Hi,
This tiny, very personal project in the truest sense, is going to turn one year old soon. As you might have noticed, the pace between posts significantly slowed down in the last couple of weeks, for two reasons:
First, work has been hectic lately; I just returned from Copenhagen for a travel job and finished a larger piece for a furniture brand.
Secondly, I granted myself a little time off to sketch a few concepts and ideas for this newsletter. I’m excited that Notes from the Lab is steadily growing, and it delights me that so many of you regularly write, provide feedback and your views on the topic at hand. Much love to everyone reading this publication; it makes me really happy to have you aboard.
Today, I want to introduce you to two new features on Notes from the Lab:
First, something that I have wanted to do for a very long time but never found the courage to start. Plus, there just wasn’t the right platform that fit my needs, where I could still maintain my content autonomy without being forced to adapt to the algorithm. But when Substack introduced its video feature, it immediately dawned on me that this was the time to start.
I’ve been documenting parts of my work for quite some time on video, mainly using tiny GoPros that I attached to my camera's hot shoe. Or any other camera with the capability to shoot short motion sequences.
iPhones, action cams, webcams, mirrorless cameras, anything I had at hand at that moment. I almost exclusively did it to remember past shoots and document my process. However, I still wanted to share these most immediate and rough behind-the-scenes clips in some way or another, without the pressure to make them perfect or streamline them to a random audience.
This is the idea behind the Lab in the original sense of the word, treating this newsletter as a Laboratory of ideas and concepts and taking you with me along the journey.
Now this is the perfect time to enhance this substack channel with more video content (Above is a little teaser), and here’s what I’ve been thinking about and, thus, what you can expect regarding the content from now on:
Behind-the-scenes
Rough and hopefully authentic views behind the scenes. Work vlogs. Sometimes extended, sometimes short.
Edit and concept
Mostly screen recordings of edit and concept sessions. With voiceover, explaining the process.
Short docs and random photography-related videos
Documentary-like videos of stuff or people that caught my attention and anything random that I think fits the concept of the newsletter.
Sketchbook walkthroughs
If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you might know these already. I upload every time I finish one of my sketchbooks.
This is an addition to the existing content, and I will continue writing about my approach and thoughts behind the process. Still, video is an excellent extension of the main goal I had in mind when I started Notes from the Lab one year ago.
Going open-source, being relentlessly open about my process, and starting a dialogue on the ins and outs of photography.
I will use the next months to explore this concept further, and I would love to hear some feedback from you.
To make this easier, I was excited as I discovered the new Substack Chat feature.
This way, we can have a much more intimate and immediate conversation. And over time, I’m planning to have different topics of discussion and open threats. Maybe, even more, this is still a subject of exploration.
This is a conversation space in the Substack app that I set up exclusively for my subscribers — like a group chat or live hangout. I’ll post short prompts, thoughts, and updates that come my way, and you can jump into the discussion. Read below how you can participate!
I’m looking forward to meeting you!
Talk to you very soon!
Ramon
💌 Substack Chat
To join the chat, you’ll need to download the Substack app (messages are sent via the app, not email). Turn on push notifications so you don’t miss a chance to join the conversation as it happens.
Follow these steps to stay tapped in:
Download the free Substack App here.
Access Substack Chat using the message bubble icon on the nav; you’ll see a thread from Notes from the Lab in your inbox and other publications you subscribe to that use this feature.
You’re in! Participate in the conversation using text or image replies to the threads. Read more about Substack Chat here.
The Future of Notes From the Lab