Hollis Monk Thayer on NYC Street Portraits, Long Term Projects and a Love For Cinema

What do strawberries and perfectionism have to do with each other? Well if you wanna find out you’ll have to listen to this weeks podcast episode or watch it on YouTube. I promise it’s not clickbait I really do talk about strawberries and it’s not silly, it’s totally relatable and probably helpful too. Do you struggle with perfectionism? I actually don’t when it comes to photography and that’s kind of a blessing because it’s allowed me to ship the work and not get too bogged down in the minor details. For most of you though, I would say it’s probably an issue as photography seems to attract that kind of personality. I wish there was a study I could sight here on the topic because I do think that overwhelmingly perfectionism is a HUGE barrier for a lot of artists. Choose Your Own Perfectionist Adventure In my experience with the perfectionists it usually takes form in one of two ways. I’m interested to know if you agree or suffer from one or the other or god forbid both…you poor thing, please watch the above video. Inward perfectionismThis one is what my husband has and what I would say most people I talk to have. This is the type of perfectionism that is totally driven by your high standards of yourself. You aren’t so much bothered by others thoughts about the work or art it’s more about how you feel towards the effort and execution. You can’t be happy unless YOU feel it’s done to your standard and even if someone else gives you high acclaim or says they love it you just dwell on the 1% of it that could have been improved or the tiny little mistake you made that no one even noticed but you do and it’s literally killing you. I do not have this one iota. I don’t think that anything is made better by being perfect and I think perfect is bullshit and it’s boring. So maybe that’s why? I also wasn’t brought up in any way to excel or succeed, which sometimes is to my detriment but most of the time I think it’s made me proud of an effort and not scared to just share it regardless of its perhaps need for more polish or practise. I also find the search for “perfect” or the goal of it to be extremely futile and irrational and therefore a waste of my time from an efficiency point of view, as well as a happiness one too! So this kind of perfectionism is from within and points to the need for some self reflection and discovery. If this is you, look into why that is something you struggle with and how you can try to omit it from your process. Outward perfectionism I see this as something that I could possibly align with more than the first one. This type is more focused on the publics view or how others perceive your work or output as being “perfect” or celebrated. This probably veers into other territory beyond perfectionism but I think it’s a form of it because it can hold you back from doing things for fear of not being seen as perfect by others. The worry that if we share our work or ideas people won’t like them or they will ridicule and criticise us leading us to believe that the work wasn’t good enough and therefore we should have tried harder etc. - this is where the perfectionism trait can enter because we now lose confidence and start to dwell on projects and procrastinate and these are by products of perfectionism. If I’m not super in love with something I put out, but lots of people seem to like it, then I kind of think it’s okay… I’m swayed by them or at least boosted up by it and I then don’t feel so bad about the piece. This is very contrary to the above type which all hinges on whether or not you yourself deem the work as “good enough”. Both are equally challenging and dangerous if we don’t know how to control them. The online world loves to present a perfect picture of things - an easy win, a quick hack, a beautifully curated life in little squares or whatever aspect ratio IG grids are now…It loves to show you the snippet and the salacious section that will either shock or make you envious. It’s important to understand this because it’s very likely that even the richest, most together, most happy looking people will have or do struggle with some type of idea of perfect they can’t meet. Letting go of perfect might be a lifelong battle but I think if we start by recognising how our perfectionism takes form and why, we can start to engineer a few strategies to lesson and mitigate it. Hopefully this weeks letter paired with the podcast/video will help you to kick stat this. If you are totally free from perfectionism let us know below and share some tips if you’v struggled with this before. I’m being very open this year about how I cope and what I go through as a modern creative so please feel free to do the same, or just quietly enjoy these weekly episodes and take what is valuable to you from them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

How do you feel about your general everyday life and habits as a person?HUGE and daunting question I know, but it’s actually very relevant to your creative output.As creatives, we can posses many amazing qualities but we can also be quite sensitive people who over think, procrastinate or feel the weight of the world a little more than the less arty inclined members of society.Today I want to bring your attention to the exterior parts of your life that might be having a profound effect on your creative output and give you some actionable strategies to start getting on top of these 5 areas to take full control.You can listen to this episode on your way to work or watch the YouTube video by clicking this link some extra visual support. I would highly recommend noting down these 5 areas and then making a list under each heading of how you can implement or action each one.In the future I hope to develop some PDF’s or useful resources that can go along with these podcast episodes so those of you who want to take it a little further can do so with ease.Over the years, I’ve struggled with multiple barriers to my creativity and I can confidently say that 90% of them have all been me in my own way or something to do with lifestyle/mindset. I’m really passionate about sharing more of the things that have helped me through my teens, my 20’s and now as a parent and full time creative navigating my 30’s.I don’t believe we have many examples of quirky, creative, artistic people offering up this kind of advice online - most of the time it’s a sciencey type, a more straight corporate type, or someone who seems to have lost touch with what it’s actually like in the real world and tells you to wake up at 5am, run, ice bath, meditate and then work for two focused hours and meditate some more…and I mean come on right!?While lots of the advice these people give is totally valid and helpful, it’s not always practical for the everyday person and it can end up making us just, feel like shit…Someone I’m a big fan of who delivers the advice but without the bullshit and looks and sounds like someone I would hang out with in my everyday life (which means they are a whole lot more relatable) is Struthless. I’ve dropped a video of his below that tackles the subject of our environment and it’s impact on our mood and therefore our productivity/creativity. This fellow Aussie has been the gateway for many positive habits for me over the years and if you want to dive deeper into what I’ve talked about today I highly recommend watching more of us videos.Let me know any thoughts you have on this and anything you struggle with as a creative in this modern world and I’m happy to tackle it on the podcast!Thank you for all the love on the last video/podcast covering the Regeneration chapter in Rick Rubin’s amazing book The Creative Act! https://www.lucylumen.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

The other night I finished The Creative Act: A way Of Being, a very hyped book from a well known creative guru named Rick Rubin. He has that X factor we all wish for and so of course when he released a book sharing his supposed “way of being” we all went nuts for it.It seems that everyone sites passages from this book that pertain more to the inspiration and creation stage. These are the good parts and the ones we tend to romanticise.The stage I’m defending is the output stage - this one is shied away from and sometimes even shunned as being either not a part of someone process at all due to “not caring about anyone seeing/hearing/reading it” or out of fear it won’t live up to expectations, be received well or it’s deemed not good enough by the artist so they hold onto it a bit longer.I go into detail on my thoughts and Rubin’s, and I was happy to read he was in favour of putting your art out there!If you don’t have the book you can grab it here or at your local bookstore of course. I do highly recommend it and I have much more content to come surrounding both how to use the book an also helpful tack on thoughts that bounce off select chapters.It’s so lovely to share these musings with you all and I hope you enjoy either listening or watching this weeks episode.https://www.lucylumen.com/*some links may be affiliate and earn a small commission This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

Hello friends!It’s the beginning of a new week and I have something important for you to listen to.I’ve been creative sidehustling for 4 years now and I’m stoked that it’s what Lux and I get to do full time - it has however been challenging and uncertain at times and I want to shed some light on what could have been done to ease that had I been a bit more prepared.Sign up to Lucy's free weekly newsletter - https://lucylumen.substack.com/ Lucy's website for a look at the services she offers to help fellow creatives - https://www.lucylumen.com/So maybe you are one of the following…* Dreaming of finally starting some kind of creative side hustle , either for fun or to maybe build into something bigger* Already side hustling but wondering how to make the leap to full time and sustain yourself* Tried this path before and it didn’t work out and got you spooked or feeling defeated but you still secretly dream of doing something creative again, even if it’s just to earn some extra income doing what you love.* Maybe you have zero inclination to do any of these but like me you are nosey and will listen to an hour long podcast on how to get your book published when you don’t even have a solid book idea yet…If you fall into any of these above categories then today’s episode will be very helpful.Show Me The MoneySo many of us hate talking about money and we also have huge mindset issues when it comes to money - I know I have my own set to deal with.One thing I touch on today is the power of money and it’s impact on your life as a creative.This year I have implemented solid strategies to help save more and spend less and when I do spend it’s on things that are of value and add to me as a person. I’m noticing a real shift in our society lately towards low buy trends, anti fast fashion, digital detoxing and just generally trying to take back control of our lives again.Talking about the subject of money might seem off topic to our usual creativity chats, but if you are feeling the pinch and your life is just passing you by it might be a good time to listen to this episode and really think about what’s holding you back from your dreams and creative pursuits…So how is money working for you and how is it working against you?How does it effect your creativity?Even if this episode makes you change one thing that empowers you financially i’ll be so stoked.Let me know if you are starting your creative side hustle or you are hoping to start up a studio or YouTube channel soon? I love hearing about peoples goals and I want this podcast to be a place that inspires and offers practical tips for creative people navigating this modern world.Love Lucy xx This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

This weeks episode is coming to you from a post cyclone house with no power and very limited internet - so this newsletter will be brief and I encourage you to watch or listen to the episode because it’s a wonderful mindset reminder for creatives! Focus is a hot topic right now, whether it’s being stolen by social media, endless news headlines or comparing ourselves online and beyond, our focus is seldom on the things that we actually care about the most. I’m now uploading video versions of the podcast on YouTube on a second channel called “The Lucy Lumen Show”. If you prefer to watch than listen you should make sure you’re subscribed over there.In this episode I share an unlikely story that shows how even at the age of 4 we struggle to block out our surroundings and focus on our own efforts and intentions. I’m always amazed how much parenting teaches me about everything in life. Let me know if this resonates with you or helps to spark something that makes you go “YES!” and have a breakthrough in your creative pursuits. I’ll be back this Friday with my usual full length newsletter and able to resume portfolio reviews as of next week too if you have been waiting to book in. Here’s to focusing on you and your own output and goals and i’ll chat with you all soon. Love Lucy www.lucylumen.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

This week’s episode is just a taster of a topic i’ve been marinating on for a while so I’m not really coming to a solid conclusion here, but more so raising the topic and sharing some recent resources that had me thinking more about this predicament we unfortunately find ourselves in when it comes to artists who have problematic pasts.I’m not one to jump to cancelling people for mistakes or missteps and I don’t think everything should be politicised quite as much as it is right now. But then on the other hand it’s sometimes hard to look away or disregard certain actions or behaviour and simply go on enjoying an artists work. But then again what if it’s one of the greatest pieces of art ever created like Manhattan and Annie hall? Below are some links to things I mention in the video if you’re interested.Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma - https://amzn.to/3F6XYLRA Guardian article by the author - https://shorturl.at/FlOc1Detailed show notes can be found on my Substack - https://lucylumen.substack.com/podcast*some links may be affiliate This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

Full show notes available athttps://www.lucylumen.com/podcast/hollismonkthayerThis week I sat down with friend of the pod and co-host of Emulsions, Hollis Monk Thayer.Hollis is a writer and photographer capturing streets portraits in NYC on film. His eye for style and interesting people is undeniable and this is something we chat about! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

https://www.lucylumen.com/podcast/websitetipsforphotographersFull show notes with links and extended info from this episode In todays episode I’m sharing some quick and very actionable tips on how to create a better, more fun photography website. You might have a neglected website or maybe you don’t see the value in having one at all?! This episode will challenge that belief and also get you thinking more deeply about how a website can be game changing for your art or career. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

Full show notes with links and extended info from this episode https://www.lucylumen.com/podcast/where-did-january-goIt’s nearly the end of January which means we are almost through the first month of 2025 and I’m wondering where you’re at with your creative goals or intentions? This episode is a quick check in to remind you that it’s not all lost and gone if you didn’t start the year off the way you had hoped. I’m offering a very quick accessible exercise here for you to follow along with or come back to when you have time.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com

This episode title might seem harsh at first but give me a chance to explain and you will hopefully understand what I'm getting at. I think this is something that not enough people talk about and it is an unfortunate or fortunate truth depending on who you are and how you look at it. Full show notes available at⁠ www.lucylumen.com/podcast/why-no-one-cares-about-your-photography This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lucylumen.substack.com