Prelude:

You see reader, there are certain moments in history that are so etched into my mind that I simply will not ever forget them. One of those moments happened on Sunday September, 13th 2009. The MTV Video Music Awards. Taylor Swift goes up on stage and accepts her award and begins her speech after winning the award for Best Female Video. Kanye West stands up and interrupts Taylor to declare that Beyonce should’ve won. The reader will have to trust that without looking it up, I can confidently say that the presenters of the award were Shakira and Taylor Lautner and at a certain point the camera cuts to the singer Pink sitting in the audience. I’d argue that this was perhaps the most seminal moment in the history of pop culture during the 2000s setting off a saga that to this day seems to have no end in sight. For the record, I actually missed that moment live. I was busy managing my fantasy baseball team.

Write Up:

Joelle’s description of her piece is important so let’s read it. She writes “People are often so scared to leave their comfort zone but end up missing out on discovering the life that's really meant for them. In order to thrive, I think we must fail and rebuild ourselves over and over. This photo represents all the failures I went through that have led me to be who I am today and the reason why my passion for photography was born. I shot this in Tofino at golden hour a few months ago. Although this isn't my usual work, I love the minimalist look and faded effect the sun had on the mountains & trees that makes this image look like a painting.”

There’s a lot to unpack there, but let’s start by showing the image:

I want to start with the bit on people unable to leave their comfort zone and missing out on living the life they’re meant to live. I see no better way of addressing this than with a nice anecdote.

It was May of 2015 and it was the final day of what ended up being my favorite class I ever took while in college. I was a junior at this point and that summer I was slated to intern with a major corporation with the idea that I’d be offered a full time position starting the following fall. I was very confident that the job was not what I wanted to nor was it what I was meant to do. Before the last class the professor, Joseph Church, assigned us the reading ‘Before the Law’ by Franz Kafka. As an aside, I highly recommend the reader click that link and read the parable as it is short and I believe the message is powerful. The TLDR here is that you’ve got a guy who wants to gain entrance to the law and you’ve got a gatekeeper who will not allow him entrance. The man begs and pleads his case for the gatekeeper to allow him entrance and repeatedly the gatekeeper denies his requests until in the end the man is dying and the gatekeeper shuts the entrance to the law. And so, on that last day of class, Professor Joe Church announces what he thinks Kafka is saying with this parable. And in a loud, deadpan manner, he announces ‘I think the author is saying that if you see yourself in the same position as the man trying to gain entrance to the law, run!’ And Im sitting there thinking to myself, yes! RUN! This is you! You’re the old man in the parable! Do something! It was the most simple, succinct yet chaotic advice/interpretation anyone could give. Just RUN! But reader, you must understand. It was May. This was announced in the last seconds of the class. The whole class was on edge. Everyone, myself included, was eager to depart. It was sunny out. The sun and Binghamton, NY are two things that are not mentioned in the same sentence very often. And it was all so weird, so surreal. I’m sitting in class having this moment of realization, but at the same time I don’t want to face it. But, surely I’d muster the courage to get up and go run! Go do what I’m meant to do! Change my path and pursue a life of edifying employ! Surely!

Joelle talks about how this photo represents all the failures she went through that have led her to be who she is today and the reason why her passion for photography was born. I loved reading this and I’m so interested because on the surface, a viewer could ask what trees, valleys, and the sky have to do with failure. But, I think this is what is so amazing about the world. The idea that things that on the surface seem to have nothing to do with one another when looked at in depth are actually quite related. And what’s so amazing about art is that it is so deeply personal. To Joelle this picture elicits feelings of the failures she endured throughout her life journey. I imagine that if asked, Joelle could expound on that explanation and give a detailed description of exactly why this photo elicited the feelings that it did for her, but I like that she didn’t. It leaves room for the viewer to interpret, to try to understand.

In April of 2017 I was roughly nine months into the job I noted above. The previous nine months had not gone well and I had recently transferred to a new team because working with my previous team became untenable. It was a unique set up with the new team. We were contracted employees for an oil/gas company and they stuffed the contractors in an old controller room for lack of other space. It was my second day and in the wee hours of the night while everyone was burnt out and delirious from working the whole day, a discussion ensued in which we went around the table talking about what we wanted to do other than the job we were currently working. It came time for me to speak and before I could even think I blurted out, ‘I love female models.’ Naturally, just about everyone looked at me askance given the absolutely arbitrary nature of the sentence. But then, to my surprise I proceeded to give a coherent explanation of how my whole life I loved female models and had recently read up on the history of models, photographers, the fashion industry and how I felt like it would be cool to have a job in the industry. I’m generally a pretty reserved person and I’m almost always loath to reveal my desires to close friends let alone to a group of complete strangers. But anyway, in that moment it felt right. My idea was to work at some type of agency, but as months passed by I realized that some of the things I was reading about the modeling industry were in a word sordid. And so I pretty much shelved the idea.

In November of 2021, I bought my first piece of artwork on Foundation. In the weeks that ensued I’ve bought a bunch of other pieces from a plethora of talented artists in the space. I recently had my ‘WOW’ moment regarding the NFT space. I spent the summer flipping profile picture photos and when everyone was screaming about community it simply didn’t click. I can confidently say that collecting from artists is different. The relationship formed between collector and artist is intimate. Seeing the artists’ reaction when their talent is recognized is infectious.

I never forgot about that moment in April of 2017 and being here in this space now has been both eye-opening and inspiring. I believe I have found a way for me to pursue my love for models and the fashion industry and that is through photography. My true love has always been fashion photography and so I want to pursue portrait photography with an emphasis on capturing femininity. That said I’m keeping an open mind and am open to capturing anything if it can help me improve. I’ve talked to many of you in the NFT Photography community in the past couple of weeks who have graciously offered help and with so many people for me to bounce questions off of, I have no excuse not to try! Also, as an aside if you’re reading this, feel free to DM me on Twitter as I’ve really enjoyed connecting with everyone. And so, in the spirit of Joelle’s write-up and piece, I think what I’m saying is I’m looking forward to trying, failing, and rebuilding 🙂.

Postlude:

After collecting from her, Joelle reached out to me to connect. She told me a little bit about her story and it was really inspiring to hear. I won’t spoil it for you so if you’re interested, reach out to her, she’s awesome! But yeah, this is what is so incredible about this space. Just a bunch of people who want to see each other succeed.

Joelle Beauchamp is a talented photographer based in Canada.

You can find her on Twitter Here

Her work can be found on Foundation and OpenSea (1), and OpenSea (2)

While you’re here, I host a Twitter Space every Sunday at 2 PM EST with Guido Disalle and Max. If you’re interested in Photography, come join us! We typically feature a handful of speakers and open the floor to the audience to come up and ask questions.

Prelude:

You see reader, there are certain moments in history that are so etched into my mind that I simply will not ever forget them. One of those moments happened on Sunday September, 13th 2009. The MTV Video Music Awards. Taylor Swift goes up on stage and accepts her award and begins her speech after winning the award for Best Female Video. Kanye West stands up and interrupts Taylor to declare that Beyonce should’ve won. The reader will have to trust that without looking it up, I can confidently say that the presenters of the award were Shakira and Taylor Lautner and at a certain point the camera cuts to the singer Pink sitting in the audience. I’d argue that this was perhaps the most seminal moment in the history of pop culture during the 2000s setting off a saga that to this day seems to have no end in sight. For the record, I actually missed that moment live. I was busy managing my fantasy baseball team.

Write Up:

Joelle’s description of her piece is important so let’s read it. She writes “People are often so scared to leave their comfort zone but end up missing out on discovering the life that's really meant for them. In order to thrive, I think we must fail and rebuild ourselves over and over. This photo represents all the failures I went through that have led me to be who I am today and the reason why my passion for photography was born. I shot this in Tofino at golden hour a few months ago. Although this isn't my usual work, I love the minimalist look and faded effect the sun had on the mountains & trees that makes this image look like a painting.”

There’s a lot to unpack there, but let’s start by showing the image:

I want to start with the bit on people unable to leave their comfort zone and missing out on living the life they’re meant to live. I see no better way of addressing this than with a nice anecdote.

It was May of 2015 and it was the final day of what ended up being my favorite class I ever took while in college. I was a junior at this point and that summer I was slated to intern with a major corporation with the idea that I’d be offered a full time position starting the following fall. I was very confident that the job was not what I wanted to nor was it what I was meant to do. Before the last class the professor, Joseph Church, assigned us the reading ‘Before the Law’ by Franz Kafka. As an aside, I highly recommend the reader click that link and read the parable as it is short and I believe the message is powerful. The TLDR here is that you’ve got a guy who wants to gain entrance to the law and you’ve got a gatekeeper who will not allow him entrance. The man begs and pleads his case for the gatekeeper to allow him entrance and repeatedly the gatekeeper denies his requests until in the end the man is dying and the gatekeeper shuts the entrance to the law. And so, on that last day of class, Professor Joe Church announces what he thinks Kafka is saying with this parable. And in a loud, deadpan manner, he announces ‘I think the author is saying that if you see yourself in the same position as the man trying to gain entrance to the law, run!’ And Im sitting there thinking to myself, yes! RUN! This is you! You’re the old man in the parable! Do something! It was the most simple, succinct yet chaotic advice/interpretation anyone could give. Just RUN! But reader, you must understand. It was May. This was announced in the last seconds of the class. The whole class was on edge. Everyone, myself included, was eager to depart. It was sunny out. The sun and Binghamton, NY are two things that are not mentioned in the same sentence very often. And it was all so weird, so surreal. I’m sitting in class having this moment of realization, but at the same time I don’t want to face it. But, surely I’d muster the courage to get up and go run! Go do what I’m meant to do! Change my path and pursue a life of edifying employ! Surely!

Joelle talks about how this photo represents all the failures she went through that have led her to be who she is today and the reason why her passion for photography was born. I loved reading this and I’m so interested because on the surface, a viewer could ask what trees, valleys, and the sky have to do with failure. But, I think this is what is so amazing about the world. The idea that things that on the surface seem to have nothing to do with one another when looked at in depth are actually quite related. And what’s so amazing about art is that it is so deeply personal. To Joelle this picture elicits feelings of the failures she endured throughout her life journey. I imagine that if asked, Joelle could expound on that explanation and give a detailed description of exactly why this photo elicited the feelings that it did for her, but I like that she didn’t. It leaves room for the viewer to interpret, to try to understand.

In April of 2017 I was roughly nine months into the job I noted above. The previous nine months had not gone well and I had recently transferred to a new team because working with my previous team became untenable. It was a unique set up with the new team. We were contracted employees for an oil/gas company and they stuffed the contractors in an old controller room for lack of other space. It was my second day and in the wee hours of the night while everyone was burnt out and delirious from working the whole day, a discussion ensued in which we went around the table talking about what we wanted to do other than the job we were currently working. It came time for me to speak and before I could even think I blurted out, ‘I love female models.’ Naturally, just about everyone looked at me askance given the absolutely arbitrary nature of the sentence. But then, to my surprise I proceeded to give a coherent explanation of how my whole life I loved female models and had recently read up on the history of models, photographers, the fashion industry and how I felt like it would be cool to have a job in the industry. I’m generally a pretty reserved person and I’m almost always loath to reveal my desires to close friends let alone to a group of complete strangers. But anyway, in that moment it felt right. My idea was to work at some type of agency, but as months passed by I realized that some of the things I was reading about the modeling industry were in a word sordid. And so I pretty much shelved the idea.

In November of 2021, I bought my first piece of artwork on Foundation. In the weeks that ensued I’ve bought a bunch of other pieces from a plethora of talented artists in the space. I recently had my ‘WOW’ moment regarding the NFT space. I spent the summer flipping profile picture photos and when everyone was screaming about community it simply didn’t click. I can confidently say that collecting from artists is different. The relationship formed between collector and artist is intimate. Seeing the artists’ reaction when their talent is recognized is infectious.

I never forgot about that moment in April of 2017 and being here in this space now has been both eye-opening and inspiring. I believe I have found a way for me to pursue my love for models and the fashion industry and that is through photography. My true love has always been fashion photography and so I want to pursue portrait photography with an emphasis on capturing femininity. That said I’m keeping an open mind and am open to capturing anything if it can help me improve. I’ve talked to many of you in the NFT Photography community in the past couple of weeks who have graciously offered help and with so many people for me to bounce questions off of, I have no excuse not to try! Also, as an aside if you’re reading this, feel free to DM me on Twitter as I’ve really enjoyed connecting with everyone. And so, in the spirit of Joelle’s write-up and piece, I think what I’m saying is I’m looking forward to trying, failing, and rebuilding 🙂.

Postlude:

After collecting from her, Joelle reached out to me to connect. She told me a little bit about her story and it was really inspiring to hear. I won’t spoil it for you so if you’re interested, reach out to her, she’s awesome! But yeah, this is what is so incredible about this space. Just a bunch of people who want to see each other succeed.

Joelle Beauchamp is a talented photographer based in Canada.

You can find her on Twitter Here

Her work can be found on Foundation and OpenSea (1), and OpenSea (2)

While you’re here, I host a Twitter Space every Sunday at 2 PM EST with Guido Disalle and Max. If you’re interested in Photography, come join us! We typically feature a handful of speakers and open the floor to the audience to come up and ask questions.