Author: Adam Scott

A Lifetime of Star Gazing: My Journey from Childhood Curiosity to Adult Passion in Space Photography

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As a child, I was captivated by the beauty of the night sky. My father, who was a Scout Master, would take me on camping trips and hikes, and I spent many nights gazing up at the stars. I remember memorizing constellations, learning about the phases of the moon, and even convincing my parents to buy me a telescope in the shape of a space shuttle. It was a small telescope, but it opened up a whole new world for me. I could see craters on the moon, and even the rings of Saturn. I was in awe of the vastness of space and the endless possibilities that it held.

As I grew older, my passion for the night sky and space never wavered. I spent my teenage years reading books about space and astronomy, and even joined the local astronomy club. I was fascinated by the different galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters that I saw through the club’s telescopes. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know.

Fast forward to adulthood, and my passion for the night sky has only grown stronger. I now own a camera with powerful zoom lenses, and I spend hours taking photos of the moon. I have learned how to capture the beauty of the night sky through long-exposure photography, and it has become my hobby.

Space photography, night sky, rocket launch, constellations, Milky Way galaxy, Northern Lights, meteor shower, satellites, space debris, long-exposure photography, tips for capturing the perfect space shot

So, when my family invited me to join them for the SpaceX Heavy Rocket launch, I jumped at the opportunity. I was excited but also nervous, as I had never photographed a rocket launch before. I knew that the rocket would be moving at incredible speeds and that I would have less than a minute to get the perfect shot. I searched for tips online on how to photograph a rocket launch, but most of the advice was generic and not very useful.

So, I decided to rely on my own experience and figured out the settings that worked best for me. And, when the rocket took off, I was ready, taking pictures as if my life depended on it. I had to be quick to capture the rocket at different stages of the launch, from the initial lift-off to the separation of the boosters. And, to my surprise, I think I did a pretty good job.

I can’t help but think of the little kid I used to be, lying in a clearing and staring up at the stars. I wish he could see the cool space shots I get to take today. It would have made him so happy.

My love for the night sky and space has been a constant in my life, and I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had to capture the beauty of the cosmos through my camera. I hope that my photos will inspire others to look up at the night sky and marvel at its wonder. Photography has allowed me to combine my love for space and my passion for photography, and I can’t wait for the next opportunity to capture the beauty of the night sky. If you have a passion for space and photography, I encourage you to give it a try, you won’t regret it. The night sky is a never-ending source of inspiration, and the possibilities are endless.

Space photography, night sky, rocket launch, constellations, Milky Way galaxy, Northern Lights, meteor shower, satellites, space debris, long-exposure photography, tips for capturing the perfect space shot

5 Pieces of Advice for Photographers

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I am going, to be honest…Usually, lists like these make my eyes roll. Generally speaking, these kinds of lists are beyond generic, and usually not very helpful to anyone reading them. So hopefully, I will be able to make this list better than most of the lists you will find out on the internet today.

Learning how to be a photographer is hard, and for so many, myself included, we had to learn on our own without any kind of teacher or mentor. The process can be super painful as you try to create, all the while comparing your level 1 photo to a level 50 photographer. I get it, I was there once.

So here are a couple of tips and ideas that might make the process easier.

  1. Experiment with different angles, lighting, and composition to capture unique and interesting photos.
    • OK, I know…I am starting out this list with a “DUH” sort of tip, but hear me out. When I started learning the art of photography I took all my photos the same way…Standing up, camera to my eyes. It took me a while to figure out that most of my subjects were shorter than I was, me being 6′, and so many of my photos had this sort of looking down angle to them. The day I put two and two together was sort of a facepalm kind of day.
    • The lesson of it all was to learn to take photos from different angles. With different angles came learning how to light photos differently, learning that lead to new creative ideas, etc.
    • Every time you try to shoot differently you learn something new.
  2. Keep a photography journal to track your progress and make notes on techniques you want to try.
    • If you take only one thing from this article take this one. KEEP TRACK OF EVERYTHING! I have been shooting for 12 years and I still keep a journal, writing down the details from every single shoot. What did I learn, what did I try new, what worked, what didn’t work, what do I want to try next time, etc. WRITE IT ALL DOWN!
  3. The best equipment you can buy is the one you can afford.
    • This one is going to be really hard for some of you to understand. You do NOT need the latest and greatest camera gear in order to be a great photographer. I know great photographers who shoot on cameras 20 years old and use light fixtures they bought at Home Depot. You do NOT need to go broke buying the latest camera, lights, gear bags, ND filters, Macbooks, and more.
    • The best camera is the one you can afford and know how to use. I often encourage new photographers looking to purchase a camera to start out taking photos on their phones. Learn the art of composition and lighting 1st then upgrade to something inexpensive like the Canon M50. I shot for years on an old Canon Rebel before I upgraded to a Canon M50, and it was only in 2020 that I purchased my Sony A7iii.
    • Better gear does NOT make you a better photographer, but learning the art of photography through trial, hard work, and practice does!
  4. If you are taking photos you are a photographer.
    • Please do not listen to anyone telling you that “You are only a real photographer if you do __________” There is so much of this on the internet. Some people claim that you are only a photographer if you shoot manually, or only shoot film, or never do this, or only do that. It’s all elitist noise and should be ignored.
    • When I 1st started learning how to photograph shooting in full manual scared me. I didn’t know what I was doing and so I shot on Aperture Priority Mode for like a year. I kept track of my shoots, learned settings, and wrote it all down in my journal. Eventually, I felt comfortable shooting in full manual. Did the fact that I wasn’t shooting manually make me less of a photographer…NO! It meant that I was a photographer who was currently learning, and anyone who says otherwise is a snob!
  5. Fail! Fail some more! Fail often!
    • OK, this last one is going to be really hard for some of you, but listen closely. You HAVE to fail in order to become a great photographer. You won’t be perfect at it right out of the gate. You won’t be perfect after a year of practice. You won’t be perfect at it even after 10,000 hours of practice.
    • Photography is a journey that will NEVER end. There is no finish line, there is no end goal. There will ALWAYS be things and ways you can improve at and on.
    • So take this journey slowly. There is no rush. There is no right way to learn, and no hurry to get anywhere. Just shoot, fail, shoot again, and learn. Every time you pick up your camera try something new, learn something new. If you do that you will be well on your way to becoming a great photographer!
Recently Taken outside the SpaceX Launch site in Florida.

2023 Cabinet Cards – Sith Jade

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Purchase your Sith Jade Cabinet Cards HERE

Anyone who has ever been to Vegas is probably familiar with “card slappers” handing out pornographic cards on the strip. These cards usually are advertising numbers, and web addresses for sex workers. What you might not know is that there is a long and lengthy history to the idea of pornography on cards…

…Going back to the 19th century, in and around Paris France there was a booming trade of what was then referred to as “cabinet cards“. Collectors from all over would buy, sell, trade, and exchange these cards, usually under discrete and secret meetings. Collectors would hide these cards away within their homes, sometimes within boxes or tins to disguise the contents of what was inside.

Thankfully, today, collectors do not need to be nearly as discreet when it comes to such items, and that is why I have decided to create my own set of cabinet cards in the year 2023.

Each month I will release a new set of 6 cards, each featuring a new model. To the motivated collector who acquired each months set would yield him/her/they 72 cards to complete the deck. Further, and collector who purchases each months set will receive a special gift at the end of the year that will go nicely with their collection.

For January 2023 I am releasing the first set of cabinet cards and our featured model is SITH JADE. Sith is an accomplished model, burlesque performer, creative, and more. Her set of cards are the first in the 2023 collection and feature fellow model and friend Maeve. As many of you know Maeve is a frequent and favorite model in my work, and for those of you who are admires of Maeve fear not…Maeve will be getting her own personal set later on in 2023.

Thank you for being a part of this new collection. I am excited to bring this collection to life over the course of this year. Sith may be the first of this collection, but there are 11 more models yet to be revealed. Any guesses on who the next model will be?

Purchase your Sith Jade Cabinet Cards HERE

2023 Goals

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Each year I, like thousands, if not millions of people from around the world, sit down and try to write out some goals for the upcoming year. These goals usually act as a sort of flexible guide or hope for the upcoming year, at least for me that is. In years past my goals were lengthy, complicated, and usually multistep outlines, and I almost NEVER completed them as planned. Sometimes this would really upset me because I was so focused on the goal and end results that I forgot to enjoy the journey along the way.

So now, as I put pen to paper to write out my 2023 goals I do so with the knowledge that I may not accomplish these goals as planned. I may not accomplish them at all. Some might be replaced for other objectives and worthy pursuits, and some might evolve into something spectacular as the year progresses. Regardless of how the year plays out my plan is to work on these ideas, be flexible as the year goes by, and be open to the idea of pivoting when needed.

2023 Goals for Adam Scott

  1. Build up my photography business so that I am making $X,000 per month.
    • Since losing my job in June I have accepted the fact that working for someone else is not really in the cards for me. The times I am happiest are when I make enough money to pay bills and have the freedom to live my life my way. So this year I am working each and every day to build up my business in healthy and challenging ways.
      • I plan to add a pricing page to my website so individuals and companies know what they can expect to pay when working with me.
      • I plan to continue seeking out local businesses to help them grow through sales, marketing, and photography.
      • Continue growing my Freelance work on Fiverr.
      • I will be working on a very cool Kickstarter campaign this year that will involve models from all over the world in an effort to create a custom Tarot Card Deck.
      • I will be adding new products to my store for print.
      • I will be creating a vintage and very classy spicey card deck with 12 models and releasing 6 cards from each model once per month, with collectors set to be offered this time next year.
  2. Lose 52lbs
    • It is no secret that I have put on more weight than I would like. However this year I am going to focus on my movement and health by doing the following…
      • Complete 36,000 kettlebell swings this year
      • Run 365 miles this year
      • Complete 10,000 pushups, pullups, and squats
      • Train safely and work toward a 400lbs deadlift and squat
  3. Produce 24 YouTube Videos
    • It is my hope to get monetized on YouTube this year.
  4. Write 52 Blog Posts
    • This blog needs content – What can I say? But I would also like to pair up with other creatives and find authors that would like to contribute to this blog, as well as write on other blogs too.
  5. Go on a vacation somewhere far away with my wife.
    • Due to money, Leslie and I were not able to go on vacation this year. The first year without of our relationship, and I intend to fix that problem.

So there you have it. My 2023 goals. What do you all think?

How I Started Taking Self Portraits

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The year 2020, which was only 3 years ago, but for many of us still seems like yesterday, and was crazy year. The world dealt with a global pandemic that sparked lock downs, security measures, travel bans, and 6.63 million deaths. It was, to say the least, a rough time for Planet Earth and it’s human inhabitant’s.

I myself being one of those inhabitants, was looking for a project to focus my anxious and nervous energy on, and for some reason decided to study self portrait photography. My reasoning was, it was something that did not require me to leave the house, and it was something that would be a big challenge for me, because at this point in time I did NOT like having my own photograph taken. So I thought perhaps that it would both help me learn new skills as a photographer and work on my self confidence as well. I was right on both counts.

The very first thing that I learned about self portraits is a truth that applies to every single person who stands in front of a cameras lens. Whatever flaw you see in yourself, no one else sees it. Read that again and think about it carefully. I am serious when I tell you, whatever imperfection you obsess over, and ask photographers to cover, erase, change, or hide, no one…else…see it!

As human beings we have a body, and they all come in different shapes, colors, sizes, and models. That is one of the simple truths of being born, but for some strange reason society is always fussing about the latest and greatest “trend” that often focuses on some sort of unattainable body standard. For example when I was in high school it was all about women being pencil thin, and today a curvy women is more desirable. Bottom line, stop listening to trends, because trends are and always will be a passing fad. Embrace who you are and stop obsessing over some perceived flaw.

Let me give you another example…In 2004 I was serving a mission in California. My fellow service partner and I had been invited over to a families home for dinner, and after we were all fed the daughter of the family asked if she could play a violin solo, and get my advice on her performance. She knew from conversation that I had played the Viola since I was in the 5th grade and wanted my “expert” opinion.

She played her piece beautifully, and made only one, simple mistake. How do I know she made a mistake? Because as soon as she made that mistake she scrunched up her face, pursed her lips and said “sorry!” and then continued on with the music. Afterwards she put her instrument down and immediately offered an apology again for missing a note. I pointed out to her that the music was beautiful, it was obvious that she had worked hard and practiced the piece for many hours in order to play such a complicated work of music, but despite all of that work and her accomplishment, she focused on the single missed note. I mentioned to her that if she had not made a face, apologized…twice…and drawn my attention to the flaw I probably would not have even noticed, and would have just enjoyed the music as the beautiful number it was due to the dedication and hard work that she had committed to it.

It was the fact that she was pointing out the flaw that I even noticed it at all! This is true for photography as well. Whatever flaw you see in the photo, is often not seen by others unless you point it out. I have to remember this myself as both a model and photographer, and it has served me very well, when I remember to heed my own advice.

Moving on, almost 3 years ago to the date, I took my very first self portrait on my Canon EOS M50. It was a simple portrait, just me wearing my blue light glasses, sitting in front of my black Yule tree. Nothing special, but it was the start of what has so far been a 3 year journey. In the last 3 years I have taken dozens of self portraits, and I am pleased with the body of work I have collected so far, but what excites me even more is the years to come and seeing my self portraits evolve and change over the years.

I was not planning on this when I started the study of self portraits but for the last 3 years I have taken the same self portrait each year, always wearing my glasses, always sitting in front of the tree. Each photo unique. Each photos representing a new year and a new opportunity for adventure.

I have no idea what 2023 will have in store for me, but I know there will be many self portraits in my future as the tradition continues…

The Last Time

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Anyone who knows me is aware that I have a deep love of coffee. I have a few preferred coffee mugs, and even subscribe to what some might call a “fancy” coffee bean subscription service that sends me a new bag of beans, from a different roaster from around the world, each month. I am the kind of person who goes to bed excited to wake up and enjoy a cup of coffee.

So you can image my distress when I had an unpleasant thought about coffee the other day. Someday, I will drink my last cup of coffee. Now I know for some of you this may not seem like a big deal, but for me it was a very upsetting truth. A truth I could accept but did not like in the slightest. Someday, probably without me even realizing it I will pick up and sip coffee for the very last time.

It’s a hard truth to face sometimes when we ponder our own mortality. To consider that in the grand scheme of things our existence is brief and honestly unremarkable when compared to the vastness of the cosmos. But for me, my existence matters. My love of coffee matters, and to those who know and love me, it matters.

Now, why do I bring up such a depressing and honestly unpleasant subject? Because I want you to understand that someday you won’t be here. Someday you will be gone, and all that will be left behind will be the memories of who you once were. Your loved ones will want to hang on to those memories anyway you can, and we should not make that difficult for them.

Recently a client messaged me asking me if I could restore an old photograph of his father. He explained to me that his father hated the way he looked, and never stood in front of a camera. In fact his father went to great effort to avoid cameras, and/or destroy any pictures that were ever taken of him. Meaning, that his son only had one surviving photo of the man that was his father. Only one.

To say this was a tremendous responsibility was underselling how I felt about the situation, but I was willing to do my best to help this client, and am currently working on the photo now. But it got me thinking…Why do so many of us avoid having our photos taken? We make up excuses after excuse as to why we should not be in pictures, forgetting that someday a photo or home movie might be all someone has left of us.

So the next time someone asks to take your picture, try to remember that someday you will pick up your last cup of coffee, and maybe your loved ones will want a photo of you drinking a beverage that you loved so much.

The one and only image of a father. This is all that remains…

John Scalzi and I Agree

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So it’s no secret that I have been promoting the idea of moving back to the personal website, and having less reliance on sites like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. In fact, I have so adamantly believed this notion I am pretty sure my wife has gotten tired of hearing me talk about it. But nevertheless, social media companies have proved time and time again that they do not have the best interests of their users at heart, and all it takes is for some excentric rich billionaire, or bank to come along and mess everything up. It happened to Tumblr, OnlyFans, and now the latest drama is all about Twitter.

Now I am not stupid enough to believe or even think that social media is going to implode. I’m not running around with a tin foil hat on proclaiming the end of days here. Social media in one form or another is here to stay, and I love social media. I have spent many an hour scrolling through posts, images, and videos, and loved all that I saw. But for far too long we the people have been beholden to the all-powerful algorithm and whoever holds the golden key to that special piece of magic. Further, on most of these social media sites, you yourself do not OWN the very content you create. Once you hit post the very social media platform you are using owns it and can use it however they see fit.

So, for the last several months I have been encouraging people to start taking ownership of their own content and posting their writing, images, music, and video onto their own crafted and curated websites. Now I have no idea if anyone has taken that advice seriously or not, but it made me feel better about my opinion when none other than the great author himself, John Scalzi, posted this on his Twitter account.

He even went on to talk about it on his own website and writes about it here.

So the bottom line is this…You don’t have to leave social media. I am not suggesting that you delete your accounts and only post on your own website, but as John mentions…

“Just carve out some of that doomscrolling/toiletscrolling time for your own space, that you control, too. And when you do, then link to your own site from that other social media, and invite your followers on those services to visit you in your own place. And link to other people’s personal sites, so your followers can visit them, too. Make social media work for you, and not just for the amoral billionaires.”

— John Scalzi

My Thoughts on Hive Social

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If you have been paying attention to social media the last 48 hours you might have seen several of your friends posting screenshots to their Hive Social accounts. As I have mentioned before major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have lost touch with many of it’s users. This is due to several reasons, but the main bullet points are…

  1. Losing touch with what it’s users actually want.
  2. Forcing changes on it’s users through TOS changes and algorithmic changes.
  3. Censorship of content.
  4. Hypocritical behavior in regards to content violations.

The list could go on and on but these four pretty much sum up everyone’s issues with social media. Due to these frustrations many people are looking for alternatives, and flocking to said alternatives in large numbers. Just a short time ago Peter McKinnon posted several videos talking about Vero, and due to his influence you saw users flocking to sign up for accounts.

Now, a few months later, a new viral social media platform is showing up, and that is Hive Social.

I along with many others signed up for Hive, however I signed up mostly to keep the username “@JustAdamScott” so I could maintain branding in case Hive does indeed gain the traction and power to remain. But so far I don’t see a great deal of hope for the small social media platform. While Hive does offer some features that are unique to the social media space, their infrastructure seems to be lacking the ability to handle such a large number of new users. Now I am sure their team is working to expand it’s capabilities and trying their hardest to accomidate so many new users, but will they be able to do it in time. That is, before their new users get bored with the lack of stability and slow connection speeds.

Regardless of if they are able to do so in time isn’t the issue. The issue is this is a symptom of a deeper problem. People are losing and have lost faith in the big social media platforms, and if Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others don’t do something quickly to retain their user base they may soon find themselves without.

A self portrait I took on Venice Beach CA 2022.

My Thoughts on trump Being Back on Twitter

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So I learned tonight that Twitter and it’s new owner has reinstated trumps account. For many of us trump, his supporters, and his twitter account were a constant and never ending source of anxiety and fear. Each morning we would wake up wondering what had happened in the night, and had the end finally come.

When Twitter and other social media platforms decided to ban trump it was a small glimmer of hope. Not a large one, but it was still there, and the reprieve from his hateful, racist, and uneducated words brought a breath of fresh air, so to say. Since then trump ran off to create his own social media platform and TBH I have not thought much about him, or the things he says since, but it does concern me that after all he has done, and all he is under investigation for, how someone could think giving him a voice or platform is the right thing to do. Twitters new owner says he is ushering in an era of “free speech” but free speech does not protect you from the consequences of those words, and trumps words had many many consequences.

Since the announcement people have been leaving Twitter by the thousands. I personally know people who woke up minus 4000 followers just from people choosing to delete their account, rather then participate in a platform that gives trump any amount of voice.

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this, and am struggling to decide what I will do next. Not that I think my personal choice will impact or influence anyone, but I do believe we are on the ledge of some serious choices that will soon have to be made.

Over the last 24 hours, like so many others, I’ve had a series of impulse reactions including considering deleting my Twitter account all together. Looking at global internet trends I seem to not be the only person considering such action. Searches for “Twitter alternatives” have increased all across the net, and several creators I follow have started new accounts with various platforms such as Tumblr, Vero, and something called Mastodon.

Does this mean I’m leaving? I honestly don’t know. Twitter is certainly on a downward decline. But, for now, I’m withholding action. I’ve enjoyed Twitter over the years and I’d hate to see it disappear or be forced to leave. But all good things come to an end & maybe it’s time.

All I know for certain is that social media companies continue to show a certain disregard for it’s users, and it convinces me more and more that the solution is to just continue running this, my own site, where I control the content, and don’t have to worry about changes to TOS, algorithm’s, or being shadow banned.

So, till next time, keep safe, drink your water, and make good art!

AS

A self portrait

Thanks for stopping by. I would love to hear what you think about all this. Feel free to leave a comment or reach out on Instagram, Twitter, Patreon, or Vero.

Advice For Beginner Photographers

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Last weekend I was asked if I had any advice for beginner photographers. To be honest I am always a little surprised when someone wants my advice because despite the fact that I have been taking pictures for 11 years I still feel like an amateur. And depending on who you ask you will get several different answers, because everyone has a different path and everyone’s experience will be different. For example when I first started learning the art of photography 11 years ago someone told me how important it was to read the manual for the camera you were shooting on. I did as the person suggested and learned…wait for it…nothing! It was a big fat giant waste of time. Why? Because reading a technical manual for a camera was not my learning style, and no matter how important it was for someone else it was never going to be how I learned something.

So that being said I can only offer you limited advice. It might work for you…It might not. If it doesn’t work for you don’t get discourage you might need to try learning a different way. Hey for all I know you might learn a lot by reading the cameras manual.

When it comes to taking good pictures I think a good starting place would be to consume as much photography work as you can get your hands on. I was an avid reader of National Geographic since I was around 8 years old and loved the photos inside…still do as a matter of fact. One of the first photography books I remember reading and studying was Life.Love.Beauty by Keegan Allen. His story telling along with his beautiful images really helped me understand what photography really was. I was obsessed with Tumblr (still am) and would spend many enjoyable hours scrolling through the beautiful images on it’s platform. I followed photographers on social media. Photographers like Denny Llic and Annie Leibovitz and studied their photos trying to understand how they created the images they did, and then with my camera in hand would go out and try to recreate their images using my own props, models, and lights.

That last part is really the biggest piece of advice I can offer. Go out and practice. Shoot everyday! Make mistakes, screw up, reset and try it again. If you only get 1 really good shot in 1000 go out and take more photos till you get 1 good shot in every 100. The ONLY way you will ever get better is to go out and DO. The more pictures you take the better you will become.

I am a much better photographer today then I was 11 years ago. I have no idea how many photos I have taken in 11 years but it HAS to be in the hundreds of thousands. In another 11 years I will have taken even more images and I will be a better photographer because of it.

I know what kind of photographer I want to be in 11 years. That future me is out there, and he is counting on me now to do the work, make the mistakes, and learn the lessons I need to learn in order to become him. I very much don’t want to let him down, and I doubt you don’t want to let the future version of you down either.

So pick up your camera or cell phone and go out and start taking pictures. Your future self will thank you for it.

Don’t believe me? These are some of the images I took 11 years ago. Look at these images and then look at my photography today and tell me you don’t see improvement. We only improve things that we practice and photography takes a lot of practice.