Here’s why the big budget movies don’t work anymore. And why your art will.
We talk a lot these days about how social media is dividing us—how algorithms are so good that we’re served up an echo chamber of only what we want to hear. And that’s true, and it’s often not good. But on the flip side…when we’re talking art instead of politics, those algorithms can help us find our people. No matter how rare and quirky and spread around the world they are. And it’s making for a world full of options that we didn’t have before.
For the first time in history, if you build it they will come really is true. If you take your most real self and put it out there like a homing beacon, your people will find you.
In the meantime, Hollywood is throwing so much at their films that they’re afraid to alienate anyone. And in an effort to please everyone, they lose us all.
To go deep, to really connect with your people, you can’t be unwilling to alienate anyone. I’m not talking about being disrespectful or dismissive or unkind. I’m talking about following your gut instincts and leaning so far into your own tastes and what you, specifically, have to share with the world that you are serving your own community at the deepest level. You can’t serve up something that everyone kind of likes without limiting the number of people that will love it. You only get access to love if you’re willing to be not exactly everyone’s cup of tea.
And so today, instead of a technical photography lesson, I’ll just encourage you to have enough faith in your own style and taste for your people to find you. In this new world, we can connect deeply with people and do what we truly love to do for a small audience that loves it too. And it’s enough.
Butterfly Garden, new on Thousand Circles starting today
And to that end, here is a butterfly from the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival’s butterfly tent. She’s a giant swallowtail, and she’s busy collecting nectar from an Egyptian starcluster of flowers. I hope you love her too, but it’s okay if she’s not your thing. You can find her on Thousand Circles starting today, on canvas or as an aluminum print.
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If you’re missing home (or love someone who is) and are looking for a way to bring the magic home, I’d love for you to check out my photography prints over at Thousand Circles Images.
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Please join me on Instagram for my day-to-day adventures living a mile from the magic.
