The Weekly Download - Issue 6
Accessibility and Creativity
Hey Film Fam!
Welcome to another sneak peek into what I’m doing in my little film gremlin corner of the world!
I’ve been resting up and thank you to all of you who checked in on me and sent me well wishes, I really appreciate it! I’m slowly but surely on the mend and will find out again later this week how it’s all progressing.
So, before I waffle on in the intro - let's dive into our weekly creative hangout! Grab your favourite drink (Anything but ‘detox’ drinks please, ew!), settle in, and let's get cracking with it!
This Week in My World:
Once again I’m questioning whether or not it’s safe for me to be open and vocal about Disability Accessibility.
Over the last day or so I’ve had some really engaging conversations about true inclusivity in the photography community and I provided a bunch of free and reliable resources for people who are getting started in understanding how they can be better allies.
I’ve had such wonderful messages and hopeful discussions with brand representatives from some of the big names who are actively willing to engage and work together to figure out how to make future photo walks, events, and workshops more accessible - as most are currently not meeting the Government’s baseline for legal inclusivity. I passed on knowledge and resources and felt for the first time in a while like maybe there’s a chance for change here.
And then of course I had to deal with a few bad eggs… Threads can be a great place to have these longer form conversations but it opens you up to people offering unwanted criticism. Each time I have tried to share my experience as a disabled woman, a man decides my voice is much too loud and tries to silence or tone police me. My character is often called into question and I’m painted as hysterical or ‘crazy’.
It’s even more frustrating when a fellow disabled person tries to use their own internalized ableism to shame me, or to place blame on other disabled people rather than actively engaging in the conversation in a constructive way. Even if you politely disagree, they turn to bully/troll tactics and there’s nothing else to do but block them. It’s disappointing to see grown ass men acting like salty children and try to derail such an important conversation - and to use disability in a way that undoes the hard work I’m trying to do to benefit so many… Ugh!
I’m not afraid of confrontation, and I’ve dealt with ableism my entire life. But I also deserve to create a safe and sacred space for myself, even online. So this week I’m learning when to speak up, when to keep it to myself - and more importantly, when to make an example of people and call them out, or simply block and move on like they didn’t exist.
I’ve sadly also learned which people in my immediate community have casually exposed themselves to be no longer trustworthy, and ooooft. It’s actually a surprise.
I plan to dive deeper into this topic of Disability and Accessibility in a full length Substack Newsletter in the near future - because it’s important for not just the photography community I’m in, but for the greater creative spaces involved too.Â
As you can imagine as well there haven’t been any Weekly Adventures as I’ve been resting, so let’s skip ahead a bit shall we?
Creative Updates
Journaling and Reading
I’ve had a lot of resistance this last week with my journaling practice. I’ve missed a few days, and had a few really emotionally charged ones which I feel like is what made it so difficult to want to write or spend some quiet time alone with myself.
I keep reminding myself that this is part of the ‘growing pains’ of the process and the more I keep up with it the easier it’ll get over time and become a habit I truly enjoy again. I’m still figuring out how it all fits into my life and trying to dedicate proper time instead of stealing moments here and there and rushing it or skipping it entirely.
I’ve started reading Outlander alongside rewatching the TV series and I actually find it really fun to dip back and forth between the two! I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I’m enjoying the book as well.
Truly a case of overthinking how ‘hard’ something will be to start, but realizing how easy and fun it is once you get going.
Saving Minoltas
Look, the universe aligned the stars just right and cameras are flying at me right now for some reason. It’s the one ridiculously lucky thing that continues tp happen to me.Â
Jordan’s Dad had a gorgeous Minolta Maxxum 7000 which he thought died entirely, so almost 2 years ago now I tracked down and purchased a working body. Now that I feel more confident with my repair skills, Jordan gave me the original one to tinker with and I’m pleased to say I got it working again!
I then went searching for a cheap lens, and it was cheaper to get a whole body + lens setup for $40 which I thought was brilliant, I could use the body as spare parts… turns out the camera works fine. So now we have 3 copies of the same camera. Oops!
Film Editing and Experiments
Cracking on with editing as always and finally catching up so I have finally felt my stress levels start to taper off. Feels SO good to feel that pressure lifting slowly but surely.
I have 8 rolls of film left to scan, and then I have about 6-8 more casual and personal rolls to develop before the end of year.
I've definitely hit over 110 rolls of film shot this year alone which is insane… I’m aiming to be a lot more selective with the jobs I take on next year and how much film I use, and am adding in a little bit of Digital work where I can.
And yes! I’ll be sharing some goodies in substacks for film very soon. I know some of you have missed my storytelling + photo newsletters.
I recently loaded up a Ricoh P&S that I’m testing out as it has a ‘panoramic’ mode and I’m curious to see what those results will look like! Although I made a small error. It only reads 100 or 400 ISO film, and loaded Fomapan 200 into it instead.
Doom Scroll Who? Don’t Know Her…
My phone has indeed been bullying me into being more productive and it’s slowly working!
I’ve started reading more books and being more present in everyday life. I don’t feel a huge urge to flick through reels or watch memes when I’m feeling crappy, although every now and then I slide back into it.
I haven’t touched TikTok at all, which is nice!
It’s still early days but I’m feeling good about reducing my Screen Time. Although because I use maps and Spotify a lot, it does still have my view time up pretty high overall.
But dropping from 12-14+hrs down to 6hrs already is HUGE and I’ve had days where it hasn’t gone over 3hrs… I can feel the difference already. My brain feels way less stuffy and fuzzy.
Still trying to fix my fucked sleep schedule though.
Behind the Scenes + Sneak Peeks!
Unmarked Vol III
I’ve just started working on Unmarked and I’m really pleased with how the film has turned out so far!
I shot 7 rolls of film, one of them being experimental Black and White which did not turn out, so I’ll share one of my ‘trashed’ shots here - also to prove that I’m not always perfect and not everything I shoot is a banger, lol.
My flash that I used was a dinky little early 80’s flash and meant for a 50mm lens and 1.5m distance. I had a 28mm lens and was much further away. So it just wasn’t powerful enough for this. I’m lucky anything turned out at all honestly.
The colour film with flash worked out slightly better I feel! It’s definitely got a bit of a ‘90’s disposable’ vibe to it which I know the car scene fucking loooooves so I think I’ll get away with some creative crops for these.
And of course my full frame and half frame shots turned out as well as I could hope for. The lighting conditions were designed more for the videographers and digital photographers, and next time I’d bring either a beefier flash, or a stronger portable light to assist and make sure more of the shots land.
Overall though, I’m excited to see where I can take these photos and to reveal the end result soon enough!
I still have another 100+ hours of work ahead which will take up to 2 weeks, so I ask for patience as always and appreciate when you trust my process.
And I’ll have other film shoots going out soon too, like Adrian’s Ford Ranger ‘Fiora’ and the reveal of the new car that replaced her… So keep your eyes out for that!
What I'm Exploring + Weekly Recommendations
Sometimes ya just gotta cry it out
No, seriously. Sometimes that icky feeling that just won’t go away is unreleased emotions and having a good cry or an angry vent is what you need to get it out of your system.
I’m a sucker for sad songs, or for super cute romantic movies that start the tearing up process, and then from there - tuck yourself into bed with a box of tissues and a soft blanket and just let it out babe.Â
Trust me, you’ll feel groggy after but also so much lighter!
Body Doubling
I’ve started re-joining some of my Varuna Alumni on what we call ‘Shut Up And Write’ sessions where the cohort comes together to just spend two hours working on whatever you need to get done.
For example - I’m editing this while hanging out with Danni who is working on her memoir/essay, and we check in every 30 minutes to have a little chit chat break which helps keep energy and momentum going.
I find it to be super helpful for holding me accountable and making sure I’m on track with whatever task I should be doing or potentially put off for the last week.
We even had such a good in depth conversation about our writing processes, how to give ourselves a bit of grace when reviewing old work, taking space and time to really let what we’ve worked on sink in, and how to protect our sacred practices online… so many good insights!
Community Engagement
I cheekily popped up some stories earlier last week where I jokingly said if people didn’t respond to the polls, I’d inbox them for creeping.Â
Well it wasn’t a joke and I ended up having some really cool conversations with people who normally wouldn’t have reached out. A lot - much like myself - deal with social anxiety and didn’t know if it was ‘okay’ to engage. And I got a chance to reassure them that they can always chat to me.
Sometimes people just need permission or a little nudge!
And as I mentioned today, I’ve had some great discussions about Disability Accessibility in the DMs and on Threads which is lovely for the most part.
It always feels really nice to be able to connect more one on one with you, so I hope to do so more often - and I invite you to take a leap of faith and join the convo too!
Questions of the Week
Do you find yourself more or less productive when you’ve got more space to ‘breathe’ with your work?
What’s one task you’ve been avoiding this week, and what can you do to tackle it?
If I was a squiggly worm, and you were a strawberry plant - would you let me eat the grubby dirt around you? (This is mostly just to see who's paying attention to these, lol!)
Share your thoughts in the comments, or send me a message, and let's have a chat! :)
Josie’s Weekly Words of Wisdom…
Sometimes the best thing you can do is to leave people to be miserable on their own terms.
That might sound really fucking harsh, but if someone has decided they have a problem with you speaking your mind, sharing your experience, or just simply existing and being the cool person you are - that’s truly not your problem.
People will always view you in a way that reflects their own pride, or their own insecurities. Friends will adore you and cheer you on and understand you truly. While people who see you as an enemy or competition, will view you through a lens of lack. They’ll try to tear down your character, silence your voice, and make you question your own loyalty to your authenticity.
You don’t need to listen to that noise. You can shut them out. You don’t have to be ‘nice’ to them, or agreeable.
They’re the one’s giving away their own power by creating an entire narrative around how you somehow hurt them, simply by being yourself.
Let them marinate in their misery.
You have better things to do and your time is precious. So forget about them - literally. Remove them, move forward.
We got better shit to do babe!
Thanks for tuning in!
As always, don't forget to check out my Instagram for more frequent updates, behind-the-scenes content, and video versions of these weekly check-ins!
Thank you for being part of this journey! I appreciate your support and your willingness to connect with me this week, and have our cute little catch up.
Please leave a comment, shoot me a DM, or have a chat over on Threads or Insta with me.
Till the next one,
Take care!
xoxo, Josie
