211 ☼ My Other Creative Passion (Yes, There's a Pigeon)
+ New pigeon video, London recap, and upcoming Paris & Vienna walks
Hey friends,
Yesterday I spent the day walking the London streets with about 20 photographers, cameras clicking, stories flowing. Today, a little recap.
But first, I need to tell you about something I do when I'm not behind a camera. Something I've been doing for years but haven't talked about much here. It involves stages, audiences, and absolutely no planning whatsoever.
Oh, and I've also been making videos. The latest one involves a pigeon and made me laugh harder than anything I've created in months.
Plus: Paris and Vienna walk dates are here.
A quick London recap (and what’s next)
Yesterday, I met up with a bunch of you in London for the eleventh (!?!) Process Photo Walk! A few familiar faces from our first London walk last year, and a few new ones, including a few folks who have been reading since the early days. I think I got a few nice shots, but the real highlight, as always, was the social element and getting to ask about everyone’s current projects and ideas. Here’s a few iPhone snaps from the day.
Luke (above, middle image) shared that since our last walk he had focused on portraits of people in era-appropriate dress at classic car meet ups and was going to make a zine out of it. Leah (left image, third from the left) told about how she recently realized that rather than waiting or planning, she should just start making. A thousand times yes! It's one thing to make work alone but it's another to feel part of a creative circle, even if just for an afternoon.
I’ll have a little recap video for you all soon, and in the mean time if you joined the walk, email me a link to your favorite images of the day at hello@wesley.co! I’d love to see them. Major thanks to Jim for sharing the above shot already, thanks Jim!
Save the dates for readers in or near Paris and Vienna. Next week, I will share RSVP links and more info about co-hosts and free film and goodies for both of these. For now, save the date! :)
Oct 18 — Vienna
Nov 16 — Paris (during Paris Photo)
TBD — Berlin
TBD — Amsterdam
Making videos: a different kind of storytelling
Lately, I’ve been spending more time writing and making videos. The running joke is that all photographers want to be film makers and all film makers want to be photographers. There is so much overlap in terms of the visual aspect, and at the same time film making scratches a different creative itch than photography. One of the main difference is that making videos is way more work and it’s very hard to do it by yourself since it encompasses so many other creative forms like writing, composing, color grading, editing, etc.
The latest video I made was in collaboration with Alain Galje who shot and edited while I wrote and acted. It was was made for picdrop (a Process sponsor), and I genuinely had a blast making it. Yes, it’s an ad, but they gave us full freedom: no input, no notes, just trust. I had an idea, I wrote the treatment, and then Alain Galje and I ran with it. It co-stars a pigeon. Here it is:
The story has a client (my friend Robert). It has files that need to be delivered. There is, somehow once again, an actual real live bird that we cast off the street. You might remember the heron in another video I made with Alain, the MPB unboxing one. If not, here’s that one again:
What I enjoyed most about the process of making these is that even though I worked very hard to write a script and a shotlist for both, it was the unplanned and improvised elements that really brought some of the magic on top. These birds weren’t planned, obviously. They just showed up when we were filming. And that’s when my improv brain kicks in. Speaking of…
My Other Other Creative Passion
Many of you may not know this, but when I'm not behind a camera or writing or curating, I can be found on stage doing improvised unscripted comedy. These are live comedy plays, fully improvised in the moment based on a one-word suggestion from the audience. They may yell out "bucket" and off we go, a thirty minute play inspired by the word bucket. (This is a real example, my group GCN recently won an improv tournament with a play about intergalactic dishwashing competitions.)
I've been training and performing since 2020, and it's completely changed how I work behind the camera. In improv, you learn to say "yes, and..." to whatever happens, which is a skill that's invaluable when a pigeon walks into your shot or the light suddenly changes or a client decides they want to change the entire concept when you arrive. You can't control everything, so you learn to build with what shows up. The best moments usually aren't the ones you planned.
I enjoyed my improv training from 2020-2022 and now perform regularly in Amsterdam and even at festivals in other countries. I even did a little guest spot in London on this recent trip as part of The Forest jam hosted by actress Lora Hristova. It's chaotic, silly, and oddly therapeutic.
What’s Next?
More videos are coming over the few months. They will usually have something to do with photography, and even when they don’t I’m excited to show you the behind-the-scenes of it all, since film making and photography are so closely related.
Sometimes the videos may be a look behind-the-scenes at a shoot, like this one I made with Alain during The Best Medicine shoots:
Other times they may be surrealist short films like the trailer I made with Joseph Frank for my photo book NOTICE Journal, Volume One. For this one, we recreated the opening scene of the television show Lost and I ran through the woods in a suit, panicking about a printing mistake. Here it is:
We have more of these styles coming soon: short narrative pieces, playful comedy sketches, and quiet photo-focused clips too. I’d love to hear your thoughts and for you to follow along on YouTube and Instagram where these videos will live.
I’d also love to hear which video creators you really love on YouTube, whether it’s photography related or otherwise. Let me know in the comments, I’d love some more inspiration from y’all.
Alright, that's me for this week. I’m still enjoying the afterglow of the London photo walk. I hope you join us in Paris and/or Vienna! Excited to share more details next week.
Talk soon,
Wesley
📷 What I Used This Week
People often ask what I’m using, and my current go-to digital set up is: Canon EOS R5 + Canon RF 24-70 mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens.
This issue is supported by MPB, which is my personal go-to for buying, selling, or trading used gear. Everything comes with a 12-month warranty.
This issue is also supported by picdrop.com, my preferred tool for building galleries to let my clients review, select, and download photos. Use “PROCESS” at checkout to get a free 2-month trial.
Lab: My film is processed by Carmencita Film Lab. I trust them fully for both their work and their humanity. Use code "PROCESS" for a free upgrade on your next order.
Next Week
I take you behind the scenes for an interiors shot, at a very special home, right before the person who lives there has to leave it behind to start a new chapter. Plus some tips for shooting interiors in an editorial way that honors the space and the person who lives there.
How You Can Support Process?
If these Sunday issues give you something, energy, motivation, a new way of seeing. you can support Process by picking up:
The Process Workbook, Volume 3: A 100-Day Creative Habit is built to help you develop your eye, stay creatively grounded, and finish the year with a quiet body of work that feels like you. It’s €14.99 from my webshop or free for paying members of the Process Photo Club, along with a bunch of other perks and books. More info here.
If you have already started, please email me your favorite shots and I will put together a community post with images shot by you!
If you haven’t joined us yet, grab yourself a copy of the workbook and join me for five minutes a day to build yourself a nice creative habit to end the year with.
🗃️ Browse the Process Archives.
📜 Read the Process Manifesto.
🚧 Currently Working On1
Currently Working On / Project Updates (r = release date)
Process Workbook, Vol. 4 — Writing has started (r: Jan)
Creatives In/AMS — Preparing launch
NOTICE Journal, Volume Two — Image selection, round 1
25 in 2025 — Shoot prep
Photo Walks: Vienna (Oct 18), Paris (Nov 16)
New Portfolio Website — Learning how to code!
Wesley, do you ever sleep? :-)
That was an awesome ad, entertaining & funny! And gets the point across. I have some 8mm cameras laying around…🤔