Your Guide To Getting Through January
A drop of inspiration to keep you trucking along
Post Holiday Blues?
I don’t have these because I didn’t really take a holiday over the holiday period but I do know what it’s like to try and build up momentum again, after slowing down or taking time off.
Maybe you are heading back to work, or school and you need a little pep in your step? Or maybe you are feeling a little overwhelmed with all the possibilities of a new year, like a blank piece of paper you don’t want to touch until you know exactly what you want to write (or type) I get that…
One thing I know is that there are plenty of blank pieces of paper in the world so you should just go for it and in the words of new wave band Orange Juice, rip it up and start again, if it doesn’t feel right.
Yearning For Structure
It’s funny that this has been such a need and want for me since breaking away from a “normal” employed roll because it’s what I complained about when I had one.
The truth is, we are all just animals really and we need habits (preferably good ones) frame works and structures to succeed or at least keep sane. We need times that we do things and times we don’t and we need purpose and a system to exist within, even if it’s just one we create for ourselves.
I unfortunately have no solid answer here for how one creates this and I have tried to do all the productivity/routine/supposedly atomic things and only some of them work - i’ve come to the conclusion that you need to find your own way and it will likely be a hybrid of other peoples and thats fine.
So in a bid to find and implement structure in 2025 I now have a publishing schedule for Substack - yay for me and yay for you.
Expect me in your inbox or on your Substack app (if you don’t have you should get it) every fortnight.
Structure achieved in the newsletter universe - thank god.
Being in the moment with digital
Since I got the KEKS KF-01 flash I have been on a total digi kick and I’m loving it.
Keks Flash unit is SO GOOD! So handy and really inspiring me lately and allowing me to use the XE-1 which has a built in flash but I don’t like the look of it, perhaps it’s not powerful enough?
This flash is opening up the scope for me and achieving a look with digital that I’m really stoked on. If you wanna give flash a go I highly recommend the KEKS one and you can use the code Lucy for 10% off which makes it even more affordable :)
Seeing the photos straight away is giving me the boost I need to keep at it or flesh out concepts a little before deciding to commit to them on 35mm film.
I bought myself a peach smoothie bath bomb as a small gift for Xmas because when you are a mother in your 30’s a bath is really all you want. This was giving less peach smoothie vibes and more vibrant-red-that-must-be-photographed vibes, so of course we did just that.
A fun little concept we might play around with another time and proof that a boring tired mum moment can be transformed into a cool photo shoot moment.
I enjoyed this bright red bath listening to the Tumblr episode of Emulsions Podcast which made me laugh, smile and feel nostalgic for phrases like “Tumblr Famous”
I’ve been taking the XE-1 everywhere with me lately and a recent trip to the shopping centre unveiled what could be a new project for me, although admittedly I’m terrible at sticking to anything like that, but I really do feel this one is meaty enough to see through.
The working title (tbh it’s probably a good enough real deal title) is “Things I can’t Afford” and you can see a snippet below. I have lot’s of extra thoughts that could be in writing for this project too so I’ll save those for another time or medium.
These images are all edited with my warm film Lightroom preset which is available here. It gives warm tones but reds that pop which is always what I want!
What i’ve been doing lately…
I’ve been going hard with my podcast and dreaming of being a full time podcaster - can you imagine? Just getting to interview interesting people and learn whilst also sharing it with the world!?! #dreamjob
So I love to create out of reach goals like that for myself to keep me going and one day hope that I can interview someone like Rick Rubin or something you know?
I was reunited with film fanatic Matt Loves Cameras recently on my podcast and it was 2 hours of lols and fun. Matt has an eternally optimistic energy that I have always found to be inspiring and he is no stranger to dipping a toe in a new pool, with the aim to connect with his hobby and with the community.
Film is expensive and so is life so we thought we would rank the creative side hustles we have tried so far (which is kind of a lot) and let you know the difficulty and possible return so you can be more informed in your side hustling endeavours this year. Listen below and let us know your thoughts!
In case you missed it because you were so wrapped up in the holiday spirit and you were screen free and loving the world IRL I have shared my year in review over on YouTube and it’s been getting some really amazing engagement (thankyou).
200 Rolls of film in 1 year was pretty hectic but I learned so much and it’s a nice way to see all the work I’ve done this year in one chunk and get a sense of what it might be like to start up and grow a photography biz exclusively on film these days.
What have other people been doing?
OMG OMTC is now on Substack and IYKYK - Get on that because she is one cool lady and I’m here for anything she has to say.
Substack is such a good place to be guys - I told Lux last night that it’s the place I feel I can be most myself so that’s a huge compliment to the platform. Matt and I chat about it in our podcast so have a listen to get some ideas flowing.
Lilly is back with another zen photowalk to chill us all out so line this one up and relax. Love what Lilly is bringing to YouTube!
Don’t watch this video to relax or be zen but watch it if you love underground bands who made noisey weird music and should have made it but didn’t probably because of “creative differences”
Seriously though, I sat so happily watching this and found some new bands to listen to. Well put together and made me feel like a teen again when you get that spark of inspo after finding a new band or genre you didn’t know existed. I’m really vibing YouTube again lately so if you have any recs hit me with them!
Okay that’s it from me but if you have anything you think I should know about, listen to, talk about on the pod or anything at all - please get in touch and let me know!
Love Lucy xx
I’ve recently gotten into Noah Kalina on youtube. There’s something about his videos or his calmness that just hooks me in. I love his “hotline” series where it’s like an old school radio show where callers ask him questions. I also find him hilarious, he’s super original.