27: Beyond the Frame | Nimit Patel

Thanks for tuning in to the Nick Amp podcast. I am your host Nick Amp and this is episode 27 I'm so grateful that you decided to tune in for another episode Before we say anything else, let's get all the main things out of the way If you're watching this on YouTube hit that subscribe button This is the best way to support our channel completely free and allows us to reach more people and provide valuable content information insights about the creative industry

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Go ahead and leave me a comment down below in the YouTube comments or send me a DM on Instagram Anything of the sorts so the guest we had on today was someone special to me name is Nimit Patel He's a photographer based out of Utah Travel nurse he's seen a lot in the world his his his world right now is currently changing and evolving And what we talk about is What it means to be a photographer. What is social media? Why should we use it? Have we gone too far with social media?

We talked about principles values sticking to your values sticking to your principles Not bending just for vanity metrics and we go into detail about a lot of other deep topics And I hope that you take some valuable insight from this. I think it was very fruitful I really enjoyed it, and I hope to have more people on who are big thinkers creatives just people who Care about people because that's what we're doing this all for that's what I'm having these discussions

I want to have discussions with people. I'm curious I want to know more about people because certainly I do not know everything I want to be able to have discussions with people dig into their brains and Figure out why they do what they do and how they got to where they are And without further ado, I'll stop talking and I'll just cut to the episode 27 and here we go All right episode 27 with a guy who I've been chatting with on Instagram for quite a long time

His name is Nimit Patel. This is episode 27 and I'm so excited to have him on I actually found Nimit Patel through another podcast actually I found him from the Bushwaggers podcast and recently we had Chandler Garrick on as a guest in episode 22 or 23 And what do we know full circle now? I'm having Nimit Patel on our podcast Nimit It's so great to have you on man

It's an absolute pleasure to be on nice to meet you face to face Nick. Finally, like you mentioned We've been in touch for a little while here About lots of different things, but obviously kind of you mentioning the you know Bushwaggers podcast kind of photography has this you know, kind of a common bond if you will but really nice to be on it

Thanks for inviting me up, bro. So, I mean, I just can't believe it It just feels a little surreal talking to you at all because we've been chatting it up and we almost linked up back in Utah But then you know my plans as you were keeping up to date with my Day by day hour by hour what was happening weather updates and you were like bro. I don't know So I really appreciate you there. We almost met up

But actually I could be making a trip back to Utah in the very soon future. So I'll have to let you know about that Awesome. Yes, and I definitely remember that So so let's delve right into it Nimit You're a photographer. You're a travel nurse You're a man of wisdom. You have many attributes that Make up who you are. Can you Make up who you are. Can you? delve into delve into Why you do photography?

A little bit later. I'll ask you when but I want to know why I want to get right to it Tell me the why and I know you have a why which is why i'm curious and I want to pick your brain

Sounds good. Um, yeah, so my photography story, um in terms of why I ever even picked up the camera or why I still shoot um Me particularly you mentioned how you know my career background is uh travel nursing Uh, I did for about five years and then before that I worked, you know at a hospital back in new york where I used to live Um, and me personally I found the work and I still actually do work in health care And I find it fulfilling rewarding But with it comes a lot of stress challenges

Um because of the situations we're in so to answer why really I think initially I think I picked it up just there wasn't actually any reason why I actually picked up the camera in the first place But then when I started to use the camera more take some photos here and there family events with friends and whatnot Um, I started to hear friends and relatives mention. Hey, you're pretty good at this. Hey, those photos are good

Maybe there's something there. Maybe you want to look at I had never even thought about any of it You know until I got that support from those people, uh, but then fast forward from there

I think it became a tremendous outlet for me. Um in terms of stress relief Um, just another means to become one with nature So I love being outside so much and the camera just added another element where you know I could go somewhere whether i'm alone or with other people and connect with it in this way of like Capturing it, you know in camera and then being able like, you know, uh kind of immortalize those memories if you will

And I think that's still why I enjoy it so much now you you said two things that really Got my brain thinking And the first one i'll tell you it's having support from others and two it's connecting with nature and that soothing Quietness honed in on what we're doing in the moment. Now, let's break down the first topic first and I think this is an important topic What does it mean to you to get support from others in?

A passion like photography. Is that something that plays a role in your life? Do you think that? Having support in anyone's passions. Is that something that really? Could be the indicator from Down here to up here and for those of you listening i'm going low to high

Sounds good. And yes, certainly. I know this whole this whole discussion really is going to be pretty deep and there's a lot of layers to these things So i'm not going to pretend like I have you know, like, uh, you know all the answers or even many of the answers But I will kind of just start that conversation that way we can get into it more versus me having a very good answer You know for that, uh, but me personally, yeah, i've always

And it goes both ways. I've always found um, fortunately, you mean my childhood growing up in my you know family Um, my parents my older brother. I have one one sibling. It's just me and him

I've always gotten support love affection every step of the way from them. So that's kind of where the foundation came from Um, but then you know years later certainly, you know as you start to go out in the world and do different things school work Just everything kind of where you end up in life you make friends or you develop, you know a better rapport with certain relatives and um, you know, you see that

Many of them are supportive and then on the flip side like I mentioned at the beginning is I always Wanted to be someone who's supportive of others as well. So every step of my own journey It's it's never been just about me. I've had those phases. I think just like most people where certain

Goals that we have or just certain phases we're going through. Sometimes we end up Thinking a little bit too or spending too much time in our own heads if you will Like where we're thinking of ourselves, but it was never from a selfish place It was more of like I want to improve myself and be better and you know to do those things

But ultimately I always wanted to be supportive of others as well. So I think And you'll probably agree with me on this but it really goes beyond photography, but I think any industry so if you look at the top People in any industry you'll often see a common theme where they associate with a certain caliber of people so I Remember distinctly. I don't know when but many years ago nick when I started to like, you know

And I started outside of school. I'm talking about school reading But when I cracked open a book myself, you know to learn and and just I was interested in the wisdom contained in those pages one of the first things I remember reading was About who you associate with and something so distinct it stayed with me It was like if you are the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room period And that was just that has stayed with me because I think if you want to excel in anything

You have to associate with the best in that field, you know, and it just really made a lot of sense to me that um It's not about Being the best but if you're associating with people who are just very good at things and there's you know

They have that skill set and that's the kind of life that you want to live. That's uh, you know Certainly a key part of it and going back to the support, you know, which is what we're discussing Um, you'll see that often that is the case where those individuals will be supportive Especially because they can understand better, you know, like uh, hey, you know, you're interested in photography, you know

Oh, yeah, and someone just starting out. Let's say as an example, you know, they bought a camera They have some gear they have lots of questions, you know How to do this how to do that, uh all those things but if you can just kind of develop that supportive rapport with people, um, it's gonna go both ways and i've really been um, you know grateful for that in my life You hit a lot of areas man. That's a real good deal and to piggyback off what you're seeing having that

People around to support you in what you're doing. That makes all the difference Um, I wouldn't have started this photography journey. I wouldn't have gone after my dreams pursuing this creative industry If it wasn't for a certain friend back in the day four years ago is just saying Hello, why are you not doing it? What is the reason stopping you? You're 20 years old at this time I'm only 24 now, so i'm still a young guy, but 20 years old. Why are you not going for it?

There's literally no reason and the reason i'm saying this is because Who you associate with? Is the biggest indicator of where you're going and i'll i'll be the first one to admit There are some times where I got stagnant in my my growth I wasn't hanging around certain people that were Pushing me to grow in that area. I was like, okay Why am I still having the same level of results?

and then Like you mentioned having these people who are at a high caliber caliber You see that they're better than you How humble and I love that realize I thrive on that See because I think that's also a mark of well We I don't want to jump to other you know things um But certain things like when you talk about things like ego or just certain things like You'll see that that's often the case where if someone's not capable of see like I said, I thrive on that

I enjoy being around people who are living at a higher level than me or better than me in a certain You know skill set or whatever because i'm just like wow like you make it look so easier. Wow

Like I never thought of it that way. Maybe I just you know shit, you know, just what i'm doing and things like that So if you feel it's important that over time I'm not saying that's not the case If you feel it's important that over time i'm not saying that someone has to just immediately, you know Make those changes but where over time you're like, oh like i'm not threatened by this I'm not you know

All these like negative things that there's really a lot of great things that you can learn and become better yourself and then ultimately On the other side you're going to end up being that for someone else that that's that's kind of what for me is so um Really why I even agreed to be on your podcast See, I I don't even being on um, you know the bushwhackers podcast, right? When they first invited me on there, I was like, why do you want me on the podcast?

What do you think that I you know, and then it really got me thinking, you know, they're they're my friends right chandler loop um He got me thinking that yes, we're friends. But what do they see? What do they? Um, you know want me to talk about what what is it that i've done or what is it that i'm doing? That's so interesting and it got me thinking that it's not all about like

What you have what you've attained it's who you are. It's how you operate It's how you do things and those things are ultimately going to be the things that like like what you said about this friend, right? A number like four years ago who inspired you myself in my own life

I lost track of how many times and i'm not talking about the closest people to me. That's one thing too It's people who for example, it might be a friend who I haven't even talked to in like the last six seven years Or someone who I had a conversation with a stranger Uh, maybe like two years ago just somewhere I happened to be somewhere out and we had a conversation in exchange Let's say I was out in nature somewhere out of park having a conversation and something they said to me

Was just so inspirational or supportive and had nothing to gain, right? This is a stranger i'm talking about that's happened to me several times

Um where i'm just like wow, like that's a very interesting. I'm glad that you shared that with me Thanks for supporting me and all these things So it's not always the people that you're like very close to or spending time to or that you talk to all the time It comes from anywhere as long as you're open to it so Something that you really talked about that I really value in what you said is How can I support others and this is something that I delve into all the time is something i'm working on

Being a young guy you grow up you start to think you realize things are all about you You realize things are all about you. They're not really all about you and growing up and becoming a man you got to realize We're here to serve we're here to offer to others. What do I bring to you? How can I add value to you? It's not just about what can I take from you?

I mean dude, you can't just be a taker you get caught real fast after a while people start getting smarter You can't be a taker as you get older and to To delve into what you said Is giving value to others supporting others. Okay, so as artists it is uh something that's personal to us because we're expressing ourselves in different ways and Having that support system that rapport with others that push us to go into these passions How would you tell someone maybe an 18 year old?

How could they build a rapport of people that can support their art? And what would you do to go to approach this? Let's say they don't have a family that supports them in this art. Okay, and maybe they're more of the The standard route the doctor that's fine. But maybe they just have no one support them to go into passions. How would you go about? Building this rapport people to support them building these people to help propel them in the right direction being in the same room

As these people that all are striving for the same goal. That's a great question. I think it's a good opportunity to kind of link my Creative identity if you will and photography which is a big piece of that back to my main career in health care and the reason i'm saying that is because Really before I picked up the camera and when I say pick up I mean like when I actually consider to do this professionally or make money from it or or things of that nature

It wasn't until several years after you know, I picked up the camera for the first time but see Growing up the way I did. Um, you know, I come from an indian, you know family Um, you know indian culture and just in general You'll understand where i'm coming from with this. There are certain Paths that you can take in life, especially when it comes to career paths that You'll find Ample support you'll find a very clear Guidance on how to get from point a to point b

Okay, this is my goal and this is the process to get there and i'll get more in in detail in just a moment. But um Photography was not one of those things for me creative identity was not one of those things for me So I didn't have a creative identity Until I you know wanted to pursue something different and the reason why it relates back to my career is because First off there was no creative identity that I had developed through that career, you know

And at this point i've actually been a registered nurse for almost 10 years now actually um and i've seen and done a lot in that time and Back in school even you know relating it back to what we were discussing earlier is that

There was kind of a clear path. Okay, so this is my goal, you know, I wanted to work in health care These are the few, you know options like becoming a doctor or a nurse or different things you can do in the field And then you get the you know certification schooling degrees and then you do certain things and you can end up you know in those positions And often you don't actually yes to perform at the highest you should kind of stay up on the latest research

You should be um, you know factoring that into your practice so that you can Give the best to your patients, but there's not any creative identity that I personally, you know encountered during that process So then on the flip side when it came to oh one day like, you know You're asking me these questions like nicks asked me. Hey, what you know, what happened one day or like what did you do? Or what would you tell an 18 year old who's just starting out and has all these different opportunities?

And you know, like where do I spend my time? Where do I invest my time? And it was like oh like there is no clear path What do you want to gain from this? What do you want to do? When you say photography just think about this I know in your case because I admire what you're doing in general like the podcasting Everything you do but your photos they're awesome. Your photography is awesome But you're so many your creative identity in particular is so much more multifaceted

You're not just a photographer. I've seen some of these videos that you produce and the people you're working with it's incredible stuff. Um, but And you I want to hear from you after this too But when you started doing those things, I doubt that someone you found like a clear road map It's like oh, yeah, this is what you can do nick These 10 steps and you can end up where you want in this industry, you know Um, it's not that way because if you just look at photography

We're both heavily like landscape photographers myself particularly Um, but then you have portrait photographers. You have food photographers fashion Wildlife photographers it just goes on and on and on and you know what? I'm trying to say with this. There's so many different

Uh niches, um, and there's not a clear thing. It really comes down to when it comes to creativity It's it comes from within it comes from what someone is looking To gain from it looking to do from it and no one can no one else can actually decide that for you Whereas the things like I was relating it back to my career someone could like for example Let's say I go back to when I was 18 and I said that I want to become a registered nurse I mean all the resources and details are there to do that

Uh, I mean all the resources and details are there to to guide you to that goal, you know Um, whereas I never felt that with this it was all just finding things, you know Like I have questions researching those things going on youtube learning how to do this with the camera Hey, I saw this photo and I took a photo in the same place, but it didn't come out the same way

Why that's a big point? Um all different things, you know youtube master class You know networking with other professionals in that field That can give you a glimpse into their process and how you can implement something, you know better, you know Do those things better?

So I think for the people who are 18 in particular, I think it comes down to that that Spending more time deciding Which is very difficult trying to figure out what someone is trying to gain from it What is your purpose to do something? because

The best and worst part about life is that there is no meaning to life personally. It's that That's the best and worst part because see the best part for some people is like there is no meaning So just enjoy like do your thing and then just live your life and enjoy this uh Really brief moment in in in time that we have here on this, you know in this universe But then on the flip side the worst thing is like well, there is no meaning so you need to create it

You know if you want to have that purpose guiding you um, and then that comes to a personal level like what I've done or what works for me or what I see Has been a this has been a key realization in the last several years is it doesn't mean that someone else wants those things

Or that because someone else is living a different way. They're going about things wrong No, in fact, they might be living the most real and authentic life that they were supposed to from the beginning You know, even though it's not the same things that I want so There's a lot there in the first thing I would like to address nimit is Being 18 years old and for me that wasn't that long ago and Having all these options these opportunities. There is no clear road map

In the creative aspects, right? I've always been in the creative industry since i've been about 15 years old. Okay And from the age of 16, I told myself I knew this already I knew I said I want to run a video production company at 16 years old Crazy how I knew that that young. I don't know how I knew it. I just knew and

I gave it up for a little bit. You know, the roadmap wasn't linear and you bring up About how I get these people to work with them and there's a lot of things i've done that I didn't learn online things that you can't Learn online things that you have to experience firsthand mistakes that you have to make Contracts that you didn't write at the beginning because you didn't know how to write a contract with a client So then you might get a late payment or no payments later and then oh experience

or no payment learning how to have tact when you're dealing with different Clientele different co-workers people who are your superiors These are the things as 18 year olds that we have to just learn experience as we grow and then you kind of figure out Where you're trying to gain

This positive outcome and not every negative outcome is really negative. Actually, it just kind of steers your head In a different direction and that's okay and something that you also said was art in life having no meaning and That's that's a heavy topic because some people 30 year olds 40 year olds 50 year olds even 80 year olds. They kind of they do ignore that topic of That when you're gone all this money wealth fame is where does it go?

Not with you. That's for sure gone You don't take it with you you don't take it with you and That's something that is We have to think about that. How do you want to live your life now? Is are you okay with living in a hut by the beach? It's a one room and are you happy with it? Cool Do you want to live in a mansion? Cool whatever live that way and To break this down a little bit Live that way and to break this down a little deeper on terms of

Finding a road map for me. At least I don't know how your perspective of this is or which way you went I Found some mentors who were older than me Also acted as a little bit of father figures they were a little bit of both life coaches and business coaches all in the same and they kind of Gave me a road map, but they didn't they said, you know what they said to me they meant Just because i'm telling you that I did it this way and it worked

Doesn't mean you're going to take this exact road map, but I am showing you the mistakes that I learned from So there's mistakes that happen and you can learn from the mistakes and you can go in your direction Doesn't have to be the same direction I went from you Let's say have you had a mentor someone that really kind of guided you in this

Photography realm being specific. I know in the nursing the health care world There's all kinds of experienced people in there in the photography realm Was this more of a self a self journey or was this something that you had someone kind of helping you whether that was A youtuber that you were watching and you kind of took wisdom from them or was there someone that you knew that kind of that is a great question Again, I you know, I love this opportunity

Sometimes doesn't you know, I don't always get a chance to talk about kind of like how my health care career, you know

Fits into or how it's similar and different. So in this case, yeah, i'm looking back on just like I said I've been a nurse for about 10 years and i'm looking back especially the first two to three years Which typically the first kind of two to three years are very transformative for most people's career And it can kind of set you up on a trajectory, you know for where you'll be, you know later on but I can't imagine surviving thriving or being a good clinician

Without great mentors every step of the way in that industry so More tenured nurses other doctors I worked with even new nurses I worked with because we had our own You know, like they brought their own, you know things from prior from you know

Before they started working in the hospital as a nurse like other things they did. I even worked with um, you know You kind of see both things or some people who like myself we were just you know in doing undergradive And we decided that this is what we wanted to do Versus I worked with several people who it was like a second career or even some of them third career So some of these people worked in completely different industries before coming into the healthcare realm

And they brought with them a lot of cool experiences and their own, you know skill sets from those industries, right? So I can imagine uh without mentorship You know having ended up where I did Now on the flip side, which is very interesting I didn't apply that to photography for lots of reasons because see it started as a hobby And everything i've done is even still now nick has been very organic

So what I mean by that is i've actually never i've never had a mentor. I never even um Had like a specific I actually use youtube heavily before so I think it would be a good platform to talk about So i've never had a mentor I actually use youtube heavily before so I think it would be a good platform to talk about so even when I was

First got my first professional quality camera. It was a sony a72, you know I purchased with a lot of deliberation because there's so many options But when I bought that camera like for instance like I you know, I watch reviews about that camera You know on youtube and then once I got it how to use it, you know certain photography techniques same thing I've learned so much of this on youtube, you know back in like 2015 2016

2016 and um, there was really no in myself personally where it was always like I was going to a specific You know photography website or photography, you know youtuber where I kind of relied heavily on it It was just kind of based on what I was trying to learn at the time if that makes sense

And that's still true. That's still the case where I don't really You know have a mentor in the photography world and also i've actually this might be interesting for you But I don't know if yourself if you have done this, but I still haven't taken a photography course to this day not one So I think about what if I do and where that could bring my art like what kinds of new things I would learn in that So it's something on my list, you know to to you know

Learn from other photographers in the industry and especially ones who have been in this industry for 20 years 30 years and here You know their insights from what's changed, you know, what's the same and all those things, you know from years ago So approaching this in two ways And there's not necessarily a wrong way And goes back to our other conversation roadmaps

Clear paths in the art of photography just the arts in general. There's not always a clear path I was discussing a conversation with my mother the other day and I was talking about mom I thought I knew everything four years ago And I said I thought I knew everything about photography I was an egotistical person who thought I knew it all and I thought I had all this experience ranked up and I was like I don't know anything. Why should anybody ever listen to me?

I'm only 24 people who are 45 and 50 years old Those are when they're starting to listen to you and even then they're just the masters that you don't become a pro to in your 30s Then you get your become a master in your 40s 50s. Let's say you start at 18, right? You're getting your years of experience and then I said with your 60s 70s and 80s. That's when you have the wisdom So I said, how do I who do I think I am to even tell anybody anything about anything in life?

And she was like nick. Yeah, i've been in nursing for 20 30 years and i'm just out of my pro phase and i'm in I'm a master i'm a mastery now just because i've seen so many things And where i'm going with this nimit I was saying mom you could be working with a 20 year old nurse, right mom and She was like, yeah And then I said she may be smarter than you I said but they Haven't seen the 20 30 40 years of Health care that you've seen so just by that by default

You already have a lot on them in terms of the wisdom and you're still going to be able to show them so many things And where i'm going with this Having a mentor For me, I didn't necessarily have one Sort of say I had what's the word colleagues peers?

Who helped critique my work, right? We all have people like that. Hopefully. I hope you do and feel vulnerable enough to share that and ask them for critiques, but in terms of a mentor in the arts, it's difficult and I think I would find value in it because They would see certain things that I just wouldn't see but that's in every industry But then at the same time, how can that person tell me you need to put your Photography and change it that way, you know, maybe I wanted to express it

This way Maybe I wanted to express that photo right there in the back a tighter shot by a millimeter and a half And that's just the way I thought it looked cool. So I think there's value in both ways the way you said organically just learning getting better learn to express yourselves But that's a that's a skill on its own being able to express yourselves And so I have taken a photography class nimit back when I was in high school. Listen to this man I didn't like it

I didn't I didn't like photography bro. I started in video when I was 15 Okay, so how is this guy gonna make me think photography is interesting nimit? How is he gonna make me think it photography sucks? I said that word word by word Videos way better is more interesting photography. Just a still image. How can that make me excited? photography just a still image how can that make me excited so graduate high school, I

Take photos, we're gonna hire to take photos. So I'm like, okay Maybe I might just take photography because I'm making money from it next thing You know you fall in love with it, right? Because you realize you can express yourself in such ways and where i'm going with this for you the question I want to know How Do you find meaning in your photography?

Um, that's a big question big question and before I answer that so just because of what you said you brought us some great things And it was really nice to hear that about your own story Which I was hoping to you know, learn more about as well and um what you were talking about with your mom I didn't talk to anybody else about this, but I remember years ago I mean I was in college and you know, like listening to my first ted talk particularly it's irrelevant

So, you know, I came across ted talk, you know the Couple of discussions that I first heard they were excellent. I was like, wow I never thought of this topic this way and who are these people which are often very obscure people They're often on ted talk. It's not people like other like famous or top of the field They are there but not most of them So I was like, you know, I have a goal to be on like have my own ted talk one day

So, you know time goes on and i'm thinking like wait, but then one day it's similar to what you're saying. I was like Yeah, I mean I could but like what am I going to talk about? What do I have to offer? Why does somebody want to listen to me? I hadn't really done too much. So I was like, yeah, there's nothing, you know to and it's so interesting because I had that goal like what you were talking about, you know with your mom like oh, I know everything but then fast forward

You know, you had these changes. I had a similar thing and ever since it's been kind of this like in between where like if this was Like at the like, uh, the second point in that process Like I said, where I see number one the first step was like, oh I want to be on the ted talk one day You know, it's like this cool thing, you know to be on stage and talk about some topic but then Realization step two where I was like, yeah, but what am I going to offer?

What are we going to discuss and things and then i'm I was kind of you know In between like for example if I was at step two then I wouldn't have even been on your podcast

Because it's like oh, but why what am I going to offer and then over time? I did realize that um A lot of the times we don't realize but because people don't always say that like they don't always Like see something you've written or see one of your photos that inspired them and they're gonna just you know Say it, you know outright like words and stuff But people are observing and people are watching and people are looking at those things

Um, and it speaks to a lot of people. So for instance in my case, um, I noticed that sometimes Both with photography and other things that i'll share and that's a whole different discussion that we might get into um, but Where it resonates with a lot of people and the reason i'm bringing that up is when I first started sharing it wasn't

That's not why I started sharing. It was just I love this photo. So i'm going to post it Here's another photo of me and I'm going to post it Here's another photo that i like just sharing it like, you know many people um, but then when it started to get into like deeper discussions or you know, because i'm very Much into like reading self-development Um philosophy and like applying those things to life and how I operate Um, and a lot of my friends and relatives enjoy those things too

And the reason i'm bringing it up is that's around the time. I realized that hey I've done some cool things in life. I have started to like I've done some cool things in life. I have some experience people are you know kind of Relating to this, you know a different thing It's not like I have a big audience or I certainly by any means I don't but I value the relationships I have I value the people that do you know, enjoy my work and stuff?

um So much because that just that itself is just like going back to the first kind of thing

We were talking about support. Um, it's all related, you know someone um, you know Like me myself writing something, you know about something going on in the world or just some thought I have And then one of my friends being like, oh, yeah, like I totally agree with you I've you know thought about this myself and it's cool to see that, you know, someone else feels the same way So those are the things that I really value Um, and that's kind of what i've seen here to be the case

But that was a big kind of tangent but related to the previous. Um, you know conversation. I thought was irrelevant, you know um, but you were saying about um, you know Just photography like fight like finding like the meaning in photography and specifically, right?

Okay, and yes, that's been something I developed over, you know several years Um, but for me, it's just like I said, you know, uh, it's remained a creative outlet for me While I do other things that I find creative Um, I don't do any of those things as often or as good yet, um as photography So when I say that I mean like I do some writing i've done some drawing or different things like that

But i'm nowhere nearly as proficient with those things yet as I am photography. So photography for me just um an escape, um a way of decompression stress relief, um I love to travel which you know something that we've talked about, you know privately several times and uh, when we go on these trips Whether it's you know within the country or overseas um taking photos of special places to me is just such a

Special process for me because I get to come home and then years later like we still do my wife shray and I We look back on certain trips. We went on in 2017

2019 and we're like wow, that was so much fun. We did this This was the first time we experienced this or you know went here and um, that's really why I do it I think it captures those memories and for me, that's just I mean, there's there's no there's no price tag you can put on that, you know In terms of capturing those memories that way, um, and that's something That I would love to talk about more in general with anyone not not particularly on this podcast today but where

I've noticed especially on like instagram culture where a lot of that the story and the like the The memory of actually being in that place is lacking and i've seen a lot of the time even people i'm with whether they're photographers or not that they'll often go somewhere or do an activity just To share that they did it and i've never i've never aligned with that Mindset because it just doesn't make sense to me

But I see that a lot and I find it very unhealthy where i've seen that people will just go especially landscape photographers Like I need to go to this spot and I need to capture it this way and I gotta share it Like that's why like it wasn't because they like oh I need to see this for myself, which is where i've often started um, I think that my trip I don't know if you have have you ever been to Alberta Canada or Banff National Park by any chance nick?

I highly recommend it. I'm sure you've seen several photos from there You know where of where i'm going to kind of talk about but i'll take it back to my days of tumblr So I was you know at the time in college, you know, I had a tumblr account Um, I was pretty just kind of lurking in terms of like, you know, just kind of my own thing I just like to see photos of nature cars, you know, like

Wisdom like quotes, you know things like that. So I came across a lot of beautiful natural Um, you know vistas and scenery on there Um, which kind of jump started this love honestly of travel but particularly I remember seeing a photo of lake louise in Alberta Canada for the first time and I was just like my mind was blown at how gorgeous it was Because I never saw anything like that in person for sure, but I never knew this existed, you know And I was like what else is out there?

So fast forward several years, you know when I got the chance I built it like I I made the trip Just because I needed to see this lake nick Like I was like I saw this photo years ago not because I wanted to go and take photos of it It was like I need to see this place for myself and it was one of those Fortunately, I've had those experiences several times in life It wasn't the only time where I got there and I was just like wow, this was so worth coming

It's more beautiful in person than I could ever imagine I love it so much and then that whole region was just like that. So it's a very special memory to to us Um, so I think that like the meaning behind photography for me is those things It's just a means to capture these memories, you know

Um, and I just enjoy it. I look I like I enjoy looking back on them several years later You know when i'm going through all these archives and i'm like, oh wow You know, that was a beautiful day or something that you know, I remember from there like what why did we go there? Like what was the occasion and things like that, you know, because it kind of immortalizes those experiences for me Thank louise brother amazing just absolutely gorgeous

Oh brother, that's amazing that you're able to go there and see that I was on tumblr for a little bit. I'm probably Yeah, yeah end of tumblr sides of things But it was cool. It had a little artsy things and they're kind of interested in kind of what people are putting out on there but to concentrate on Capturing memories That's why I started in video just to capture memories of my friends

Look back on it. I could I have videos From almost 10 years ago That I can look back on and just remember that exact Moment limit the exact moment the exact feeling so i'm sure you've had some instances of photos you've taken Right where you can remember and recount the feeling you had at lake louise whether it was in Moab California in death valley when you were in oregon when you were in florida wherever where you were just at just recently

I'm sure you have you could look back at all those moments, right and remember the memories and maybe It wasn't the photos of You and your wife maybe it was a photo of this Market that you took I don't know if we do any street photos out of whatever maybe it was this photo this market and you remember It brings back the memories of you and your wife trying this food for the first time taking in the culture

Over out of the country. That's a that's an interesting memory. That's very specific why you bring anything so specific nick But I mean that's that shared experience that not only did you have with yourself with the camera You have that shared experience with your wife and you guys can both look back on that and remember it together so to piggyback off this relationships capturing memories remember the feelings the people we share these experiences with social media

Has been a tool that is kind of so connected so many people of course you for example I mean heck would I have even met you if I would have been? Probably not. I don't know who knows so To me I see it as a tool and it's what you make of it in the relationships

I have on there. I also do value and i'm curious to pick your brain about this because you share A unique perspective at least that I value and I think more people should value And I want to know From your words from your perspective from how you internalize this what your relationship is With social media today

in where you see it going in the future. Oh, yeah, and that's a that's a big discussion too. Yeah, um Let me think about this and i'm thinking about what you said With the prior discussion too really very important things there Yeah, I probably have a similar Relationship with it than like a lot of people do but I think it's a very important thing Yeah, I probably have a similar relationship with it than like a lot of my peers Um, I would I think the best way to describe it over the years

So we're looking at a good decade now, right nick of these platforms being in existence basically that they never existed before they kind of broke open this whole industry and similar to a lot of other things like where it's like oh like the first product especially when it comes to health care like Medications for example when it's like the first medication of its kind What we've seen in health care often is this Okay, this is brand new and it has the hopes of helping with problem a

But is it going to create problem xyz? Is it safe? Is it you know, what are the cons of this? We see the advantages. That's why it exists, right? But what are the the potential downsides of this and I think that relates back to social media because you're absolutely right without social media What the industry is today? We wouldn't be talking right now, you know And I mean where we say that very definitive like it sure it's possible because we you and I particularly we love going to nature

Right. So let me think of an example. Oh, yeah somewhere you've been in the past and I absolutely love the Alabama Hills Okay, so let me paint a picture here. So Sure, and I randomly you know, we've gone there, right? So randomly we're planning a trip like hey, we're this week free I'll do a little road trip to beautiful, California, which has countless

Oh my god, and I know where you live and it's just you're like in the backyard of New Semi. It's gorgeous So let's say okay, we decide okay, let's go to Alabama Hills Lone Pine Let's hang out there for a few days, you know, and then by chance, okay, you're home in Fresno

And then you're like, you know what? I haven't been there in a while, you know I've been there several times but I kind of have this idea and I want to camp out there or something So you go there for a few days and we happen to like our dates happen to overlap imagine how much?

Would need to go right for that to even happen and then when we're there at Alabama Hills We actually do like we're at the same place like Mobius art We wanted to shoot it, you know sunrise and we happen to be in the same place

But what are the chances of that right? So that's why we're both of us are like without these platforms We probably wouldn't have met we probably wouldn't have become friends and whatnot You know and I've seen that I Will also I think it would only help this discussion to include other discussions I have with friends because it's so relevant and relatable right now where You and I are talking about these things

But I've heard these same thoughts and feelings from so many of our peers right now. So one thing I've heard is Social media. Okay, so Instagram in particular is like I Can't survive without it what they mean is like, oh I feel like I need Instagram I need to have an account. I need to have a presence here I need to use it a certain way in order to achieve a goal and that goal is very like It's a very broad term in this in this respect. Does someone want to sell their photos?

Does someone want to put clients for like videos like you do? What do they want to do? So it's very broad term, but they feel like overall the consensus I've heard from so many people who are In the industry in terms of like they're doing some like where they want to generate, you know income or profit Not like just you know, I'm going on taking photos and sharing and we're only talking about people who are kind of wanting to establish themselves in a certain industry

And that's what I often hear Nick. I hear that and I hear that like it's more like this thing like I've been talking to a lot of people about this in general where They they have us likely where they want us where it's they hate us, but they need us And that's basically my current, you know, kind of like what's going on? So it's been a roller coaster over the years like most people But I almost wanted to just completely go offline and

Really? Ultimately the reason why I'm not is The discussion we're having right now like the friends I've made the people I keep in touch with on there That's what keeps me there and I'm sure many of other people would agree with that Because you might know enough about this, but I do generate some revenue, right?

So I generate revenue from my photo photography sales as well as clients So like I you know, I did like weddings and things like that as well as selling like, you know, fine art wall decor But what a lot of people might find interesting or not because I don't have you know, a big audience on instagram Is most of those revenue and sales have come off social media?

Like this was either local because people want to support a local artist, which I often do in other capacities You know, we all want to support local people And then other things were like just like off social media like it wasn't Yeah, and the reason I'm saying that is because like I know several People who are like on instagram specifically might have 100 000 followers 200 000 followers

That is no guarantee of profit or revenue. Um, i've heard some tales, man I've heard some tales where you can I mean you can have those many followers and still not have that many followers I mean you can have those many followers and still not be making money, you know from the account or from photography um, and then meanwhile, um, you know, I was talking to another good friend about this as well that Then you have the people who have literally no online presence nick and they are killing it

You know, like they are booking clients. They're making sales all this stuff all offline. Um, and that's Traditionally especially because you're a little younger than I i'm sure with your direct peer like that's not seen as very common

I would I would I would almost gather like everyone kind of has this online presence. It feels like it's like You need this But for me, it's like this like that's who I want to be, you know, I want to be someone who Especially doesn't rely on the platform like playing their games in order to achieve a goal if that makes sense So while there's a lot of like good things from it where for example, like i'm able to share my favorite, you know

Photographs i'm able to keep in touch with people like you like I could message you and you know

Like see your work and like kind of have discussions about that uh beyond that. I would love to not feel Like we need it, you know, especially when so many people feel like They're not rewarding high quality work, which is definitely not the case, you know, that's not been the case for years Um, and we talk about instagram a lot because we use it, you know like that but it applies to really all platforms tiktok

Twitter all other, you know, I don't know if I can say twitter because it's called x now You know what I mean? Uh, but but like all these, you know platforms They all kind of have that where i've not seen one to this date that values high quality

Content in terms of photography or what people are writing. It's often what generates the most Discussion nick which is often negative And you i'm sure you've seen instances of that too where especially when it comes to tiktok or on instagram reels where whether it's a photography related or not, it doesn't it doesn't really have any relevance in this chat, but You'll often find that the ones that really really get a lot of reach are often the ones that

People are not very happy about or like there's a lot of Kind of aggressive commentary if you will on these Um, and that's i've seen that to be the case across platforms. So I have not personally found one that's You know immune from that and that might just go back to where who are the people on the platform?

And I saw this with threads. I'm trying to remember. I'm not sure if you use threads. I use it occasionally You know because I used to use twitter a lot and for me it was just a little easier

I found it easier. So but on threads when it first Dropped there was a hope there was a hope from people like me that this is it had the the The chance to be something different but then very quickly, you know, I was talking to friends about certain things and I was like Yeah, but if it's all the same people Then there's not going to be any difference here either, you know, like it's that kind of like so and we've seen that I don't really like when I use strides in particular I

Let's say an estimate I might follow like 150 people on there I really don't know but on threads you have a very clear option to choose You only want to see stuff that people you follow so people you know people you like like, you know That you want to see their stuff. That's all you see versus on instagram for years I mean, I don't even I can't remember the last time I really scrolled because I love to see Photos and other things from people I love who I like follow in this case, right?

But that's not the case on my feed. I don't know about yours, but sometimes they show me like if you posted a video That's fantastic. They show me like four days later, Nick And I'm like to myself I'm like if I'm posting a photo set today I would like people to see it today Like it's not something like I wanted people to see four days later And then who sees it too is like what small percentage right Nick? It's not even like everyone

That wants to see it is seeing it. They're all seeing like random sponsored ads and all this kind of stuff So it's a very complicated situation that we're in But overall like my goal and really that's the the reason why I even agree to do these kinds of podcasts or Like when people want to hear about my story My goal is to inspire other people really like I want to inspire other people that

If I can do certain things they can um, what I've done is not a big deal. Um, you know like that You know like that

The way that they've always done things. There's other ways to do those things. Those are really actually my goals Uh, so so I would like to say like I posted something actually on my threads recently a few days ago um, and it gathered a pretty good discussion about it and I remember someone's like They happen to be a wildlife photographer And they said something along the lines of oh, yeah, like I don't want to make reels But I feel like if I don't

I'm not going to build an audience and nobody's going to see my work. So There's a lot more to that statement than just what they're saying They are ultimately feeling like they're being forced to do something they put in their head being forced to do something they put no value to in order to Create exposure to like their what they actually care about like their work in a way like people can see so they feel like if they don't do the things that they

Put no value on that. They don't even have a chance, you know, and if you really look at What's behind the scenes like i've never worked for one of these social media companies But you know, I from what I know from research and whatnot. Um Ultimately, I would I would From what i've gathered so far is that that's what they want, right?

They want people to stay on the platform. They want people to keep engaging in different manners, whether it's posting stuff commenting liking um viewing etc Their goal is to keep people on their platform for as long as possible, right? Because especially if you've seen in general, I mean this isn't just applied to social media companies Um ad revenue it has been a tremendous source Of income for many companies for years and years like commercial ads on tv. It's nothing new nick, right?

But what i've seen is that basically over time So let's say I have a great idea for a platform company xyz, right?

And we're going to do things different. This is the premise. These are the goals. This is how we're different So I started I found the company in 2024 this year And then fast forward so like, you know, like it garners like often like a lot of initial excitement or interest because it's like hey There's some hope there's something new something fresh and then Ultimately what i've seen and it's all almost always almost always Uh happen is that four years five years six seven years down the road

Unfortunately, they start to incorporate Several of the things that they had hoped to distance themselves from So the reason i'm saying that is because if you look back on when you first sign up for instagram I'm trying to think about it myself is so I made an account I don't remember who told me about it I'm sure it was very heavily based on all like one of my friends opening an account and it's like hey instagram

I was like, what are you talking about with blah blah blah, and then you post a photo of random stuff You know people post photos of their coffee people post photos of them like with their friends like out of the park or whatever random moments And then you know, they had built-in filters like they were a lot of fun right back in the day You know like just their og filters and you post it and it was just like that's what it was That's what instagram that was it

It was just kind of this extension like where people were using facebook to write like a status instagram was just let's post this Let's share a photo of my pets to all my family and friends and stuff or like share like i'm on a trip and Let me share this beautiful view with those people and then unfortunately like I said, it just became something else and that something else Personally has been something I see as very unhealthy for people who are

Looking to achieve certain goals. That's another key part of this It's not this blanket thing where like if you're still using instagram just to share those moments with people just to keep

In touch with people there's nothing there never has been anything wrong with that. It's just this unhealthy Need i've seen from people like oh I need to cater to this mysterious algorithm That frankly it doesn't even work anyway, it's broken, you know um, so it's just really sad to see that that I feel like Creativity is being lost in that because people just feel like they need to keep pumping out certain things to like

Stay irrelevant or stay in, you know in front of people to to for them to view it in things And I just I don't know I didn't know I think I tried at some point Maybe like two years ago roughly to like because of the other goals I had like i'm talking about Where I wanted to like book, you know, like eloping clients or you know, sell more photos and things like that But beyond that I never really had a goal or intention to like build a following

Like I've just was grateful for the people who already were, you know, supportive of me and you know Found my work to be inspirational or even just Family who uh, you know I've been told over the years for example at this point because we do like to travel a lot in particular A lot of family members just derive a lot of value from seeing my photos because they're like oh like you inspire me to like Get out in the world or visit this specific

Destination that you went to because I looked at it. I was like, wow, this is so beautiful Just like what I said about lake louise. So You know that poses a couple questions for me limit First one Where are your values placed what do you put value in are you comfortable and confident in what you value? and are you valuing something else because Someone else is putting value in it and we're keeping up with the joneses

And why do I say this? Why do I say values? Well a lot of things that we do in life comes down to what we value In what we believe to be good. What is good? Oh, don't even don't even get me started on that but to believe In these values that we have, right? The question is you said there's this need For the beyond the platform whether it's just to get your quick dopamine whether it's to build this audience status These things are not new status

Exactly. That's been around forever. This is a different beast. It's the same beast different costume name it You've seen this in the past history all over man And to delve into this just to right here If you're valuing this this status of Social media. It's just a social media Instagram There's a lot of other things that are need to be taking a look at inside before we can even think about running a business

Before before we can even start about running the business running a business is serving others. It's leading people And when you're leading a group of people you have to be right with yourself 100 and if you're planning to lead a flock of 100k Do you think that we should be careful with that first of all? 100k that's the chain effect man Who do they talk to you first of all and then it goes on and on but When you value This status there's a whole lot of things that you need to look at inside

Why do I hope to gain this status? What value am I getting out of it? Hoping to get a profit. Okay Is there a guarantee?

No No No, you can build a business offline you can but yes, we're told That building a business online is the optimal way Sure It's a tool It's more reach Just like before commercials were ready to get my business out But brother, let me tell you nimit Half if not 75 to 80 percent of my business Has come from relationships i've had from my community Since they've known me since them it since i've been 15 years old They've known me who i've been

Since then they've watched me grow and develop now. Did I know everything then? No, I was terrible in so many ways But because they know when they see their earnest trying to get better and their value I took from that relationship I have with them whether they were teaching me about life And they're watching me grow into this That's valuable those relationships I built with them because not only

Do I have this business partnership this relationship with them? I have a life Friend relationship with these people And you can build a business without it But people are told right in the media you get told something over and over and over and over and over again

You start to believe it. Just like if I tell myself i'm awesome every day I might believe I might believe it if I keep these promises to myself that i'm gonna wake up at 4 30 every single day Go to the gym at 4 30 You start to believe that you can do it So you can help measure your success This mix with a hobby is because the psychology is slowly You can prove it to them if you wanna make the world a better place The social media is milkized in place I've seen a lot of people get Braun's

And you can help them in all possible ways So anyone 70 percent of the world's job or women in the most vulnerable group Whether they're alone they're ready to do whatever for the world The thing is you can make your family or цana money I've seen coop people Usually pay on my computer During training Any time someone asks why I got to the gym Do I even need to? Or what things do I need? Social media you see all people are getting there

What do you value? Do you value numbers or do you value people? And I'm not trying to be black and white here in a minute. There is gray. There's different ways to look at this. When you run a business, yes, we're in business to make a profit. Okay. Let me play devil's advocate here. Instagram is a business. Now, whether or not they have the right mindset for everything, but they're in it to make money, to grow it to be the biggest thing in the world, man.

I mean, can we absolutely actually be mad at them? Can we blame them for wanting to make money? Can we really? If we're relying on their platform that much and we're mad at them or throwing these fits and publicly throwing it out, maybe we got to look inside. What do we value? That's why I'm asking values here, man. Oh man. This makes me think about so many things. What are we valuing? And these are things that as I'm getting older, I'm understanding. I feel like I'm at this age,

24, a ripe age of things are starting to make sense. You know what I mean? There's that age when you hit an age, things start to make sense. I think I had a similar problem. Because I'm 33 now. So when I was around 24 or even a little bit 23-ish, I would say a lot of things started to click. So that doesn't make sense to me. It relates to my own life. Certainly I didn't have anything figured out. I still don't. But I feel like a lot of things clicked around that age for

me personally too. And you bring up, oh my God, so many good points as usual with the values and principles in particular, because I placed a lot of importance on those things. So when you talk about certain things like values, principles, you got to bring in other things like character, ultimately, which is like when we talk about my character, I'm talking about who I actually am.

Who I am when I'm alone, who I am with other people. But ultimately, it's like who I am, regardless of what I'm doing or what other people might perceive from it or whatever. For me, those things are so important. It's always hard to express because I feel like that's the starting place for everything I do in life, ultimately. Some things I just do because I

want to experience something or it's fun or whatever. But when I decide to do something pretty substantial, that's a big decision, I'm going to start with my principles, my values, does this match those things before I proceed? And I think ultimately, I think because it's very personal. So I think people in general, I think they would do well to start there. I think if they haven't thought about, hey, what are my principles? What do I stand for? What are my values? They should

start there. If they have thought about those things for some time, they should always be reassessing that, hey, okay, this is where we are now, this is the situation. Hey, does this match my principles and values? Because we ended up here, oh, and then maybe in that internal conversation, they'll decide, oh, this doesn't actually quite, it doesn't feel right. It doesn't actually match these principles I have. Maybe I need to make some adjustments. And I felt like

I was somewhere around there personally. And the reason I'm saying that is because another fantastic, so certain, I like to consume this type of, those perspective and wisdom in general, as you likely know, but something that has stayed with me is ultimately, it said that if

something compromises your peace, it's too expensive. So what that means is, if there's something that someone else is suggesting you to do or something you're even already doing, and it doesn't match with your foundational principles, values, you feel like it's not right, it's too expensive, meaning that you shouldn't compromise on those things. And I think it's a good indicator that if you feel that way, perhaps we need to make adjustments. And

that's kind of where I found myself at some point. And I was like, oh, this is a match, what I'm actually looking for. And I think a lot of it comes down to that. Like what you said about Meta and Instagram in particular, you're absolutely right. They are not, yes, they might want certain things like, hey, it would be nice if people like using our platform or, you know, like it's so cool that they can post photos or like network with other like-minded individuals.

And those things are there, which we already kind of touched on, which is what we enjoy about it. But you're right. Can you be angry at a business for prioritizing why the company exists? Not really. I don't think there's a good argument for any of that. I see this a lot in general, and I've gotten better about it myself because again, I didn't start by this, but I should probably just as a disclaimer, I never claimed to be perfect. I don't expect perfection from other

people. So it's like a work in progress that I consider all these things and learn these things. But this has come up in particular when I read about certain individuals who are quite affluent and wealthy, where like when they make themselves in the news, being vague on purpose, you might read stuff like, oh yeah, like they made this much money and they did this with it. And you've likely seen this commentary from the public where it's like, oh, like you have so much, you have this,

you should be doing this. You shouldn't do this. You know, it's like this like, and it relates back to what you're talking about, you know, like as far as like a business is concerned. And another fantastic book that I highly recommend anyone who hasn't read already, The Alchemist is very classic book. I absolutely love it. I've derived lessons from it when I first

read it. And even when I reread it, it kind of is one of those, just like other people will have their own like books or other things, even a song or something that will like reground them, if you will, The Alchemist remains something like that for me, where every time I reread it or even skim from it, I gain that back. And I'm like, oh yeah, like I need to rethink this or I've kind of gone

off track in this, you know. And in that book or just in general, that author, Paulo, he actually has a quote about that, that it seems like everyone knows exactly how other people should live, but not themselves. And how easy is that? How easy is that to point out from the outside looking in that, okay, so you see this person did this, oh man, that was a mistake, or I would have done it this way, or all this other stuff. And ultimately that makes me also think of something else.

2020. Right, exactly. Hindsight is 2020. 2020 was a big year for lots of changes in general in the world, but it relates to something else too, where it's like how we're seeing outside looking in, where we will judge others based on their actions, because that's ultimately what we see, and we in general as humans will judge ourselves by our intentions. So why is that important? That piece is very key because it's like we need to give more grace to other people, is ultimately

what I'm trying to say too. It's like, because we're like myself, let's say I do something or say something. Often it comes from a good place, like in general, like I want to help other people or support like we've been discussing, but it might not be perceived that way. Is it how I said it? Is my word choice? Was it bad timing? It doesn't matter. But see, we're talking about intentions here where I was like, oh, like I just wanted to help. But then the other person says the same

thing, let's say to me, and I'm like, oh no, they said this to me. That's not right. They shouldn't have done this. So now I'm judging them because of their action, but I was giving myself more like leeway because it's like, oh, but I meant well, which I think is a mistake. So I think in general, just giving people more space. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. You're right. Give grace. Realize we're not perfect. I'm not perfect. I've made a thousand and billion mistakes,

and I'm sure you have too, and that's okay. And something that's for me, at least what I'm taught, I go to church every Sunday. And the one thing we're really taught is a Bible verse. How can you point out the speck in someone else's eye when you have a log in your own eye? How do you have the right to point out the speck in your eye, the other person's eye, when you have a log in your own? Now, digesting that, get right with yourself before you start trying to convict others. Yes,

we're called to convict others. But with all that being said, should we even be giving unsolicited advice that goes with that unsolicited advice? Should you even give it if it's not asked for? And I've read the Alchemist in it. I read it last July or June. I posted about it and then we commented a quote from it, I'm the personal legend. I mean, man, at that time in my life, man, that book really hit different. It was perfect timing for me to read that book. You know what

I'm saying? At that moment, it seemed like there could have been no other book at that time that I could have read. And that's weird. Timing is weird. I mean, how does that even work? How does that all come together? And that book also kind of leaves that in the place, what you're learning in. To dive into books real quick with you, 2024, two questions here in a minute. What book do you recommend for others to read just starting out into the self-improvement

wisdom, finding your personal legend? It can't be the Alchemist, but if you're listening, read the Alchemist. Two, what book is high on your list to read this year? Good question. Okay. And I might not have the best answer for it because I've fallen a little bit behind on my reading. I can think of stuff. Because lately what's been happening is I'm reading

more of excerpts or snippets from various books. So relating this back to our discussion in the last piece about social media and it being a tool in that you can find a lot of healthy perspectives from it. So one thing, one change I made, and you might find this interesting, is I found myself following too many photographers, just in general. Honestly, I found myself too many photos. I was like, I need something different. So I was like, how can I go about this,

though? What do I want to follow? What am I interested in? Naturally, I love learning. I love books and all these things. So I found this whole sub community of just book bloggers. All they do is read books, skim books, find excellent quotations, and they share this to people. And they share, okay, this is the book I'm reading. I highly suggest. And they share their favorite

parts of it. And that's where lately I've derived a lot of value from. So while I don't have, I don't really have, like, the Alchemist is really one of the books that I mainly recommend people, especially when you're starting out reading, because it's so easily approachable and the story is so relevant for so many people. I can't think of like a specific one right now, another

one. But I think that that kind of process might be helpful for someone where it's like, hey, like, I'm interested in this subject, or I want to improve in whatever way it could be, where you seek out those people, that whether are they living this way that you're, you know, striving to live that way. Or if you're just seeking like wisdom in a certain area, you can research that. So whether that means on Google and find resources there, or if you're active on TikTok or Instagram,

just as examples, where you can actually search those things. Like, for example, if you go on Instagram right now, and you search the Alchemist, you will likely find countless quotes from the book, you'll find other insights, you might read about the author and different things. So it's just like, I think like a healthy way to approach that is just to seek out what you're looking for. I mean, decide like, hey, you know, I'm interested in this. And you'll often find those things pretty

easily, especially at this point, which is really part of this whole process, too. Like, it's never been easy. Like, we have never had so many choices and access to free resources, like, ever. Like, this is just, it just keeps going up, right. But I'm saying this because I think sometimes people get too caught up on that, like, perfectionism, or like, going back to what you were saying about

like a roadmap or something like, oh, like, what do I need to do? Or like, what is the right way when really they just need to seek out that, like, take the next step, you know, and look at something that might help them to kind of go further in the direction that they're wanting. And I found a lot of like that to be great for me. And that's what I do. And, you know, like, I like to share certain things from those, you know, like articles I read or books I read with

people. And then there are several friends of mine and relatives who also do. And what we're able to do is discuss those things like, hey, I read this, what do you think about it? And they often give me perspectives that I hadn't considered. And that's the reason why I do that, because I want to hear from other people, because I want to learn, I want to get other perspectives of those, you

know, things from other people, so I can become better myself. And I think it's like this positive feedback cycle, because of that, because like, I'm wanting to improve, but then I'm sharing these things that I encounter, like, hey, this is wisdom, this is really helpful for me, it's going to help someone else maybe. And then I hear back from that person, let's say, like, oh, yeah, this really, I needed to hear this today, or this, I read this, and it really made a lot of sense. And I'm like,

that's the only reason, right? You know, and I don't know, I can't think of anything going back to like values and principles. Those are the things that I thrive on. I thrive on just the

people I know, the friends, family, you know, supporting them, they support me. And in general, something I think has might be helpful to people too, is not just photography, or creative industry in general, but the fact that other people are out there, living the way you dream of living, is exactly why, not only that you can, but you should strive for that, you know, and I keep that

with me as well. I think that's guided me for several years at this point. Instead of kind of, the personally, I don't find that helpful, or I find an unhealthy way, it's like, you need to be realistic, like that mindset, you know, like, I don't think that that's a wise use of our lives. So I think that's important for people, anyone viewing or listening, that you strive for what you desire in life, and you'll take measures, you know, along the way to get you close to those

things, instead of compromising, instead of settling, you know. You got to aim to get somewhere. You got to aim to have a direction, man. That's right. And that's so true. Wrap this all up into a nice wrapper and a bow, Nimit, right here. You've had some big changes in your life recently. You just got back from a trip, you made an announcement that you're having

a child. That's a big deal, man. Big deal. Congratulations, by the way. I think I told you, I messaged you, but if I didn't- Thank you so much. From here, congratulations. Thank you. I'm truly, I'm happy for you. And someone who is a traveler, you travel, you see places. 2024 through the next 18 years, maybe longer, what is traveling going to look like for you? It's, I'll make it simple. What is traveling going to look like for you this year?

Makes sense. Yeah. And thank you again. We really appreciate it. I couldn't be more excited about this. And yes, you're absolutely right. And we've already certainly, you know, started to make certain changes, anticipate certain changes. So we just, we took a baby moment to Australia for about two weeks or so, because we figured that with all the incoming changes, that it would be good to get this long haul trip over with. And it was really, it was fantastic, Nick. We loved it.

Beautiful country, just like I expected. Experienced some really unique things. Like for example, we were able to see the Great Barrier Reef. There's a lot of changes happening in that area, as well as other similar ecosystems in the world. So really it was special to see it the way we did. Just other things, beautiful country. But in terms of, yeah, 2024 specifically is going to

look a lot different. And really the answer for that is that there's versus like changing our travel style for 2024, really it's that we're not going to be traveling, you know, with a combination of the changes that Shreya is undergoing and, you know, things we have to do around the house and other, you know, things to consider. Realistically, I won't actually be able to go on another trip until maybe like December or January or something like that. Now, when we actually do, I have some

ideas, but we're going to be sticking to lots of road trips. And that brings me up to something we haven't actually talked about today. But so I grew up in New York, in Queens, and we moved to Utah about three years ago at this point. So about three years ago, we got here. And one of the things I love about living in this region is you can hop in your car and we love, we're big on road tripping.

And, you know, because I know you were, when we were actually going to link up, you were down in St. George and you were going to look in Hanksville, you were talking about Moab and all these beautiful places that are so special to me. You can hop in a car and be some fantastic places within three hours, six hours, you know, like all these places. So I anticipate lots of fun road trips with our son. And that's kind of what we're going to be prioritizing for the first year or two.

And just being able to show him this incredible Southwest, West United States area. There's just so much to offer and I'm excited to share with him and show him these places that I adore so much. And the travel style is going to be different. I'm learning all kinds of stuff, you know, having strollers. Guess what I was looking at the other day, Nick? I was looking

at baby carriers, you know. So for example, you might be familiar with the brand, you know, after a brand like Osprey, you know, like they make tremendously high quality bags and things like that. So I come across this thing, I'm like, oh, it's an Osprey bag. And I was like, no, it isn't. It's a baby carrier and it is beefy. Like it's their typical quality, but it's meant for like these like camping and backpacking trips. I never thought I'd be looking at a baby carrier is what

I'm trying to say, you know. So it's a really cool and exciting time, you know, where Sherry and I are both looking forward, you know, with excitement to these changes that are coming, but definitely there's going to be adjustments, you know. So. That's a good deal, man. That's music to my ear when you're starting this new path, this new journey in your life, man. Can't wait to see where you go and how it makes you grow as a man and

develop as a person. It's going to change a lot of things and I'm excited for you, man. And traveling as far as road trips, man, nothing wrong with that. There ain't nothing wrong with a good road trip, brother. There's nothing wrong with that. And to close us out here, Nimit, I really do appreciate you coming on. It's been a pleasure talking with you, talking about ideas versus just simple surface

things. I really appreciate you willing to go into detail with me about certain topics. And for the people listening, where can they find Mr. Nimit Patel on Instagram? What is the handle, man? Oh, sure. Yeah. So that would be the Nimit Patel. That would be my Instagram handle. All right, guys, you heard it here. To follow Nimit Patel, not only to find stunning photography, but you also get wisdom. He shares a lot of wisdom on his story. And let me tell you,

reading some of those, those are very fruitful. There are some days where I'm like, man, I needed to hear this at that moment. And all right, let's get to it. So if you want to get some wisdom, stunning photography, and possibly have good conversations with this awesome guy at the Nimit Patel, highly recommend you go follow him. Give him a like on his last one, comment, say, yo, Nimit, I'm here from the podcast. All right. Well, with that all being said,

appreciate you guys all staying until the end. Nimit, again, thank you so much for coming on. Oh, absolutely. And again, thanks for having me on. It was as much fun as I was expecting it to be, just being able to talk to you about all these different topics. And yeah, looking forward to linking up with you in person and meeting you in one of these beautiful landscape areas that we all adore so much. And yeah, so again, thanks for having me on.

All right. Peace. Peace, guys. Now that concludes episode 27. I really enjoyed that conversation. I really hope that you took something from this episode. Nimit Patel is a great man, and I hope to have him on again and see him very soon. If you enjoyed this episode, go ahead and hit that like button here on YouTube. Subscribe if you want to see more of these episodes, support the channel. If you're listening on the streaming platforms, go ahead and hit the subscribe button, leave a

five star review. And if you want to connect with me on Instagram, see my day to day, it's at the Nick Amp, the podcast is at Nick Amp podcast. I really appreciate you. And I wouldn't be here without you, your support for all you who are watching. It means the world to me. And I'll see you next week. Hope you have a good one.