2026 feels like passport stamps and photo books with stains from the food we tried on the trip…
But where will the wind take us?
Wherever we end up, lord knows I’ll have this sigma 28-45 1.8 on me - it’s the perfect single lens solution for 90% of what I do, especially travel/street photo.
It’s a space where everything lines up, just as time disappears.
Where your soul whispers yes, this is what I am here for.
Where you know you’re enough, and that there’s still so much more.
A place where you’re reminded of what a gift it is to dream, and you’re filled with vitality - an energized vessel of life and creativity.
In the church, they used to call this a Heirophany - a place where to profane and the sacred touch, and definitions disappear.
They only ever exist now, and it is always a choice to see it.
New Zealand was one of those places for me.
Nashville is becoming one too.
Where is yours?
Photos by @ebourcier .
One of my favorite parts of the work we do is that our “clients” are legitimately the coolest people doing the most incredible things, and we get a front row seat to their magic.
2 years ago over lunch Cody told me he was finally writing something he had been chewing on for 8 years that was gonna be big - and he wanted to capture the process - so I popped over to his house and got smacked in the face by the beginnings of a symphony (turns out he did in fact hear one).
A year later we were back in ocean way recording the orchestra and choir, and the power of the music had me in tears. A few months after that we were up to our ankles in water running through two of the most wild production days I’ve ever seen.
Almost a year after that - it’s out for the world to see. 10 years of work by Cody and the care of 188 incredible humans to bring 15 minutes of magic to life. Talk about playing the long game.
The “making of” documentary is coming soon… probably sooner if you ask nicely in the YouTube comments. 🤫
I also need to give @samuelcowden love both for these incredible photos and for introducing me to Cody 7 years ago. Sam has been telling me for 12 years that I need to move to Nashville, and safe to say he was right. He’s an incredible entrepreneur and artist himself, and his creative evolution is one that has been massively inspiring to me and my journey. True story: the reason I met Cody was because Sam and I were working on a proof of concept for a show that never came out - but that show idea became the foundation of @challengermediahouse .
Lastly: I want to publicly apologize to @codyfry for whatever that hug was. We’ll get it next time. ❤️‍🔥
Go watch The Unlikely Mariner free on YouTube RIGHT MEOW. đź‘‘
You were (and are) capable of creativity without the robot overlords. Rebranding fast dopamine as “fulfillment in a different way” is wild, and I’m assuming by “having the fruits of their labor” he means…. Actually, what could that possibly mean?
Last year I got a DM from this incredible Dir/Photog @katedearman and I immediately felt a connection that went beyond her killer portfolio. We jumped on a call to talk about process and this analogy reallllly resonated with me, clarifying the frustration I had often felt in “professional” creative environments where “process” had squeezed all the exploration and active discovery out of the work. Yes there is a ton of technical knowledge and process that goes into making great work, but a huge amount of the magic is intuitive - the practice of connecting head and heart starts with us, and then is shared with the audience.
Right after moving to Nashville Kate and I spent a few hours at @sequatchiecovefarm putting this in practice, and ended up with a micro doc we’re both proud of - with zero “plan”, but a lifetime of experience and a huge alignment on values.
As “far” as I am in my creative journey, I’m still grateful for the reminder that letting great work happens requires trust.
As the kids say: Let. Her. Cook. ❤️‍🔥
It’s time to defy the noise with trust, worthy, communication.
It’s more important now than ever.
Don’t burn your bridges for short term leverage - play the long game and weather this storm.
We’re here to help. ❤️‍🔥
As a leading expert in the role of AI in storytelling and value creation, this event is PERFECT for me to speak at.
But I don’t expect them to like what I have to say 🤣
AI is on track to revolutionize everything—again. In fact, if current trends continue, AI may soon disrupt the rapid and unstoppable proliferation of… AI.
Think about it: algorithms generating content faster than humans can consume it, bots replying to bots, models training on data produced by other models in a kind of digital inbreeding spiral. At some point, AI may step in and say, “Alright, that’s enough of that,” and start filtering, summarizing, and quietly ignoring 93% of what other AIs produce.
In a bold move, future AI systems might even develop sophisticated tools to detect whether content was generated by AI—and then promptly refuse to read it. Entire ecosystems of machine intelligence, rolling their metaphorical eyes at each other’s output.
Of course, this raises important questions. Will AI create content purely for other AI to consume? Will there be elite, artisanal, human-made posts that become luxury goods in a sea of synthetic text? Will your fridge’s AI unsubscribe from your car’s AI newsletter?
In the end, the greatest disruption AI may bring isn’t to work, art, or communication—but to itself. A self-inflicted bottleneck where machines become the gatekeepers, critics, and primary audience of their own infinite output.
And somewhere in the noise, a human posts, “hello?”—and gets flagged as suspiciously original.
Beyond the Betrayals,
There Lies A Truth.
Before Sable Fables,
Remembrance of Youth.
Sorrow The Gavel,
To the Depths of my Bones.
Bury Me in this Earth,
Babe There’s No Place like Home.
