Late Afternoon Love (success and other stuff, and love)

Hi, my Darling,

Happy Late Afternoon. I am at Pearl's, and just wanted to check in and say hi because tonight is movie night, and so I won't be back until the usual late night time. Tonight's film is Welles' "Othello", so more Shakespeare! "Macbeth" was awesome last week, so I'm sure this one will be too.

I hope you are enjoying your day.  :)

I saw your Alcest post, and yeah, that was the venue and crowd at last night's show. If you look at where Neige is, I am about three people back from the stage, maybe two feet to the right of his microphone. A super mellow crowd, no moshing thank goodness. Mostly Mexican Goth fans, who wear Goth makeup and such. We have a lot of those in L.A. Man, it was a great show.  :)

I hope all your projects are going well, and I have no doubt they are. I will be here at Pearl's until 6:30 as usual, then to the movie and back here. I will write more later tonight. Have a great evening. :)

I Love You!  xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

12:15am : Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby. All is quiet here at Pearl's. "Othello" was tremendous. I thought "Macbeth" last week was really good, but this one was exceptional. Another one to get on dvd! Welles can do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned. :)

I saw your post about photographers and success. Now, I should add that when I clicked the link to read it myself, the first thing I saw was a photo of a hand with a ring on it.....  :):)

So maybe that was intended, or if not, then you were channeling that picture.  :)

I Love You, Elizabeth. You are an awesome lady.

As for being a successful photographer, I read a few of the comments and of course they vary from photog to photog. Some see it as getting published or getting their work shown at a gallery. Some consider it from the financial aspect. For me - and I am not a pro of course, but I did study art photography in high school - success is just plain Getting An Awesome Shot. When I do that, I literally get a "high" out of it, and I can't wait to see what it looks like on screen (I should say "on paper", too, and I've gotta get back to printing all my good shots).

Because I am not making a living at it, I have the luxury of considering that as my definition of success. But I think it really starts there for all photographers, or any artist really. Just knowing that you really captured something is a great feeling, and feeling great is the very basis of success. Everything else is gravy, as they say. I don't know how you'd define your idea of success, but in my book you already are successful, and you were as soon as you decided to make art your vocation in life, and by art I of course mean all of your endeavors, and especially your chosen professional ones.

You are a success because you are doing what you love. That's the basis of success. You could make a million bucks, but if you hated the job that earned you that money, then you would not be a success.

So there you have it.  :)

Remember to always be your own biggest fan, and then - right there - it just comes down to you and the camera. Then, when you get a great shot or video segment, or some great lighting or anything, right away you have created some excitement and good feeling for yourself. It sounds obvious, right? But you'd be surprised how many creative people can do something really good, but carry the defeatist attitude of "aw, nobody's gonna like it so it must not be any good", and then they themselves don't like it. I know you certainly don't have that attitude, but take it all the way in the other direction and be your own biggest fan, in a quietly confident way that we always talk about.

Your art is between you and God and the Universe and the Spiritual World. That is where it is created. After that, everyone and everything else (money, fans, etc) is extra. That part is the payoff, but the success is the first part. Success and payoff are two different things.....

Anyhow, you know all of that. I am just reinforcing you (which I like to do), and I hope your beer commercial shoot went well, and everything else that is going on, too. I thought your "Straight Out Of Middleton" post was pretty funny, too. Those guys in the pic look like real OGs, for sure.  :)

My ears are still ringing a little bit from the concert. Those guys really cranked it, maybe more than I was expecting, but they have turned into a powerhouse live band. They even crack me up a little bit because you've got these two big dudes up front, Neige and Zero, and Zero looks like he oughta be in "Lord Of The Rings", lol, and Neige sometimes gets this kind of friendly grin on his face, like "hey, this is all pretty cool, eh"? Like he's still kind of surprised at his success, even though he has busted his butt through touring for several years. So those two guys are like the two big Gaul rock stars (Neige is a total Gaul), and then you've got the two smaller dudes of the rhythm section, but those guys are driving the band, really pushing it. That's what happens when you play live, night after night for years. That's how Van Halen did it, and it has been a great Concert Week for me. And I've still got Opeth coming up in two weeks, so it ain't over yet.

Tomorrow I am gonna try for a hike. I can't guarantee it because there is always so much stuff to do these days, but I am sure gonna try. Fridays are usually pretty reliable, plus it's gonna be 100 degrees. So I will try to make a go of it. Saturday is the biggie, though, my tour of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. I've been there three times before, but this is the first time they are allowing cameras. So that's a success right there, and I am stoked.

I will see you in the morning, my Baby. Sweet Dreams until then......

I Love You!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)