Hello Partners!
I hope youāre all staying healthy, safe, and sane. The month of March has felt like itās contained an entire yearās worth ofā¦fatigue? Thanks for being a pocket of encouragement to me in all of this.
Technicolor update
We published our interview with Joshue and Jami! In fact, a driving force in getting the interview up was so that Iād be able to share the update with you all. It took 2-3 hours of work each day last week to get it live:
Read the interview
Note: both the interview and photos happened before Coronavirus hit
We shot the photos right outside of Blue Bottle coffee in Palo Alto, where Joshue used to work. Going into the meeting I honestly didnāt know where we were going to shoot the photos, but Nidhi and I walked past this wall on the way into Blue Bottle to meet Jami and Joshue and it caught my attention. Iām glad I noticed! It was the backdrop for every single photo.
Here are some of my favorite b-roll photos that didnāt make it into the article:
Joshue spontaneously pulled out his phone as he pretended to model, but the photo turned out great š
Creating the magazine
The first step I took in moving these interviews into a print magazine started with various cover layouts. Iām still experimenting, but you can see my very first attempts here:
The next step will be taking an interview and beginning to experiment with layouts. If I can do a print version shortly after publishing the interview, it will make it easier when Iām ready to go to print.
How to proceed during Coronavirus?
I wouldāve also published another interview (with Dylan and Chloe), but COVID-19 ruined our chances of taking photos. They provided some recent photos that their friend shot, but Iām hesitant to post because they donāt match aesthetically with the other photos Iāve shot (and I feel like itās important to shoot these photos myself). So I have two options:
- Wait to publish the interview until Iām able to take photos
- Post photos that arenāt up to my standards
If you have opinions on this, please let me know. Iām unsure of what the right path is.
Bigger picture, Iām going to reach out to couples and conduct future interviews over video calls. Then work on transcribing them so that by the time everything has settled down I just have to take and edit photos in order to publish. But all of this is subject to the trajectory of the pandemicā¦
The Valleyist update
I sent out two Valleyist emails in March, so I feel like Iām getting back into a good rhythm there. Iām trying to figure out ways to blend tech and spirituality in a way to encourage others during this difficult time.
The best idea I have at the moment is a 10 minute Instagram Live meditative prayer session. The thought of people joining (or not joining?) is kind of terrifyingā¦but it sounds interesting? Or maybe not.
If you have ideas or feedback on this, please let me know!
March Playlist
This monthās playlist opens with a groovy tune (āWest Coast Loveā) from a band I recently discovered called Emotional Oranges. (Side note: I am super into it when bands create consistent themes in their album artwork, and Emotional Orange does this with their two albums from 2019. And yes, the artwork for both involvesā¦oranges.) Happy listening:
Listen on Spotify
As always, thank you for your support.
Until next time,
Justin