually doing genuine comments, but for the sake of the, the argument, we'll, we'll make a hyperbole.
00:46:49.56
Aaron
Yeah.
00:46:52.31
Seth Macey
Uh, like where along that process do you feel the most giddy and the most at home?
00:46:58.19
Aaron
That's a great question. You should post that as a ah question on our on our site. But I think there is a timeline right from.
00:47:10.12
Aaron
Maybe it's before the shutter is even done, like getting up for sunrise.
00:47:12.16
Seth Macey
Some people might love planning too.
00:47:14.61
Aaron
Yeah, getting up for sunrise, and you're going to a spot, and you sit in the fog, and it's quiet, and here here emerges a deer.
00:47:19.45
Seth Macey
Uh-huh.
00:47:23.41
Aaron
And you're like, like this is this is my this is my highlight right here, you know before it even even close to taking a picture or looking at it.
00:47:25.68
Seth Macey
This is it.
00:47:33.40
Seth Macey
Well, what about you two? Could you, could you, are you able to figure out where that moment occurs or is there multiple of those two different degrees? Let's let our guests go first here.
00:47:42.80
Aaron
Yeah. yeah
00:47:45.39
Hannah
I feel like it's kind of the spectrum depending on what you're photographing. It's like... For me, i get like I said, I shoot a lot of slow shutter photography.
00:47:56.97
Hannah
And like if I nail a slow shutter image, like it makes me so happy that I'm like, OK, that's good enough for me. like I might post it, I might not. But for me, it's kind of that flex of like doing something different in photography.
00:48:09.52
Hannah
and Versus like when it's with wildlife, I'm a lot more intentional with my photography in that I
00:48:10.13
Seth Macey
Mm hmm.
00:48:18.61
Hannah
I think it comes kind of like even after the publish. So say like, I photographed some wolves in Yellowstone and I shared those images. I mean, I was super jazz about it.
00:48:30.14
Hannah
It was super jazz about the entire experience was like out of body. Like I ah black wolf crossed the road, maybe like 250 yards from me.
00:48:37.09
Seth Macey
That's awesome.
00:48:37.41
Hannah
It was magic. It was, oh my God, the coolest thing ever.
00:48:41.70
Seth Macey
i looking at it right now
00:48:41.97
Hannah
and It's just like that moment for me was everything. But then the messaging of that moment and just being able to share that experience with other people and then having people direct message me and talk to me and like have a conversation about wolves and just kind of like the current climate that they are existing in in terms of politics.
00:49:05.57
Hannah
um they It's just cool to have those conversations and for me that comes back to my purpose and it's like I share these images to to create more education for people.
00:49:06.70
Seth Macey
I'm looking at it right now
00:49:16.67
Hannah
around topics they might not necessarily fully understand. And if my photo can be kind of like a jumping off point for them to kind of explore a little more deeply on their own, then awesome. And it goes the same for for photos of India when i'm or when I'm traveling internationally, just kind of creating these thought-provoking images for them to be curious about something for themselves, to then go either research or go to the place and see for themselves.
00:49:43.78
Hannah
And so for that wolf example, like I got so excited, 10 times more excited than ever hitting the publish button on those posts of having conversations with people being like, whoa, tell me more about this experience, or how can I do this? Or like, I didn't know this, this, and this about wolves, stuff like that it really like comes back to my purpose. And like, that's what gets me going.
00:50:09.94
Seth Macey
Hmm, interesting.
00:50:13.14
Aaron
Yeah, amazing. For me, I think there's different there's different things. there There just are. ah If you're doing video, I think in terms of artistic and narrative and storyboarding, putting it together,
00:50:29.43
Aaron
There's just so many ways a video can go off the rails. I feel like when it all comes together and the scenes work together and you edit it right and the music's right and there's a flow to it and it it comes together congruently. That's a very exciting moment because video is a ton of work so if you're if you're creating a narrative like a storyline and it comes together sometimes it's like magic i feel like it's magic to me and it's just like wow i mean my my van trip with my son like none of that narrative was really
00:51:06.19
Aaron
there until I put the video together and and started this voiceover stuff and it like it it dove into this thing of I was the one speaking this whole time and and the imagery is him as like a little boy but it's me so like this whole narrative when that came together was like oh my like this is how did where did this come from so there's like this magic there I think in photography there's hatching the moments, these moments. I just remember one. I've always wanted to see a kestrel. I've seen a few, but they've been far away. Such a beautiful, small bird of prey. Really hard to get a good photo of. um One was flying like right at me when I was at that cabin. And I had my wildlife lens, and I got a couple of photos. And it jumped off its perch and flew right by me again to go back towards the barn. I think it was hunting like little finches, little birds. So it was flying right at me. And my Sony, thank you, Sony.
00:52:01.96
Aaron
ah nailed the nailed the focus as this bird's flying right at me and looking at it back on screen. Like I haven't really, I haven't edited that photo or posted it um or published, I should say, but just like looking at it and editing it when you're like, oh my, like that's sharp, like that came in. That's unbelievable. Even if it's not the best photo, like composition wise or looks wise, it's just like, oh, that was so cool. And I caught that moment.
00:52:29.75
Aaron
So I think catching moments ah is is another one of those little little peaks, for sure.
00:52:37.19
Hannah
It's almost like like documentary style or or photojournalist style in that sometimes you shoot and you don't necessarily have any sort of like expectation or attachment to whatever happens.
00:52:48.47
Hannah
You're more so just like documenting this thing happening. And if you get a good photo, amazing. Hopefully your tools work right and your camera pulls focus.
00:52:56.26
Aaron
Yeah.
00:52:57.70
Hannah
But yeah i I can relate to that in so many ways of just kind of like documenting life as it happens. And I think with photography and and video, we get so caught up in and creating an image or making an image or getting that photo that we forget about all the other smaller moments that sometimes pass us by that we otherwise might not have seen. So it's like paying a little bit more attention to those smaller moments too, or giving room for the unexpected.
00:53:26.32
Aaron
And you just reminded me, and I've talked about this before, I think one of the the most magic about wildlife photography is you might get this idea, and this has happened, I can't tell you how many times, that there's a bald eagle nest on on this lake. Okay, I'm gonna kayak out to this thing, I wanna see these bald eagles. So in your mind, there's this story that's playing out as I'm gonna get a great photo, I hope I get a great photo of bald eagles.
00:53:51.06
Aaron
and you get out there and the blue heron flies right at you and lands 10 feet from you and is hunting next to you none of that storyline was in your head and then that is what occurs and that what makes like these unbelievable photos from the day which you had no idea no cognition of that even possibly happening and then this like magical Plan B happens all the time, right?
00:54:16.11
Aaron
Like you go out with a purpose and then you it could be a chipmunk that's right in front of you with like a cute flower in its mouth or a nut in its mouth.
00:54:16.43
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:54:24.36
Aaron
And you're like, that's such imp perfect lighting. and You're like, I had no thought, no consciousness of this thing happening. I had all the images of a bald eagle happening in my head and how I'm going to capture this thing.
00:54:36.24
Aaron
And that was fine. But this amazing thing that I wasn't even thinking of happened and I documented it. I think that's another magical point along those lines where it's like this unexpected brilliance it is so cute Seth's favorite that's what made him famous yeah
00:54:48.30
Seth Macey
Also, any chipmunk photo is a good one.
00:54:48.37
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:54:52.00
Seth Macey
My favorite.
00:54:52.01
Hannah
That is true. They are.
00:54:56.98
Seth Macey
It's my first wildlife photo ever.
00:54:58.05
Hannah
Really? really
00:54:59.88
Seth Macey
was it Was it my first wildlife photograph ever that I at least was proud enough to share, be psyched on was a chipmunk standing on its hind legs, looking around a piece of plywood that was leaned up against, um, like a structure.
00:55:22.69
Hannah
That's awesome. Did you share it anywhere?
00:55:25.63
Seth Macey
Yes, I did.
00:55:26.70
Aaron
What's this for sure?
00:55:26.93
Seth Macey
It's gotta be way down there.
00:55:26.97
Hannah
OK. I'm going to go scroll after this.
00:55:30.74
Seth Macey
I'll send you it right now.
00:55:32.31
Hannah
Cool.
00:55:32.51
Seth Macey
And it's still one of my, I printed it and I hung it in my bedroom.
00:55:32.77
Hannah
If you get a random leg, that's why.
00:55:35.28
Seth Macey
It's still my, cause it was, it was the photo that got me hooked.
00:55:39.89
Aaron
Yeah.
00:55:40.08
Hannah
That's awesome.
00:55:41.58
Seth Macey
Right. And it's interesting how that can, an experience like that can do that.
00:55:42.01
Hannah
Oh, that's it.
00:55:45.11
Seth Macey
And forever I've had chipmunks so dear to my heart.
00:55:45.30
Hannah
Yeah.
00:55:49.93
Seth Macey
I named them when I see them.
00:55:50.04
Aaron
yeah
00:55:51.97
Hannah
Yeah. My dog has two monks near to his heart as well. He loves to hunt them.
00:55:55.15
Seth Macey
Yeah.
00:55:57.09
Aaron
Hunt them.
00:55:57.47
Seth Macey
Yeah. That's a tough one.
00:55:59.30
Hannah
We don't allow that though.
00:55:59.41
Aaron
Strong, strong prey drive.
00:56:02.35
Hannah
Yeah, very strong, Pedro.
00:56:02.54
Aaron
ah
00:56:04.40
Hannah
You had said something that kind of like provoked this other thought in my head, and i now I've lost it, but it was along the lines of um what you were speaking on of kind of like ah allowing this space for other things to happen or allowing for the unexpected.
00:56:10.53
Aaron
Ah.
00:56:20.77
Hannah
and I wonder if there are those people out there that would So you gave the example of the blue heron. I wonder if there are people out there that would just be like, no, screw the blue heron. I'm getting this eagle. That is the shot. Or are we all allowing for that space of like the unexpected? Because I feel like for myself, I definitely allow space for that of.
00:56:43.29
Hannah
and And sometimes those are like the bigger stories or like the um more interesting experiences are the ones you you don't necessarily expect. So I'd be curious like what I guess other people in the ether that are listening would kind of like how they relate to that in any way.
00:57:02.16
Aaron
Yeah, it's a good point. And I i think there's, so allowing the space, I think also, we talked about this last week with ah video versus photo and making the decision of like, what am I doing today? I struggle with this with cabin photography and trying to capture moments. There's, I'm there for a little bit. There's a sunrise, right? Like let's just say sunrise.
00:57:25.89
Aaron
Do I throw the drone up? It's awesome. Should I do video right now? Should I do a photo of this awesome scene, a video of this? Like my brain starts to go haywire and you have to...
00:57:34.35
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:57:37.53
Aaron
to the opposite of letting things happen, you almost have to be like, I am focusing on video right now. And like this story, I can't do it all.
00:57:45.01
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:57:46.56
Aaron
Like I am going to miss stuff if I try to do it all. So I have to just do this one thing. And maybe that's more along like client work and business work, you have to be maybe more focused um and let less in.
00:57:59.87
Aaron
Because sometimes it's a little overwhelming. But for wildlife, if I'm sitting there, like I'm taking whatever I can get. And usually I have an idea of what's going to happen. And it's rarely what I'm walking away with. And it's all these like, awesome other moments that I just wasn't even thinking about, you know? So and maybe it depends. Seth, what do you think?
00:58:24.07
Seth Macey
I don't know. I think you just have to be open to whatever comes your way.
00:58:26.97
Aaron
Yeah.
00:58:27.53
Seth Macey
I mean, how can you not be? I don't think you can be that narrow minded. Here I go again, telling people how they ah they don't think this way.
00:58:35.49
Hannah
Don't think this way.
00:58:38.21
Seth Macey
How I think is going into any i beyond just photography, going into any opportunity with what else like having peripherals.
00:58:43.90
Aaron
Mm hmm.
00:58:49.84
Seth Macey
What other direction could this go? Right? Uh, I think if you're just in general, if you're too rigid in life, again, speaking from experience, I think you can miss opportunity or, or shut yourself out from, from good things happening.
00:58:54.40
Aaron
Yeah.
00:59:17.67
Hannah
Mm hmm.
00:59:18.55
Aaron
Then I think of the blue planet where they're in the hide for three months trying to get a Siberian tiger, you know, like literally day after day after day after day with that one shot in mind.
00:59:18.77
Hannah
It's like, it's like
00:59:24.72
Seth Macey
Yeah.
00:59:29.10
Aaron
I'm sure they saw other things, um but their goal was focused, right? Like beyond focused to accomplish it.
00:59:35.51
Seth Macey
Yeah.
00:59:40.78
Hannah
Yeah, I think about like like when you travel too. There are definitely those people out there that stick to their itinerary and that's that. I feel like being able to be fluid with what's coming at you in terms of photography or travel or whatever else it is, I feel like that's kind of the ah sweet spot almost of sharing that all-encompassing experience because without those little unexpected moments,
01:00:10.87
Hannah
that's That's what the entire experience is made of, right?
01:00:11.19
Aaron
Yeah.
01:00:13.75
Hannah
So it's, yeah, I feel like, I don't know. If you're listening and you're rigid, be more fluid. but That's my that's right advice.
01:00:22.39
Aaron
And if you're listening or too fluid, be more rigid.
01:00:25.04
Hannah
Yeah, you gotta be perfect balance of those two things.
01:00:27.96
Aaron
Perfect balance.
01:00:29.13
Seth Macey
Be the perfect human.
01:00:29.70
Aaron
Yeah.
01:00:30.96
Hannah
Yes.
01:00:31.16
Aaron
Yeah. No, it's just, it's ideas, it's perspectives. Uh, it's true.
01:00:35.34
Seth Macey
Just reason.
01:00:36.97
Aaron
It's, uh, Seth and I plan our, our TPM retreats yearly and we, not one has gone exactly like the itinerary. You, you have lots of options and you have lots of things and you have to feel,
01:00:48.90
Aaron
You have to feel the weather. You have to feel the temperament of people, the just the overall temperature, and figure out what we need. I mean, it's very often we're like, do we just plan? We have a five mile hike plan, but we're like dying. like let's Everyone needs a nap instead. That's the way it is, you know? um Yeah, hit it. So listen, it's been awesome chatting with you. We're coming up on an hour.
01:01:18.14
Aaron
ah We want to wrap it up with, I think, one thought or question that we like to ask a lot of our guests. And that question is, you started way back when, 2017, if you could go but go back to your younger self, if you could go back to that that first version of yourself,
01:01:39.29
Aaron
What advice Having lived all this life. What advice would you give yourself back then? ah Starting out ah that you feel like would help you out the most as your present person now
01:01:53.76
Hannah
I think for me it would be ah focus like truly on what makes you happy, what you like photographing, the stories you like to tell. Don't go down the rabbit hole of what everyone else is telling, like all the stories everyone else is telling. Stick to what you like, what you're passionate about and follow that and that will get you to where you want to go.
01:02:17.67
Hannah
a hell of a lot faster than following the same track every as everyone else and i wish i could rewind if i could rewind time that'd be amazing i think i would have spread all the little good critter love a lot sooner but it took the right amount of time to get me where i am today and i think without that time from 2017 to now. I just think it'd be a totally different person and I'm grateful for who I am now and I'm grateful for who I was then and yeah.
01:02:51.01
Aaron
Yeah, that's awesome.
01:02:52.03
Seth Macey
Awesome.
01:02:52.59
Aaron
so So it's not just, it's it's not just us people.
01:02:53.13
Seth Macey
Well, thanks so much for coming on today.
01:02:55.37
Aaron
It's not just us saying, be happy with what you're posting and what you're doing. It's our guests too. So get out there, make sure you love what you're doing.
01:03:05.97
Aaron
Otherwise, you're just gonna have to retract and come back to it. Because it's gonna be calling in your heart.
01:03:08.75
Hannah
Mm-hmm.
01:03:11.02
Aaron
It's gonna be calling for you.
01:03:10.95
Hannah
Mm-hmm.
01:03:13.11
Aaron
So don't waste time.
01:03:13.35
Hannah
I know. Don't waste time. Listen to what you're passionate about. Listen to what gets you out of the bed in the morning.
01:03:20.57
Aaron
That's right.
01:03:21.79
Seth Macey
Good stuff. Thanks so much for joining us today.
01:03:24.16
Aaron
Thanks, Hannah.
01:03:24.40
Hannah
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
01:03:25.86
Seth Macey
Till next time.
01:03:26.37
Aaron
Bye.
01:03:28.21
Hannah
See?