Hwhup The Deans List? The Jason Dean here, bringing an end to the Weekend like I was Thanos but if Thanos just snapped away only the good movies in the MCU and we were left with the MCU’s Phase Four. Which, come to think of it, is pretty depressing. Even more depressing than Avengers: Infinity War basically being a 149-minute trailer for Captain Marvel.
Anyways. Let’s get into it.
Field Trip
I have a couple cool announcements regarding my work in the wild.
Firstly, I am pleased to share that I will be a part of another issue (Fall) of Humana Obscura’s quarterly literary magazine. The piece that was selected for inclusion is Inhale, a photo I took of a receding wave during a crisp fall morning at the rocky beach across from the Superior Dome in Marquette. I took this with my trusty 105mm 2.8 lens, which is my absolute favorite lens. It is a versatile lens that can put in all sorts of work in a lot of different styles of photography but is primarily the engine that has empowered me to get creative with all of the macro abstract (macstract?) shooting I’ve been doing lately.
I’ve written before about how proud I am to be a part of any project that Humana Obscura puts out. I believe in their vision and Editor-in-Chief Bri Bruce works hecka hard to platform talented creatives (of whom I am humbled to be a part of). I can’t wait to see what other incredible artists and writers that I will be sharing the page with. I’ll let you know when the issue is live!
Secondly, the folks behind the ‘Hidden Gems’ series that brought you Conversations with Jason Dean asked me to return and share more of my story. I’m excited to get a chance to be in front of their audience again! It feels like an act of providence that I have this opportunity at this juncture in my journey. In my first interview, I talked about how I was ‘ordering my steps’ to become a full time artist/photographer. In hindsight, I probably should have said I was ‘kind of thinking about ordering steps while continuing to drift through existence the way that I used to drift through existence and hoping/trusting/just kind of waiting for God to do…something, I guess?’.
Of course, a lot has changed since then and I’ve grown tremendously in the last few months, spurred on by a recognition that the helplessness I’ve felt as life has unfolded around me is self-paralysis and that I can be an active participant in the re-imagining of my own story. It’s been liberating, to say the least! I could not possibly have imagined back in March that the next chapter would unfold in such a way, but I have risen to meet the challenge and I cannot wait for you to read all about it when the interview has been published!
Art
No fall photos yet, although the colors are already starting to change in Marquette. Soon all the trees will look like they are flaming Skittle sticks. For both the photographer and the layperson, it’s like a weeks-long Christmas. Still, I have to say for the first time ever I’m going to miss the all the green.
Ironically, if I’m being honest I actually have a little anxiety about what shooting this winter is going to look like. Don’t get me wrong- I’m still excited AF because winter has some of the most incredible shapes and textures known to nature. I’m just not sure how the process of creating images like the ones above will translate to snow and ice. It’s a process that is dependent on having strong shapes and interesting contrasts. What will I find when everything is white and dead? Will these techniques that I’ve dove headfirst into translate to a monochrome palette?
Don’t despair too much, friends (and self). There may not be colors like this:
However, there will be entirely new worlds to explore with new ways to explore them. Stay tuned!
Economics
The subtitle of this edition of The Weekender is a reference to constant pressure that eventually breaks through a barrier and it’s a metaphor for how I am developing my business during this transition period. To further explain, I see myself as a pool of water, drip-drip-dripping onto a rock below, wearing it down slowly over time (oh, uh, I guess the rock is, like, success?) until eventually there is a hole in the rock. And the things I am doing ‘under the hood’ so to speak are the water drips that persist until the big breakthrough, which is the hole (editors note: Apologies for mixing metaphors 😬).
One of the ‘under the hood’ developments I’m really excited about is the refining of what kind of art I am actively putting out into the world. I’ve talked a couple times about working with Kyle at Moon Vibes Media. One of the main things we discussed at our first meeting was identifying the core style(s) that I want to focus on If you go to my website, you’ll see I’ve started to put that advice into action.
I used to have almost 10 galleries; now, if you visit my website, you will see four: Abstract, Marquette, Trees, and Waves. My goal for each gallery is to have no more than 20-25 pieces available at any given time, each representing my best and (most importantly) most ‘The Jason Dean’ works in their respective genre.
Once that work is finished, I’ll start implementing the mechanisms to be able to sell directly from the site. In the meantime, if you see any photos you’d like to purchase (really any photos I’ve ever shared, ever), please reach out! I work with a printer here in Marquette and can deliver high quality prints at a reasonable price.
Also, I ain’t too proud to beg- I need money to make these dreams happen and if you are so inclined to support the vision you can throw a (proverbial) cup of coffee my way at the button below. And if you aren’t able to, that’s okay! Sharing The Deans List on social media is a free, easy way to support the work that I’m doing here 😎
Thank you for tuning into another edition of The Weekender. I’m on the road this week for work and a slight detour to College Town to visit my eldest child. Waves and Wednesdays and the next Weekender will both be happening this week, but they may be light on substance. If you are worried about meeting your FDA-recommended serving of The Jason Dean, you can always follow me on Instagram. As I move into the next phase of my career, I’ll be sharing less photos there and more behind-the-scenes content and the like. I’m also the newest member of Team LinkedIn (editors note: Other than, you know, the probably thousands that have joined in the last couple of days). I’m still incorporating that platform into my ecosystem, so I’m not super active on there yet. I guess what I’m saying is now is a great time to get in on the ground floor!
Thanks for being a supporter of my work. Forth, and fear no darkness! (I know I share a lot of hyperlinks, but if you only click on one- click on this one, folks)
See you around,
Jason
