Creative: Good Programming/Beau Miles

Several years ago, Blurb sent me to Australia. Until this trip, Australia seemed like fiction. I had, of course, heard about it, read about it, and had seen it in movies and documentaries, but the idea of going there didn’t seem real. And then our founder called me into her office and said, “I need to go to Australia, but I can’t go.” “I’m sending you in my place.” I even got to upgrade to economy plus.

I liked Australia right way. (Black and white images are mine.)

The country felt like a mix of Los Angeles, Wyoming, and New Mexico with a touch of Gulf Coast sand thrown in for good measure. I know Australia suffers from a range of ills, as all countries do, but I found Australians to be fun, open, and incredibly creative. One encounter would lead to another. I ended up doing radio spots, podcasts, interviews, panels and art school visits up and down the eastern side of the island. I attended photo festivals, art openings and went to parties where I learned new words like “budgie smuggler,” “flat white,” and “slab of stubbies.”

That first trip made a major impression, so I made sure there was a second trip, and a third. These subsequent trips were even better, more encompassing, and by this time I had a larger network of friends and business contacts. I did more interviews which led to meeting more people which led to more opportunity. My wife got so sick of hearing me talk about Australia she decided to come have a look. When the hotel staff found out she was solo while I was out doing my Blurb thing they said, “Sorry Shiela, you are coming with us,” and proceeded to cart her all over the city. They even took her out during the day when Australians get hammered over some horse race or crocodile toss or roo boxing or whatever else it is that sets them off. (Melbourne Cup?)

During my short stints in country I met the most amazing creatives. There was Remo, Zoë, Chloe, Andrew, Lorenzo, Jess, and Garry who was at one point a contractor for Blurb. I was invited to speak at a creative festival in Brisbane where each speaker presented in front of a massive, four-story screen in front of a packed auditorium. I noticed strangers pointing at me, only to realize I was the KEYNOTE for the entire event. When I approached the director and said “There’s clearly been a mistake,” he looked at me and said “Nah man, it’s gonna be a cracker.”

I’ve not been to Australia in several years, but the memories of place and people are with me on a daily basis. Not only the list of folks I mentioned above but also legends like Tim Winton and Trent Parke. During my failed attempt at YouTube, I made a discovery. Beau Miles. YouTube, at least for most people, is a monumental waste of time. YouTube is also considered to be the least negative of all social channels. (IG and Facebook the most negative.) This presents an interesting question. Can I in good conscious recommend you watching YouTube? In the case of Beau, yes I can.

For me, Beau represents real storytelling. He also represents real filmmaking without the need for “cinematic” nonsense used to compensate for the fact the filmmaker has nothing to say. Beau, in fact, has something to say and does it with a sense of humor. There is always a message even in the films that might seem at first to be nothing more than a gimmick. There is always an up and a down. And there is always adventure, and this is where he takes a right turn from many of the “adventure” style channels bent on selling unrelatable content. Don’t know about you, but I’ve no plans on climbing K2 or kayaking the Zambezi anytime soon. I AM about to jump on a conference call. Does that count as corporate adventure?

I first found Beau because he made a film about his hat. This led me to his film about beans. And then on to films about kayaking and recycling and repurposing junk and eating and drinking roadside food on his 90k walking commute to work. He’s a runner, a paddler, and a distance walker. The sport angle isn’t lost on me like it is on so many creatives, or art types, who think there is nothing to learn when it comes to organized, athletic endeavors, or even those events undertaken with only the self. (They are flat out wrong.)

Maybe what I’m talking about here is curiosity, imagination, and passion. These are going to be reoccurring themes on this site, so brace yourself for a little bit of repeat motion. I feel curiosity is the single most important aspect of being a photographer. I believe imagination is taught, beaten or pressured out of us starting at a young age. Passion, what we want so bad it hurts, is so overused today and overused in so many bizarre ways. The hurt is WHY the passion is so important. We live in a world build around convenience. Hurt is not something to avoid. True passion isn’t always pretty, nor is the world itself.

Beau’s films always have a hook, but the background, detail, and the documentation itself is most often well rounded and informative. The hook ends up being secondary to the ideology being expressed. But let’s talk reality for a minute. I watch Beau’s films maybe once every six months. I add nothing to his analytics. And I also like his site as much as his films. I’m on oddball that sees a single still image and finds just as much attraction as I do to a motion piece. And that single still image leads to places like this.

Even though he’s done the paddle Africa type deal, most of what he produces is right at home. Literally. He lives where he grew up, spends much of his time on or near his own property. His adventures are adventures that are accessible to most of us. Things that might inspire you to undertake your own adventure without leaving your house. He has what appears to be an awesome wife, small child, and multiple kayaks which means he’s got things mostly figured out. And yes, he has a book.

I heard an interview recently, one in which Beau is asked about filming himself and how that impacts the experience. There is a serious tradeoff. Instagram and Facebook users have more mental health issues than YouTube consumers. When it comes to YouTube, the creators are the ones who end up with mental health issues. There is a reason for this. I hope Beau continues in his original ways. A new film every few months, plenty of time away from the game, and the realization that life by algorithm is no life at all.