India: A Lesson in Humility

Allowing opportunity

I knew my time at Sakura Bloom as their in-house photographer was going to be special from the get-go. First of all, here was a company that actually saw value in what a photographer can bring to a team. Not many companies follow this lead until they are much larger. Even then, the norm seems to gravitate to hiring us on a need-to basis.

From large seasonal campaigns, how-to videos, or simple little behind the scenes videos, keeping me in the fold 5 days a week (ok sometimes 7), provided Sakura Bloom with a dedicated photographer, videographer, Instagram storyteller, etc. Even though I had no children at the time, I thought about baby carriers 24/7. I was obsessed with ethical and transparent production as much as they were.

Within one year, it felt my dedication and ambition paid off. Lynne and her family invited me to to document a textile sourcing trip to four different cities in India.

Fast forward past immunizations, lost reservations, and massive language barriers, I met up with the Banach family in Jaipur to start our quest.

Setting expectations

It wasn’t lost on us that we were entering a whole new world where this lesson in textile education was going to be tricky to document. Customs and language barriers aside, there were two major concerns we always had on our minds: 1) How not to glamorize the hard work of the weavers, and 2) Don’t reveal your sources. Not glamorizing was simple if I only shot what I saw, but not revealing where we were was tough.

If I may digress for a moment, the amount of imitators in the baby carrier industry was a level 10 stress for us many days of the week. A version of almost every campaign I shot showed up on a competitor’s feed within weeks. Whole concepts were stolen and lazily covered up, or in some cases, copy was taken verbatim. I feel the freedom to discuss this now, not being with Sakura Bloom anymore, but I urge every consumer to thoroughly research the brands they buy from. Because, at the heart of this one, was a compassionate, brilliant woman, who was and is trying to provide a life for her family. Anyone who steals from that sacred space can frankly GTFOutta here.

But India! Here we are with the help of family friend Dinesh. His guidance leads us around the impossible to navigate streets where like the films promise, elephants and camels saunter alongside your tiny auto (think Tuk Tuks). Cars and motorbikes zip past you in no apparent fashion. But harmony (and horns) find a middle ground where this chaos transforms into order. There is enough beauty and color and delicacy to fill a 9000 page novel, but there are equal parts soot, literally. Wondering out loud what all the fires were about that surrounded our commute, I was met with a light hearted chuckle from Dinesh, “garbage day!”

Understanding origins

Everything comes into focus when we meet the weavers. Before working at Sakura Bloom, I gave zero percent of my thought process to where my clothing came from. One of their most well known baby carriers is made from dupioni silk, which comes from the mulberry trees of India. Little silkworms shed their magical cocoons which are then collected and spun to form one of the most incredible textiles on this planet. Don’t get me started on bamboo and khadi. All sustainable, and all natural. My new goal in life is to have a wardrobe only made from natural fibers.

Skills that save

Then there’s the artistry behind the weaving process. Over the course of my time with Sakura Bloom I’ve had the chance to work with and meet so many talented weavers. A special kind of soul that honors tradition, art, and patience. I believe that in this world of climate uncertainty, it will be the weavers, gardeners, and other earthly cultivators that will find solutions for our dying planet. The traditional will become the progressive, mark my words.

If I’m being honest

There were many times I felt in over my head with this project. Would I be able to capture this authentically? Would I do this country justice? Would we even educate our customers like we had hoped? Will we piss anyone off? (note: we always pissed people off) Will I miss any important moments?

I’m not going to lie to you, dear reader. As much as I’ve been told to secretly sell my talents in my blogs, I also know nobody wants to hire a self-touting jackass either. You know the one who talks about gear all day long or shows you their portfolio after five minutes of being introduced to you? Instead I want to reclaim the “portfolio blog” as a place where you can see who I am with all my questions in tow.

The fruits of collective labor

Fast forward again to a few months after our trip, once the precious textiles arrived at our workshop in Oceanside, CA. Now it was our turn to craft. We hand cut and sewed each piece into a cozy little baby carrier for parents around the world. I’m not too sure of the exact number of people who have a baby carrier from the Seek Collection, but I hope that with their purchase, they received more than just a tiny human tool belt.

The industry is far from perfect, but I know we’re inching closer. I hope that those who have bought from Sakura Bloom feel educated on the textiles they purchased. Ideally this hunger for understanding the origins of consumable goods pours over into everything they buy. It was my pleasure to provide the imagery to help aid that journey.

Getting to Know Coco

Preferred method of chair: hammock.

Selling myself IS WEIRD

I could spend all day plugging in photos and re-tweaking my portfolio, but the second I get to the “About” page, I freeze. What do you really want to know about me or my past that would make you hire me as your photographer/videographer/copywriter/etc? Is my University experience really that necessary? If it is, I should let you my four years in fine art were some of the last of the darkroom era. Meaning - I had maybe 3 months in front of a digital lab.

Approximately the same amount of laughter that erupted from my face after learning that the real world didn’t much care to spend money on film photographers.

Educating myself

It’s true, I graduated from Bishop’s University with approximately less than one year of digital experience. (Am I hired yet?!) I could walk around a darkroom with my eyes closed but excuse me, how did you get your aperture to follow your subject automatically? My options for photo delivery were negatives, negative scans on a CD, or a print. What do you mean “what is a CD?”

Thanks be to the internet trinity of Hurley, Karim and Chen to provide me with Youtube.com, aka my post-grad program that I greedily consumed every night after work. Now a student of digital photography, I was able to learn exactly what I needed to know on the spot. Often times, quite literally. 8 times out of 10 out on a gig, I’d get questions about gear and flash functions I’d Google after bullshitting my way out of the conversation.

Still figuring out how a digital flash works, at a Sandman Viper Command show in Toronto, 2010. Hilarious side note, I am photographed for a street style piece where my tights-under-shorts look finally gets validation.

Shut the F*** up and let me do my job

This constant on-the-spot quizzing might have happened in any field I started in, but I had to choose the music industry where the photo pit ran rampant with older, not-so-gentle men, ready to smirk at every blank look you’re forced to give after they ask you 100 questions about your gear. Sure I’ve seen a couple point and shoot cameras in the pit and thought, “um can you please try harder?” but my judgement is always followed with - you’re at the foot of this stage because you love music and art, and showing up with a cheap camera also proves you have some balls. I change my mind and think, right on. Plus half of these photographers are all going to produce the same version of the same photo, so you might be onto something here, dear punk rock minimalist.

Over the years, my work (and digital know-how) improved. I (literally) stepped over the other seniors in the pit and moved on to shoot bigger bands and better festivals. Sure I showed up to shoot Neil Young, Arcade Fire and Shania Twain with a teeny portrait lens while my fellow paparazzi neighbor laughed and said my photos would get me fired (They didn’t and jokes on you I snuck in here for the free food). But all this constant proving myself gave me two upper hands that gear heads didn’t possess, that ability to say, “Oh shit, I didn’t know that!” And the second: I was never the lone wolf. I reminded myself that being jealous of other people’s success leads nowhere. I worked best with other creators too, not only photographers. In surrounding myself with talented movers and shakers, I went on to be in some pretty incredible company.

Me and Camille Byrne: Babes Boardroom co-founder, Cambie Design owner.

In summary

My lack of confidence dissipated, because after years on my own, supporting myself entirely with my camera was proof that I had skin in the game. But I’ll never forget that scared kid, trying to get gigs straight out of school.

Some tell me an About page isn’t really needed at all, and if it isn’t this journal entry is absolutely over the top. But if I wrote it right, it will expose me to the brands out there who need a fresh look and want to work with someone who doesn’t take themselves too seriously. (Exception to rule: Deadlines, contracts, not being late. Always take yourself seriously in these categories)

Having one leg pedal away from my art-world institution, I felt determined to travel deeper into what it means to be a good photographer. It wasn’t until the other foot was in the real world that my journey became balanced and came into focus. Now I can glide with ease through projects of any size and guarantee you you’re going to have a lot of fun too.

Gnome hunting in Bergen, Norway.

Was that bicycle metaphor too much? I told you, selling myself is weird. Let’s just work together already…