Share your art!

I got a message from another photographer named Eric Tam saying that he included me in a YouTube video titled “10 BEST FACETIME SHOOTS ON INSTAGRAM”. Being included in this was quite the affirmation, and when I saw the other photographers in the video, I had a nice gut check that I’m not all that. The other work was incredible, and I believe he even found the first photographer to start these virtual shoots. It was a moment of being pleasantly humbled, and uplifted by being included amongst so many talented artists.

I wanted to share some personal feelings that I’m not entirely proud of. This is more of a lesson in trusting yourself, your art and your vision in the world. For me, overcoming that was rewarded is a small gesture of validation that I’m doing something unique and worthwhile. See, this quarantine scared the shit out of everyone, but those of us making a living as an artist, really saw some troubled times ahead. There was panic. I saw the FaceTime shoots starting to emerge on Instagram. I looked in to it, and thought there had to be a better way.

I’ve shared a lot of this on Hive, so I’ll spare you the same story. I eventually came up with this complex system of using a projector, shooting the call to an antique frame set up with a shrine [of sorts]. Once I had it, I suddenly became afraid to share it. I was coveting this as a brilliant idea that would surely be stolen if it made it to the internet. I almost considered not doing it for that reason, which is so stupid. I eventually got over my hubris, and put it out there after the first shoot. The response has been amazing and encouraging.