1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,080 Welcome back to another episode of the Nick Amp Podcast. It's episode 26. Thank you guys again 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:10,880 for tuning in. I can't wait to share this episode with you. This is a very special one to me. 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:17,680 I had one of my friends on Arturo Carrillo. He's a photographer based out of Dallas, Texas, but he's 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:23,600 not just a photographer. He's a low light photographer. He specializes in low light. 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:29,840 He runs a community-based business. It's called The Art Factory. They host workshops 6 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:34,400 and they teach people how to do low light photography. It's one of the most coolest 7 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,080 things I've ever seen. I met up with him last month in Yosemite. He showed me a couple tips 8 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:43,760 and tricks about low light photography. I can't wait to share with you our conversation. We talked 9 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:50,000 about a lot of things from photography, creativity, finding your voice, connecting with real people, 10 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:57,680 and taking relationships offline, and being able to share your voice out and to build confidence 11 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:03,600 in who you are as a person to be able to put out your art because your art matters. 12 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,680 The best way you can support this podcast is completely free. Hit that subscribe button on 13 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:12,080 YouTube if that's what you're watching and share it with a friend if you found this video helpful. 14 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,480 If you're listening to us on Spotify, Apple Music, any of those streaming platforms, 15 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:22,000 the best thing you can do to support us there is to leave up to a five-star review if you enjoyed it. 16 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:27,360 And if you have any questions or want me to have someone on specifically, leave it in the comments. 17 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,680 I read all the comments below. Now that we got that all out of the way, let's cut to the episode 18 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,640 where I'm chatting with Arturo Carrillo. Let's get to it. 19 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:40,320 All right, here we are, episode 26 with my good friend Arturo. 20 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:45,360 We actually just hung out about a month ago now. Arturo, thanks for being on, brother. 21 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:50,640 Thank you, man. It's a pleasure being on here and being able to talk and seeing you again 22 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:55,280 after seeing each other in LA for the first time. Or Kelly, should I say. 23 00:01:55,280 --> 00:02:02,080 Heck yeah, man. So I mean, you're a Texas guy right off the bat. You're from Vegas originally 24 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:07,280 in Texas now. What was it like being back on the West Coast after some time away? 25 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:16,080 Honestly, it felt like a fresher breath of air seeing what I called home. I mean, it's still 26 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:25,840 home to me and it always will be. But going back now that I lived in Texas for about five, six years, 27 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:33,840 honestly, I fell back in love with the West Coast and I realized how much I took it for granted 28 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:40,640 and everything I was missing out on. And maybe that's just because of my perspective now as a 29 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:46,880 creative, being a photographer, videographer, you know, we see things differently. We see things 30 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:54,240 through a camera lens a lot of times and being able to take that perspective back home with all 31 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,800 my experience that I have now, it's like I just want to move back now because there's so much I 32 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:05,600 want to do out there. The West Coast is amazing, has all these crazy scenes. And you talk about how 33 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:10,480 coming back with more experience of the West Coast makes you see things in a different perspective. 34 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:14,560 But let me ask you this, being back in Texas now after being out in the West Coast, 35 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:20,640 have you looked at where you live currently any differently after making another trip back from 36 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:27,680 the West Coast? Yes. Yeah. I think the more and more I have the chance to travel, 37 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:34,560 the more I come back to Texas just because now it's home. Every single time I come back, 38 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:44,880 I see it differently and I try and not take the day to day, I guess, space environment, the features, 39 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:55,280 the nature specifically in Texas for granted anymore. I think just traveling gives me that 40 00:03:55,280 --> 00:04:01,520 same fresh perspective that I got on the West Coast allows me to see that same perspective here 41 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:10,160 in Texas now. I see it every day, but a lot of people don't. So how can I showcase Texas the way 42 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:19,200 I see it with my creativity and allow other people to see it as well? So yeah, I think just 43 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:25,440 traveling in general has helped me not take stuff for granted when I'm back home, when I see things 44 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:31,040 every day, because it does get kind of repetitive in a way. So being able to step out of that and 45 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:38,000 put myself in a creative mindset or even a photographer or even someone considered a local 46 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:43,120 now, just seeing things and not taking it for granted anymore and knowing that there's 47 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:48,080 opportunities everywhere you go, even though it may not seem like it, especially since you consider 48 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:54,480 it home and you see it every day. So you make a good point there, showcasing Texas from your 49 00:04:54,480 --> 00:05:00,160 creative point of view and people who might not see it, people who may not understand its beauty, 50 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:06,880 or another set perspective, you see something every day, it becomes ordinary to you. My perspective, 51 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,520 I live in a cool area. I have all these cool mountains where people always travel across 52 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:16,560 the world to come see these spots. Imagine how I feel about these spots. Sometimes they seem 53 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:21,200 ordinary to me. So then you have to break out of that comfort zone, get your mind in the right area. 54 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:25,840 Okay, how can we showcase this with our own creative point of view? How can we showcase this 55 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:31,840 to make it in a different light? How can we make this look not ordinary? And you do a fantastic job 56 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:39,840 creating stories no matter wherever you're at. And I'm curious to know what is the creative scene 57 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:44,960 like now being there in Texas? What's it like in Texas, the creative scene? We know the creative 58 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:53,040 scene is in LA, all these other areas, but you have built a community in somewhere that, at least 59 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:59,680 from my eyes, I didn't realize that there was a place for that there. I mean, actually when I 60 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:05,200 first got to Texas, there was a few creative communities that I was trying to maybe get into, 61 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:13,120 but I just felt like I didn't fit in. And the longer I stayed here, the more I felt like I 62 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:18,880 just didn't fit in because I wasn't finding or the right people weren't coming into my life that 63 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:24,880 shared the same passion that I'd had. Yes, we do photography. Yes, we all do videography, but in 64 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:33,440 the sense of shooting the same style, having the same ideas. So I think the community was always 65 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:41,920 here. I just wasn't looking in the right places. And when I finally found the community, it was 66 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:47,200 like a web, like one person led to five people, those five people led to another five people 67 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:53,120 individually. So it's like a snowball effect. Once you find a creative, they introduce you to 68 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:57,360 another one. And then from there, you find someone else and then someone else. And I was like, 69 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:03,600 right, cool. I'm starting to find creatives and people I really connect with on and offline. 70 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:11,040 So how can I create a space where we can all come together instead of individually meeting, 71 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:15,760 maybe for coffee, maybe for a photo shoot. I was like, okay, cool. How do I bring this all together? 72 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:23,920 And still do what I love, which is low light photography. So, I mean, that's how the Art 73 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:29,600 Factory was born, being able to provide a space where people can test that, have fun with it, 74 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:36,240 kind of experiment and get people together. Because a lot of us show up online for each other. 75 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:43,040 And being able to take that offline and connect in person holds so much value. And 76 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:47,920 it's like the glue that keeps the community together. It's being able to show up for each 77 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:53,520 other in person and being able to share that space to actually create together and not just support 78 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:59,760 each other online. So yeah, I mean, it's been a blessing finding the community here and it's only 79 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:05,520 growing and I'm excited. I meet like someone new every single day. So yeah, I'm just excited to see 80 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:11,680 where it takes me now that I found my community. Now you touched on a few points there and I want 81 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,720 to concentrate on a couple, unpack some of the topics that you talked about there. And one of 82 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:24,160 them to start out with is building this creative community. I have had someone else on who they run 83 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:29,200 a creative community slash outdoors community in Utah, based out of Salt Lake and people all over 84 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:33,760 the state come together, hanging out all the time, right? And I've just been really curious 85 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,520 and wanting to pick people's brains who are successfully building these communities, 86 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:44,080 what your approach is to building a community. How can someone who lives in Arkansas, 87 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:49,360 the first state that came to mind, build a community there? How do they go about it? 88 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:53,360 What kind of approach should they be taking? What would you give advice to these types of people? 89 00:08:55,760 --> 00:09:02,560 I think my number one advice, and I guess if I could do it all over again, would just be to 90 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:09,680 invite anyone and everyone to stuff that I want to shoot. So say I have a photo shoot this weekend. 91 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:16,080 Hey, so it's so and so come out, hang out, come shoot with me. I'm doing this set. Because 92 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:21,440 if you're creating what you love and you're sharing that, it's going to come naturally and 93 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:28,000 it doesn't feel forced in a sense where there were some times where, for example, other meetups that 94 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:32,880 we do, there were some times where we would kind of force a concept and be like, all right, cool, 95 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:39,280 we're going to go shoot this. And it almost felt like a job trying to put this together instead 96 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:44,480 of being like, all right, cool, like I want to shoot this. Now, how can I do it so other people 97 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:50,080 can join me? So I think if you're creating stuff that you already love, just invite people out, 98 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:55,760 ask people to come along. You'll get a lot of no's, but you'll get a lot of yeses too, eventually. 99 00:09:55,760 --> 00:10:01,920 And I think in a world where we're moving so fast and things are happening, you know, like minute 100 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:06,640 after minute, you know, you hear about all these wins, all these success stories, everyone starts 101 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:13,040 comparing themselves of, oh, I'm not moving fast enough. But take your time to create what you love 102 00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:18,400 and invite people out to join you on that journey. And you'll slowly start building that community 103 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:24,400 of people who love to do the same things you love to do instead of trying to follow the same path 104 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:31,040 instead of trying to force something that you don't necessarily love. And getting a lot of no's 105 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:39,520 and it kind of pops your bubble in a sense where it's like, oh, okay, like no one really likes my ideas 106 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:44,560 or I'm trying to create some stuff for the community, but they're not liking it. Okay, cool. 107 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:50,720 Just do what you love, invite people and you'll slowly start growing it. Don't try to build a fast 108 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:57,440 community, try to build a strong community. So I guess that would be my biggest advice is just 109 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:02,880 create what you love and invite people to join you along that. So there's a saying, Arturo, 110 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,480 do the things that you love, join the groups that you want to join, whether it's running, 111 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,280 photography, whatever, it doesn't matter. We're talking about the creative industry. 112 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:16,080 And you're going to find the people who are interested in it. If you want to fight like-minded 113 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:21,520 individuals, do what you like to do, put it out there because more than likely this world is bigger 114 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:27,280 than you realize. And there's people all around that will be interested in what you like to do. 115 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:33,760 So I really appreciate you going into detail about putting yourself out there and actually 116 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:40,560 doing what you love instead of trying to fit in, put yourself into this puzzle piece where maybe 117 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:45,760 you feel like, Hey, it's kind of cool, but it's not really what I'm interested in, but it's kind 118 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:50,640 of feeling the void for the time being. And so I really appreciate you delving into that. 119 00:11:50,640 --> 00:12:02,880 And another thing I want you to unpack is taking the relationship offline and how that keeps the 120 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:08,640 community together. Because a lot of the times you see this, I've seen this and you can tell, 121 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:12,480 we had this conversation in the car back in Yosemite. You can tell when someone's being 122 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:18,000 authentic or not authentic. And that's something I pointed out to you that even through social 123 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:25,360 media and messaging, you came out authentic to me. And how do we translate these online 124 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:30,800 relationships to offline and maybe someone's scared to do it? 125 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:40,000 So this is something I've been thinking about lately as well and how to better share this 126 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:44,880 because I do feel like a lot of people struggle with this is being able to build that strong 127 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:51,840 connection offline. And I think where I'm leaning more towards is when you get together, 128 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:57,920 don't necessarily get together for the first time to do a photo shoot, get together for coffee, 129 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:05,760 go get lunch, go get breakfast, whatever the case may be for you and your situation, 130 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:12,000 go do something outside of what brought you guys together and find connections there. 131 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,320 Because you already connect on a creative aspect. That's why you guys are reaching out. That's 132 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:22,320 where you guys want to collab. So if you can find other ways to further strengthen that bond, 133 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:35,040 that connection, then you'll find it a lot easier to kind of grow together and not necessarily just 134 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:40,080 grow together creatively, but grow together as a person, as an individual. And the bond's going to 135 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:47,200 be a lot stronger. There's a lot of people that I've met at the meetups that I've kind of still 136 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:53,280 connect with, but that bond of, hey, let's go get coffee, let's go do this. It's not necessarily 137 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:58,480 there. And it's something I'm working towards. But I've had individuals where it's like, dude, 138 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:02,080 I love your work. You know, so much fun meeting you and shooting with you. Hey, you want to go 139 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:06,480 grab a coffee and just kind of talk about some ideas? And I was like, dude, let's do it. Sure. 140 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:14,080 Let's run it. And I found that when I do that, those are the people I still talk to to this day 141 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:19,680 that I hit up last minute. Like, hey, yo, I got this project I need to do. Like, can you help out? 142 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:28,880 And they're usually the ones that show up for me offline in any case, whether it be emergency or 143 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:35,280 if it's just a hangout. So yeah, I think finding something that connects you other than creativity 144 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,840 and the camera, it's going to go a long way for you and that person that you're trying to connect 145 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:50,960 with. Arturo, so a lot of people in this online realm, they tend to think that this is reality. 146 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:57,280 And if you're following me here, they see everyone on here and they think that is what real life is 147 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:04,160 like. And you talk about finding these connections outside of the creative side, the camera, 148 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:08,320 because clearly we both have the same interest in cameras, me and you, let's talk about me and you, 149 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:13,440 for example, okay. We have connections in that. But if you find connections differently, I see 150 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:18,240 what you're saying here. You can foster that relationship. And a lot of people tend to think 151 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:27,520 all people are is what they see online. What kind of advice can you give to people to help them 152 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:34,800 separate their mindset to realize, yo, this guy Arturo on social media is just a real dude. 153 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:40,640 Yeah, he takes these dope photos, but he's just a dude just like me. How can we help those people 154 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:46,880 kind of shift their mindset or what would you tell them to approach it? How would they approach this? 155 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:59,440 I think when you obviously connect with the people online that you kind of resonate with, 156 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:04,640 whether with what they're creating or how they maybe tell stories or maybe something they're 157 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:12,240 going through in life. I've always looked at the camera as a tool to help you share 158 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:19,280 your personal story and your hobbies and your interests, because that's who you are. 159 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:26,480 The camera is in you. Your work is a piece of you that you share, but the things behind the camera, 160 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:30,560 the things you shoot in front of the camera are the things that you love that kind of speak to 161 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:40,800 your soul. So if you can connect and see that and understand that everyone on social media is putting 162 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:46,640 their best foot forward, but you don't really know what's going on behind. So like I said, taking the 163 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:53,920 time to go get that coffee, go get that lunch, go hang out, go to the museum, go on a hike, 164 00:16:54,960 --> 00:17:01,600 go on a road trip like I just did with Juan and Ria. I think I've connected more with them 165 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:07,120 in those moments than I ever did collaborating with them on a photo shoot. 166 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:18,880 Having the confidence to know that there's a person behind that account. I think so often we put people 167 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:24,800 on a pedestal, if it's the numbers or maybe their level of work, the quality of work they're producing. 168 00:17:25,360 --> 00:17:32,800 Just remember there's a human behind there. We all love to be seen. We all love to be heard. 169 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:40,560 So take the time to listen, take the time to see them, show up for them, and you'll find that more 170 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:47,840 people will start showing up for you as well. So I think have the courage to reach out and put the 171 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:54,000 cameras away and go hang out and do something you love to do. If you guys both love to hike, go hike 172 00:17:54,000 --> 00:18:01,040 and you'll see that you'll connect on a deeper level. And the topic of creativity won't even be 173 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:11,600 there because you're talking about personal stuff at that point. Yes, 100%. And when you talk about 174 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:17,520 building that connection network from the camera is huge. And with your building, with your current 175 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:27,120 projects, Art Factory, this community that you're building, can you delve into what it's meant to be? 176 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:30,800 Where you see it going and why? 177 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:42,400 So where it's going, I have a vision of where I want it to go, but I'm not forcing it to go there 178 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:48,720 if it's not the route I'm meant to take. I want it to be a space where people can get together 179 00:18:48,720 --> 00:19:00,160 and connect and share that offline aspect of fostering a relationship. And I've slowly seen it. 180 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,760 The Art Factory is almost a bridge to connect people. 181 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:12,880 How do I say this? I love to connect with people, right? But I've always struggled to find that 182 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:17,520 connection when I first started. So being able to facilitate a space where I'm providing that 183 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:25,520 connection for someone and two individuals to connect brings me so much more joy than seeing, 184 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:31,760 I guess, what photos I took or what photos they took because a lot of people that come to the 185 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:39,120 meetups are now working together. I see they share posts, they collaborated on brand work, 186 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:42,320 they're hanging out outside of the photography aspect. And 187 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:51,360 I pretty much see the Art Factory as a bridge to connect people and facilitate that offline 188 00:19:51,360 --> 00:20:03,520 connection. And that's the space I want to take it and bring it into a global aspect of, hey, 189 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:11,760 for example, I have Nick in California. You know what? Nick, give me a day, give me a time. 190 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,760 I want you to host an Art Factory meetup so you can bring your community together. 191 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:22,640 Let me know what you need, how I can help so I can facilitate that space for you. Because 192 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:29,080 the biggest struggles I find is that equipment, models, and 193 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:36,120 people are usually the hardest obstacles to overcome. You might not know who to reach out to 194 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:44,520 or what equipment to use. So if I can help you as Nick host this event to bring that, why not do 195 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:53,160 that? So being able to empower people to create meetups and create a community or even have a 196 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:59,400 community there. Not necessarily build it from the ground up, but help improve a community that's 197 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:06,520 already there. And that's why I think our core pillars, it's family growth, freedom. It's all 198 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:12,440 about the family. It used to be community, but community has been associated a lot with just 199 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:17,000 online, your online community. So a family shows up for you for the good and the bad. 200 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:23,240 And that's why we ended up switching that pillar to family because we want people to show up for 201 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:27,720 each other when things aren't going good. Maybe they're having a hard time landing a brand. Hey, 202 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:34,920 let me help you. And growth, obviously when you get together, you know, two heads are better than 203 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:40,920 one type of deal. So you know, you can always grow and learn from someone, no matter their experience 204 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:46,840 and the way you're doing it. And then finally, you know, you can always grow and learn from 205 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:53,160 someone. And then from that growth, you slowly start building your freedom and finding your voice 206 00:21:54,440 --> 00:22:01,240 and whatever sense the freedom word means to you. So I think that's the direction we're going with, 207 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:07,160 and I hope it stays there. I do have a dream of building this oasis with the art factory where 208 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,920 people come and shoot movie level sets, like production sets 209 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:19,400 at the fraction of the cost because who doesn't like shooting cool stuff and being like or feeling 210 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:26,040 like they're on a production set. So that's another little goal that I have for the art factory. 211 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:31,960 And maybe one day it opens up in Utah or somewhere else, but that's kind of what we're headed towards 212 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:32,280 right now. 213 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:43,400 Serving other people has to be one of the highest callings, if not the highest calling 214 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:53,400 that you can do helping others. And most businesses, groups, brands, whatever you want to call it, 215 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:57,720 because if you're just a business, you're not trying to be more than just to make a couple bucks. 216 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:06,360 Brands, community, family, most of them do not succeed because they're not focused on their 217 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:11,400 audience, their community, their family, their people that they're trying to serve. 218 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:19,640 And you talk a lot about empowering them, serving them, helping them, and fostering this community 219 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:23,240 within each other, building their voice, finding their voice. 220 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:33,960 Where did this come from for you? Did you always have this sense of serving others or was this 221 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:39,960 something that developed later? Was it something that you always wanted to do? And I don't mean 222 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:45,480 something you always want to do with the art factory. I mean serving, helping. Is this something 223 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:46,680 that's always been a part of you? 224 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:56,040 I think it has. Just growing up in general, being from a very traditional Mexican household, 225 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:03,640 the men are always seen as the breadwinners, the ones that need to go out and provide and help out. 226 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:10,840 And I think I take a lot of that and implement it to my ethics and morals that I've grown to 227 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:16,520 become and who I am now. And maybe that's the reason why I ended up serving in the military as 228 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:23,560 well, is serving the country. And honestly, that's probably one of the reasons why I left, 229 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:32,440 because a lot of it was self-serving in my eyes in terms of trying to get to the next rank or 230 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:39,400 be better so you can move up in rank. And I think that's probably one of the reasons why I left. 231 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:44,360 So you can move up in rank, be better than the next person beside you. And that's just a very 232 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:50,680 small aspect. Of course, the military fosters family and it's all about family. We do team 233 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:58,920 building exercises and it's always no man left behind or women left behind. So 234 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:08,840 I just saw things in people growing up where it's like, I don't want to make someone feel this way 235 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:19,880 or I don't want to upset anyone. How can I help you? I was never taught to kind of build myself 236 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:25,960 up individually. Yes, I have my individual goals, but I was always taught growing up. 237 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:33,960 Like, hey, go help them and they'll help you in return and maybe you'll help each other eventually. 238 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:42,920 So I think it's just it comes from tradition in my, I guess, personal sense. And then 239 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:51,960 I try, how do I explain this? I try and put myself in other people's shoes or I try to put myself 240 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:57,880 in the person I'm talking to and how they see me. And I've known the struggles of being alone. 241 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:02,040 When I started my creative community, I was alone. That's why I did a lot of the self portraits that 242 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:08,680 I did because when I didn't have the confidence in reaching out or I just didn't think my skills 243 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:15,720 were good enough to offer help. And it wasn't until I switched that mindset and I was like, 244 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:20,280 you know what, let me just start reaching out and see who I connect with. And then I just 245 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:26,440 started reaching out and see who I connect with. And I started finding people that helped me 246 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:34,280 grow. And how can I do that for someone else? Because that feeling of having someone to help you 247 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:43,240 is just food for the soul. So if I can make other people feel that way, the same way people made me 248 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:48,840 feel when they helped me out and made me feel like I accomplished something. Okay, cool. I want to do 249 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:56,280 that for others. I want to continue that and help people help other people get there. And 250 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:05,960 showing up offline has been that for me has been been kind of the food for my soul of wanting to 251 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:13,720 help others is just because I've seen others help me. And the feeling is just there's no other 252 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:21,000 feeling from it. So being able to share that and give that to other people is just kind of what 253 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:28,440 drives me. That's a good deal. And the reason I brought this up is because from my perspective, 254 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:39,000 I feel like you share that perspective in a very interesting time where most people, 255 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,800 and I don't want to be general here. I mean, there's a lot of good people out there. You just 256 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,640 have to build those relationships offline. But what we see online, it's a lot of 257 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:53,880 building themselves up, serving themselves, not asking the question within, 258 00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:03,240 what do I bring to the table? Not what do they bring to the table? How can they help me? 259 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:13,640 How can I help them? Not just about giving tips, but genuine value that goes beyond the information 260 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:19,720 showing up offline is what you said. That goes beyond any little tidbits of knowledge that you 261 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:27,720 can give them 100%. That'll change someone's life. And I know you know that. Yes. So to delve into, 262 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:34,440 to delve into, keep going into your art factory, you just announced something really big, man. 263 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:42,200 I couldn't be more happy for you. The Nikon partnership. Is this a milestone in your eyes 264 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:52,120 that has brought some positive outlooks to keep on going? What are your plans for these next 265 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,760 couple of months that you're going to be partnered with them? What are you looking 266 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:03,880 forward to next with this partnership? Oh man. So to talk about a little bit about the partnership, 267 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:14,120 I actually signed with the Nikon December of last year. So I ended the year off signing Nikon. 268 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:22,600 And to end the year that way, it took me what? It's almost the end of February. It took me two 269 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:28,840 months to be able to even conceive it and put it to words to share it with everyone. Because I was 270 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:36,040 at a disbelief because to think the company, the camera company that started my journey a long time 271 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:43,560 ago was now reaching out to me to do what I love. They weren't reaching out to me to create us a 272 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:51,720 commercial or create spec work that they wanted. They wanted me to create work that I wanted to 273 00:29:51,720 --> 00:30:01,320 create and kind of help empower me to do that. So to be able to sit here and say I'm partnering 274 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:09,320 with Nikon doing what I love. Oh yeah. It's still hard to believe sometimes. And I guess when I 275 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:15,160 finally announced it to everyone, it kind of solidified that I was like, oh my, like this is 276 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:22,280 happening. Like I can't believe it. Even holding the camera like nowadays, it's like how do I 277 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:31,400 get someone else to feel this? And how do I share this with everybody in a way where 278 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:38,920 it's going to get them to that point? So yeah, just being able to see a creative, 279 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:46,680 my creative journey come full circle after such a long time. It's just super fulfilling. Like you 280 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:54,680 said, super inspiring. It kind of just motivates me to get out and create. And I'm trying to 281 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:03,800 not let it consume me in a way where it's like, oh yeah, look at me. I just partnered with this big 282 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:12,200 brand. Look at me right now. So I'm trying to get away from that and humble myself in a way where 283 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:17,320 it's like, all right, cool. I was able to take this step and reach the peak of this mountain. 284 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:24,040 How do I go back down and bring other people up here to show them and have them feel this 285 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:31,400 feeling of feeling like they're on top of the world? So yeah, I mean, it's crazy to me that 286 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:37,400 it's come full circle. And I always tell the team, I was like, this is only the beginning. 287 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:46,120 And yeah, I just can't wait to share it with everybody. So I guess moving forward, we'll see, 288 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:54,040 hopefully, them involved a little bit more with the meetups maybe, depending where that route takes 289 00:31:54,040 --> 00:32:04,280 me. And just trying to stay humble and see it as not a company, but a person. So like Nikon is the 290 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:13,000 name of a person who's helping me out. So regardless of how much or what they're worth or whatever 291 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:18,840 the case, however you want to look at it, is just being able not to let it get to my head and keep 292 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:25,000 my feet grounded and take that next step to bringing someone else along and having them feel 293 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:30,920 the same way I have and helping them kind of come full circle. Like I was able to do this 294 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:39,240 past December signing that contract. So yeah. Again, that's a good deal, man. So excited to see 295 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:46,280 your next steps in that part of your journey. And staying on the topic of photography, low light, 296 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:52,760 which is what you guys at the Art Factory and your team, they specialize in. Now, low light 297 00:32:52,760 --> 00:33:00,360 photography is not exactly the normal type of photography that you see your average Joe doing, 298 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:05,400 whether it's just out for fun, maybe the Instagrammers or classic Instagrammers. You don't see that very 299 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:13,560 often. How did you say, hello, low light photography? This is going to be my thing. Was it an accident? 300 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:18,120 Was it intentional? Like had this all come about? 301 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:29,160 So I would like to say it was intentional, but I've sat with this for a while now, thinking about 302 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:37,400 how I got here and why low light photography was such a calling for me. And a lot of people don't 303 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:42,200 know this. I still work pretty much a nine to five, you can say I'm up like at five o'clock in the 304 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:47,400 morning. I go take care of the family business. I help my dad out with the construction company. 305 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:52,280 And by the time I get off, it's four or five PM. So you're talking about a 12 hour day. 306 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:59,240 And I'm racing, right? Depending on the time of the year, I'm racing to go to a location so I don't 307 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:04,840 miss out on the light and get this beautiful sunset. And half the time I get home, I still have to 308 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:10,920 shower, I have to eat. I want to relax because it's been a long summer day, maybe. So by the time I'm 309 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:20,040 done and I'm at a place where I can kind of enjoy my hobbies, whether that was go to the gym or create, 310 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:29,400 it was already dark. So how do I still create in darkness when I really wanted to shoot the 311 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:36,680 sunset? But in knowing that, it was like, okay, cool. I can't do that because I work this job right 312 00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:41,560 now. You know, maybe I have the weekends where I can take advantage of it. But if I really want to 313 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:49,480 grow and I guess level up and just get better at photography and videography, I have to do this 314 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:56,760 constantly. I can't just wait for the weekends to create. So yeah, by the time I got off and I was 315 00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:03,640 ready to create, it was already dark. So I ended up buying lights. I started creating. And the more 316 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:08,760 I played with it, the more I found myself like, sunsets are cool and I love them and there's 317 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:16,520 something about them that is just so special. But once the sun's gone, the lights are all off 318 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:22,520 and you turn your lights on, you're pretty much holding the power of the sun in your hand and 319 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:28,200 being able to create scenes and morph them in a way that speaks to whatever emotion you're trying 320 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:35,320 to portray, whatever story you're trying to tell. And I found that so much fun. It's almost like 321 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:40,120 you're painting a canvas with a brush. It's all right, cool. How do I paint this light onto this 322 00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:49,240 black canvas to showcase these different features in the photo, in the video? So I think I like to 323 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:55,240 say it was intentional because I've always been drawn to continuous lighting. But looking back 324 00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:59,880 at it, it never was. It was always one of those things where I had to adapt and overcome. And 325 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:05,080 that's kind of where my path led me to. And here I am doing low light now. So 326 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:11,960 it appears a lot of people who fall into these passions that they have, their callings, 327 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:17,560 their hobbies that turn into businesses, whatever they're doing. A lot of the times 328 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:24,600 it starts with this problem or situation that they've had to adapt to and learn how to navigate 329 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:30,440 around it. And hearing yours falling into something that is a passion or that gives you a 330 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:35,080 chance to express your voice, your creativity, your inspiration, the message you want to tell 331 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:41,320 other people is truly inspiring because people get caught up in that they can't be taking these 332 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:45,400 photos like this landscape photographer all the time because they can't travel because they have 333 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:51,640 to work Monday through Friday, or they can't take these portraitures in their fancy studio because 334 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:57,640 they don't own a specific white backdrop. I don't know, lights, different things like that. And 335 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:04,920 seeing you do that is truly inspiring. You said, I want to do photography and sunset's over. Now 336 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:10,520 we have this low light that we can do and experiencing it firsthand over there in Yosemite 337 00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:15,160 was incredible seeing you guys, how passionate you were about it, creating the light, shaping it, 338 00:37:15,720 --> 00:37:19,400 shifting it around, putting your heart into it. Cause I could tell you can tell what someone 339 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:25,240 knows what they're doing. You truly can. And that energy feeds back off to other people around you. 340 00:37:25,240 --> 00:37:31,320 So truly amazing, man. And I got a chance to meet your team, every one of them. And they were all 341 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:39,000 such great people. How did building this team for the Art Factory come to be? Cause clearly this 342 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:46,440 started from you. You found this love for low light photography for having to adapt. And now you have 343 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:52,360 these other people who are now also interested in low light. How did you build this team and 344 00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:55,400 how did it all start in terms of meeting these people? 345 00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:09,320 Oh man. So Kwon was the first one. It all came, it all started with me, like I said, 346 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:14,440 wanting to share this with everybody. So my first thought was, all right, cool. I want to do low 347 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:26,600 light, but I can't do it by myself. And I want to give people kind of that feeling of being wanted, 348 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,760 of being able to showcase their work. So I reached out to Kwon, I was like, hey bro, I'm thinking 349 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:35,880 about doing this low light meetups. I want to host you first. Like I want you, I want to help you 350 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:42,840 build a low light set that we can share with everybody. And as we talked, as we, you know, 351 00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:48,680 we got into things and it's like, all right, cool. Like, what do you want to call this type of stuff? 352 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:55,240 And honestly, no one part of the team helped me create this name. I had another friend, I don't 353 00:38:55,240 --> 00:39:00,360 know if you know, LJ, she helped me come up with this name outside of it, just because I talked to 354 00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:04,280 her about it. And I was like, how do I, you know, what do I call this? You know, I'm hosting Kwon. 355 00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:10,280 I don't know what really to say. Do I just say photography meetup featuring Kwon? So she helped 356 00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:17,400 me build the name, but it all started from wanting to host Kwon as a photographer and build a set with 357 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:22,600 him to me and Kwon discussing it. Be like, all right, cool. Like, you know, should we make a 358 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:28,840 logo for this or what do you want to do? Like, what do you want to keep, you know, keep going 359 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:32,680 forward after this? Like, what do you want to do after this? What do you want to feature? And 360 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:37,400 one thing led to another. We're like, all right, let's make this a thing. Let's, you know, 361 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:43,000 let's not host you anymore. Let's create something together and host other people. 362 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:49,880 And so that's where it started. That's where it trickled for me and Kwon. And then needing a logo, 363 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:58,040 needing kind of branding, right? To portray your message. I recently at that time, I met up with 364 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:06,920 Gabe, I think within two months of speaking online, he sent me a message about a story. So I sent him 365 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:13,640 like a voice memo back explaining how I did the story. And one thing led to another. And two 366 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:19,960 months later, I was flying out to Florida, staying at his house with his family, spending a week 367 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:27,080 creating with each other. And fast forward a bit, me and Kwon had this whole conversation. 368 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:32,840 And I was like, yo, I know someone that can create a logo for us. Let's reach out. Let's hop on a call 369 00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:38,280 with him and kind of discuss things. So we hopped on a call with Gabe. He gave us like this questionnaire 370 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:42,040 to answer for branding. Like, all right, cool. I need you guys to answer this question. So I kind of know 371 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:47,160 what direction, what you guys are about. And we answered that. We hopped on another call. He created 372 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:53,560 this logo for us. It started with my original logo. I don't know if you ever saw the Not Just Start. 373 00:40:53,560 --> 00:41:03,080 It's like a A with like a top and a circle. So I was able to implement that logo into the logo we 374 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:13,160 have now. And the logo is a cactus flower. So me and Kwon being Hispanic, you know, how do we bring 375 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:20,040 kind of our culture into it? So we decided to go with the cactus flower. And that's like a story 376 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:28,520 for a different day. We can dive into that another time. But Gabe helped build this logo for us. 377 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:32,600 And he was doing so much. And I was like, Gabe, do you just want to be a part of the team now? 378 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:37,240 Or, you know, are you cool with just hopping on and, you know, helping us create this? And he said, 379 00:41:37,240 --> 00:41:45,320 yes. And that's how the three of us started. And in the logo, there's a triangle with three corners, 380 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:52,120 which it's a corner for each of us. And the whole concept behind the flower was 381 00:41:55,080 --> 00:42:01,160 petals on a flower sometimes fall, but it's almost infinite. They keep growing. So there's always new 382 00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:09,320 petals that kind of grow. And I guess that's how the logo is. It's we can keep adding petals and 383 00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:15,880 adding, I guess, to the flower and having the flower like just look bigger, grow more. And we're 384 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:21,400 slowly doing that. Ryo was the next one to hop on the team, the next petal in the art factory, 385 00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:27,960 helping us with just different aspects, a lot of admin stuff, models. After that, a good friend of 386 00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:33,880 mine, Andy, we've known each other since high school. He was my ride or die. He's always been 387 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:38,920 there for me. Anytime I wanted to go travel, go hiking, go explore the world, he was the one I hit 388 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:44,680 up. And we'd always go venture off and see the world together. And he started coming out to this 389 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:49,640 meetups, never picked up a camera in his life, was never a photographer, never had the desire 390 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:55,480 of being a photographer. But he showed up, flew out every single time to every single workshop. 391 00:42:56,360 --> 00:43:04,040 And I sat down one day and I was like, damn, like, you're the homie. You know, you're coming out to 392 00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:09,560 this and supporting me. So damn, I'm getting all emotional now, just thinking about it. But 393 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:17,640 having someone show up for me offline, like I told you, was like the biggest thing ever for me. So 394 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:23,080 Andy doing that was awesome. So I was like, all right, bro, I want to bring you on the team. 395 00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:27,720 You know, you don't do photography, you don't do videography, but we'll teach you. I want you to 396 00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:33,800 feel valued and be a part of the team. You've been the biggest cheerleader we've had so far, 397 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:38,920 supporting us. So now we're teaching them photography. We want to teach them videography. 398 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:41,800 He's been in charge of a lot of our BTS content that you've been seeing. 399 00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:48,040 And he's been helping us out with just about anything and everything that he could help out 400 00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:53,240 with. And we actually have a new member and I guess this is a good way to announce it. 401 00:43:53,240 --> 00:44:05,640 Tony, he was, after the LA road trip, we had the meetup and we officially invited him to the team. 402 00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:13,240 And he was one of the first ones that I've kind of, I've mentioned. He invited me and Juan to go 403 00:44:13,240 --> 00:44:19,400 rock climbing, not do photography, not do anything, just go rock climbing. And we went rock climbing 404 00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:28,200 and we just connected and we found that we've had so much things alike. We had similar hobbies, 405 00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:34,440 similar passions outside of the photography world or videography world. And we just connected. So 406 00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:40,360 he's another one that's been showing up for us a lot and we want to, and we have brought him on 407 00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:48,360 the team to kind of help grow the art factory. And I think just finding the right people has 408 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:54,840 happened because I was able to connect with them outside of what brought us together. So 409 00:44:56,280 --> 00:45:04,840 yeah, we're just a couple of friends trying to share what we love and hopefully bring more people 410 00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:10,360 on board and keep growing the pedals on our logo and see where it goes from there. 411 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:17,320 Amazing. And I love hearing that how that team came to be. And for the people listening, I'll 412 00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:23,160 share a little story about me meeting Arturo not too long ago, maybe a month ago in person for the 413 00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:29,240 first time. I met his entire team at Yosemite, some place that from those of you who are listening 414 00:45:29,240 --> 00:45:35,240 know that I know it like the back of my hand for me being in Yosemite is like being at home and 415 00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:40,680 being able to have his whole team come over there and meet everyone. It was a truly cool experience 416 00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:46,280 being able to see them. They were all just real people and they weren't so focused on the cameras 417 00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:51,800 at first. They were getting to know each other and having real conversations with real people. 418 00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:57,640 And throughout that whole evening and adventures through the night, Arturo is building something 419 00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:04,200 really amazing. So if you guys get a chance to go look it over at his website and what your website 420 00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:12,520 is again Arturo? It's the artfty.com. So the art factory, but just we abbreviate factory to FTY. 421 00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:17,240 There you go. You heard it here. So in terms of your road trip you just had, I wanted to recap 422 00:46:17,240 --> 00:46:20,040 a little bit of it. What did you, where did you go? 423 00:46:21,640 --> 00:46:28,520 So we started in Texas, myself, Juan and Ria, we drove all the way to Las Vegas to pick up Andy 424 00:46:29,240 --> 00:46:35,560 and Gabe and we spent a little bit of time in Vegas and then we shot straight to Yosemite. 425 00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:39,960 We were going to drive the same night that Gabe and I think we had this conversation 426 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:45,480 off, but we're going to drive that same night to get there for sunrise, but we realized we were 427 00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:53,960 going to miss it. So we ended up staying in Vegas and then we took off to Yosemite to meet up with 428 00:46:53,960 --> 00:47:00,600 you. And after that we shot over to the coastline. We drove down, what is it highway one I believe 429 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:07,000 it is. Drove that all the way down to LA, stayed in LA, caught a sunset there at the beach. 430 00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:15,640 And then, well actually before that we went to Sequoia and then we went to highway one and then 431 00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:22,360 down to LA. And after that we just shot back to Vegas and we spent some time in Vegas, went to 432 00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:28,360 the Valley of Fire and then just road trip back. But oddly enough at Yosemite, I don't know if you 433 00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:33,000 remember Cameron, one of the other photographers that was there, he ended up tagging along on our 434 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:41,240 road trip and meeting a stranger on the road you know is sometimes scary and especially 435 00:47:41,240 --> 00:47:46,920 in Cameron's shoes like having that much confidence in us and I think that comes from just 436 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:52,920 connecting as humans you know, like getting to know each other of who we really are and what 437 00:47:52,920 --> 00:47:59,560 we're about. And he tagged along with us, enjoyed the whole road trip with us and even came out to 438 00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:06,920 Dallas. He flew but he ended up coming out to Dallas for a few days and then he took off back to 439 00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:14,440 Australia. But yeah that was kind of the whole road trip, just the main trip was LA, the Cali area 440 00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:21,800 and then little deviations to go see some national parks and some state parks. So Arturo, 441 00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:26,600 you had a crazy road trip and you say you have a couple plans to come back out here. 442 00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:35,960 In the upcoming future, that's exciting. To piggyback off this and transition a little bit, 443 00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:43,560 I want to know, because just put this in perspective for people listening, this guy is now traveling 444 00:48:43,560 --> 00:48:49,640 doing road trips. He has these people who live out of state on his team and I want to know how 445 00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:54,760 your creative journey began. I mean you didn't start just traveling, you started traveling 446 00:48:54,760 --> 00:49:00,280 I mean you didn't start just last year. You've been doing this for a few years. I scroll back 447 00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:05,400 on your social media, you were traveling with your dog, taking photos. When did this journey 448 00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:16,520 in photography originate from? So growing up I was always into art in different forms, whether 449 00:49:16,520 --> 00:49:24,600 that be sketching, painting, sculpting. I was an art major growing up. My whole entire school time 450 00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:31,480 from elementary to middle school to high school, I always majored and I always loved going to art 451 00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:38,440 class and it was always a way for me to express myself. Especially being rooted in such a 452 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:46,280 Mexican tradition where it's like men don't show emotions. So I kind of used art to be able to 453 00:49:46,280 --> 00:49:51,640 express myself and kind of show my passions, show what I enjoy to do in life and 454 00:49:51,640 --> 00:49:59,000 just express myself in ways I couldn't when I was at home in that traditional Mexican household 455 00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:06,680 because we were always taught to like hold in our emotions as men. So once I joined the military, 456 00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:13,080 I kind of put all that on hold and it was once again like hey like hold your emotions in like 457 00:50:13,080 --> 00:50:18,280 you have to be a leader, you can't show weakness and you have to be able to lead these people and 458 00:50:18,280 --> 00:50:25,240 have them feel confident in your leadership. So I kind of put all those emotions and my passions 459 00:50:25,240 --> 00:50:32,360 for the arts on hold. So whenever I got out, I was like alright cool like I want to start doing this 460 00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:40,440 again. I started sketching and that was the extent of it and then one day my parents bought that 461 00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:46,200 Nikon D3200 and I was like alright cool like let me just borrow it for a trip. I took a couple of 462 00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:50,920 trips, I was hiking, took some photos, I was like oh this is pretty cool. I started playing with it 463 00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:57,560 some more. I started going on more solo trips with my dog just because I also love nature, 464 00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:04,680 I love to hike, I love being outdoors and that was kind of my excuse. I want to go to this place, 465 00:51:05,240 --> 00:51:13,000 hike and practice my photography with my dog because nature is a vast 466 00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:19,880 space and you're usually almost always by yourself if you don't go with a group. So being able to 467 00:51:19,880 --> 00:51:25,640 hide myself in nature and create because I didn't have the confidence to create in front of people 468 00:51:25,640 --> 00:51:29,320 helped me out a lot and gave me the confidence that I needed to build my skills and like 469 00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:37,960 where I am at today. So I was able to do that as I traveled and then I moved to Texas. 470 00:51:37,960 --> 00:51:42,120 I kind of started helping my dad a lot more with the business and like I said that's kind of where 471 00:51:42,120 --> 00:51:47,080 the lowlights started coming into play. I couldn't travel as much anymore and I still wanted to build 472 00:51:47,080 --> 00:51:52,760 my skills in photography and develop this and see where this went because it gave me an outlet, 473 00:51:52,760 --> 00:52:01,320 it gave me a way to express myself so it kind of all led to lowlight and you know it just a few 474 00:52:01,320 --> 00:52:05,640 years ago we got into this space. If you're a photographer, all right cool, how are you making 475 00:52:05,640 --> 00:52:11,240 money? How are you feeding your passion? You're either doing weddings, you're doing brands, 476 00:52:13,080 --> 00:52:18,600 or you're getting like you're an influencer and I you know I've shot weddings, I'm not a big fan. 477 00:52:19,240 --> 00:52:25,880 A lot of stress and you can't be as creative. I can't put my passion into it. You can 478 00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:31,080 in a sense but being able to do brand work and finding the brands that kind of aligned 479 00:52:31,080 --> 00:52:36,920 with what I loved gave me that chance to stay true to myself and what I love to create 480 00:52:36,920 --> 00:52:45,720 while still being able to bring in income to help kind of fuel and facilitate these other 481 00:52:46,280 --> 00:52:53,560 passions in photography that I had. So I'm just trying to be more creative and be more 482 00:52:53,560 --> 00:53:01,400 creative. So I honestly started shifting like I said my mindset to just doing what I love and 483 00:53:03,800 --> 00:53:09,720 creating just crazy stuff that I enjoy to create and pretty much crossing my fingers and be like 484 00:53:09,720 --> 00:53:15,800 all right well hopefully other people like it too, hopefully brands like it too and never did I know 485 00:53:15,800 --> 00:53:24,360 Nikon was seeing my stuff. That was never something I saw or I ever considered. So when they reached 486 00:53:24,360 --> 00:53:32,280 out because I was doing what I love you know it just it just made me realize like you can fall 487 00:53:32,280 --> 00:53:36,440 into a space of like brand photography, wedding photography, but if you're not enjoying it 488 00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:43,320 you're gonna burn out, you're gonna tire yourself out, and you're not gonna go far. So 489 00:53:43,320 --> 00:53:47,240 yeah I think it stemmed from always being an artist and finding a way to express myself 490 00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:54,680 and slowly shifting gears to where like all right cool how can I do this more and that's by bringing 491 00:53:54,680 --> 00:53:59,800 in income with photography but still keeping a piece of me in all my work that I share and 492 00:53:59,800 --> 00:54:08,440 produce for other people or brands. We touched on something Arturo that I think a lot of creatives, 493 00:54:08,440 --> 00:54:17,080 artists, they encounter this. They don't have confidence in what they're creating. You mentioned 494 00:54:17,080 --> 00:54:21,560 how you created in nature, you're hiding yourself in nature creating because you weren't confident 495 00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:28,600 in your skills and a lot of people have trouble being confident in their skills and building them 496 00:54:28,600 --> 00:54:34,600 up, taking on these projects whether it's passion projects, client projects, right. 497 00:54:34,600 --> 00:54:43,720 And then from there they have a hard time using their voice and putting it out there for the world. 498 00:54:44,440 --> 00:54:57,000 Can you give some advice to these people who do not understand or how to approach building 499 00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:00,680 confidence in their skills and putting their voice out there? 500 00:55:00,680 --> 00:55:05,640 Because making art is it's personal when you get to that when you're able to get to the point where 501 00:55:05,640 --> 00:55:13,640 you can dig deep and put it out there it's personal and putting yourself in a vulnerable state to let 502 00:55:13,640 --> 00:55:18,600 your work get critiqued. Can you give some actionable advice for these people? 503 00:55:19,800 --> 00:55:26,200 Yeah I think if you are if you find yourself without that confidence of 504 00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:30,680 creating maybe in front of individuals whether that be like you go out do some street photography, 505 00:55:30,680 --> 00:55:38,920 you're at a wedding, you're shooting portraits for a grad shoot. I've said this to a lot of people and 506 00:55:39,800 --> 00:55:47,800 my biggest teacher was all the not failures but lessons I've learned from doing it from putting 507 00:55:47,800 --> 00:55:55,320 in the work from putting in the sweat and tears and the hard work and the hard work and the hard 508 00:55:55,320 --> 00:56:02,600 and tears of you know going out to photograph something so putting in your reps just like 509 00:56:02,600 --> 00:56:09,160 you would at the gym. Put that same mindset to your photography or whatever skill you're trying to build 510 00:56:09,880 --> 00:56:16,920 is let's say you don't have the confidence to go out in public go in your backyard go in your room 511 00:56:16,920 --> 00:56:24,920 take some self-portraits figure out all the nicks and crannies of your camera so whenever you're out 512 00:56:24,920 --> 00:56:32,920 you already have the confidence of being able to handle this camera and know all the ins and outs 513 00:56:32,920 --> 00:56:39,480 to apply whatever settings you need for a different environment. So I think if you build confidence in 514 00:56:39,480 --> 00:56:46,040 little aspects along your journey you'll come to learn that these little pieces of confidence you're 515 00:56:46,040 --> 00:56:52,760 getting let's say with exposure right go practice exposure for a week. Your shutter speed go practice 516 00:56:52,760 --> 00:56:59,880 that for another week and see what shutter does for your photos and when you put in those reps to 517 00:56:59,880 --> 00:57:05,000 all these little things they start building up and they're like they're teaching you like okay you 518 00:57:05,000 --> 00:57:10,440 know what you're doing now because you put in your reps you put in real world experience of all right 519 00:57:10,440 --> 00:57:15,000 cool now I know what all these settings do all right cool now I want to get in front of the camera 520 00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:21,560 and pose you know whether it's self-portraits or whether you're doing it with a friend your sister 521 00:57:21,560 --> 00:57:27,960 your mom your dad your girlfriend your boyfriend whatever whatever the case may be is putting in 522 00:57:27,960 --> 00:57:37,080 the reps to these little small things that add up to give you that full circle of confidence that you 523 00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:47,800 need to share it online reach out to a client go shoot a wedding and not be nervous or stressed 524 00:57:47,800 --> 00:57:57,480 out as much so put in your reps in small things and you'll learn that once you build the confidence 525 00:57:57,480 --> 00:58:03,320 in that one topic you're trying to figure out move on to the next one build that confidence and it 526 00:58:03,320 --> 00:58:07,560 just starts piling it up that confidence just starts building and building and building because 527 00:58:07,560 --> 00:58:14,200 you've put in the reps to learn and not try and maybe cheat the system and and skip ahead and then 528 00:58:14,200 --> 00:58:18,840 fumble it and then that brings your confidence all the way down because you just fumbled it so 529 00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:25,160 slowly build your confidence and no one's going to be able to knock over your tower of confidence 530 00:58:25,160 --> 00:58:28,600 that you have because you've put in the hard work to make a strong foundation 531 00:58:28,600 --> 00:58:35,800 you made some really good points there and to conclude this to wrap all what you said 532 00:58:37,160 --> 00:58:41,720 I made a video just recently about keeping your promises to yourself and how that builds 533 00:58:41,720 --> 00:58:48,520 confidence in yourself and whatever skill you're trying to acquire and I heard someone say once 534 00:58:49,080 --> 00:58:53,080 about this creative industry building these skills you need to treat it like it's a sport 535 00:58:53,080 --> 00:59:00,120 train your skills hone it in fuel yourself practice these in order to build that confidence to put 536 00:59:00,120 --> 00:59:06,840 to go all in and this approach that you have going in your backyard refining your skills to go out 537 00:59:06,840 --> 00:59:12,920 in public and do this or to put yourself out there these are valuable tips and insights for all of 538 00:59:12,920 --> 00:59:20,840 those listening and speaking of valuable tips and insights Arturo 18 years old he's a professional 539 00:59:20,840 --> 00:59:27,800 Arturo 18 years old before he enlisted in the military young guy what would you tell 540 00:59:28,920 --> 00:59:33,800 this guy what would you tell young Arturo before the military would there be any advice that you 541 00:59:33,800 --> 00:59:47,560 might have for him I would like to say man that's hard that's a that's a very hard one I've had this 542 00:59:47,560 --> 00:59:52,440 you know I've had this thought before and you know what what could I say what could I do to help 543 00:59:52,440 --> 01:00:02,600 myself if I was younger the younger version of me and I would honestly just say if it doesn't put a 544 01:00:02,600 --> 01:00:10,120 smile on your face don't waste your time doing it don't waste your energy on it if this is something 545 01:00:10,120 --> 01:00:13,800 you go to sleep at or if you go to sleep at night and this is something you think about 546 01:00:13,800 --> 01:00:22,040 go do it go do it don't wait don't wait for someone don't wait for anybody to start because 547 01:00:23,080 --> 01:00:28,440 if you're waiting for someone to come along your journey to help you start this you're going to be 548 01:00:28,440 --> 01:00:35,400 waiting forever unless you're taking the initiative and pretty much creating your own luck and putting 549 01:00:35,400 --> 01:00:43,000 yourself in these situations where you got lucky you can stay home all day and think about it 550 01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:49,000 all day and think about what you could do or you can go out and do it and you'll slowly learn that 551 01:00:49,000 --> 01:00:53,480 the right people are going to join your journey and they're going to follow along or they're going 552 01:00:53,480 --> 01:00:59,720 to help you grow or you might join someone else's journey and help them along and you might end up 553 01:00:59,720 --> 01:01:05,480 leaving their journey and creating your own the biggest thing don't wait if you think about it 554 01:01:05,480 --> 01:01:11,560 at night it's because you either want to do it or you're contemplating something but if it keeps you 555 01:01:11,560 --> 01:01:20,920 up by night then go full in don't don't half-ass anything go go all the way in and give it everything 556 01:01:20,920 --> 01:01:27,160 you got because the only thing you're going to regret is not going in a long time ago 557 01:01:28,840 --> 01:01:33,000 now that's a good deal if you're sleeping if you're thinking about it before you go to bed 558 01:01:33,000 --> 01:01:40,360 those of you listening just take action stop waiting last question of this podcast Arturo 559 01:01:40,360 --> 01:01:47,720 2024 is here February is just about over what is the mindset that you're going to continue to take 560 01:01:47,720 --> 01:02:02,440 on through the end of the year oh man I think that same advice I gave myself at 18 is put in the hard 561 01:02:02,440 --> 01:02:10,040 work go do it I might have to sacrifice some stuff this year but if that means being able to 562 01:02:10,040 --> 01:02:15,160 to kind of bring these other aspects that I want in my life and kind of nurture them and feed them 563 01:02:15,160 --> 01:02:23,160 and watch them grow I'm gonna have to make some sacrifices so I'm excited to dive in a lot more 564 01:02:23,160 --> 01:02:28,600 and experiment with the art factory and find different ways of connecting people 565 01:02:31,240 --> 01:02:38,840 and the next big thing for us is photo walks doing photo walks for people bringing in a larger 566 01:02:38,840 --> 01:02:46,280 larger group of individuals together and having them create in a space together so 567 01:02:47,480 --> 01:02:51,480 yeah I'm excited to experiment this year with a lot of different things we have going on 568 01:02:51,480 --> 01:02:57,880 with the art factory and whether it's a hit or a miss we'll learn from it we'll grow from it 569 01:02:57,880 --> 01:03:06,600 and we'll keep moving forward but yeah I think the biggest thing this year is taking action 570 01:03:06,600 --> 01:03:14,920 in what we want and putting in the heart of work to get there great great answer great advice 571 01:03:14,920 --> 01:03:18,280 Arturo really appreciate you coming on man it's always a pleasure having to chat with you 572 01:03:18,840 --> 01:03:23,880 being able to chat with you I would discuss all these different topics always I'm a student myself 573 01:03:23,880 --> 01:03:28,760 and I like to get different people's perspectives of all these things because truly we don't know 574 01:03:28,760 --> 01:03:37,080 it all and for those listening where can they find Arturo on social media where can they find 575 01:03:37,080 --> 01:03:47,320 the social medias for Art Factory where can we go so for the Art Factory it's the T H E R A R T F T Y 576 01:03:47,320 --> 01:03:58,920 the Art Factory for my personal one underscore R T W O R O or T W R O W so R2RO just spelled 577 01:03:58,920 --> 01:04:06,200 like how you literally would say it R2 and then RO with that underscore in the front and then the 578 01:04:06,200 --> 01:04:14,040 website for the Art Factory the ArtFTY.com slowly switching over to YouTube so we'll hopefully be 579 01:04:14,040 --> 01:04:20,680 opening on YouTube same Instagram handle for the Art Factory that it is for YouTube but yeah that's 580 01:04:20,680 --> 01:04:27,640 usually the main platforms where I'm on TikTok here and there but a lot of my stuff is on Instagram 581 01:04:28,520 --> 01:04:34,920 for myself and the team and I'll link all of his information below whether it's on YouTube or it's 582 01:04:34,920 --> 01:04:41,320 in the streaming platforms again Arturo really appreciate you coming on man looking forward to 583 01:04:41,320 --> 01:04:44,840 chatting with you and seeing where you go in the future and I know we'll probably see each other 584 01:04:44,840 --> 01:04:51,880 again coming soon huh yes we'll see each other in hopefully September when we head back out to LA so 585 01:04:51,880 --> 01:04:57,720 I'm excited for that let's go man all right guys thanks for tuning in I'll catch you on the next 586 01:04:57,720 --> 01:05:04,600 one later and that concludes episode 26 man that was a good conversation I really enjoyed that one 587 01:05:04,600 --> 01:05:09,720 this is why I love having the podcast because you get to talk to real people have real conversations 588 01:05:09,720 --> 01:05:13,960 and if you want to find more about Arturo Carrillo I'll link all of his information down below his 589 01:05:13,960 --> 01:05:18,760 Instagram and his website I highly suggest you go follow him and support him and see what he's up 590 01:05:18,760 --> 01:05:23,720 to day to day he's got a lot of exciting things coming up thank you again for watching and if you 591 01:05:23,720 --> 01:05:27,720 enjoyed this video and you want to support the podcast hit that subscribe button on YouTube if 592 01:05:27,720 --> 01:05:31,640 that's where you're watching and if you're not watching and you don't want to see my face you 593 01:05:31,640 --> 01:05:37,320 can hit live a five-star review on Spotify or Apple Music and again if you have any comments 594 01:05:37,320 --> 01:05:41,800 you want me to talk about anything specifically topics leave them in the comments below I read 595 01:05:41,800 --> 01:05:45,480 all the comments if you want to connect with us it's @ Nick Amp podcast if you want to connect 596 01:05:45,480 --> 01:05:50,840 with me it's @theNickAmp with much gratitude I appreciate you tuning in this episode and I'll 597 01:05:50,840 --> 01:06:07,640 see you next week