Fall 2025 Photography Tips for Capturing More Than Just Colors

In this episode, we explore the beauty and challenges of fall photography, diving into creative approaches to capture the season beyond the typical "color pop" shots. From discussing gear choices like polarizers and ND filters to sharing personal stories about avoiding crowded hotspots, we offer practical tips for creating meaningful, unique fall images. Whether it’s focusing on niche subjects like mushrooms or salmon, embracing minimalist gear, or finding peace in the process, this conversation is packed with insights for photographers looking to make the most of autumn. Plus, a friendly PSA: take it easy on those saturation sliders!

Expect to Learn:

• How to move beyond the typical "color pop" shots
• How minimalist gear choices can enhance efficiency and creativity
• Strategies for finding peaceful, off-the-beaten-path locations
• How to create a diverse collection of fall images
• The importance of finding peace and joy in the process

Sponsors:

Thanks to Tamron for sponsoring this episode! Now through September 28th, save up to $300 on Tamron lenses like the 18-300mm all-in-one zoom or the 35-150mm F/2-2.8 VXD. Students and faculty can save even more with the Tamron EDU Program. Visit www.tamron-americas.com or your local retailer to shop and save!

Thanks to the National Park Foundation for sponsoring today’s episode. Enter the Share the Experience photo contest for a chance to win $10,000 and prizes from Celestron, Historic Hotels of America, and YETI. The grand prize winner’s photo could be featured on the America the Beautiful—the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass.

 Submit your best shots now at sharetheexperience.org/tpm

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Thanks for listening!
Go get shooting, go get editing, and stay focused.

@sethmacey
@mantis_photography
@thephotographermindset

Transcript

00:11.83
Seth Macey
So the sunglasses, if you're watching YouTube, I got yellow tinted sunglasses.

00:13.32
Aaron
Yeah, man.

00:16.97
Seth Macey
They look like nuch's. This is the new shtick. Aaron's got some too. ah Head to YouTube. We wear sunglasses now because we're losers.

00:25.02
Aaron
I'm just going to stare at the camera and smile the whole time.

00:28.58
Seth Macey
But these are like Jeffrey Dahmer looking. Not that that's a good thing by any means.

00:34.96
Aaron
You got on and I went cheese and rice.

00:37.78
Seth Macey
This guy's going to eat me.

00:38.96
Aaron
What the hell is going on?

00:39.30
Seth Macey
You said.

00:42.28
Aaron
Matches the shirt nicely though. I feel like you're hunting.

00:43.38
Seth Macey
does match. It didn't even do that on purpose.

00:47.77
Seth Macey
Yeah. oh yeah Make sure. Yeah. Orange.

00:50.77
Aaron
Yeah.

00:51.43
Seth Macey
That's great.

00:51.65
Aaron
Target shooting something.

00:53.10
Seth Macey
Exactly. Exactly. I bought a two-in-one polarizer ND filter you know with the little slidey things. You can change it over.

01:02.55
Aaron
I sure do.

01:03.23
Seth Macey
Because I was looking for a polarizer because I said, huh, um I think I'm a professional. I should probably act like one.

01:10.47
Aaron
go on

01:12.81
Seth Macey
And I was like, huh, they have two-in-ones. I don't want to be switching them over. So I paid extra for that. I think it's KNF.

01:18.85
Aaron
yeah yeah I think I had that one and I gotta be honest I lost it no no

01:19.74
Seth Macey
Is that the brand? Is that a brand?

01:25.53
Seth Macey
going to be like, got to be honest, it sucked. So I'll do a better one.

01:30.10
Aaron
it was good

01:31.35
Seth Macey
Okay.

01:31.87
Aaron
if I remember correctly, uh, I feel like it was one of those ones that I lost quickly and then was like, I have an, I have an ND and I have a polarizer.

01:42.38
Aaron
So I'm not going to get that again, but, uh, useful.

01:43.91
Seth Macey
Yeah.

01:46.31
Aaron
Definitely. Especially for like filming to keep the aperture.

01:52.64
Seth Macey
Yeah, like when you want to shoot at and it's midday,

01:54.78
Aaron
Yep.

01:56.40
Seth Macey
kind of

01:56.65
Aaron
Yeah, very important. um I was thinking like your style and your stuff. um Yeah, like that would be very useful for keeping your aperture to the way you want.

02:06.20
Seth Macey
Yeah, some people might be like, duh, but my approach has always been keeping everything super light. I like to just pick everything. like going into my bag and throwing stuff on. and It's not heavy by any means. I'm just very much, let me pick it up and shoot.

02:19.77
Seth Macey
you know I've never really had problems in midday light with photography, but there's been a few times where the aperture has gotten to me filming. so I said, hey, enough's enough. And I spent like $100 on it.

02:31.21
Seth Macey
A two-in-one. Because then i was like, I'm not going to be bothered switching out polarizer in and an ND.

02:32.03
Aaron
Yeah.

02:35.53
Seth Macey
Do I want to sit there and interchange them? No. I just want to have a two-in-one. so Same one.

02:40.21
Aaron
Yeah. Polarizers are tricky though. So I'll give you that warning in terms of your angle and where the sun is. So it really, so i would have to look this up to make sure, but I do know just from, yeah, I'm 70% sure that,

02:48.60
Seth Macey
Tell me.

02:54.58
Seth Macey
Jamie, check that real quick. Like on Rogan. Say something then we have our producer check the fact.

03:01.56
Aaron
to 92% sure that there's an angle, the sun, like if the sun's directly at you or directly behind you, I don't think it works well. The sun, it the angle of light has to be 90 degrees for it to really work its best.

03:16.59
Aaron
It could be talking out my ass, but my point is this, is that if you are set up wrong, like in your looking at the sky with a polarizer and it's set up, it might polarize half of your

03:24.95
Seth Macey
wow

03:30.46
Aaron
view. So you get into, you get into post and you see like, Oh, half the sky has the glare gone, but half the sky doesn't because of the angle and where you're pointing.

03:31.85
Seth Macey
Okay, so you said

03:40.86
Aaron
So you really have to like look at it and look through the viewfinder and make sure that it's at least even in the middle, uh, doing what it's supposed to be doing because you, you do that and then you turn it vertically and then you have the complete wrong orientation for the polarizer.

03:56.81
Seth Macey
Hmm. It sounds like I bought exactly the thing I bought the exact thing. It's going to cause a problem that I don't want.

04:03.93
Aaron
Well,

04:04.18
Seth Macey
he's laughpping you're Like it's not good if the sun is behind you or in front of you So like I have a 50, 50 chance of it not being a pain in the ass.

04:10.20
Aaron
yeah.

04:12.84
Seth Macey
Great.

04:14.20
Aaron
it's just good if the sun's like to the side and glaring and then it cuts through it.

04:18.28
Seth Macey
Okay, well, i'll ask the sun to do that when there's there's a photo opportunity.

04:20.45
Aaron
Yeah.

04:22.44
Seth Macey
But anyways, I thought I'd tell you. I actually ah bought a piece of gear.

04:24.47
Aaron
Yeah. no

04:26.83
Seth Macey
Should button for Bought a piece of gear.

04:29.59
Aaron
Yeah. You, um, I know, i know you since I've known you, since I've known you, I know you that when you do buy something, it's very thought out.

04:34.47
Seth Macey
You do know me.

04:41.44
Seth Macey
Well, yeah, my people know my buying things. It's when I'm not when I want something.

04:45.31
Aaron
You're not, you're not impulsive.

04:46.97
Seth Macey
No, it's not when want something.

04:47.40
Aaron
I don't think.

04:48.45
Seth Macey
It's when I've hit a restriction or a limit on what my gear can do because I'm or like I'm trying to do something new and I'm unable to.

04:57.37
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

04:58.33
Seth Macey
And

05:01.70
Seth Macey
skill alone isn't enough to get the outcome.

05:06.63
Aaron
Yeah. And that's good.

05:08.81
Seth Macey
That's my gear policy.

05:08.87
Aaron
That makes it, it's kind of, it is minimalist in the sense of like, what do I need to just get to this point? And that's it. i don't need everything.

05:18.67
Seth Macey
That's an interesting you know conversation too because can create a lot of professional work for yourself and for clients with the bare minimum. um

05:34.40
Seth Macey
I don't think you need the top of the line stuff to

05:40.93
Seth Macey
really set yourself apart. I mean, no, rarely, least people I've been doing work for, like, oh, wow, R5?

05:52.53
Seth Macey
Ah, this guy doesn't have an R5. I don't know.

05:57.01
Aaron
Right, or...

05:57.24
Seth Macey
But I understand, too, that it's the better gear. It's the sum of small parts often. the So I get it, too.

06:04.26
Aaron
Well, sometimes there it's ease, right?

06:04.25
Seth Macey
But...

06:06.02
Aaron
You don't want to be going into your bag, switching things, switching lenses. So Tamron's 35 to 150 is a very versatile lens for a lot of jobs, especially in the client world.

06:08.76
Seth Macey
Mm-hmm.

06:17.64
Aaron
So do I need that lens when I have a 24 to 70? Probably not. I can move, and but it just gives me a little bit more of that range in, in the moment, you know, so it's like, it makes, it can make the job easier.

06:31.68
Seth Macey
Yeah.

06:35.79
Aaron
it doesn't necessarily make you better, but it can make the job easier it can make it more efficient that you're a Osmo man.

06:38.15
Seth Macey
Yeah.

06:44.68
Aaron
What a cool, tool to be able to do a lot of the things that you want to do very quickly and have good results, but not be like, i need to, I need 20 minutes to set up a gimbal, get my aperture, right? Get everything like that. It's just the outcome versus the work put into it. Sometimes tools just are right for the job and help you to be as efficient and minimalist as possible.

07:11.56
Seth Macey
What was the Burkhard quote that he said when he was on our show? The best gear, the best camera is the one you're going to use.

07:16.46
Aaron
the one you want yeah The one you want to use or the one you're going to use. Yes.

07:20.08
Seth Macey
Yeah. I mean, I flip out that little Osmo on jobs all the time where like I'm supposed to be the pro and like I am the pro on set or whatever, but I just have this little dinky Osmo.

07:20.38
Aaron
Something like that.

07:30.63
Seth Macey
No one has said anything like, where's your real camera?

07:30.91
Aaron
Yeah.

07:32.67
Seth Macey
Like people are amazed.

07:34.84
Aaron
Yeah. It's great quality. It's only going to get better and smaller and easier, all this stuff.

07:36.94
Seth Macey
Yeah.

07:40.37
Aaron
So it's it is very cool um just where things are going.

07:43.86
Seth Macey
i guess rewinding what i was saying when i was mentioning you know you can do a lot of great stuff with minimal gear don't let not having the best gear be an excuse i guess is really the point i wanted to make from saying no to an opportunity or a job etc right

08:00.52
Aaron
Yeah.

08:00.54
Seth Macey
right

08:02.58
Aaron
And find, like find stuff that is versatile, can do a lot of things. Uh, the Osmo can do a lot of things for you.

08:14.04
Aaron
You can use it for this recording right now. You can use it for walkthroughs. You can use it, uh, to do interviews, like ah a bunch of things for it. Um, you don't need to get,

08:26.16
Aaron
a ton of equipment to specialize in every exact thing. It's just like, it's like, why not have every prime lens? Right.

08:36.79
Aaron
But that becomes a pain the ass. It just does a 24 70 or a 35 to one 50 from Tamron is, is a wonderful thing. 200 to 600. Wonderful.

08:48.60
Aaron
i mean, how many times no Matt's listening, but like he, he's a six, he had a 600 prime. Awesome. He was lugging that thing around, having to switch it off, put on a shorter lens, put it back on that becomes cumbersome.

09:05.19
Aaron
Right.

09:05.89
Seth Macey
Yeah.

09:06.56
Aaron
But that was the best thing for the specific thing.

09:09.77
Seth Macey
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

09:13.48
Aaron
I don't know.

09:13.69
Seth Macey
I mean, I'd be more stressed out about being on the hook for 16 grand to Nikon, the Nikon pro community. If I lost that thing.

09:19.82
Aaron
Yeah.

09:21.06
Seth Macey
and Insane.

09:21.87
Aaron
I think about like my musical habit too is guitar playing guitar takes practice on any one of my guitars and you you i collect guitars and i have a bunch of them for oh that's a different sound that sounds totally different that's that's what my favorite band uses that's what this blues sound sounds like that's what slide guitar sounds like but to really get great at the craft i need one good guitar They're all strung the same.

09:52.36
Aaron
It's all the same fretting. It's all basically the same. So that main skill, you just need what you're going to use. what's What's your favorite guitar? What are you going to pick up the most and play the most versus having a closet filled with them?

10:09.21
Aaron
And it's I think it's kind of the same with camera gear. like Yeah, anyways.

10:12.34
Seth Macey
sure feel that way are you gonna get out for this fall peak fall is gonna be early this year maybe we should do a whole episode on like fall it's well timed because mean we're in orange orange you glad uh the past few years i've kind of just like

10:19.86
Aaron
That's what they're saying.

10:23.73
Aaron
Yeah, you're wearing all orange.

10:33.05
Seth Macey
haven't been as big on getting out and shooting the typical stereotypical color pop fruity pebbles that I used to for a few reasons.

10:39.52
Aaron
Yeah.

10:42.36
Seth Macey
I think like the pressure, the time pressure and feeling like you've got to put stuff out.

10:51.89
Seth Macey
has kind of in the past couple years put me off to the whole fall shenanigans. I'm not trying to be downer here.

10:58.54
Aaron
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

10:59.25
Seth Macey
If that's your thing, go for it. But I had a really good time last year shooting fall where I, intentionally went out and, said I'm not even going look out at colors. going look down and around.

11:14.50
Seth Macey
You know, it's a wet time of season where I am moss on tree roots, mushrooms, leaf patterns on the ground. I had such a good time. i had such a good time shooting fall, but not shooting fall in the way that it's brilliantly showcased on our phones.

11:34.43
Seth Macey
I'm not saying that's better. I just wanted to, you know, Share that in case anybody feels like there's a pressure to capture autumn on the East Coast, perhaps the West Coast. know there's larches.

11:49.23
Aaron
Yeah.

11:49.21
Seth Macey
ah in a way that ends up making it almost not fun. It's supposed to be fun, right? If you want to go out with your drone and do all that, you know, and get all those crazy mixed color pops, by all means. But mean, there shouldn't be a stress to feel like you have to and that you have to get it out.

12:09.07
Seth Macey
And for God's sakes, everyone, take it easy on the saturation sliders this season. Please.

12:14.32
Aaron
ah see so This season, take it easy on the saturation and hue sliders.

12:16.01
Seth Macey
Please. Take it easy. This fall season, this fall 2025 season, please take it easy on your saturation sliders.

12:27.23
Aaron
Greens are allowed to be seen. It's okay.

12:30.15
Seth Macey
It's okay. You don't need to be a vibrance a hundred. You don't need to be at saturation a hundred.

12:36.52
Aaron
It's not even realistic looking at this point.

12:41.36
Seth Macey
And also another PSA. Take it easy on red. Okay. Take it easy on the red slider.

12:47.97
Aaron
There wasn't even red at the scene that you were there. You made all the burnt orange red. We know what you did.

12:53.79
Seth Macey
Zero saturation movements. Okay. Hell, you can go in reverse.

12:57.41
Aaron
Yeah.

13:00.09
Aaron
I want all, I dare someone all black and white fall photos this year.

13:06.11
Seth Macey
ah Yeah. mean, be a bit of a savage.

13:10.56
Aaron
Or just do the the one color, the mono color. Just leave it.

13:14.12
Seth Macey
monor

13:14.57
Aaron
Just leave the red.

13:16.30
Seth Macey
I feel like every year, you know, as somebody breaks the chain with sharing fall stuff, it'll be like, well, now somebody will share something from last year or something. And it just sets off this chain reaction, like a nuclear fission reaction.

13:29.03
Aaron
I'm surprised I haven't seen a lot yet.

13:32.12
Seth Macey
And I think what ends up happening is this, the people confuse

13:41.83
Seth Macey
People often think that to get their photo to stand out, you got to push, you got to keep pushing the saturation. So as the fall season progresses and posts roll out, you just, I feel like you see things get gradually more saturated.

13:58.52
Aaron
Yeah. Yeah, it's true.

14:00.50
Seth Macey
Because that's the easy...

14:04.83
Seth Macey
In our minds, that's the easy way to make things next level as opposed to better color balance, for example. Like hue sliders or...

14:16.14
Aaron
Yeah, make it make it glow.

14:18.81
Seth Macey
Yeah. So again, PSA, I'm looking great at the camera. This fall season, please take it easy on your saturation slider. Don't abuse it. Don't push it too hard.

14:29.94
Seth Macey
It's delicate. Please.

14:32.59
Aaron
Yeah, you're you're not impressing anyone with these fake colors. That's not what it looks like. You're making...

14:40.56
Seth Macey
saturation 100, export it, re-import it back into Lightroom, and then 100 again.

14:42.79
Aaron
yeah

14:45.98
Aaron
Imagine all the poor bastards that are seeing these and flying and spending thousands to see this, like, need to see this nuclear fall that everyone's talking about in...

14:57.12
Aaron
in new England. Like I will pay to go see that. And then they get here and they're like, this is not what the pictures look like. That's a,

15:06.14
Seth Macey
we need ah We need a fall merch line it says take it easy on your saturation.

15:11.25
Aaron
there's sliders.

15:11.49
Seth Macey
don't know. Are you going to get out this season? What are you thinking?...............

15:15.29
Aaron
Listen, I'm still recovering from two years ago, Columbus Day weekend or indigenous people weekend, as we now call it, going to, which is a very popular fall trip, probably weekend, deciding on a whim to drive up to New Hampshire just for the day.

15:36.27
Aaron
And literally was in the car for 12 hours straight. through traffic, the highway, the conch highway and and New Hampshire being completely bumper to bumper, and then three hours home, it was beyond miserable, beyond miserable.

15:58.03
Aaron
And what I've said from there is I'm not i'm not doing the popular spots anymore for fall. I have been there.

16:09.98
Aaron
I've been part of the problem. I'm not being part of the problem anymore. I would go up north and explore logging roads or dirt roads or small towns that just kind of see where the wind takes me. But the spots where everyone goes to, to get certain photos, no longer, no longer.

16:33.58
Aaron
It's not, that is not, that's not fun to me anymore.

16:38.27
Seth Macey
So what's your approach then this year? What do you recommend?

16:40.82
Aaron
My approach this year is...

16:42.39
Seth Macey
Recommend for people who don't want to be a part of that either.

16:44.57
Aaron
i'm in Connecticut. Last year we had a really nice fall. ah There is plenty of stuff to do if you want to use color and and show color and showcase the fall. And you can use your sliders to make things pop and make things a little bit more special than they maybe were to your eye.

16:59.50
Seth Macey
Thank you.

17:02.24
Aaron
But find... some small woodland areas, a small waterfall with the trees around it that are going to change. Start searching now, start looking now for, oh that's a nice composition. That'll be really nice with the leaves color and changing and, and all that and and do it.

17:19.94
Aaron
maybe get a Maybe get a private cabin up in the Adirondacks somewhere that's off the beaten path so you can just be in the mountains and go for some hikes and stay for your own pleasure, I think.

17:30.80
Seth Macey
Thank

17:34.72
Aaron
Stay away from... some of those areas. Like I, I feel very lucky that I got into photography just as it was exploding just before COVID, just before it became this whirlwind of stuff. I photographed artist bluff is a beautiful hike in New Hampshire, very short, very picturesque hike with highways and mountains and a lake and a ski resort to your right.

18:03.53
Aaron
And yeah, Very beautiful. You've seen it a a hundred times, if not a thousand. I went straight up in peak fall, went down, took my photo, went up, took my photo, went down, get in the car, go get the train that's coming through the mountains.

18:19.68
Aaron
Like I was walking and and hiking and driving with free will. You've seen, maybe you haven't, but you've seen the reels of like the line.

18:29.99
Aaron
There's a literal hiking line going up this mountain, waiting in line to get to the top where now there's 200 people sitting there. Like it's, it's not, that's not peaceful or fun.

18:43.52
Aaron
That's just, that takes away the part that's so beautiful about photography to me at least is Of course, getting the photo is a big percent of photography, but there's a whole other percentage that's like being in nature, ah feeling peace, feeling quiet, feeling stillness.

19:04.40
Aaron
I'm not going to nature to literally be in like the most crowded subway station in New York City. That's not, that's not, that's taking out a huge chunk, a huge percentage of the enjoyment for me.

19:18.14
Aaron
And it's just become like, oh, I've already done that. So I definitely don't need to do that again and add to the problem, first of all, and experience it in a way worse way. That's going to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

19:31.00
Aaron
So there's a, there's that. I do think too,

19:36.44
Seth Macey
What's changed in your mindset between now and then? i know I feel like probably when you were doing that, part of you somewhere inside was probably like, this would be a really good photo for my Instagram engagement.

19:50.64
Aaron
Yeah.

19:52.48
Seth Macey
It's pretty.

19:54.26
Aaron
Yeah. Well, you see, just like now today, you see spots. and Yellowstone is like bucket list place for me.

20:04.16
Seth Macey
i don't know if it is for me personally.

20:04.43
Aaron
but well Well, it is in its essence.

20:08.06
Seth Macey
Sure.

20:10.10
Aaron
But it's not because of what it has become. I just saw a clip of someone said somewhere in BC and like the highway was completely filled with people parking off the side and the guys talking

20:16.26
Seth Macey
Right.

20:25.99
Aaron
And he's like, this is what happens when everyone posts like exactly where it is. Like we can't even get through the highway now because it's a parking lot. And it was like ah it was an absolute disaster. And I think he didn't say because i think that was his point.

20:35.78
Seth Macey
were they shooting?

20:40.13
Aaron
But it just was. I don't know. I don't know what it was. so ah Yes. So at the time and now it's like, oh, that's a iconic photo. The Tetons, the at Yellowstone Glacier National Park. Those things are iconic things. Angels Landing. That's iconic. um

21:01.35
Seth Macey
That's worth it though. That's a sick bike.

21:02.64
Aaron
Yeah, that's worth it. But they they also they also limit it. They also put a limit on it and minimize it. And you need to you need to pass. And there's only so many people on there at a time. So it it makes it doable.

21:14.29
Aaron
But I'm. ah think back then there was like uh oh that's a beautiful spot oh it's a two mile hike it's not that bad oh i'm gonna go try it out without knowing what it was gonna be like and then you do it and you're like that was really pleasant i sat up here my son was up here we saw a beautiful sunrise i got some photos we headed back down let's go to our next spot and then you see a couple years later

21:33.54
Seth Macey
Yeah. Right.

21:42.88
Aaron
ah the, like, I remember that hike. And then there's a literal line, like going up the steep part of this hike. It looked like the line into Everest. It's the same thing.

21:53.04
Aaron
Like climbing Everest was a, is an amazing feat, but now it's like, Jesus, anyone really want to do that?

21:53.77
Seth Macey
right

22:02.01
Aaron
Going like, like back to back to back to back to back a line all the way up.

22:07.42
Seth Macey
Right.

22:08.70
Aaron
Just take something away from it for sure.

22:11.84
Seth Macey
Yeah, definitely. I think I would suggest for people who maybe don't want to have a, want to get on a photograph fall on the East Coast or wherever they are, and they don't want to have

22:25.38
Seth Macey
they don't want to recreate a typical fall photography outing like in previous years where it's hitting the busy spots, like you said, or just focusing on interspersed Fruity Pebbles, color pop.

22:41.74
Seth Macey
Last year I had like probably my favorite fall season photographing probably ever.

22:49.32
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

22:49.70
Seth Macey
And I didn't take one quote like banger. um

22:53.25
Aaron
yeah

22:54.73
Seth Macey
I went out with the intent of i'm going to look down a lot because I've never looked down during the fall season. So like tons of mushrooms. I was, ah learned a lot about,

23:08.20
Seth Macey
different kinds of fungus, which some people might say that sounds lame, but I thought it was cool. So one of my intents was i'm just going to shoot a ton of mushrooms. The other thing that was happening at the time where I was at was the salmon were running.

23:21.22
Seth Macey
I spent so much time in the creek filming, trying to get salmon swimming in slow motion. Didn't really get a ton of great shots, but I had such a good time. And if I go out this year looking for salmon, I know how to do it properly this time.

23:34.61
Aaron
Yeah.

23:36.85
Seth Macey
And...

23:40.12
Seth Macey
I guess I would just advise people to maybe pick

23:46.23
Seth Macey
a niche subtopic within fall to go out and focus on. Maybe it's log cabins. Maybe it's fungus.

23:52.86
Aaron
yeah

23:54.22
Seth Macey
Maybe it's the salmon running. As opposed to, I need to capture fall in all of its glory so that I have insane photos to share. I don't know if that's the right way to do things, for me at least.

24:08.44
Seth Macey
And no

24:08.56
Aaron
Yeah, it's not easy to.

24:11.51
Seth Macey
and perhaps, like you said, it will bring you some peace that maybe is a byproduct from feeling like you have like a little bit more agency

24:11.61
Aaron
Yeah. yeah I would say if if you've never done it and you're a new listener and you're so excited for your New England fall, don't let us scare you.

24:22.82
Seth Macey
over

24:32.57
Aaron
Go to the places you're going to go to. Here are some tips. ah Stay away from sunset. Try to get up super early and get to your spots and go to sunrises.

24:45.81
Aaron
First of all, it's way more peaceful. i think it's amazing. i think everyone should see a sunrise at least, I don't know, once a month, see the sun come up in that sort of quiet, in that peace, meditative state, whatever you want to do or call it.

24:50.19
Seth Macey
Oh, yeah.

25:00.56
Aaron
I think that's awesome for your system, your nervous system.

25:04.46
Seth Macey
ah we yeah

25:05.57
Aaron
And it keeps away a lot of tourists, right? it It just really does. It keeps away the families with going four kids deep on a hike. Like they're going out midday and the non-photographers are going to not be there typically.

25:21.88
Aaron
So that also get into shape now and look at some of the longer hikes. Look at

25:28.59
Seth Macey
Oh, we got a quick, if you're not in shape, that's a quick regimen there, bud.

25:32.60
Aaron
Well, I'm just saying, get, get used to it, get after it a little bit and find something where it's ah a 10 mile hike on a New Hampshire ridges, uh, Indian head, you know, it's, it's 10 miles out and back.

25:48.37
Aaron
Uh, you're going to get an amazing spot. There's only going to be a certain population of people that get that far and it could be crowded.

25:53.59
Seth Macey
Mm-hmm.

25:55.76
Aaron
It could be a little bit busy, but I guarantee it's not going to be artist bluff. That's only a mile hike. that allows almost anyone can can do a mile hike and see exactly what you want to see. So find these find these spots, find these sort of off the beaten path hikes.

26:19.14
Aaron
If you're seeing a ton of those photos on Instagram, like you you better really love that photo to say, going drive and go do that because it it will be ridiculous, busy, ridiculously busy.

26:33.69
Aaron
And especially if you are like, I only have the weekends cause I work full time.

26:37.42
Seth Macey
Mm-hmm. We're

26:40.04
Aaron
Yeah. I suggest going midweek, early mornings, long hikes,

26:43.30
Seth Macey
going to break a day off.

26:46.22
Aaron
And doing and doing what, yeah, doing what Seth's doing is like, look around, make your most the hike.

26:47.53
Seth Macey
Okay.

26:52.20
Aaron
My last tip, I think, unless something else comes up is if you do make the trip to do any of these things, take, don't get stuck on the one picture. the, this is the obvious photo at artist bluff. i'm going to take it, take zoom in, zoom out, switch lenses, stay up there a long time, take pictures of yourself, take pictures of everything possible because I can go back. I can go nowhere this fall and go back to my fall trips from the Adirondacks, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and I can completely fill a grid with fall stuff because I've been there and I took a bunch of photos.

27:31.77
Seth Macey
Yeah.

27:31.91
Aaron
So

27:32.01
Seth Macey
feel If that's important to you, we realize people are interested in posting to their grid.

27:35.02
Aaron
Yeah. Yeah. If that's important for you to have fall photos and get a bunch of them and not feel like next year, oh i have to go out again because I don't have anything fresh.

27:46.88
Aaron
ah You can do a lot just being there.

27:51.41
Seth Macey
Yeah. I mean, you took the words right out of my mouth too. I was going to, you know, talk, one of my tips was going to be have uh, I was going to pose the question back to you, like, what does a well-rounded fall catalog look like?

28:04.53
Seth Macey
And it's exactly what you said. It's zooming in, it's zooming out, it's pointing up, it's pointing down. It's different textures, it's water, it's moss, it's, for me anyways, this is my opinion.

28:17.14
Seth Macey
ah So for example, you know, a fallen, a vibrant leaf on the ground surrounded by dead leaves. And then it's a waterfall surrounded by mixed colored foliage. And then mushrooms.

28:30.80
Seth Macey
And I feel like if you, you stop along your hike and you look around and you zoom in and you zoom out, you get close to things and you take those photos that are maybe B grade, C grade.

28:45.87
Seth Macey
When you put them in an album, it's the glue, right? We've talked about that. And I think you, you come away with a nicely put together catalog of the season.

29:01.35
Seth Macey
i don't think I think it's important that not every... This may this may be controversial. I think it's important that not every photo on its own is a banger or insanely good.

29:16.92
Aaron
yeah

29:17.67
Seth Macey
I think

29:21.07
Seth Macey
the B-, the b minus the B photo, when it's on its own, it's a B or B-. minus

29:30.51
Seth Macey
put in a row or in a catalog with your A makes the A an

29:40.54
Aaron
Yeah.

29:40.50
Seth Macey
A+.

29:41.06
Aaron
Right.

29:41.20
Seth Macey
It makes the story make sense. i mean i think Think about it like a book. If every chapter of the book was a climax, nothing is the climax.

29:51.12
Aaron
right right

29:52.26
Seth Macey
but You need lulls in the story. You need peaks, excitement. You need the drop-off if you're reviewing it in sequence. And I like to think about that when putting together, even with clients, as they're scrolling through in Google Drive, i think it makes sense to have that almost like story arc.

30:22.19
Aaron
Yeah, agreed. Storytelling, I think it's important. it It allows for a photo or a series of photos to tell ah very detailed story.

30:34.74
Aaron
I just think of, like you said, with writing, but even more within the paragraph is like,

30:42.86
Aaron
don't describe the I'm into like a smutty novel. Don't describe the makeout session. Describe the do the condensation that's building up on the car window.

30:58.56
Aaron
Give that detail. Right?

31:01.12
Seth Macey
If you YouTube, you will see Fifty Shades of Grey, whole series on Aaron's bookshelf.

31:05.65
Aaron
I just saw a Titanic recently with my son. So that scene where she smacks her hand against the condescending window of the car.

31:14.70
Seth Macey
Right.

31:15.33
Aaron
But my point being is the details.

31:15.95
Seth Macey
i hear you.

31:17.68
Aaron
Like that you have to show that gives feel and depth and texture to the story. It gives imagery, gives a thought, gives a close-up.

31:27.82
Aaron
Think about what your eyes do if you you walk into a fall cabin. What do your eyes do? They go close to the, what's on the counter? What's that ah bouquet of flowers?

31:39.11
Aaron
Oh, let me, the where, let me scan. Where's the room? I'm getting now a ah wide view of everything. Let me look out the front door at the view.

31:45.00
Seth Macey
Right.

31:47.86
Aaron
Let me look closely at this door knocker. That's a cool piece of metal. That's what we do.

31:54.17
Seth Macey
Yes, that's a good, that's good advice too. And I find myself on any hike, just but just going back to the fall theme here. if i If my feet naturally stop involuntarily, i feel like there's an image there.

32:10.56
Seth Macey
Something has literally captured my attention enough to stop movement.

32:13.97
Aaron
Yeah.

32:16.92
Seth Macey
So, you know, you talk about that that pause between stimulus and response.

32:23.96
Aaron
yeah

32:25.08
Seth Macey
I mean, usually we talk about in a different context. Usually it's keeping a level of stoicism when something disturbs us. But in this sense, you picture it this way.

32:36.75
Seth Macey
Stimulus, I stop and pause and then I can choose what to shoot. I find whenever that I naturally stop, there's something there. So look around.

32:48.63
Seth Macey
And the other thing too is when I find that

32:53.66
Seth Macey
In my mind, I have the mental dialogue of, oh, this is that's pretty cool, or that looks great.

33:07.38
Seth Macey
It's probably going to make a good photo. Of course, sometimes when we say that ah this in our heads, this would be a great photo or this is really cool. We go and take a picture. It falls flat.

33:20.60
Seth Macey
I don't think that that means you were wrong. I just think it means that you're not getting the best out of the scene either. You're not using the best lens or the best composition.

33:32.41
Seth Macey
But yeah, if you involuntarily stop, something takes your attention away from your your path of movement, there's a photo there. Or if you're having that internal dialogue of Oh, that's cool.

33:43.68
Seth Macey
Take a moment, shoot that. And like you said, the, the, you know, the cabin analogy, when you pull in the driveway, you see the whole property, the whole cabin, the whole exterior.

33:54.26
Seth Macey
Beautiful. You see the door handle, you see the, the room, you see the tea towels. It's all about zooming in, zooming out details, big picture,

34:06.32
Seth Macey
and making sure, I guess, you put that together in a way that makes sense. Now, that being said, you could, back to my, you know, I said that I went out a couple times with the sheer intent of shooting mushrooms.

34:20.77
Seth Macey
I mean, you can still do that with a very niche subject.

34:25.16
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

34:25.75
Seth Macey
i Different focal lengths, different compositions, top-down, zoomed-in macro. Like, this there's still within that sub-niche a way to,

34:39.42
Seth Macey
to have that story arc but have your subject be all similar. Or you can go, like we were suggesting, in another way, which is just have a completely diverse portfolio, which then it's even easier to accomplish that.

34:56.76
Aaron
Yeah, and I understand people listening that I'm probably talking from a spoiled... and Seth too, like we're in similar areas so with fall, right? Like it's all around us.

35:09.69
Aaron
So people that are traveling or don't see this, it is definitely probably has a ah bit more, a special feeling towards it. And ah I really appreciate that. it's the same as me seeing the mountains at West. Like it's, it's incredible.

35:26.92
Aaron
And I'm going to go to the normal places and the popular places and take all the photos that,

35:26.98
Seth Macey
Yep.

35:33.28
Aaron
Everyone wants to see those places.

35:35.33
Seth Macey
Maybe not your third or fourth time though.

35:35.42
Aaron
I mean, there's, right, sure. ah So people that, maybe we're talking to people that have done this more or or want to have a good experience.

35:45.98
Seth Macey
Well, listen, I guess then this is applicable to anybody who has something extraordinary in their area that is now normal to them.

35:53.71
Aaron
Yeah.

35:53.71
Seth Macey
And that applies to everyone. Every area has something that is extraordinary to the rest of the population, but it's just your everyday life.

35:58.66
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

36:03.89
Aaron
Yeah. And do you think it's interesting to think about what your, maybe what your goal is for the season or for a trip or whatever it may be.

36:16.25
Aaron
If wildlife in fall is your goal, then going to these crowded places is not the best bet. And the landscape behind it doesn't matter as much as getting just sort of that golden color behind any animals that you know,

36:34.35
Aaron
If I were to do wildlife only this fall without travel, I would stay in Connecticut without plane travel. I would stay in Connecticut and go to the places I know when the colors were popping the best that they can and try to get the photos that I want.

36:46.53
Seth Macey
Right. Mm-hmm.

36:48.90
Aaron
If I'm a portrait photographer, I'm probably not going anywhere too far. Like I would, cause that's, that's my subject. I want the, the, the blurriness of the leaves behind.

36:57.11
Seth Macey
right

37:01.15
Aaron
it But I could find a special tree anywhere, you know, and i think that's important too. I think you could, you can tell a really good hiking story with a father and son, anywhere in new England.

37:15.03
Aaron
It does not have to be on the most crowded hike with the most incredible final view. You could tell a really sweet story in the backwoods of Hebron, Connecticut, you know,

37:21.78
Seth Macey
sure

37:29.53
Seth Macey
Yeah. Why do I know that? Hebron, Connecticut.

37:33.34
Aaron
I'm not sure. It's the town next to me. You've been into my place.

37:36.40
Seth Macey
That's why. That's our bank's branch.

37:40.90
Aaron
is No.

37:41.94
Seth Macey
Yes, it is. It's Hebron something way.

37:44.07
Aaron
Oh, Hebron Avenue. Yeah.

37:45.25
Seth Macey
Yes.

37:45.36
Aaron
Hebron Avenue. Yep. Yep. You're right. You're right.

37:47.19
Seth Macey
No, he says No.

37:47.26
Aaron
You're right. Well, the town, we haven't been to the town, but yeah, you're right.

37:49.17
Seth Macey
yeah

37:51.43
Aaron
The, the street name is Hebron F. Absolutely. You're smart. Smart kid.

37:57.42
Seth Macey
yeah

37:58.79
Aaron
Whoa.

37:59.50
Seth Macey
The other thing I'll say too is if you are someone who has access to some really pretty fall colors, what a What a time to leverage that competitive advantage with some potential client work.

38:14.38
Seth Macey
or to make We talk about making a body of work all the time.

38:14.50
Aaron
Yeah.

38:18.20
Seth Macey
lot of these companies maybe don't don't have access or don't have access to this backdrop or photographers that live in the same area that you do that have that backdrop. so Maybe if you're looking to

38:34.96
Seth Macey
not have that typical or not have like a typical fall where you're going out and shooting just color blasting. um You could create some body, a body or some bodies of work, ah either ah as proof of concept or you know, direct pitch prior to the peak happening.

38:47.92
Aaron
Mm-hmm.

38:56.89
Seth Macey
I mean, running out of time, I think it's gonna be early this year for fall. But just something to think about. We we talk about leveraging our competitive advantages, and there's a free one for you if you live in this area on the East Coast or anywhere that has beautiful colors during the fall.

39:12.11
Seth Macey
that's not That's not everywhere. So...

39:16.22
Aaron
Yeah. I think to plant like Seth saying, plan ahead with that, plan ahead, try to get really creative, really crazy, set up a shoot. It's so easy to just get into the, especially with places that are, this is the shot.

39:33.07
Aaron
Okay. going to drive three hours to go get this shot. It's like, there's no thought really involved in that versus I need to create something.

39:44.95
Aaron
in boring Connecticut. There's a, and I'm saying that sarcastically.

39:47.55
Seth Macey
it

39:49.99
Aaron
One of my favorite fall roads is in my town down the street next to a park.

39:54.58
Seth Macey
My favorite fall road is my road.

39:54.66
Aaron
It's an S, Yeah, it's an, it's an S curve. It's less than a mile away. i don't have to travel anywhere.

40:00.81
Seth Macey
Yeah.

40:01.62
Aaron
And it's like one that I want to go back to every year and be like, I want to capture some cool car that's coming down this road and it's neat.

40:09.19
Seth Macey
Right.

40:12.01
Aaron
And it's just right there. So you can create these moments or create these stories or create these patterns or take these risks close by that can really pay off in terms of wow that that's a really cool concept we want to send you now to ah the rockies in colorado during their fall to recreate this situation so i i think being creative and going out with intention on what you want to do versus just sort of following the hot spots

40:35.31
Seth Macey
sure

40:50.57
Aaron
and blindly taking the photo of the photo that literally tens of thousands of people have already posted.

40:58.26
Seth Macey
hmm. We talked a lot on this show about purposely introducing restrictions, whether it's I can only take 400 photos this trip or I can only use my 50 millimeter prime on this outing.

41:13.06
Seth Macey
Maybe a cool one to, you know, force some creativity would be i can only travel within a mile radius.

41:20.81
Aaron
Yeah. Yeah.

41:22.30
Seth Macey
You know, or I can only drive 20 minutes and see what you come up with. I mean, I remember doing a phone case shoot all like within my driveway with just textures.

41:34.71
Aaron
yeah

41:36.82
Seth Macey
And it was really fun and it was really successful in my opinion.

41:40.97
Aaron
Seth, the I'll be honest, the only fall photo I remember of yours specifically, no offense taken, but is the one where you did the gradual leaves.

41:54.91
Aaron
the The gradual spectrum of color of leaves.

41:57.79
Seth Macey
Oh, and Haley's in it.

41:58.92
Aaron
Yeah.

42:00.34
Seth Macey
That's just on my road. ah We went for a walk, picked leaves, laid them out.

42:01.72
Aaron
Yeah.

42:04.01
Seth Macey
I got a stepladder and shot it. That's like 400. four hundred That's half a mile, maybe half a mile collectively from my house, just picking leaves.

42:12.59
Aaron
But that's my, it's my honest point is like, I know your portfolio a bit. I'm not like studying it every day, but that I'm lying.

42:19.25
Seth Macey
Every day you are. Yes, you are. Every night's

42:22.03
Aaron
I'm trying to be humble and not admit to everyone that every night, Seth Macy photography.com.

42:27.09
Seth Macey
It's behind your camera. You're looking at it. You're like...

42:32.99
Aaron
I better brush up on fall before this episode.

42:36.07
Seth Macey
I know he's going to ask me.

42:37.48
Aaron
yeah no but i think that's to my point is like you that was in your driveway i don't i don't know where it was it did not matter the creative part of it was what stuck and now thinking about your portfolio with in all honesty not having looked at it in a long time especially old fall photos that is the one i remember

42:38.36
Seth Macey
I hear you. go

43:00.12
Seth Macey
Well, that's good you're at least from number one.

43:02.48
Aaron
yeah

43:03.74
Seth Macey
That's cool. At least wasn't totally forgettable.

43:08.09
Aaron
not at all. not at all

43:09.72
Seth Macey
I hear you, though. But yeah, that is interesting. now it's that's That shows that maybe like idea and concept can override location artistically.

43:25.15
Aaron
Yeah, because you you had one photo with a very unique idea. I'm sure it's been done before, but it's I'm seeing, i will see soon in a couple of weeks, if not tomorrow, hundreds of fall scenery photos.

43:45.57
Aaron
They start to blend together.

43:47.78
Seth Macey
Sure.

43:49.38
Aaron
i't even remember my own fall photos very specifically. The one I remember is an old locomotive coming through fall leaves.

43:57.45
Seth Macey
good one. I know that one.

43:59.49
Aaron
That's what that, that one's like, Oh, that's different and unique.

44:02.24
Seth Macey
I remember your first elk ones. Your first time you'd ever photographed elk in PA. I remember those ones. You were with Brent and Mike.

44:09.54
Aaron
Well, that's nice. It wasn't so it wasn't super fall yet though. it was green. had to fake it a little, but, but yeah.

44:15.31
Seth Macey
But that's what I remember.

44:15.80
Aaron
Yeah.

44:16.07
Seth Macey
I don't remember any of your fall stuff.

44:18.27
Aaron
Yeah, because you see, but see it all over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over over and over and over again.

44:25.29
Seth Macey
Yeah.

44:25.42
Aaron
So I guess that's my point.

44:25.93
Seth Macey
I study your website every night.

44:28.67
Aaron
I got to update it. It's been a while.

44:30.53
Seth Macey
I study it.

44:31.85
Aaron
Good. Any typos?

44:34.48
Seth Macey
I don't know. But I mean, i won't be seeing a ton of fall stuff because I'm taking Mike's advice and just not going on the phone, the Instagrammer.

44:43.36
Aaron
Pull.

44:46.74
Aaron
Pulling the plug.

44:48.44
Seth Macey
It's just, I don't know.

44:50.44
Aaron
Yeah.

44:50.50
Seth Macey
We're already 45 minutes here. It's just like, it's not on my list of priorities at this stage of life. And yeah,

44:56.66
Aaron
Yeah.

44:59.19
Seth Macey
I'm still artistically fulfilled doing blogs and building my portfolio and sharing it with family and friends and printing work. And I i just have no need to be on the platform.

45:12.79
Seth Macey
So, um, I won't be seeing your fall photographs, everyone. You can, you can text.

45:19.06
Aaron
Well, I'll look. I've,

45:22.18
Seth Macey
I mean, maybe, maybe I'll pop on, but like, I'm just like not excited to like, I,

45:24.46
Aaron
yeah.

45:28.44
Aaron
I've been excited to share. um been sharing some older photos that...

45:32.67
Seth Macey
Let's get it.

45:34.19
Aaron
When I'm on my run, i i see a thing. Like I see, oh, there's a blue heron. And I go, what was the best? You know, the best blue heron photo I ever got was that time I was on my way to golf.

45:46.60
Aaron
And I pulled over because this heron was on this perch and the sun was just beaming off its whole body. And I had my camera cause I bring it golfing and I got out of the car and I ran down this field and took any, the Heron unlike most was chill and just standing there and relaxing. And I was able to get close enough to get some really detailed, good photos in very bright light with a dark background,

46:13.99
Aaron
And I remember that while i was running and I was like, I'm going to dig those up and just re-edit that, take a look at that photo and relive it and post it.

46:21.30
Seth Macey
Yeah.

46:22.99
Aaron
And going to do, uh, when things come up like that, that's when I say, Hey, I'm going to take some time to edit a photo and have some fun.

46:23.11
Seth Macey
Yeah.

46:32.24
Aaron
And what am I gonna with it? I'm going post it. I'm not going crazy with hashtags.

46:35.81
Seth Macey
Yeah, sure.

46:38.00
Aaron
I'm not going to go crazy with, I got to reply to every comment and blah, blah, blah. I'm just going to post it.

46:44.52
Seth Macey
Sure.

46:44.86
Aaron
maybe make a funny pun here and there, you know, just like,

46:44.98
Seth Macey
maybe i'll stop maybe Maybe you've convinced me. We'll see.

46:50.33
Aaron
ah

46:50.28
Seth Macey
I guess what I'm saying is I'm indifferent. like Great. If not, be it. If good. Whatever. you know if if f b good

46:58.33
Aaron
I think like you told me, i don't know if this is still your philosophy, but it might've been two years ago.

46:59.06
Seth Macey
and

47:04.62
Aaron
you had, you had stopped drinking for a while. it's been a, it had been a while. And I said like, Hey, is this like a forever thing? And you're like, ah I'm just being very conscious about what it is. If someone, if there's a special occasion and we're cheers, cheersing champagne, I'm not gonna be like, no, no, no, no. no Like I can cheer champagne and move on.

47:25.83
Seth Macey
Yeah.

47:29.58
Aaron
It just doesn't have to be a oh I'm at a concert. I have to drink because I'm at a concert and my friends are drinking.

47:36.05
Seth Macey
Yeah. I think for me, it's, it's always feeling like I have agency. Right.

47:41.49
Aaron
Agency. Good word.

47:42.87
Seth Macey
So every, every 29 days out of the month, I say no to drinking and then buddy's in town and we want to have a Guinness.

47:53.87
Seth Macey
It's my favorite beer.

47:57.04
Seth Macey
There's a thought process where I'm choosing that this moment is special. I'm choosing to order one. I'm excited to drink it. There's no guilt. Like, it's just, it's very much a, I don't know.

48:07.36
Aaron
Yeah.

48:11.38
Aaron
Conscious decision.

48:11.64
Seth Macey
a conscious decision.

48:12.70
Aaron
It's the,

48:13.74
Seth Macey
It's like not an impulsive reach for something. I don't like, you

48:16.37
Aaron
it's not a distracting from something else. It's not a it's a very cautious.

48:19.97
Seth Macey
know.

48:21.35
Aaron
And I think if you can, if people can get that way with social media where it's like with everything, yeah, it's the same thing.

48:25.14
Seth Macey
but everything that's what I'm saying yes

48:28.64
Aaron
Like, Oh, I just thought about that really cool photo. I'm going to edit that and i'm going to throw it up there because that's where i throw up my edit edited photos.

48:37.48
Seth Macey
as opposed to I need to have four photos yeah yeah or I need to check

48:39.39
Aaron
I it's Monday, Wednesday, Friday. i have to post at 11 because that's when my audience is most engaged. I have to make sure to like, like everyone's comment from the previous post so that they're notified that I just posted a new one and put it on my, you can get, like to get wackadoo.

48:53.80
Seth Macey
Yeah, that's not control. You're not in control. You're not in control at that point and it can get away from you.

48:56.98
Aaron
Yeah.

49:00.03
Seth Macey
So like that example you brought up is great. um Yeah, because if you say, I'm going to say, I understand that some people need to say no to drinking forever, like not even one. I get that.

49:12.18
Seth Macey
um

49:14.78
Seth Macey
But for me, saying 99% of the time is great and that 1% of the time, is great and that one percent of the time Because allowing that 1% of the time allows, it's like a pressure, not not a pressure release, but what am I trying to say?

49:29.86
Aaron
I know what you mean though.

49:31.52
Seth Macey
if you feel like you have to avoid all the time, it's like a new kind of irritant.

49:39.70
Aaron
Yeah. It's a new extreme and now in different kind of control.

49:41.89
Seth Macey
and we me and It's and it's so rigid

49:48.83
Aaron
That what happens when you make a mistake or, or decide to.

49:51.42
Seth Macey
yeah, there's guilt.

49:53.22
Aaron
Hmm.

49:53.49
Seth Macey
It's hard to forgive yourself. I'm not, I'm not, you know, so that's why if you can leave the smallest bit of leniency, obviously this doesn't apply to hard substances and, you know, serious things like gambling, just to make that clear.

50:11.01
Seth Macey
Um, like people who have those problems, but in terms of like, for me, Instagram or that it's,

50:19.65
Seth Macey
I can choose to do this very few and far between, and I'm still in complete control.

50:26.03
Aaron
Yeah. ah Food's a good one. Like I'm never going to have a piece of cake a piece of pizza ever.

50:29.86
Seth Macey
Food's a great

50:34.00
Seth Macey
I've tried that, and I feel terrible.

50:37.12
Aaron
Yeah. And then it's like.

50:39.33
Seth Macey
But like if i have if i if I go to Dairy Queen with Haley once every month or two, This was a fun outing. This tasted great.

50:50.16
Seth Macey
Have I destroyed my health goals and exercise goals? No. So relax a bit. one am my One of my new mantras, you got to be careful with this though, because otherwise you can just throw everything out the window.

51:02.80
Seth Macey
But one of my new mantras, when I've been, when I get overwhelmed or really stressed out, it's put on these glasses.

51:07.88
Aaron
You put on those glasses and you say.

51:10.05
Seth Macey
Yeah, that's right. No, it's nothing matters.

51:16.47
Aaron
It's a good one, though, though to like level.

51:17.64
Seth Macey
I just, I say nothing matters. This doesn't matter.

51:19.74
Aaron
Yeah.

51:20.73
Seth Macey
This doesn't matter.

51:20.97
Aaron
Yeah.

51:21.86
Seth Macey
Not in the sense of bug it. I'm not even going to do it or I'm going I'm going to quit, but just like, buddy, relax. this It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.

51:32.02
Aaron
Yeah.

51:32.91
Seth Macey
And it's, it's helpful. Um,

51:35.64
Aaron
One of my favorite ones recently is a Peter Crone quote, where it's like, you you can't fear or get anxious about the unknown because it's unknown.

51:45.40
Aaron
It's it's, you don't, you don't, what you're getting anxious about is what your mind's creating and layering on top of the unknown.

51:52.06
Seth Macey
Sure. And I mean, to build off of that, I would say that action kills anxiety, like doing, moving forward. Obviously not with existential topics. You can't, you just have to simply accept the unknown as the unknown, but you know, not knowing if you're going to get a gig or not knowing if you're going to do whatever.

52:09.19
Seth Macey
If there's a way to take action, I feel like you eliminate a lot of it. Just some kind of forward momentum.

52:14.64
Aaron
Yep.

52:15.69
Seth Macey
As opposed to sitting around and letting life happen to you. i feel like letting life happen to you is allowing, is is a breeding ground for anxiety, personally.

52:19.80
Aaron
Right, right.

52:24.90
Aaron
Yeah. Yep. i would ah I would have to agree.

52:28.62
Seth Macey
Whereas like going out and trying to make life, at least, again, you're you're more in control. There's an internal locus of control, right? As opposed to things feeling like things happen to you, you're you're making things happen. That's quite obviously it and't part of an antidote for anxious feelings.

52:47.52
Seth Macey
for sure It has to be. How could it not be?

52:51.38
Seth Macey
So have a good fall, everybody.

52:53.78
Aaron
Yeah.

52:54.59
Seth Macey
Get out, shoot, take some photos, have fun, be at peace.

52:54.70
Aaron
Take some photos.

53:00.22
Seth Macey
Go buy these glasses that I'm wearing.

53:04.08
Aaron
Enjoy.

53:04.87
Seth Macey
All right. Till next time, man.

53:06.57
Aaron
but