I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT THAT WAY BEFORE

Hopefully what I capture is not just someone looking into a camera, but someone who is looking for more. Yes. I am taking your picture in this very moment, but I’m also thinking about every year past this moment when looking back at this moment. What do you see? Someone who was brave? Or someone who was scared? There is no right answer, only what’s honest. And perhaps that’s what it is, that you allowed yourself to be seen. Not just by me. But by you. That’s a moment I want to help capture. Perhaps that’s what I do. I help you see you. I never thought about it that way before.

by Jason Lam

TO TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH IS TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP

To take a photograph is to form a relationship

To form a relationship is to be vulnerable

You must be open, so the person you are photographing can open up to you

To take a photograph is not about taking a photograph of a person, but with a person

Your photographs are visual representations of how you relate to the world

The way you see informs the way you feel. The way you feel informs the way you see

Our work as photographers is to pay attention and look with intention

To take a photograph is to be open

To take a photograph is to form relationships

by Jason Lam

THE 3 STAGES OF CREATIVITY

Having made art my entire life, I realize there are three main stages in the process of creativity. I’ve spent my fair share of time in every stage, (sometimes to my own demise), but that’s okay because now I get to share my learnings with you. These stages exist regardless of the medium you work in, and it serves you to know what stage you are in to help further your creative progress.

The 3 Stages of Creativity:

Stage 1 = Creation (Intuition)

• This is your “shitty” work. I put quotations around the word “shitty,” because it just refers to the work being technically rudimentary. The upside, however, is the fact that the work you create here is natural, like children’s drawings. When you’re creating from this stage, you don’t think about whether what you’re doing is good or not. You don’t care who’s watching. You’re just being yourself. Whatever happens, happens. If you don’t know what this feels like just take a few seconds to scribble your signature on a piece of paper. How did you do it? You didn’t think about it. This is a beautiful place to be in. You’re creating from the purest form of you. However, we all want to get better at our craft, so that’s when we enter the next stage.

Stage 2 = Cerebral (Technical)

• Technically proficient work. While this stage is awesome because you start building strong fundamentals, it can also be quite dangerous because if left unchecked, you might end up unknowingly crushing all of your natural intuition for the sake of technical perfection. I have definitely fallen into this never-ending abyss. Ceaselessly obsessing over the tiniest details because I’m oh so worried about what the “real professionals" will say. So let me just keep working endlessly through the night so I can be free from blame. Aka. Perfection. Aka. That shit doesn’t exist. Aka. Sorry, you’ve now entered the, “Wow, you’re good at what you do, but it doesn’t move me” phase. As you can tell, this stage is pretty self-conscious. You usually know you’re done with this stage when looking from a macro perspective, your work is technically good, but it’s lacking of soul. Put another way, you’re capable of making beautiful shiny objects, but it seems to be missing a key ingredient, you. 

Stage 3 = Creation (Intuition) + Cerebral (Technical)

• Technically proficient work that also has soul. This is the hardest stage to enter because essentially what you’re doing is trying to mend together both mind and body, which, if you have spent a good amount of time improving your craft, you may have forgotten this connection exists. This part is hard. Integrating your intuition with technical ability requires that you give up on absolute perfection. You might find that in this stage, a lot of your work may feel a little off. The whites aren’t exactly white. The blacks aren’t exactly black. Straight lines may feel a little crooked. You might find that even though you want to get the grids to match up perfectly, your intuition tells you otherwise. How in the world do you know which one is right? Well, it’s the one that feels right. Here, you are blessed with the technical ability to take what feels right and turn it into a reality. This is a beautiful place to be and it takes forever to get here. 

The 3 stages of creativity seem to work this way.

You go from leading with your gut to leading with your brain, to then merging the two so you have the technical capacity if you need it, but you don’t let it guide your decisions. Instead, you let your intuition lead the way and your learned skillsets become tools that enable you to create what you truly feel inside.

It’s almost a backwards way of working, but it’s necessary. You have to get a little too technical and follow the rules a little too much in order to see for yourself, the mediocre results you will get by doing so. And then, on your own, you have to burn your old thinking, to unlearn, and to re-learn to trust your intuition once again before school, teachers, blogs (yes, including mine), and YouTube videos told you otherwise.

Nobody else can do this for you. You must embark on this journey yourself. It’s very difficult. It can last for years, even decades. I feel like I’m just beginning to learn how to merge the two.

by Jason Lam

HONESTY IN PHOTOGRAPHY

Honesty in photography is difficult because often it goes against all the rules you may learn in school. What I’ve found helpful is to not shoot digital, but to shoot film. When you shoot film, you are more precious about your shots. One roll of 35mm only allows you 36 shots, so it’s best not to waste it on moments you don’t truly care about. When shooting digital, you have the privilege of reviewing your work immediately. This isn’t so good. Honesty isn’t something to be immediately analyzed with your brain and learned techniques. It’s something to be felt, regardless of proper exposure, composition, and focus. What matters most is whether or not something moved you. Who cares if it’s off-center? Who cares if it’s not aligned with the rule of thirds? Who cares if the subject is cut off? With enough practice, you might be able to start shooting digital again, but this time, with a stronger connection with your intuition and what you feel.

To this day, my favorite camera is still the Olympus Stylus Epic. It’s not the best, but it’s compact and easy to use. It doesn’t allow me to think too much. There aren’t too many buttons and no digital screen with a menu full of options. It’s just the viewfinder and the shutter.

Take the picture or don’t. Most importantly, don’t lie to yourself.

by Jason Lam

MOVE FIRST

If you don’t know what to do or which way to go.

Move anyway.

Because even if you’re unsure of yourself and you feel you are going the wrong direction, you’ll find what you’re looking for on the way.

When I was studying at the International Center of Photography in New York, I was called to the front of the class to speak about my long term project. We all had to choose one, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do yet. So I didn’t know what to say, or how to describe what I was going for. 

My classmate says to me, “Just start talking”.

And of course, I began and even though the first few words that came out of my mouth were a little random, eventually, I found level ground and discovered the direction for my long term project. 

I wanted to do a project on the role lion dancing plays on first generation Chinese-Americans. Which has since come into fruition as Inside The Lion. I’ve done two iterations of this project. One in New York City. The second in San Francisco. 

Regardless of whether or not your objective is related to photography, I think this concept still applies. Often, it’s very hard to think your way out of a situation. As wrong as it may feel, sometimes moving without an idea of where you’re going or what you’re doing is precisely what you need to do.

Have a little more faith in your resilience.

by Jason Lam

THANK YOUR FAILURES

Because without it you would not have learned anything

You cannot learn without failing

The two come hand in hand

Sure, it may be frustrating at times

Annoying

Disappointing

You may have let some people down

You might feel you’ve let yourself down

But you’ve also gathered new information

Which you can use to your advantage

So you can reiterate

And do a better job next time

Thank your failures

Because every time you fail, you learn something

by Jason Lam

MY BEST WORK

My best work is often not the ideas that I think up in my head.

More often, my best work is the discoveries I make along the way towards the ideas.

I think my creative process works this way because the things I discover along the way are things that my body naturally reacts to, versus an idea conjured up in my mind and further justified with cerebral reasons as to why it is good.

My body knows when something is good, without me even being able to explain why. 

And so one might think that maybe it’s not so good to come up with any ideas. Maybe it’s better to just run adrift and wait for the body to react. 

Not quite.

It’s important to still have ideas. You need something to work towards. It’s more so that you should also be aware of the ideas that present themselves to you along the way. Be in tune with your body and how it reacts to the new potentials that you were not able to think of with just your brain alone.

With practice, you will be able to merge both mind and body, and hopefully, if practiced long enough and consistent enough. Your work, your best work can be conjured up from your being. Not just your mind. Not just your body. But your whole being in unison.

My best work. 

by Jason Lam

IMAGES THAT THINK

I never want my photos to be just about technical perfection.

I once flipped through a book about Rembrandt’s paintings and the author wrote about how his portraits go beyond just the famed “Rembrandt lighting” that we all know so well.

Rembrandt’s portraits are beautiful, but it’s not just because of the lighting. They’re beautiful because you can feel the subjects thinking. His photos have a spirit of their own that transcends technique.

Despite the 2-dimensional construct, you can feel a human presence beating through the canvas.

Rembrandt didn’t just create beautiful images, he created beautiful images that think.

That's what I hope to capture as I dive deeper into my work.

by Jason Lam

I THINK I'M JUST LONELY

End of a chapter.

4 years and 500 photos later, it’s time to end my photo series: @ithinkimjustlonely.

It’s not that I’m no longer lonely. Or that I no longer feel feelings of emptiness at times. But I feel it’s time to move on.

I created this series during a time of struggle. It was during a time when I felt all wasn’t going right. I couldn’t land a secure job. All my attempts at becoming a photographer seemed to fail. I didn’t feel supported by my family. I didn’t feel understood by my peers.

Still, I didn’t know that loneliness had become a real problem in my life until I took a real look at the photos that I was taking on my 35mm point and shoot camera. It was an Olympus Stylus Epic given to me by my colleague, which was given to him by his grandmother. I often used this camera for personal work. My non-professional stuff. So naturally, I didn’t think as much when taking these photos, I just captured what I captured.

As I began diving deeper into what was wrong with me, I also began compiling more of these photos. These pictures were telling me something. They were deeper looks into parts of myself that even I, myself, was too afraid to acknowledge. Until, one day, I thought to myself, I think I’m just lonely.

Which made sense, to be quite honest. I really was lonely. Unfortunately, I didn’t really know who to turn to. In many ways, I felt ashamed. And I guess, in a way, I was in denial.

Why? After all, should someone like me feel so damn sorry for himself? Suck it up! Deal with it! I’d think to myself. And I tried. But loneliness is not something you can just ignore. No matter how many different ways I tried to distract myself, the feeling of emptiness always remained. It eats you up from the inside out. Affecting any and all things in your life. So much to the point where you can’t even enjoy your food, and you don’t even want to hang out with your friends. You just feel like doing absolutely nothing.

I thought the only way to alleviate the pain would be to face it forthrightly.

So I named the series @ithinkimjustlonely.

At first thought, many people questioned me. What the hell? They’d say. Many people wondered why I’d choose a name like that. Others laughed as if it was a joke. But I stuck to it because I felt like at this point, there was no other way to move forth but to admit to the reality of the situation.

Even though I felt self-conscious about it for the first few years, I began to realize the benefits of having this series. To me, it almost felt like a container. A designated place where you could go to come to terms with your emotions. After all, we have wastebaskets for our garbage, we have gyms where we can go and work out, we even have night clubs for people to go and party. But where do we go when we feel sad? For me, this series became that place that I could run to.

As I continued, I started to recognize that perhaps beyond its benefits for me, it could stand for something more. On the rare occasions where I could have deeper talks with my friends, I noticed that they, too, suffered from loneliness, anxiety, even depression. So this series began to symbolize not just my inner struggles with loneliness, but as an entire project dedicated to exploring these oft never talked about feelings, but nevertheless real, and hopefully, to make others feel like they are a little less alone as well.

So I continued.

Now, I’ve gotten to the point where I feel I must move on. As artists, we create things often because there is something we have to say, or there are feelings that we must put somewhere. In many ways, art is therapy. In my case, photography became my therapy. It gave me an outlet. It forced me to look at the reality of my situation and to come to terms with it all. I needed this project to exist. It has helped me move forward in life regardless of the pain that I feel.

The reason I feel it’s time to move on is because even though I still struggle with feelings of loneliness, I’ve also grown so much throughout the years. I’ve become a different person. I’ve also learned different ways of coping with my darker emotions. And so, if I am to continue working on this series, in a way, I’d be holding myself back. Because to continue this series, would be to continue identifying with these feelings. As much as the series has helped me when I first began, it almost feels like a weight holding me back at this point. I’m thankful for its existence. I’m grateful for all it has done for me. Though, I must move on if I am to continue growing into the man that I was meant to be. And that means having the courage to let go.

So this is the end. I hope that by being a part of this series, you were able to gain something from it as well. I hope it made you feel less alone. I hope you feel less ashamed of your darker emotions. And I hope it helped you get out of bed and move through another day.

It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to feel lonely at times. It’s also okay to open up. It’s okay to let yourself feel those emotions. It’s also okay to let others in on the pain you are feeling. You are never truly alone.

I don’t know what the future brings. But I know that it’s just time to let go.

So, I guess this is goodbye, for now.

by Jason Lam

COMMIT

If you’re going to be in it. Be in it for life. Don’t underestimate the power of time. And don’t underestimate the power of doing as little as one project per year. I didn’t realize how much of a rush I was in when I first started. So desperate to make a name for myself in my twenties, I rushed passed all my projects as if it was a matter of life or death - but I was on the short end of the stick. Never doing as good of a job as I could. Jumping from one thing to another. Now I’m 30 and I’m just learning the power of patience. Of getting only a handful of great photos in a year. But knowing that they are exactly the handful that I need.

Commit.

by Jason Lam

CREATIVE LEFTOVERS

There’s a really weird thing that happens within the creative process.

There’s what you make.

And then there’s everything you leave out.

Lately, I’ve come to realize the things that I leave out can actually be quite good.

But how?

After all, I leave them out because they’re bad, otherwise I would’ve left them in.

So how could leftovers be good?

One answer:

They’re honest

The scraps are thrown out with brute force. They're not gently placed into the trash bin. They're carelessly flung over our shoulders. Out of sight, out of mind.

But when it comes to the things that we keep — the so called "good stuff". We treat it gently, careful not to dabble too much at the risk of messing everything up. I guess, most times, that approach could render work that is quite good, but not great.

Because when we’re too afraid of making mistakes, we don’t take any risks, but taking risks and flirting with the edge of disaster is where great art resides.

So, leftovers.

The scraps.

The stuff you thought you didn’t want.

I’m starting to realize, despite the ingredients being far from perfect, I like the spirit.

The rawness.

The no fucks given.

I’ve been looking into my trash bin, taking things out and seeing what I could do with the bits and pieces. Hence, all the short 1-minute videos. I like what I’ve been coming up with. It doesn’t enable me to lie. It forces me to be honest. And I like being honest.

Maybe next time you finish your work, you can also take a look back into your trash bin and see what could be revived in a manner that is more true to the most authentic parts of yourself.

Dig deeper.

by Jason Lam

10 CREATIVE ART + PHOTOGRAPHY PROMPTS

Sometimes it’s hard to come up with your next photography project idea, so here are some prompts I’ve come up with that could help you:

1. What makes you angry? Anger isn’t the most pleasant feeling, but sometimes, that anger can be used as fuel for your creativity. What upsets you? What do you feel very strongly about? Address that issue. Dissect it. Offer solutions and your perspective on the matter through your work.

2. What do you feel is underrepresented? As a photographer, you are also the highlighter. You put a spotlight on things that others might overlook. So what are some things that you think deserve a voice but have gone unnoticed for far too long?

3. Look back into your childhood. I know, this might sound cliche, but stories from our past are always rich and textured in ways that looking outward lacks. Dig deep. Look through old photos. Have conversations and revisit old stories from your childhood. I’m sure you’d be able to come up with something fun from there.

4. Choose a lens, any lens. Sometimes I like to shoot a project with only a prime lens. Some might think it’s boring, but I like the consistency and I like how the lack of options can also provide direction and give you a place to go. Sometimes, when you’re stuck and you have no idea what to do, just choosing to go with, say a 35mm lens could be enough.

5. Choose a color, or no color. Do a series in all color, or not. Like the tip above, purposely limiting yourself can be a great way to stimulate your imagination.

6. Remix old work. Sometimes you don’t necessarily need to create new content. Sometimes you can just revisit existing content you’ve made throughout your career as an artist and just repurpose it. Who knows, maybe you can combine your photos and video, or even mix in some sound. New work doesn’t always have to be “new”.

7. Collaborate with a friend. This is always fun. No, it doesn’t have to be epic, what’s wrong with a casual weekend art gathering? I sometimes don’t let myself collaborate with others because I want everything to be too amazing. But hey, sometimes a simple get together and throwing some ink on paper is all you need to get your creative juices flowing again. Plus, it’s a good excuse to see your friends =)

8. Do something totally different. That’s right, don’t try to make “art” at all. Learn a new skill. Take an acting class. Decide to spend an afternoon learning about cars or making beats! Sometimes being creative is hard to do when all you're trying to do is be creative. Give yourself a break and do something totally out of the ordinary. I’ve come to find that the lateral shifts often help inform my work by providing a different lens to look at the world. It can be quite nice.

9. Change up the scenery. Sometimes it’s our surroundings that get us into a ditch. Sure, I like consistency, and I like sticking to a schedule, but sometimes all it takes is to just go to a different cafe for once or maybe sit at a different part of the house. Maybe go a different route to work to spark things up once again. The change might not be monumental, but it might just be the little nudge you need to spark a new flame.

10. Do nothing. I know, it seems like my advice is getting more and more lazy, but there’s a method to my madness. I’ve gotten tired and jaded before. Sometimes, all you need is to take a break. Relax. Do nothing. You might come to find that your greatest ideas will sometimes end up finding you. It’s weird. The creative flame is almost like a cat. Try too hard getting its attention and it ignores you, but leave it alone and then it comes to find you.

Anyways, hope those tips are of use to you. Until next time.

by Jason Lam

EXPOSE YOURSELF

Art can reveal parts of yourself that you yourself don't even know exists. Sure, it can express joy, but most often, we find that it expresses pain. Mainly because it’s often quite difficult to find a safe space to express our struggles without being ridiculed for being weak. So, art, because if you can’t tell so immediately that I am crying, I might have a fighting chance at getting you to actually listen. Dig deep enough into any famous song, movie, or dance, and you will find that there is always a constant element of sadness or longing, or of a void that needs to be filled.

If we do not express ourselves, we are not free. We become trapped by our own silence. If we try to hide or run away, we are only cheating ourselves. Often, we may not even know what is bothering us until we allow ourselves the freedom to just run wild and free and create without inhibition.

I've sort of been surprising myself with the types of photos I've been taking the past couple of years. You probably guessed that I'm talking about @ithinkimjustlonely. I can't help but notice the benefits of allowing myself to express that side of me. It’s like having a container to put all my darkness. I don't run away. I don't hide. Instead, I acknowledge the darkness and give it the respect it deserves. And by doing so I am not trapped by it. I am not paralyzed. Instead, I can harness the darkness to be used for good. Like right now, to spark conversations about the benefits of art, or the ever-increasing problems of loneliness, depression, and anxiety in our world today.

Please don't think I'm bragging. And no this is not an attempt to get likes and followers. It’s my attempt at sharing an idea that’s been very beneficial to me, and I hope it can help you too. Keep creating and allow yourself to be free.

by Jason Lam

PORTRAITURE

There was always a big part of me that absolutely adored portraiture. In my eyes, the tallest order of what defines you as a great photographer is your ability to take a great portrait. After all, if you take a great portrait, you can look at it for the rest of your life. A great portrait is not just a symbol of who you are, but a nod to who you were, and an acknowledgment of who you intend to be. It’s the past, present, and future all compacted into one two-dimensional frame. 

And then, there’s me.

In the beginning, I often tried to take photos without putting too much of me in it. I was a big fan of documentary photography and I always found it quite peculiar how one can capture great photos while being a “fly on the wall”. However, after creating my own documentary projects, I found out that being a fly on the wall is a myth. There’s no way you can be a fly on the wall because you are physically there in the same space as your subjects and your mere presence changes the way they behave.

So then, what’s the role of the photographer?

Much more than just taking the photo, that’s for sure.

The photographer is equal parts magician, chef, therapist, a loving parent, coach, and so much more. But I think the most important role of the photographer is of acceptance and encouragement. As a photographer, you must welcome your subject into your frame with open arms, as they are. Furthermore, you must encourage them to be not just who they are, but who they intend to be. The photographer, in a way, is a sort of archaeologist, digging into the essence of who you are and what you represent in order to capture the raw essence of you. 

And then there’s me, again, the inescapable me that just has to be in the photo.

But the question is, how exactly am I inserting myself in there?

And the answer: I insert myself in the photos with my values and what I believe to be not just a good portrait, but a good life. 

I aim to take photos of people that are raw, honest, but most importantly, empowering. For you to feel confident for who you are at that very moment. For you to feel safe. For you to feel that wherever you are in your life, that’s exactly where you need to be. Wherever you want to go, you have it in you to get you there. I aim to take photos that speak to the most authentic parts of you, as I believe we live our happiest most fulfilling lives when we are able to not just truly express ourselves, but to be witnessed and accepted for everything that we are, and everything we will become.

by Jason Lam

MARIE KONDO YOUR PORTFOLIO

Sometimes you just need to let go. Sure. You may have spent countless hours on a project way back when. But that work may not represent who you are anymore. If anything, it might just be serving to hold you back.

Did you know? If snakes fail to shed their skin, they die.

And sure, perhaps that’s a little too dramatic but the concept is still the same.

If you fail to let go of old work you never get to grow into the greater version of who you are meant to be. Instead, you hang on for dear life. Clinging to your old work in the hopes that it will get you where you want to go. When in reality, you need to be a little more like Marie Kondo.

Acknowledge the work for what’s it’s done for you in your life, both personally and professionally. Acknowledge the fact that since the work has already served its purpose, it’s ok to let go. By letting go, you create space, and with that new space, you finally give yourself the opportunity to become who you were always meant to become.

A badass muthafuckin artist.

by Jason Lam

TRUST YOUR EYES

You don’t have to understand why. You don’t have to understand how. All you need to know is that whatever it is you’re looking at moved you, so take the photo. Trust your intuition. Believe that what you feel is right and taking the photo is exactly what you need to do. Stop looking elsewhere for affirmation. Stop thinking that somebody else has a better idea. You’re it. There’s nowhere to hide. Take the photo that you know is true to who you are. Nobody can do this for you but yourself.

by Jason Lam

YOUR FRIENDS DON'T HAVE TO LIKE YOUR WORK

It's a tough fact to face but I think it's important to accept the fact that there will be large amounts of people in his world that won't like the work you make.

And no, your friends don't have to like your work either.

It's hard and it might even make you want to quit. Especially because we've all had memories of everyone absolutely loving our random childhood scribbles as if we created the Mona Lisa.

I went to an art school for one year and basically, all we'd do is post our work on the wall and have people criticize it for the entire day. Imagine doing that for a year straight. Needless to say, I was very tired by the end of it and didn't feel like I had it in me to do it any longer.

But it's ok if people dislike your work. You might even find that you might even dislike your own work.

I don't think that should be any reason to quit.

Sometimes I think it's a good way of hearing truths that you need to hear.

Other times I think it's a good opportunity to defend your work and continue having faith in your integrity as an artist despite the opposition.

It's tough, even for me to know that I can't make everyone happy, but I've been slowly learning that its ok.

Sometimes it feels lonely.

But that's also what makes it exciting.

Keep creating.

by Jason Lam

ALLOW YOURSELF TO FORGET

One thing I’ve been working hard on is to try and forget everything I’ve learned in dance, in photography, in writing… I think I might have been too good of a student, taken too many classes and took my teachers too seriously. Because what usually ended up happening in all aspects of my “serious” learning was a really robotic cut out of technically correct moves, but lacking of any authenticity. 

I haven’t really been dancing for the past 5 years. I’ve still been taking photos but I really haven’t been as active as before. I also haven’t been writing as much. I got bored. It wasn’t really that fun anymore. I think it's partly because it felt inauthentic. Like each time I got to work, I wasn’t being myself. I was just being an idea of what I thought I should be. 

So, lately, I’ve been trying my hand at these things again. But this time just kinda going for it and seeing what comes out. It hasn’t been looking very pretty. Honestly, everything looks kind of weird. But it’s been quite fun to create without constantly comparing yourself with “the greats,” without searching for “how to” videos on YouTube, and without critiquing your work before you’ve given yourself a chance to grow. I love learning, but I put equal emphasis on the importance of unlearning.

by Jason Lam

THE SEARCH FOR EXCUSES!

On the journey to living the life we want, there is always this abyss we must overcome. I call it the bottomless pit of excuses. Nobody escapes. Everybody falls in when they begin their journey. 

I actually find it quite peculiar how it shows up in my life. Every time I’m about to go out and shoot a video or reach out for collaborations, I fall into the bottomless pit. 

My brain goes on autopilot and takes me on this epic journey through the pit of excuses starring: “Omg, I need to wait for my laundry to finish!” + “It’s too late, the sun will set by the time I start recording and it will be too dark” + “I don’t have enough hard drive space for all the new footage anyways”. All of which have quick and easy solutions, so it’s really quite trivial.

But my body loves it. It craves excuses like how I used to crave soda and candy. I just can’t get enough! Well, I’m about 10 years deep into pursuing my curiosities so I’m a bit more experienced. Now I am aware of the bottomless pit. It doesn’t catch me off guard (as often), and I’ve figured out many more ways around it. But the first step is knowing it’s there, that it’s an epic journey we like to go on, and that as good as the excuses feel, it’s not good for you.

by Jason Lam

A LITTLE CREATIVE TIP

Sometimes it helps to make things when you’re tired. I learned this from my dance experience when I was living in New York. Often times, I felt my dancing was best at the very end of the night when most people have already left the club. Why? Because I’m too tired to think and try to come up with clever tricks and moves. I can only do what is truly in my heart and soul, what truly wants come out of my body. No gimmicks. I’ve noticed this is true of my writing. And this is also true of my photography. It’s almost as if you have to jump through all the hoops trying to impress the crowd before you can really tap into the deepest, purest, most honest form of your artistry.

I guess the idea is that your true self can only ever present itself when you’re too tired to be like anyone else.

by Jason Lam