Alright, this is the Nick Amp Podcast. This is episode 6. I'm here with JP Ramirez, drone photographer,
photographer, astrophotographer, straight out of San Diego, beast of a dude, beast work. He is one
of my favorite people I look up to on social media, just in general as an artist. He posts some of the
best work that I've seen. I tried to meet up with him once but it didn't work out, so I know in the
future we're going to meet up for sure. JP, it's great to have you on here man. Thank you man, it's
great to be here. Excited for this chat we're about to have. So normally when I converse with podcast
guests, the first question I usually ask them is what's your background, how'd you get to this point
right here? Okay, uh shoot, so where do I start? Um, I mean photography hasn't been something that
has been in my life for too long. Uh, you know I originally come from the East Coast. It was more of
a, you lift up your iPhone, you take a photo and do the best that you can with it. Never thought
about lightroom, never thought about editing, all that. None of that was in play back then.
It wasn't until, I want to say the pandemic hit when I really started to focus more on photography.
I had a camera for a while there, but never really used it too much. And then the pandemic came in
and I honed in on it and really just started watching a bunch of YouTube videos, learning here
and there, you know, what are white balances, what the exposures are, all those good things. And then
it kind of just took off from there and, you know, still have a lot to learn, a long way to go, but
you know, I'm happy where I'm at now and just continuing to learn from my peers and see where
else we go from here. JP, we had a similar coming of age moment to photography because I was doing
photography, I mean before the pandemic, for probably about three years, for our own video, but
I didn't truly hone in until the pandemic. I was going to mountains because that was the only thing
open at the time. So that's when I decided, I was like, well, let's give this a try. Yeah, you know
that pandemic, as tragic as it was with how many lives are lost, it really was an eye-opener for a
lot of people. You know, a lot of people found their callings, their hobbies, new things to do,
and it forced a lot of people out of their comfort zone to go do things that they really aren't used
to doing. And now here we are two years later, three years later, actually, you know, those people
that started doing something new are pros at it or just never, never can look back to what their life
was like before and be like, what, what am I doing? So it's pretty cool. You work a remote job. Yes.
Would you ever consider doing photography full-time or videography full-time or are you okay
with doing the Weekend Warrior Life slash PTO, all that? Dude, I go back and forth between that all
the time. For the longest time, I always told myself I am not going to allow this hobby of mine
to turn into a professional career because then stress will get added and I will quickly lose
and I will quickly lose interest into it. Right. But slowly but surely I started taking in, you know,
more family photos, engagement photos here and there, not overbearing myself or anything like that.
But like, you know, just, just here and there. And then I was like, okay, I'm making a little
bit of money here. Let's see what else I can do. So this past October, I took on my first wedding.
What? Yeah. To say that I'm going to do another wedding anytime soon, it's, it's, it's a big no.
You know, I'm not, it's, those wedding photographers, let me tell you, they are,
they have skin thick as steel. Like I kid you not. I remind you, I went to a wedding, I did a wedding
session for like a mutual friend. It was a friend of mine. Like, you know, they hired me,
they paid me my full rate. And even, even though I knew everybody around me, it was still stressful.
So I was in a, I was supposedly in a comfortable area, but still felt so out of my comfort zone.
That's that to say maybe, maybe sometime down the road, I will take on, but it was,
it was very much out of what I'm used to doing. And as of most recently, I did a collaboration
with a van company and they gave me a travel van for 10 days, as long as I returned back
videos and photos for them so they can use on their platform or whatever they have.
So I just completed that, which was my most recent trip. So this was kind of eye opening.
Well, it's like, okay, you know, these companies are willing to work as of right now, I'm getting
free stuff, but maybe I can push a little further down the line and start making money off of it.
So is it possible that I would, you know, make it full time? Sure. But anytime soon, like within
the next year or two, probably not. I'm kind of still enjoying it. You know, this is still the
honeymoon stage for me and photography. So I'm, you know, I'm enjoying every minute of it.
I appreciate your candor there and honesty and seeing your consciousness of
knowing that you don't want to rush head first into this is amazing. I think a lot of people
should hear that first before they think about trying to dive in full time. I'm a prime example
of that. I've dived in full time. I'm 23 years old, running my own business. And there's certain
times where I wish that I would have held onto my job list a little bit longer, but at the same time,
I feel like I never would have made that big jump until I quit my job at the same time.
So there's both sides of it. And honestly, like, I don't think it's a bad thing to keep your hobby
as a hobby. Because like you said, once you had that stress in, you start to lose interest because
you're like, yo, this is just supposed to be my fun time hanging out with homies, taking cool photos,
enjoying the beach, enjoying the desert, enjoying the mountains, all that stuff. So I'm really glad
that you're aware of those circumstances. Yeah. And I think a lot more people should hear that.
And you know, like you said, like you're 23, jumped into this. And the only way that the only
reason you jumped into it, or saw the opportunity was because you left your job. That is also
something that I strongly believe in because unless you put yourself into a very uncomfortable
situation, you'll never see the doors that can open for you. You know, we, we as a whole, especially
as photographers, or small business owners, like, when we stay stagnant in a comfortable area,
we never see the opportunities around us because we're closed in and we're comfortable where we
are. It's not until you open that door that you get to see what else is out there, and all the
opportunities that come from it. So while I do, you know, myself, am taking it slow and not jumping
into anything, I don't want people to think that that's also the route to take, you know, taking a
leap of faith is, is can be beneficial, but it is a risk. It's, it's not, you know, 100% bulletproof.
It's not gonna, it's not gonna work every time, but you learn from it. And from those lessons,
you grow. So I mean, you know, it's, it's awesome. There's a guy, you know, he works at 9 to 5,
and he also runs a business on the side. He's making about the same amount of money
in his business and his job, it's 9 to 5. But his reasoning for keeping the 9 to 5
is that he likes having that comfortability of being able to fund his business, but also
not work entirely as hard at it at the same time, and be able to enjoy that time with the family
still. Not that you can't do that if you're running a business by yourself, but having that
9 to 5 is that stability part. I mean, to me, that sounds ideal, you know, you, you have your side
business where you're making just as much as your full-time job, but you know, you still have that
full-time job to some way, in a way to still keep you, like give you a reality check.
It's like, hey, like, you know what, like, you're having a great time over there doing your side gig,
but you know, here's the real world. So I mean, and I get it, and that would be ideal,
and hopefully one day, you know, I can get to that, or who knows, I might be on the front cover of Nat Geo.
I'd love to see that day, JP.
That'd be, that'd be awesome.
So you mentioned that's what everyone's fighting for.
Yeah, everyone's fighting for that, man.
So you mentioned to me that you served in the military. Did that in any way influence you
as a photographer today?
Oh, not at all, man. I, you know, looking back on that time,
it's, it's like, it's just a time that I don't even quite recall or remember.
Like I remember moments, I remember things that I've seen, things that I've done,
but like it's, I think the most influence that, or the thing that I got out of being in the military
the most is just seeping my life together.
Like, I mean, it teaches you, it teaches you a lot of life lessons, but I wouldn't say
photography was anywhere on my mind or near when I was in the military.
I don't, honestly, I don't even remember what kind of photography I was in,
but honestly, I don't even remember what kind of phone I had when I was in the military.
I, I, that would be the only way I would have taken photos and
I mean, I think everyone was on iPhone 7 and I still had the iPhone 3G.
Like I don't, I really don't remember. Like it's, yeah, it didn't play a role.
It didn't. Photography didn't come into my life until much later.
So you saying that though, it taught you life lessons, probably taught you how to endure.
And going into this creative field, you do have to learn to endure a bit because it's unstable.
And go ahead.
It definitely teaches you.
So in the military, it definitely pushes your boundaries and it definitely
shows you what you can endure as a human being.
Going through the military basically shows you that you can tackle anything in life that gets thrown
at you because you get put into some crazy scenarios and situations.
And there's been moments in my life now where I'm like, okay, this is stressful.
Wow. What am I going to do?
But then I think back and I'm like, wait, like my body can endure more.
My mind can endure more.
Like I'm only as strong as my weakest link at this point.
So I got it.
I can keep moving forward.
So it's one of those things and it's just, you learn, you know, what your body can endure.
And you just have to remember that if you hit a hard place, you can take more.
And even for those that don't serve, you can take more.
Because we can all take more than what we actually think we can.
It's just that fear of not knowing.
And I'm sure you go through it with hiking, you know, you're going up those slopes and
you're like, huh, it's getting higher.
Oh, I don't want to do this.
But you get to that mountain top and you realize, oh crap, I did it.
There you go.
That's proof that your body can endure more than what you initially thought.
JP, thank you for your service.
Appreciate you, man.
Thank you.
I want to talk to you about San Diego.
You live in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world.
Hands down.
Uh, yeah.
As someone who photographs a lot of the same spots myself, I go to the mountains a lot,
to the same national parks, same national forests.
You know, I was just curious if you ever get tired of going to the same beaches and
videoing and photographing the same beaches, how, and how do you stay inspired?
How do you stay inspired, man?
Because you are consistent with those.
Oh man.
You know, a lot of the footage that you've seen that I've posted of the beaches, like
I'll start off with this.
I think I've been to the beaches here in San Diego, maybe a total of 20 times.
That's it.
I don't go off to.
What?
Even though I've been to the beaches, I've been to the beaches.
I don't go off to, even though my, even though when I post shows more, I would say about
20 times is the amount of times that I've gone.
I just get a lot of content when I do go.
I'm not as much as I enjoy this city and the beach towns and all that.
This is, I'm more of a mountain guy.
Like my dream is to have a cabin in Wyoming with my closest neighbor being 10 miles away.
Let's go.
That's the dream. That's what I want.
But so, but for now I'm here.
I'm content, right?
Nothing better than waking up and smelling the salt of the sea.
Right.
But when I do go out there, I do often get tired of seeing the same peers,
the same beaches, the same animals, but I try to switch it up each time.
You know, like whenever I go to La Jolla, I try to find a new pond tree that I haven't
flown around or taking a photo of.
You know, marine life is quite wild out here.
So you can fly your drone over the water and maybe catch some dolphins, maybe catch some
seals or the leopard sharks.
Why?
You know, like you can capture a bunch of stuff.
Right.
So I just hold onto that.
And then weather-wise, living on the coast, I mean, you can wake up early in the morning
and get the clouds coming in from the ocean and hitting La Jolla and you're above the
clouds, which is neat.
You can get beautiful sunny day, some sunsets.
We got the trains.
I mean, there's just so many things that you can get on the coast.
Now, with that being said, when I do get tired of it, I do tend to disappear into the desert
or into the mountains like you do.
And I try to go as often as I can.
And I think I've probably spent more time up in the Eastern Sierras than I have at my
local beaches.
It's just the mountains are a different thing to me.
I mean, growing up on the East Coast, we don't have these glaciers.
Like we don't.
You know, it's all city out there.
So coming out here to California, seeing the vast difference of landscapes, it really just
makes me want to keep going out there.
Now, on top of that, I have fellow photographers and fellow droners that go out there and shoot
content and I see their work and I'm like, oh, well, that's a heck of a reel or that's
a dope phone out.
So let me try to go out there and see what I can find.
And I use a lot of my motivation and my...
Well, a lot of my motivation comes from the people I follow.
You know, there's days where I'm like, I don't want to go out and shoot.
Then I'm scrolling through IG and I see people post different things.
I'm like, all right, time to plan my next trip.
Here we go.
And I'm back at it.
So you're right about going to the same places.
I agree because going to the same places can be creatively challenging, uninspiring, but
at the same time, that could be where you make that growth from being an average photographer
to an above average photographer because you video, you've photographed that different
palm tree from a different perspective.
Correct.
And that's also true, I mean, you have to challenge yourself in different ways and going
to the same spot, I don't know, 10 times in a row and try to come out with a new photo
each time is such a great way to really push yourself to the limit.
Like one thing that I did when I got this lens here, so I got the 35 mil 1.4, I think
35 mil 1.4 G Master.
When I got this lens for the first three months, I only packed that in my camera and I did
not take any other lens with me and I shot with that only.
And let me tell you, the amount of times that I had missed shots, like I was pissed.
I was like, oh, like if I had my 70 to 200 with me right now, that would be such a clean
shot or oh, if I had the 2 to 600, oh my God, I can get that bird.
Like literally, but I focused on the 35 mil to the point where I was tired of it, but
then all of a sudden it just opened this whole avenue for me and said, okay, I can shoot
pretty much anything at 35.
To a point where I was shooting Astro with the 35, which to a lot of people is a little
crazy because 35 is not that wide.
But a lot of the photos that you see involving Astro are shot on that 35 mil.
Because you said, what was the aperture on that again, the f-stop?
So the f-stop is 1.4.
Oh, it gets pretty good then.
Yeah.
Oh, it's a beauty for Astro as long as you're backfired.
But I do have also this one for Astro, which is the 20-1.8.
And this is as crispy and clear as you can get.
So I've been fully in love with this one a little more.
But yeah, I mean, it's challenging yourself like that is, it can get, you know, you might
get pissed off at yourself and be like, oh, I'm not going to get anything or I can't get
anything, but you just got to push through it and find a photo that you like.
Don't leave until you get a shot that you like from the same spot.
Perfectly said.
We recently talked about this over DM.
You went to Death Valley just recently and we're talking about how we had been there
a couple of times and we didn't think that it was probably worth going back to.
But then you came back with these bangers, may I say, bangers, I repeat.
Appreciate it.
And you even said it, there was some spots that I saw on a different perspective.
And I mean, yeah.
So I went to Death Valley for the first time a couple of years ago and I was like, you
know what?
Death Valley is awesome.
It's a beautiful park, but I think it's a what-and-done kind of park.
And that was just my point of view of it.
Because I kind of give Joshua Tree the same thing.
It's a what-and-done park for me.
Right?
But then I found myself going again and I went the second time and I'm like,
what am I doing here?
How did I end up back at Death Valley?
But okay.
So I, you know, artist palette, awesome.
The what's it called?
The salt flats, great.
You know, the sand dunes, awesome.
Zabriskie, but the first time I went to Zabriskie, I was like, yo, this is dope.
Got the sunrise shots, I'm done.
Found myself going there a third time, but the third time really wasn't photo.
I was just, you know, checking it out.
It's like that, that's when I was like, I'm never coming back here again.
Like three times is enough.
Like stop this.
And then this trip happened and I went again and I went, I went with a couple other
photographers who shared the same thoughts as I did.
They're like, yeah, you know, Death Valley, I'm going to go back.
Really is cool for maybe a quick drive by, but not nothing else.
Like one and done.
That's it.
But Zabriskie Point that morning was absolutely insane.
I mean, like I've been there so many, I've been there for like, that would
have been the fourth time there, but having someone, we had one of my friends
with us and we gave her a walkie talkie and sent her down to just walk.
We just told her to walk.
Like just walk and we'll follow you.
We'll call you on the walkie talkie and guide you and tell you exactly
what we want you to do.
So we had her walking up and down these hills, up inside, up another
side of the mountains, everything.
And that's where those clips came from.
But getting all those angles, it's, it's insane.
Like you really cannot get a bad shot at Zabriskie Point.
You can't.
There's, there's nothing bad about it.
There's nothing ugly about it.
Like you can just shoot from the top, shoot from the bottom, shoot from the side.
Hang off the side of the cliff.
If you want to, you'll still get a good shot, you know?
So yeah, I mean, it's, it's definitely one of those spots for me that I keep
telling myself I'm not going to go back, but somehow I ended up there again.
You know, going to Death Valley, I've been twice.
And the second time I did the same thing as you exploring the canyons more right
there by the Zabriskie Point and using that sense of scale, I mean, that just
made it so much more interesting.
I have seen a photo from a San Diego photographer.
Her name is something, I think it's something Amber.
And she, she photographed Zabriskie Point.
Someone climbs Zabriskie Point and like the actual point, it's called, I
forgot what it's called.
That's the name for it.
And she, the person went all the way to the top of it and she got her
telephoto out, zoomed all the way in.
Guy looked like an ant.
I am being for real, like straight ant, straight up ant.
It's, it's insane.
Like the first time I went there, there, there was no one walking on those hills.
So we were just at the top at the viewpoint and we were just looking like,
wow, that's cool.
A bunch of little hills and a nice big mountain at the end that looks like a shark fin.
Right.
That's pretty neat.
It wasn't until the second time when I went and I actually got to see people
walking in the canyons, I was like, all right, those are not little hills.
Like those things are massive.
And even my friend that was walking around, she came back and she was exhausted.
She's like, you guys made me walk so much.
I am like, my feet hurt.
And she's a hiker, she's an avid hiker.
Like that's her thing.
And she's like, y'all really put me to work.
I think she's going to bill me though.
I think she, I think she, she thinks I'm a very employer, so I'm probably going
to get a big FET invoice for her.
So you do do some traveling and you do some photography for you.
Is it about.
The traveling or about the photography or for you, does it feel like.
Kind of go together.
Cause I know you mentioned that being in the mountains is just a little bit
different than being at the beach.
Yeah.
I, I think I will say that when it's the first time to a new location, it's
more about the travel, right?
But then if I'm going there, like a bunch of times, then I'm going to go
if I'm going there, like a bunch of times, then it turns more to like a
photography trip.
And I'm more focused on getting different angles, getting different
frames, you know, all those kinds of things.
So like at this point, if we're talking going to Alabama Hills or Mammoth,
I'm more focused on getting different shots.
But if I, if I'm going somewhere new, like I've never been to the PNW.
So if I go up to the PNW, that's going to be a more travel heavy trip.
Like I want to explore.
I want to check things out.
Sure.
I'm going to have my camera with me, but you know, I'm going to check as much
out as I can.
And if, if I see something that I like, then yes, I'll pull the camera with a
drone out and to get what I can.
You would love the PNW bro.
It is.
Oh, in every time I see the photos, I'm like, yeah, it looks, it
looks amazing.
So you've been to our national, you've been to our forest here in the Sierra
Nevada, our forests are just a little bit dry.
If I would say, yeah.
So going over there, exploring the PNW forests, bro, it's a whole new world of
just seeing like actual lush green forest.
Moss.
It looks amazing.
Looks like something straight out of like where Yoda lives.
I mean, it's, it's insane.
Yes.
So drone life, man, should people get one?
Should, should someone get one?
Absolutely.
No question.
I think we are in the time where these drones are so advanced, like before, if
we were talking, maybe, I don't know, eight years ago, when there was only
like the first drone or the mini, the what's it called, the DJI mini one.
You know, I was like, oh, okay.
Maybe, probably not.
But now with this, like the mini pro three, there's, there's, if you're
looking to get into drone photography, the mini pro three is your best bet.
Hands down.
And there, there's no, I mean, besides the pricing, there's just no, shouldn't
be an excuse of why you're holding back.
I say full send because you may think something is beautiful.
You may see something and walk by it.
And at eye level, it doesn't look like much.
But then you send that drone up and you get that bird's eye view.
You're like, okay.
It really changes your perspective.
Especially people who live in the city or even those at the beach, getting
those top downs of the beaches really just changes so much for you.
Yeah.
Because when you go to the beach, at least for me, I can get a little bit bored.
So then when I got my drone, I put it up above the beach.
I was like, whoa, I kind of do like the beach.
The beach is pretty cool.
I mean, there's so much you can get.
Yeah.
Getting that perspective with the drone is.
You can get the waves.
You can get the surfers.
I mean, you can get people just walking down the beach.
Like there's nothing cooler than droning someone while they're on their
afternoon or evening run.
Like it's just so much fun.
I mean, it sounds creepy, but just follow them.
Yeah.
But no, I mean, definitely I would say those that are interested in getting a drone or
it get it.
It's not complicated to fly one of those things.
The, the safety features that they have really do help you fly.
It's not like you're going to send it up and it's going to just go ballistic and crash.
No, like it hovers.
It has all these safety features.
It's not like you're going to get hit by a drone.
It has all these safety features turned on.
It won't allow you to fly close to trees, walls, anything.
So just full sent, please.
So I've had, I've heard some people have opinions on drones in terms of there being a lack of
creativity versus holding like a mirrorless camera, whatever camera you have in hand.
And they say that it's cheating, gorgeous, easy to be a good drone photographer.
But I'm, I don't agree with that.
I think that putting the drone up and taking photos, whether it's photos or videos, you
treat it the same way as you're taking photos on the ground.
It's just from a different angle.
I don't know.
I, I don't, I don't see it as a, a cheat.
You know, you can say someone who that, who is shooting with a Sony A7R4 is cheating compared
to someone who is shooting with the Sony A6000, you know, it, it, it doesn't make sense to
me that anyone would say that, you know, you're sending a device up into the air, you're honing
in on the settings, you're setting up an angle shot that you need, you're filming, you're
framing it just the way you want it and you're taking a photo and then a video.
I mean, I think a video takes flying an unmanned aircraft in the sky with other attributes,
whether it's birds, it's wind and all that compared to someone taking a video on a tripod
on the ground.
You know, I think it's a little more advanced when you're flying that drone around.
Now that's not to knock anybody that does that, but it's just like, you know,
like come on, don't, I just shouldn't knock anybody's work or anything like that.
It's, it's, you know, get with the times is what I say.
Like, you know, I was, I was hard headed when Instagram switched up from photos to reels,
you know, I was like, I ain't doing reels.
I'm not going to go down that path.
But then I realized, you know what?
It's growth.
It's, I view it as growth because if it wasn't for reels, I wouldn't have cared to learn
about Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve.
I wouldn't have cared to flip my camera setting from photo to record.
I wouldn't, I wouldn't even touch the drone and record.
I would have just taken photos the whole time.
And we live in an era when, where people care more about seeing a live photo than a still,
you know, people want to see the behind the scenes.
People want to see, oh, the reveal shot, like you panning up and showing the lake.
And then all of a sudden it shows the whole mountain range.
People love that.
So yeah, no, anyone that knocks the drone world over,
knocks the drone world or the drone community, you know, go ahead and jump back into that dumpster.
So speaking of Instagram, are you okay with it not prioritizing photos anymore?
Yeah, you know, it's, it's been a battle now.
And then I think at first I wasn't because I was so focused on photography,
but I've grown to love videography, whether it's on my camera or my drone,
learning new things, learning transition, learning how to put text on videos,
learning how to do speed ramps, all those things really come into play.
And it, it, it really pushed me further.
And I would even say that because I've done so much video work now,
it's opened up how I shoot photos as well.
Because now all of a sudden, you know, I'm looking at different angles for video,
but while I'm looking for angles for videos, at the same time,
I'm finding new perspectives for possible stills.
And I wouldn't have walked to this side of this waterfall
if it wasn't because I wanted to take a video.
But now looking at this angle, this actually looks cool for a photo.
So before I start the video, I'll take the photo and then I'll do the video.
So, I mean, it's, it really opens doors up.
I 100% agree, man.
Yeah. I just think where I know that there are still people out there that are upset that
Instagram is not prioritizing photos anymore, but you know, it's, it's one of those things.
These, these social media apps are not here for us to create a gallery.
If we want a gallery, we create our own website.
This website is for the people.
It's for us.
It's the consumer.
They're a business.
Yeah. The consumer is telling Instagram that they want videos.
You know, if they want to blame anyone, blame TikTok, because TikTok did this to all of us.
That's amazing that you say that because I know a lot of photographers were mad about the switch,
but the fact that you just said that it's our fault is the consumer's fault.
It is. 100%. Bam.
Wow. So maybe it is an Instagram fault. Instagram is just a business.
It is. And, and you know, it, people tend to, like, people tend to forget that Instagram is
a crazy algorithm. Might as well be an AI that can read what we do.
So as you're scrolling through Instagram, let's say you're someone who hates the concept of
Reels and you're never going to make one. So you're scrolling through Instagram,
then you get photo, photo, photo, and then you see a Reel and you're like,
oh, this is a cool Reel. And you stop and watch it for more than five seconds.
And then you scroll. Guess what? Instagram now thinks that you want to see more Reels.
So they'll start throwing more Reels. Then all of a sudden, now you're watching Reels, Reels, Reels,
and now you're a consumer of Reels. So I don't, you know, for those that say I hate Reels,
unless you're Instagram, unless I could grab your phone and scroll through your Instagram
and get 10 straight photos, I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it.
Oh, boom. You're a real, you're a real-
Drop the mic already. You're a real enthusiast.
Drop the mic. This is literally the best stuff I've heard in a long time. I haven't heard anyone
say it better than that. Being serious. It's, it's honestly the truth. And I mean, I,
I do feel for photographers who don't want to do Reels. I do.
Cause they, they've worked so hard and honed in on their skills.
Right, right. You're right.
Um, and it sucks, but you know what? If it's a business, and if you want to become a business
as a photographer, you have to adapt to your surroundings. And if you plan to use Instagram
as a way for people to see your work, then you have to adapt to what Instagram is going to be doing.
Like, you know, if you have a restaurant and you move into a place that is changing with,
with the different kinds of people that are coming in and, and movement, you have to adapt.
You have to adapt. If you, if you came into a restaurant, you're like, you know what?
I'm only going to sell cheeseburgers with no fries. Then fine. But then when a new restaurant
shows up that has cheeseburgers and fries, and you start losing customers, what are you going to
end up doing? You're going to end up switching up and you're going to end up making those fries
and change it a little bit till you get customers back. And that's all, that's all part of the,
that's all part of the business plan. So if you, if you're on Instagram, you want people to see your
work, use reels. And even if you just use a photo for a reel. I've talked to so many people where
they're like, I just don't know how to create a reel. I don't know where to start. You guys make
these, these reels that just seem so advanced, blah, blah, blah. And my dude set up your camera
on a tripod, point it in a direction, grab your cell phone and do a before and after, or what my
phone sees versus what my camera sees. That's it. People love that. They're like, oh, it's so cool.
Or a raw versus the edit. Raw versus the edit. I mean, it's as simple as that. It's yes, do some of
us make more intense videos? Sure. But in reality, that's not, that's, that's not what everyone's
going to see. Like, you know, the amount of times that I've seen a cat blinking go viral, like, it's
like, what? This cat is just blinking and it has 3 million views. Are you kidding me? So, you know,
it's, it is what it is. Being a business owner, learning how to adapt your eye is crucial because
if my outreach isn't hitting, then that means they're not opening it. So it's not interesting
enough. It's not engaging enough. If they're opening it and they're still not responding,
that means I'm not provoking a reaction or action. Right. So, exactly. As a business, okay, so how do
I improve that? You evolve. But, you know, I also like, I make this similarity with this connection
with every day with work. You know, you have that person that has been working at your job
for 50 years. And for 50 years, they've been doing things one way. But then all of a sudden,
there's a better, faster, easier way to do it. And that company wants to implement that. But that
person that's been there for 50 years is going to be like, I don't want to. Well, if it's easy,
better and faster, why not? So to me, those that don't want to do reels are the 50 year old
employee that refuses to change as the company is getting bigger and demanding change.
Gary Vee says that all the time, man. He says, oh, all the people saying social media sucks.
We're evolving. We're evolving. That's all it is. You're either going or you're not. That's it.
Correct. Man, I think that you collaborating with a lot of other people is inspiring to me,
because I don't do much of that. And at least I feel like that a lot of people over here
don't really get together. Maybe it's just me and I reaching out to people, but I don't know. I just
don't feel like a lot of photographers are meeting up over in my mountain area a lot more. And I think
something that you could give advice to people listening to this is how do you make friends in,
I guess, the creative space, whether creative space or some other space, how do you build that
relationship with those people and start going out with them more often? Because I mean, dude,
you are always shooting with somebody. It's... So I've noticed with Instagram,
it becomes like an ego war, you know? And people get afraid of rejection. People get afraid of
being turned down or not knowing how to approach someone with more followers than them. When in
reality, a lot of them are just like, I want people to shoot with. I don't care who you are.
I don't care if you have 50 followers. I don't care if you have 100,000 followers. I just want
people to shoot with. So if you're looking to shoot with someone or if you see a photographer
in your area and you see them go out often, shoot your shot. Shoot your shot. Go into that DMs and
be like, look, man, I like your work. I like what you're doing. I live in the same area.
If you're down, I would love to shoot with you sometime. That's it. But a lot of people don't
care to send that message. And they'd be surprised on how many people are actually open
to do something like that. Last year in August, I did a story where I was like, hey,
I want to do a Milky Way meetup. And I put it up on my stories just to see. And I expected
seven, eight people to maybe reach out. And I created a group chat for it. And I had maybe
15 people in the group chat. I was like, hey, I'm down to go. I set it all up and went out there.
And on the day of, I got a final roll call. And there was like 18 people that were going to come
out to meet in Anza Borrego. Nick, I showed up and there was 32. No way. Yeah, it was 32 people that
showed up to do this. And it just shows how many people are looking for these kind of things.
And my meetup, there was no charge. There's nothing. It's really just a bunch of photographers
getting together and doing what they all like to do collectively. And you say that not a lot of
people go out there. Your situation is a little different because you are way up there. But also
at the same time, the amount of people that I've talked to that have never been to national parks,
that have never visited these cool spots that you and I always go to, blows my mind. So what I would
say is if you're looking for people in your area to go hiking with or shoot, put it up on your story
and be like, Hey, I'm going to this, I want to do this location in a month or two months.
If you want to do this with me, let me know. Bam. And from there, you'll get people reaching out
and say, Hey, I'm interested. Whether they're coming from San Francisco or San Diego,
people will make the trip. The power of collaboration is powerful. People have reached
out to me to come shoot with me and come go with me. They're not as experienced and I'm okay with
that because it's someone to go shoot with. Honestly, it was kind of cool because I was
actually able to teach them about photography, video, my whole thought process. And so maybe
you're in someone's shoes that you're smaller and you reach out to this big creator.
Dude, that's an opportunity for a mentorship student like hangout as well.
For sure. And something that I, like I said, shoot your shot, but also in the terms of
people wanting to learn, don't be afraid to DM one of these photographers and ask them for advice.
There are some bad apples out there. I won't lie. I've run into a few where, you know,
I had questions about certain things and they read my message and they just leave me unread
or some of them are jerks and like the message. They literally heart it and never respond.
I'm like, are you serious? You're going to acknowledge that I asked you a question?
But most of us, most of us really are nice people. Like, you know, the community that
I'm in with all my friends, they just want to see everyone excel. They want everybody
to do well. They want every single post that we post to blow up and go viral. I mean, that's
literally all we do. And I've met so many creators that way. And a lot of people that I started off
with, they're now in the hundreds and thousands of followers because of that. So it's really cool to
surround yourself and find that community and find those people. And I think everyone can find
those people for themselves. But with that being said, if there's any followers out there that are
in Southern California and they ever want to shoot, go ahead and slide it to my DMs. I have
a lot of people that are always looking for other people to shoot. And maybe I might not be able to
make it, but I know other people that can. So there's this group in Utah. I don't know
if you heard of them. They're called the Bushwackers.
I know. I know it sounds funny, but they're a bunch of photographers. Okay. It's all like
city based out of, but I mean, anyone from Utah, anyone's invited, but most of them live in Salt
Lake or in the Utah region. And they all go photograph the Red Rock National Parks or they
go to Salt Lake. And their whole premise of this Instagram page, they have a website, they have a
podcast now is to bring creatives together. They host meetups. They do photo trips. Like they go
out down to Southern Utah and take photos with a bunch of people. And now they're starting this
university on their website, like giving us like photography information, like through YouTube.
And I think it's a good thing what they're doing because like they said, their main focus is to
build community and someone's always available to shoot, which I think is cool because they said,
even if we can go, our people within our community are shooting together at some point or another.
There's always somebody to hang out with and shoot with. And I think like, so what you're doing on
there, building that community is a huge thing and it's doing a lot of good for a lot of people.
So for people collaborating that want to learn from people, that's beneficial to them. For
guys who are know a little more, it's beneficial to us because we're able to give back to these
people after all the knowledge that we've been passed on from all the greats before us. Not
seeing where like, cause I'm crazy big people, but I mean like the people who were before us
gave us knowledge, we're giving back. Oh, for sure. I mean, and I remember when I first started,
I was sliding into everyone's ZMS and asking questions, you know, and trying to find
people that are willing to help or willing to shoot. And it was a struggle because like I said,
there are bad apples out there. Not bad apples, just people that are not necessarily, you know,
as giving. But yeah, no, I mean, building a community and having people message means like,
Hey man, I love your work, but I have a question. How did you create that halo with your drone? Or
Hey, how did you do that long exposure shot? Or Hey, how did you get the perfect conditions for
this shot? Or what were your settings for this shot? You know, it's those are the kind of DMs
that I like to see because it's like, okay, it's nice that people are viewing my work as something
that they would like to attempt. And I'm more than happy to give them my settings stamp and say,
Hey, this is exactly the settings that I had. Try it out. It's not bulletproof, but hey, you know,
mess around with it, adjust things as needed. So you do a lot of Astro photography, light paintings.
Quite frankly, it's awesome. And I don't do any of that ever. I've done Astro, maybe a total of
like three times. How did you get, I know, how did you get into that type of photography?
Oh, okay. So when the pandemic hit, like I said, I honed down and wanted to learn how to shoot
with like learn the settings, learn everything. I decided that the first style of photography I
wanted to learn was Astro. So I pretty much did everything backwards. I learned the hardest style
of photography first, and then worked my way back. I would say the hardest. It really teaches you all
the techniques and settings that you need. So when you start doing other work, you're like, oh, I know
how the aperture works. I know how, you know, long exposure works. I know how to manage my ISO better,
my white balance, all those things. So I decided to do that. And it was the first
summer, actually, no, yeah, yeah, it was the first summer before COVID hit that I was like, oh, I'm
going to try out my camera and I'm going to try Astro photography. And I went out there
and it was the worst thing I've ever seen in my life. Like the photos that I got were abysmal.
Nothing, nothing was in focus. I even, I'm pretty sure I even posted the photo. I was like,
this is the Milky Way. Looking back, I'm like, no, that's, that's just a star. Like, no, sir,
this is a Wendy's. Okay. Like, seriously, it was so bad. And then the following summer, which was
COVID, that's when I got the correct lens. Cause you do need like, you know, a wide-a, I was using
a kit lens. Let's start there. I was using a kit lens for my first time at Astro, which if you know
how to work the settings, you can get away with it. But if you're just starting, Lord help you.
Um, but I finally had the right lens the second year and I started taking just one shot and done.
You know, you set up your tripod, you take a 20 to 25 second shot, depending on your,
your focal length, do the math there, and then edit that photo. And I was content with that.
You can get some crazy photos for that. And then it wasn't until last summer that with the help of
with the help of one of my friends, his name is Josh, uh, she helped guide me through how to do
stacking. So I'd started then taking anywhere between 50 and 80 photos of the Milky way,
and then stacking them through the computer. And what that essentially just ended up doing was,
uh, denoising the photo. And then I am able to play more around with the contrast, the color,
bring out the, you know, the dark spots of the Milky way more, make it stand out more.
And it just a cleaner look for, for a Milky way. Um, and I still am at beginner level for astrophotography.
Um, like my friend Josh, he uses a star tracker and I, I watched him several times set that damn
thing up and I still have no idea how it works. Like I have no, he puts that thing on the tripod.
He's like, well, now you have to like scientifically set it up and you have to aim it at this specific
star. And then you have to click start and then it starts to move. I'm like enough. No, let me stick
to my tripod. I'm okay. Like I don't know what a mess it's all about. Eventually I would like to
really dive into it, but for now I'm, I, this year I really want to do more stacks and, and just get
more Milky way done. Cause I will say that my last year Astro, uh, I didn't do as much as I would have
liked. I kind of, you know, slept on it a little bit, but this coming up here, it's game on. And
I guess sounds like since you say you've only done it three times or so, it looks like I'll be making
my way up to Yosemite and Sequoia to get some Milky way shots out there. Let's go. Dude, that is
awesome. Did you say, did you say stacking 50, 50 to 80 photos? 50 to 80. Yeah.
Wow. That's a beast of a file. I just, it's, it's there and it's all raw files. So you could imagine.
No, I know. That's a beast of a file, bro. Yeah. It's, it's, I think you can get away with less,
but I overcompensate and I just want to make sure in case something goes wrong. Um, but yeah,
I mean, I learned a lot in on top of those, you have to get your dark frames in because those
dark frames really, really help with bringing out that punch in a Milky way. Uh, but yeah, I mean,
coming up it's, it's the Milky way season is coming up. So I'll be diving right back into it.
You know, you said that you shot on a kit lens for your first Milky way. I did to you in death
valley and dude, I did it in the winter. So it's not Milky way season in the winter. And fortunately
there was no moon out. So I was still able to see the Milky way pretty good. And I think the F stop,
the F stop on my kit lens was like 3.5, I think. And which kit lens did you have? Do you remember?
Uh, the 18 to 135 Sony kit lens from my A63. And it's not like a,
see, I have the, uh, this is the 16 to 50 for this a 6,000. What was the F stop on that one?
3.5. Yeah. So, but yeah, so 3.5. Yeah. And I don't know, man. I mean, I was able to get some Milky
way shots. They were a little bit noisy. Oh, you for sure. You for sure can get it at 3.5
with a longer exposure and a higher ISO. But with Sony, we have that advantage of
Sony being such a beast at, at, uh, nighttime, right? But low light situations, but
you, if you were to take that 3.5 kit lens and stack a hundred photos of it,
Ooh, that would be crisp. That'd be clean. That's good to know, man. I'm going to,
I'm definitely going to try that out this year. Given a shot, um, like I've tried, so I have
the Tamron, uh, 16 to 28. This is what started me with most of my Astro. And I was like, this is
great. And then I use the 21.8 beast. If you're looking for a Astro or a wide angle lens,
this is your guy. And then of course the 35 is busy with my go-to right now. Um,
now imagine shooting Astro with this guy. That would be killing. So my question to you,
yes, what is your favorite photo or your fondest memory of a photo? I know like sometimes it
may be too hard to like have a favorite photo. So what's, what's a, what's a photo that like just
best memory? My favorite photo, my favorite photo period has to be probably Mount Tam in San
Francisco, above the clouds, watching those, uh, watching those clouds roll in. Um, we, we showed
up and it was such a funny story. So we showed up, we went up to Mount Tam, the clouds were thick,
like they were rolling. There's photographers out there and we know we're just hanging out,
chilling. We were getting pretty decent long exposure shots of the clouds. And all of a sudden
and all of a sudden the sunset just pops off. The color came in, the skies turned orange and pink.
It was, it was, it was crazy. And one of the guys next to me, he, uh, he actually runs one of the,
uh, San Francisco accounts. Um, they have like an app up there that they use, like photographers use
to check on weather and stuff. So he runs that and forget the name of it's like ice cream or
something. I don't know. Um, but he, he was telling us, he's like, literally we came at the right time
because they haven't had a sunset plus the clouds and like over a year and a half. And I was like,
wow, like we got so lucky. So that, that photo is literally one of my favorite shots that I have.
It's a cool memory. Uh, but I think memory wise, like a fond memory that I have, a photo that I
remember just taking and it just lives in my head rent free. Uh, probably my first successful Astro
shot. It was out at Anza Borrego. Yeah. It was out at Anza Borrego. Uh, it was of the statue of the
serpent. I got the head of the serpent with the Milky way right next to it. And that was my first
successful shot. And I was like, wow, like this has been a year and a half in a making and I finally
did it. So that, that would be my fondest memory shot. That's so nice, bro. I've been to Mount Tam
and just the bay, man, the bay is just the fog goes crazy over there. Dude, it's insane up there.
And I've never been to Anza Borrego. I've literally made multiple plans to go down there,
but for some reason it never works out. And it looks like a super cool place to photograph
by the desert area. Yeah, it's neat. There's, there's a lot of cool canes that you can go into.
Fond's point is great, but you would need, uh, you know, all wheel or four wheel drive car with high
clearance for a lot of the places out there. Quite literally Anza Borrego is, especially cause
Ocatillo Wells is right next to it. It is literally a off wheel, off road car playground. Like they
literally have playground set for jeeps and stuff to, to roll over hills and ride on the side of the
mountains. Like they have all that stuff out there. That sounds pretty cool. I, I drive a lot of
civic, so when I need four wheel drive, um, I ask my girlfriend, Lorelai, we take her car. She's got a
Jeep Liberty. So I have four wheel drive and all that. But when I'm riding solo, sometimes I take
my little Honda into some places. It should never go, man. I mean, it's, it's, it's so funny. Like
you see, we see my little Honda out there on the dirt road. People look at me like crazy with their
jeeps and trucks and I'm like, Hey man, I want to get out here too. And eventually, why the hell are
you out here? You're going to pop a tire and I'm not bringing you out. But no, I've took it to my
place. My car has some risky spots, but it's, it's been through a lot and it's made it. But eventually
I do want to get something with four wheel drive and high clearance at some point, maybe a van or
maybe even a Tacoma or Highlander. Four-winners are pretty good. Yeah, Tacoma. Yeah. Ooh, four-runners
on my, that's my go-to. Like that's what I want. Right now I have a, a RAV4, which that baby has
guided me through some, some fun stuff, but uh, four-runners definitely on my list. I guess the job
done though. I've heard good things about it. Oh, it's great. I mean, it, it has guided me through
some crazy situations, like thick snow and sand. And I mean, it's compact too, huh? It's like not
too big of a car. It's like not crazy big either. That's the other thing. It's not that it's, it's
not crazy big, but I do, I would like a little more room in case I want to, you know, sleep in
the back of the car or something like that. So do you, do you go camping on these trips or are you
staying in hotels? I'm all over the place. Uh, it depends on who I'm going with. You know, I have my
friends that are like down to just pitch a tent anywhere and camp. Then I have my friends who are
a little more bougie and they're like, no, excuse me, I need room service. So it all, it, it all,
it all depends on who I go out with. Um, but you know, Airbnbs, if they're not too expensive,
I have no problem booking them. Um, like, you know, I went to Hanksville, Utah, and it was like,
I think like 70 or $80 a night there. And I was like, oh, this, this is doable. That's not bad at
all. That I can do, but I don't want to go to like Salt Lake and spend $200 on an Airbnb. Like no,
I'd rather find open land that I can camp in or sleep out of my car. You're right. So
I normally budget travel just cause that's what's the budget. And I try to find free camping. I know
like a lot of other people are going that route now. I know when I was in Utah though, so I was
in, I don't know if you've been to the Canab area or like it's right above Horseshoe Bend. So
Horseshoe Bend is in Arizona. Then Canab is in Utah at the Southern border. It's by the Coral
Pink Sand Dunes. So over there, yes. So over there, I don't know, I kind of found a campsite and I
didn't feel comfortable with the free campsites that were there. So I was like, all right, I'm
going to book a hotel. Like I never do this, but let's see what they got. And the hotel I found,
it was like, it was decent. It was like, you said it was only 70 bucks. And I was like, well, shoot,
I'm going to stay in the hotel then if I can't find a campsite. And that's what I did.
Yeah. And you just have to know where to look. No, I mean campsites, exactly. You have that app,
is it the iOverlander app? Yeah. I have like four different ones. I have iOverlander,
I have Camp Medium, FreeCamping.net, and there's like one more, but I don't remember it. But
and then I know you can use the BLM maps, but those apps are like, I don't know,
the BLM maps, but those apps are probably the best. Yep. iOverlander, Camp Medium,
FreeCamping.net. Because they already make it all for you. Right. But yeah, that's what I usually
use, especially when I was with the camper van. I was just using that iOverlander app and finding
spots to camp. So one of my last questions for you, what is your advice for someone who wants to
take more photos or picking up their first camera, or maybe they haven't got a camera yet,
they're thinking about it. What's your advice to them?
Step one, get a camera. But once you have that camera, go out and shoot. Every chance you get,
shoot. Don't go out and shoot and then put the camera down for two weeks and then go out again,
because you're not going to be able to fulfill yourself with what you want out of it.
Shoot every day if possible, and it doesn't matter what you shoot. Just go out there,
get it done, come back, review your photos, and I guarantee you will find two or three photos out
of that batch that you like, edit, and do whatever you want with them. But just make sure you're
shooting all the time. It's really the only way to grow, because as you shoot, you start to learn
your mistakes, and when you start to learn your mistakes, you adjust them, you get better as a
photographer, and that's also just the first half. Have fun editing photos. Something that I tell a
lot of people that reach out to me about how I edit my photos, or how to edit photos when you
first start off, is go ahead and buy yourself presets. Find your favorite photographer that
has millions of followers, or that has a website where you can purchase presets, and buy those
presets, add it into your Lightroom, attach them to your photo, and edit backwards, so you learn
how they did it. Once you attach that preset, you can see exactly what settings they put on,
and work backwards, and figure out, okay, this is what they set their contrast to, this is what they
set their shadows, their blacks, their whites, and just learn all those things. And then,
from there, you can continue using the presets, but then, instead of, not all presets are like,
you slap it on and they're done, because that will really mess up your photo, but work with them.
Slap on the preset, change the contrast, change the colors, change the lighting, mess around with
what's it called, the shadows and stuff, until you're happy with it. Don't be afraid, and don't
listen to the people that go, oh, don't use presets, you should just edit from scratch. You can,
but if you're starting off, it's a lot harder to do that. For me now, since I know how I edit,
and I know what my styles are, I'll throw my photo in there, and I'll instantly know where I want my
shadows, where I want my whites, where I want my blacks, instantly. But that's because that,
the way that I learned was through presets. And that's usually the route that I tell people to go,
just to learn. So I've created-
Just get out there and shoot, and-
You're right.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, I was going to say, I've created my own presets, I've got my own editing style,
just so I don't have to take the time to keep editing it the same way, I just slap it on,
and then I go from there, because it's so consuming going back and doing it over and over again.
So I made the preset-
Especially since we're going back and forth to a lot of the same places. So like, for example,
if you're going to Sequoia, you could make 10 presets that say, Sequoia 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
So then you know that when you go to Sequoia, and you take photos of the stuff, you're like,
oh, I'm just going to slap on a Sequoia preset on here, because I already know that these are
the ones that I like. So I mean, it's just all about the flow of how you do things.
You're thinking long-term right there, bro. I just have one preset, I saw it on all of them.
I'm actually going to do what you just said right now and do that many presets for each location,
dude. That's genius.
You should. And I do that for mine because I go to different areas. So like, I'll have a Sunset
preset, I'll have a Midday preset, I have, you know, Sunrise preset, I have Beach presets, I have
Alabama Hills presets. Like, I have a preset for pretty much everything. When I go to a place once,
I get a photo that I think is pretty generic, I edit it, and then I save those presets. That way,
when I do go back to that location, I can just use that preset and see how it looks and work and add
or take off what I need. It just makes the workflow much easier.
Okay, so for those of you listening and you don't have your own presets of your editing style,
go ahead and go do that of all the locations you've been to and the places you frequent.
Do it because I'm going to do it. JP Ramsey right here, this guy is
spending some knowledge. Take note. JP, I appreciate you coming on here and talking with me. This
podcast is about, for me, is for connecting with other creatives, outdoor enthusiasts, people who
just like being outdoors. Doesn't matter what it is, photographer, videographer, mountaineer, hiker,
van lifer, or someone who just likes to take walks by the beach and kind of like on these little
trails. It doesn't matter. I want them to share their experiences on this platform,
whether they're in the creative field working or they're just mountaineers so they can
share their knowledge with the people listening, so more people can learn different perspectives
about the way they do things. Like today, we talked about you doing your presets this way.
You talked about astrophotography. I even learned things from this.
So the whole point about this is just connecting with others, giving them a platform to share their
own experience, talk about what they're doing. And it was a blast talking to you. Where can the people
find you on social media?
Mostly on IG. My Instagram handle is jpramzifotos. That's where I post most of my work.
Feel free to reach out. Let me know, hey, I saw you on the podcast, on the Nick Kamm podcast, and
I have a couple questions. I'd be more than happy to help guide you. Like I said earlier,
one piece of advice is don't be shy. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Ask the questions.
Reach out to that photographer that you look up to. Tell them that their work influences you.
Trust me, it goes a long way. And it opens up that door for you to get to know yourself.
And it opens up that door for you to talk to them and learn a thing or two. And it could also just
make a good friend out of it, even if it's not photography related. Just do it. Reach out and
make new friends. Some of my friends aren't even photographers. I met through this social media
app, but they're just hikers. And they just post about their hikes. And I sometimes invite them to
go with me on the hikes on the longer ones, because I know they'll actually go bear the
brunt with those ones. Because not all photographers are into what I do, getting out there at 2 a.m.,
hiking 10 miles in the dark, whatever it is. So sometimes I invite the hikers to go with me,
because they're kind of crazy too. Hikers are kind of crazy. And hikers are crazy.
Hikers are insane. Dude, you guys are a different breed. I don't understand you at all. Like,
I was like, I have a hiker friend. And she dragged me out to do what was supposed to be an 11 mile
hike, and it turned into a 19 mile hike. And I quite literally almost died. I ran out of water.
It was over 100 degrees. I literally, we had to stop. And I was like, dude, like I need a break.
And she's like, all right, fine. I was like, give me five minutes to just like take a breather here.
And then we'll continue. And it was relatively flat. Like it wasn't any hills. It was just
heat exhaustion. Yeah. So I laid down, and I was like, give me a five minute break. And I kid you
not, I closed my eyes. And I felt like it was 30 seconds. And she's waking me up. And she's like,
we got to go. And I'm like, dude, it's only been like 30 seconds. She's like, no, you've been out
for 15 minutes. I was like, oh no. Like I literally felt like it was a half a minute. But I knocked
out for 15. And that's when I knew I had to keep going. So I got up, I kept walking, finally made
it to the last stretch on these rural tracks. And I walked so straight. Like I didn't notice anything.
I had tunnel vision at that point. Like I was just like headed right to the car. We got to the car
because I had told her to walk ahead of me. And I got to the car, I chugged down this whole thing
of water. And she's like, Hey, did that family say anything to you? And I'm like, what family?
She's like, you literally walked a split in between two families. And I was like, I had,
I saw no one else out on those tracks. What do you mean? So apparently there's like a family
walking, all of them in a straight line. And I walked between them. Like I made them walk
separate. And I walked right in between them. And I was like, I saw nobody. I do not recall any of
that whatsoever. So she damn near killed me. And that's a story that will live forever in my head.
And that's why I will never trust all trails because they said it was 11 miles and it turned
out to be 19 miles. So I am suing all trails, all trails. If you're watching this, I'm coming for you.
Bro, if you're not hiking that many miles on a regular basis, that is brutal.
It's brutal. It was brutal. You can't just pick up and just do that kind of mileage.
And I prepared for 11 miles.
Yeah. Yeah.
Like I prepared for 11 miles and it surprised me and said 20. And I was like, are you kidding me right now?
It's also the mental aspect too, like preparing for that. So like tomorrow,
You guys are different breeds.
I'm starting my hike tomorrow at 2 AM.
Yeah, I saw that.
2 AM. I think 2 or 3. I have to calculate how long it'll take me to get to the sunrise spot.
But it's a new semi, there's no shoeing in the dark in the woods. I have to clean my house.
See, that's what I'm talking about.
I have to clean my house around midnight or 1 o'clock in the morning. I don't know.
We'll figure it out. I'm going to figure it out after this call.
But it's going to be fun. I like the sunrise and I like to get those crazy adventure photos.
But sometimes I don't always realize how crazy the things I do.
Because to me, it's normal.
But I do in the 100 sunrise things.
I mean, yeah. That was so cool though.
The fact that you completed the 100 sunrise thing, that was awesome.
That is so cool that you even held yourself accountable by posting about it all the time.
And now letting yourself fall through with it, especially since your followers were all watching it.
That was quite the accomplishment, so that's awesome that you did that.
But also what's more astonishing is the fact that you're in a snowshoe in the middle of the night slash morning.
You're probably going to have to fight off about three or four bears.
And it's climb up god knows where to a sunrise spot.
You're going to leave a trail of dead bears because you're going to fight them all and defeat them.
It's absolutely insane.
I love it.
That's why I like winter hiking because bears aren't awake as much in the middle of the night.
Oh, okay. Oh, you got that cheat code. Okay.
Yeah, summertime. I'm probably going to be hiding behind somebody else, which is usually my girlfriend.
You know what? I'm sure girlfriends usually have the tougher ones, man. Let me tell you.
She's tough, man.
But JP, I appreciate you having you on here.
Of course, man.
It was a blast. Thanks for having me.
For those of you who are listening, if you're not following the podcast, it's at the Nick Amp podcast on Instagram and TikTok and YouTube.
If you want to follow me, it's at the Nick Amp on my Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.
You'll find me everywhere.
I'll see you on the next episode. Thanks for listening.