Awaken The Awesome

Mel Vandersluis is one of those incredible people that crosses your path and does not fail to leave a positive impression.  We had randomly connected on a previous occasion and, even though it wasn't my initial intention, our conversation made such an impact on me, I felt compelled to extend a humble invitation to have her on the program. Mel is a truly talented travel photographer, content creator and entrepreneur based in Montreal, Canada. With a passion for sharing the beauty of the world through her amazing images, her creativity and sense of purpose have not only earned the trust of an impressive catalog of high profile clients and brands, but also seduced an equally impressive amount of followers on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by MEL 𓁺 Content Creator (@mvandersluis) Can't tell you guys how thrilled I am about this one. In this period of forced isolation and notable dependency on our devices as we...

One of the recurring themes that has come out of this time off that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on us is that a lot of people have used this newfound free time to explore facets of their creative impulses that they otherwise wouldn't have. It's no secret that the those in the Creative Arts have been severely affected by current events. However, as my next guest has demonstrated, one cannot restrain the creative urge, pandemic be damned. Isaac Alvarez is a commercial photographer, director, and artist based in Los Angeles, California. His immense love of photographing people has lead him to work with some of the top public relations firms in Beverly Hills. Well known for his dramatic portraits that resonate emotions, his images offers viewers a powerful insight into the lives of his subjects. While his images are often on the edge of any situation, photographing the situation is not nearly as interesting as photographing the edges of human emotions. Isa...

Who you choose to allow into your circle has a direct, undeniable impact on your overall process, mindset, and energy. This is still a work in progress for me as I learn to navigate around the habits, processes, and people that are instrumental to this overall mission.  In that regard, it is definitely a blessing when you can surround yourself with like-minded, talented individuals the likes of my next guest who never fail to lead by example on their own path towards achieving greatness through undeniable skill and consistent effort.  I've known Richard Lecoin for a well over 20+ yrs and even though I have yet to follow-up on my word and make it down to his sunny neck of the woods, his kindness and warm-hearted nature have made it so he doesn't hold it against me. An amazing photographer, his body work has been featured in many well-known publications, with a client-list that keeps stre...

I have no words to tell you guys how incredibly excited I am to share today's conversation with you. I did not know of my next guest until 48 hours preceding this recording. As The Universe, Energy and a little sprinkle of Instagram randomness would have it - sometimes, all you gotta do is try something out and see what you end up with. What started with a recently-released short film on Vimeo, quickly shifted to me ferociously tracking down the creator, and eventually, sooner rather than later, the both us were intensely texting back and forth about how we could collaborate and lo and behold, his grace and warmth ended up on this humble fan's podcast as a new guest. Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with a noticeably whimsical personality that is only matched by his incredible body of work, Steven Baboun is the kind of individual that, admittedly, will not be ignored. As a photographer, writer, visual artist...

On this episode, I setup some folding chairs and sit down (well, virtually anyway...) with the always entertaining and always exciting Stéphane Bazin , of Bazin Photography . As a successful photographer, podcaster , instructor and seasoned entrepreneur, this guy does indeed have a legitimate  sense of perspective which I wanted to tap into for this discussion. We were exchanging rather intensely about the realisation that most people, despite their best intention, often seem to neglect one of the most basic elements of achieving one's goals ...and that, we both had to agree, as ridiculous as it sounds, simply boils to just DO THE WORK. Because 'The Grind' never stops. A lively and ever-so engaging exchange that was definitely a blast thanks to Stéphane's always incredible personality and impactful insight. You can connect with Stéphane via Instagram on both his personal feed  and/or business page . Also on the Bazin Photography Facebook page . ...

© Zavier De'Angelo (https://www.zavierdeangelo.com/) - All Rights Reserved On this episode, I welcome Richard Lecoin - photographer, model, entrepreneur, husband, father...and many other hats that I myself got to discover from this very impactful conversation. It's one of those truly humbling circumstances where you come out the other end of a great exchange and the only word that can even closely describe it is "Wow". I'll be the first to admit that I did not have much of a laid-out plan as far as this interview was concerned. But in no way did this affect the genuinely inspiring message that Richard had to share. With grace and vulnerability, Richard shares his story of resilience, audacity, patience, loss, self affirmation and humility. I had to sit back and reflect on this one even after the mic was cut off. Grab a seat and open your hearts 'cause this one is an amazing ride. A man of character and a truly outstanding individual, my thanks...

It's nice to get the gang back together again. 2018 is full of surprises and we try to keep things as Awesome as ever with a boatload of new guests, topics and fun-filled spontaneity to round it all up! On this episode, I catch up with my man Dimitri Rousseau ( Vivardy Boursiquot  & Koralie Woodward were unfortunately not available for this recording) and I set out to reflect on a couple a topics that have sparked our mutual interests...such as... - Who still prints? - Has a location's Instagrammability - yes, that's a word - devalued the very allure of Travel Photography?(* Reference article ; via The Guardian) - The rise and decline of popular photography (* Reference article ; by Ming Thein ) - Friends are clients too - Yondr (cell phone Live event lock pouch technology) (* Reference article ; via CBC News) ...and a whole lot more. I do hope you enjoy this exchange as we certainly enjoyed bringing it to you. You can download ...

© John Remus III (www.johnremus.com) - All Rights Reserved You have time for what you make time for in this world. Life happens but at the end of the day, whether it's the job, the gym , that book you've been meaning to finish, or somebody you haven't gotten in touch with for a while...you eventually have to admit that it'll never happen unless you make it happen. It's nice to catch up and if the next conversation has revealed anything, it's that my friend and mentor, Minneapolis-based, caffeine-fueled, 20+ yr photography veteran and all-around awesome personality David Esquire , of Esquire Photography ,  certainly had a lot to catch up on. Maybe it had to do with the fact that we hadn't had recorded an episode together in over 3-count'em- YEARS!  ...maybe. It certainly was a fun time to reconnect with an old friend and fellow creative as we touched on so much from photography, to personal struggles, to looking towards the New Year to ...

Ho Boy! We picked a doozie this time. Ethics in Photojournalism...Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Where does one you start? From the moral standards to be upheld by publications, to the expectation of Truth, to the every increasing pressure to make your photos stand out while adhering to more rigorous standards... We dive in and we dive deep. As always, on this "Roundtable" Photo Friday episode, I am joined 2 of my 3 trusted advisors and fellow enthusiasts, namely Vivardy Boursiquot and Dimitri Rousseau (* Koralie Woodward could not join us this time around) as we attempt to throw our humble yet enthusiastic hats into the ring and try our luck at taming this impressive beast of a subject in our own curious way. You can connect with Dimitri via his Instagram . You can connect with Vivardy via his website or Instagram as well. You can download the MP3 for this episode by right-clicking here and choosing "Save As" **Some resources and sho...

Don't you just love it when a good wholesome, unplanned, unrehearsed, unscripted, unfiltered and honest conversation just flows smoothly and takes on a life of its own? I do. Hadn't done a Photography-centered recording in a while so it was really nice of my friend and creative compadre, Vivardy Boursiquot, to stop by and chime on a couple of items that we just threw out onto the proverbial whiteboard and just ran with. What transpired was a truly fun and engaging exchange of ideas and perspectives which are always a blast if you ask me. From the subject of ethics in photography, to an open overview of Vivardy's new website, to the relevance on online critiques...we pretty much let loose on this one - and it's a gem of a good one. You can connect with Vivardy via his website for business and related inquiries. You can also follow his Social Media updates via Instagram and/or Facebook. You can download the MP3 for this episode by  right-clicking he...

This one was a long time coming. You try to align the planets and the respective agendas and, with patience and commitment, come out the other end with a really fun conversation that basically took on a life of its own. My thanks to the one they call Stéphane Bazin for his time and insight throughout this wonderful exchange. Photographer , podcaster , entrepreneur, teacher... you can keep in touch with Stéphane's many ventures via the following links... Twitter : ( 1 ) ( 2 ) / Instagram : ( 1 ) ( 2 ) / Facebook : ( 1 ) ( 2 ) I do hope you enjoy this conversation as we've enjoyed bringing it to you. You can download the MP3 for this episode by  right-clicking here  and choosing "Save As" Stay up to date - Subscribe to the podcast and get the latest episodes as soon they're published. ( RSS ) ( Apple Podcasts ) ( Google Podcasts )  ( Spotify )   ( T uneIn )   ( Stitcher ) Remember to leave a comment and let u...