December 2, 2023 • 48 mins
In Episode 32, Jason brings on his 3 adult sons who are at the very beginning stages of their photography careers to discuss some of the key steps of starting your career as a photographer. They discuss some of the anxiety, fears, hopes, goals and dreams of what it will take to become a successul creative and content creator.
It's a hard business to make a full time living and Jason is sharing his secrets to success not only with his sons, but also with all of YOU!
This podcast was recorded during the middle of a roadtrip that Jason has taken with his sons to help train them not only in the technical and creative aspects of photography, but also to show them what the REAL photographer's life is like apart from the glitz and glamour that we see on social media and TV.
Don't forget to share the episode with others out there and thanks in advance for any reviews you can provide for the podcast!
It's a hard business to make a full time living and Jason is sharing his secrets to success not only with his sons, but also with all of YOU!
This podcast was recorded during the middle of a roadtrip that Jason has taken with his sons to help train them not only in the technical and creative aspects of photography, but also to show them what the REAL photographer's life is like apart from the glitz and glamour that we see on social media and TV.
Don't forget to share the episode with others out there and thanks in advance for any reviews you can provide for the podcast!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hi, guys, looking to Jason Leonard and filtered very special
podcast today. We're doing something really different and I wanted
to film or not film, but I wanted to record
a podcast talking about how to become a mentor, because
it's so hard for people to find mentors in.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
A lot of industries, especially the photography industry.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Traditionally, photographers don't like to share and don't like to
mentor unless they're getting paid to do so. And I
get it because I get paid.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
To mentor people.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
But I'm in the middle of doing something that is
kind of life changing for me and life changing for
my family because I am sitting here with my three sons, Kevin, Michael,
and Jason.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Over the course of my time.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
On YouTube and any other place that you guys have
watched me online, you guys have gotten to know my
sons a little bit. But we're kind of taking it
up a notch and we've kind of taken a deep dive,
if you will. So I'm going to describe it, describe
what we're doing, and then you're gonna hear from my
sons and we're going to talk about what we're doing
right now.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So we moved back in July.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Of this year, and when we moved that that kind
of set off a chain of events with jobs and
everything else. And my sons have apprentice for you know,
electricians and hvac. They've worked at McDonald's, They've done a
ton of different things. And something that I always wanted
to be really big on with my sons especially was
I never wanted to force.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Them into doing what I do.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
I do get asked a lot by by many of
you out there, Hey, any of your sons are interested
in photography, And I've always said, yeah, they're kind of interested,
but you know, I'm not going to force them into it.
I wanted to be something that they want to do
because for you to have lasting, staying power in anything
that you do in life, you have to want to
do it.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Nobody can force you to do it.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
And I've explained in my sens countless times, and they've
watched it over the course of the last twenty years
that they've been in my life, which is the best
thing that's ever happened to me. They've watched me countless
times editing, working, doing all this stuff, and so you'll
get to hear a little bit from them what it's
been like over these many years doing all that with me.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
But recently.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
We found ourselves in a scenario where I had the
opportunity to show my sons what it's like to really
be a photographer and to give them a glimpse behind
the curtain, if you will. So this is taking a
behind the Wizard of Oz and they can actually see
what it's like to be a photographer. And over the
course of them living with me, my photography career has
(02:49):
taken me to a lot of cool places, like I've
They've gone to Australia with me. They've gone, you know,
to Europe with me. They've gone a lot of really
cool places. And we've got Hawaii a million times. And
just recently a year ago, we were in Hawaii in
the Shelby GT. Five hundred racing around. It was amazing.
They've gotten to enjoy a lot of the fruits of
(03:10):
my labors. But I wanted to show them what it's
like to really be a photographer and you're not just
staying in you know, Marriotts and driving Tesla's and doing
all this other cool stuff that that I am very
fortunate and have worked very hard to be able to do.
And so we decided to do a road trip. We
left my Jeep and my Mercedes and all the fun
(03:31):
cars at home. We packed up the old Kia. I
bought a cargo carrier and a roof rack. We put
it on the top, put on the back so we
could pack this car up and do an incredible road
trip that I'm dubbing the photographer life.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
This is the real photographer life.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
And we're skipping my lifetime titanium at the Marriotts and
all that fun stuff. We're skipping the delta flights that
we've always done. The boys, I think will.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Be first to tell you they've never done a trip
like this. And we're having a blast.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
We're going to we're staying where are we staying, guys,
super ights? Yeah, we're staying in some super as we're
road tripping.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And how we eating lunch? What are we doing for lunch?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Sandwiches in the bad Turkey sandwiches and yogurts and everything
about ships.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And yeah, we I bought it one of those coolers
that that is a refrigerator, so we plug it in
the back and we're doing it all old fashioned style
where we're making turkey sandwiches and stuff and our ultimate
destination is to go all the way from Los Angeles
to Miami and back. And as we speak, we're kind
of in the middle. We're in Galveston, Texas. We're right
(04:45):
down to the beach. But it's only day four of this.
And so while we're driving today, I started turning on
some photography podcasts because I wanted them to see or
hear some of the other you know, influencers or influ
is in the photography industry and they could kind of
get an ideas to what is what. And so we're
gonna be filming a lot of this. We're gonna be
(05:06):
doing a lot of this. I'm gonna be taking them
into some of the banding stuff that I do. I've
already taken him to White Sands National Park, we went
down into I took him into Mexico. We walked into Mexico,
which was the first time for them.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And I'm gonna take.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Them into the swamps and We're gonna do some crazy stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
And I wanted to.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Share this journey with you and hopefully it shed some
light onto how you can really thrive as a photographer.
And the second part of that is my sons are
twenty For those who don't know, if you haven't followed me,
My sons are triplets, so they're twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
So I have three twenty year olds.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And what's incredible about that is I work with a
lot of people in their generation in that age range.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And I'm not speaking specifically about my boys.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
But in a lot of the people that I've met
in that age range, there's a lot of anxiety, there's
a lot of fear, there's a lot of unknown. When
you add everything that went on with COVID, when you
add on just how crazy this damn world is. It's
a scary place for a lot of people, and they're
trying to figure out where they fit in this world,
(06:19):
what they're going to do for a job, what they're
going to do for a career, how they can live
a successful life and be happy and support future families
or support future lifestyles that they want. So I'm trying,
I'm stepping in right now as a dad to do
everything that I can to help teach them and give
them the tools to be able to provide for themselves.
(06:42):
So it's not about giving this to them. They have
to earn it. So with that being said, I've spoken
quite a bit on this. I want to introduce my
sons you guys again seeing them in the videos, and
if you were just new to me and new to
the channel, new to whatever, you can go and watch
some videos.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
The boys know how to get to my heartstrings.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Every time they want something, they'll turn on one of
the old videos where we're on YouTube, and I'll shed
it here too, because you know, I'm a dad and
I love them to death. So we'll start with you.
Jason will go around, So introduce who you are.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Okay, all right, everybody. My name is Jason Lenier Junior.
I'm the Oh, oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
It's all right, It's all good. That's okay. So I'm
new at this.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And this is part of the process. This, this is
actually right now, guys. This is a mentoring session, like
I'm showing you how to do a podcast. This is
this is the whole point of this whole thing. So
it's okay to be a little nervous. It's okay to
be a little shy, because this is how we break
those comfort zones and we get we get to a
place where we can thrive and you can talk just
(07:50):
like me.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
You can just diary of the mouth.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
I can see it.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
That's Kevin. Kevin's a little sick right now, so his
voice is a little bit different. But go ahead and
introduce yourself, keV. All right, my name is Kevin Lanier.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
I'm the youngest out of my brothers by like thirty seconds.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Thirty seconds or something.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
But yeah, I'm here for the journey, starting from the
from the ground and on the way up.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Great job, great job.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
And what you guys will learn is the second time
we do this, it'll be easier, and the third time
it'll be easier. So what I always tell my sons
and I tell to all the people that I teach
online too and in person, life isn't about comparing yourself
to other people. It's about comparing yourself to yourself for real.
It's about making progress.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
You can sit here and.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Say, oh, my dad just talks and talks and talks
and talks. Well, I wouldn't have spoken this way when
I was twenty years old.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I didn't. I had to.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Progress to this level and you guys can too. So
that's what life's all about. So don't worry about where
I'm at, where you're at. Worry about where you're at today,
and then the next time we do a podcast, ask
yourself that I do better. And then the next time,
you know, five podcasts from now, did I do better?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Better? Better?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
So anyways, next, last, but not least, is mister Michael.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
What's so everybody?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
My name is Michael, and I I'm the oldest out
of the three. So I'm the leader of the three.
I gotta show them what's good. I gotta show them
I'm still the older brother. But I'm huge to learn,
just to see what I'm going to get into and
see what I can actually pursue and see what we
canna do with my future.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Here. Great, great answer, great answer.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
So what we're gonna do is I'm just gonna kind
of interview my sons, or my sons can interview me,
whatever way you want to do it. But let me
ask just what was it like growing up as the
sons of a photographer? What are some of the memories
or the just what was it like? I mean, do
(09:52):
you have any thoughts to share anything that was that
comes to mind?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Kevin, Yeah, go.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Ahead, Okay. My thoughts are.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
That our old house basically, and I remember you came
home from Africa or something and we always look forward,
look forward to the souvenirs that you got us, and
you got us some some elephants, and it was pretty cool.
And and like one time you went to Australia, we
(10:26):
didn't go to that one.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Yeah, you got us some souvenirs and then some pictures too.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
That's really cool, that's awesome. Did you did you think
that growing up that? How did you think I was successful?
Did you think it was a struggle? What did you
think it was like being a photographer for your dad?
What'd you guys think?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
I knew you were like successful because to see how
much like photos you got and how much people responding
to you, and like how much work you're getting.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
I knew that was successful.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
And also like just a touch based on what Kevin said,
it's also it's not also just the souvenirs. Like the
stories you told and like the adventures you went through
was awesome here and as.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Little kid, that was a pretty cool party about it.
That's awesome. Do you guys remember And I'll have to
find it.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
But when you were little and I would call home,
I would record those conversations so I could hear you
guys talking to me.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
That's cool because that was like, it was so special
to me to call you guys when you were little
and when and when I did take you guys to Australia.
I'll never forget. I have a video of Michael trying
to say the word alligator. Yeah, I remember that, Dad,
there's alligators.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
It was so cute. I love it.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
But what about you, Jason, what are some of your
thoughts on growing up with a dad with as a photographer.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Oh, it's just different.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
You know, most most dads worked to a nine to five,
you know, just a regular job, and then you know,
just SENI your dad just come home from like two
weeks to three week trips and it's just a different
It's different from other people.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
So cool.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
So as we've embarked on this journey, I know, we
spoke a lot about it. We were excited before doing
it a little bit. There's some apprehension. Everybody's kind of
you know, anxious, what's gonna happen, what's gonna go on?
How has this been different than what you thought my
photography trips were like?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Or has it been different?
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Pros?
Speaker 5 (12:39):
This is what I expected to be, you know first,
you know we're gonna travel, and that's like the morning part.
I guess you're sitting in the car and you know,
because I don't like to stay in one place. But overall,
this is kind of what I expected. I know, we're
about to begin good journey.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Nice, So let's talk. Let's talk.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
When we began the journey. One of the first things
that we did was we went into Mexico. And you
guys were a little nervous about that, or maybe maybe
some of you were, some of you weren't.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
But what I just because I just.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Pulled up to a small little border town called Naco
uh in Naco, Arizona, and on the other side is Naco, Mexico.
And I took my sons in there and we walked
over and I went check with border patrol because the
boys had passports, but currently don't. We're working on getting
them new ones. So I wanted to find out if
we could cross and get back with just driver's licenses.
(13:39):
They said we could, and so we went in. So
what do you what were your thoughts in going to Mexico?
Was it nervous and being right up next to the
we went right next to the border wall. We went
to the border wall on the Mexican side. I mean,
just share your thoughts. What was it like going in there?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Was going like in there for me at least. This
is Michael.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
This is Michael.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Sorry, Michael, have to say your name was good. It
was really cool saying what the other side would be.
You know, there's a lot of security guards, a lot
of cops you would say, have a lot of guns
walking around just normal on the streets.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Like they just they like to have a.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Football or basketball in their hands. They they carrying them around.
You know, it's really cool, really cool to see. And
then seeing like the wild dogs, like a bunch of
dogs like running everywhere and there's like there's no owner,
there's no like harness or anything.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And yeah, we had a pit will come up to us. Yeah,
but it was nice actually wagging its tail. It was
a really cool experience.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Did you feel because one thing that I'm trying to do,
not only as a dad but as a as a
mentor is I'm trying to provide opportunities that I feel
confident and comfortable in doing because I've done them so
many times, but maybe you wouldn't. So did you feel
more comfortable walking just walking into Mexico because you're with
(14:52):
me or definitely.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Yeah, if I was gonna do that alone, or if
maybe all three of us would have.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Done that, I would definitely feel different. Definitely, definitely on that. Definitely.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
Yes, you've already done this, so we just followed the leader.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
It was awesome seeing what you kind of like we
learned too. Hey, you don't walk this way, walk over here,
you know. I like how we learned that as a group.
Two and I have one more coming, Kevin, Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
Another thing that my dad said is, uh, don't stay
in one place for too long. Yeah, you know, because
we did see a coup of guys were caught down
by the border.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Wall and they were watching us show.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Yeah, these three.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Guys were watching us and I didn't I didn't notice it,
but my dad noticed it. So yeah, don't stay in
one place for two of them.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
For those who don't know, my my sons are half white,
half Mexican, but they look full Mexican.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
So you got one white guy.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
And Fedora and three Mexican dudes and we're just we're
just cruising through the town.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
But it was good.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
It was good. Jason, what do you think what was
your experience, what was your feelings? And going to Mexico,
it's just a new feeling.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
And I don't know.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
For me, I've always wanted to go into Mexico, so
you know, as a kid, because we've never gotten into it.
So it's just awesome to keep seeing new places around
the world.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
And yeah, it's.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Great, awesome, but no, that's that's really good stuff. And
one thing that I'm big on, and I've said this
to my sons and it's something that I've said to
the people that i've trained all over the world too,
is it's important.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
That you break your comfort zones. Guys.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Comfort zones were made to be broken. A comfort zone
is a comfort zone for a reason. You're not being pushed.
You don't feel pushed anytime I tell this to people,
anytime you're feeling frustrated, you're feeling anxious, you got to
understand if you can flip that around in your mind
when you're feeling that, uh, that's an opportunity where you
can actually say to yourself, this is an opportunity for growth.
Speaker 6 (17:03):
This.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
I'm feeling anxious because I haven't done this before. I'm
feeling anxious because I'm scared. I'm feeling anxious because I
don't know what's going to happen. Typically in my life
when I have felt those moments are some of the
best moments of my life because I've pushed myself to
do things and I'm like, oh my gosh. It's like
when I went and I did the whole trek from
South America up to the United States, as I told
(17:25):
you guys, and I was with the cartels and traveling
and running through the jungles and people were chasing them
machine guns and machetes. It was crazy. But I was like,
I could die right now, and I don't want to die.
But I was like, this is wild and I lived
it through it, and I'm like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
That was amazing.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
So the point is anytime that you're feeling this, or
anybody listening to this, anytime that you're feeling that anxiety
and it's holding you back from moving forward, that is
what should tell you this is.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
A moment for me to grow. It really is. So
just remember that we.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Went to White Sands and I'm I'm trying to work
with the boys on the men, but there might always
been my boys, but I'm trying to work with the
guys on building a portfolio. And we got them some
some cameras they're going to be shooting with and we're
talking about building a portfolio. So let let's talk about that.
What what do you guys think it means to build
(18:22):
a portfolio?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Oh, it's Jason so for that and for me, in
my eyes, that's probably just I mean, my bad, it's not.
Probably it's just having like some pictures to show you know,
your your your clients and just trying to because.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
You're good, No, you're good.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
Keep going.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
This is when you believe in yourself. Just keep going.
I don't know what to say.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
What you're saying, great stuff, because you're right it is.
And you know what else the portfolio is about? And
this is really important for you guys learning this and
for those of you who are listening on to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
You know what a.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Portfolio is is a portfolio is, yes, what you're gonna
put online.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
But you know what is more important about a portfolio.
A portfolio is how you.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Figure out what you want to do and how what
you're good at. Right, So when you're when we talk
about building a portfolio, it's not just about putting up,
you know, something a picture of a lizard or a
picture of a girl or a picture of a guy.
It's about building something substantial for you, but for you
to figure yourself out, like do you guys, what do
(19:33):
you guys want to take pictures of?
Speaker 3 (19:36):
I mean, what really sparked me into just joining this
trip with you is like, I have a buddy who
does photography and vieography and cars, and that'd be cool
to add to my portfolio or to my pali, if
you will.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
That would be dope.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
That's one of the one of the things that I
would like to add or like to just go into,
not only into weddings or what you kind of do,
which is everything.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Basically, You're right, I do do everything thing. I love
doing everything. But that's really good, Michael, and I'm really
glad that you're into that, and I want to do
anything that I can to help you pursue that.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
And one thing that I'm going to tell you, and.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
This would apply to any photographer listening and to your
two brothers, would be when building a portfolio is just
understand that anything that you shoot, anything that you do,
can help you in another area of photography. And a
lot of people don't understand that. They're like, I don't
want to shoot weddings or I don't want to shoot dogs. Dude,
I've shot so many different things in my life, even
(20:33):
when I shoot my documentaries, when I've did the COVID
documentaries or I've done the documentaries with the border or
any of that kind of stuff, or when I was
in Ethiopia the wedding shoots, the model shoots. Everything that
I did during those shoots helped me to be a
better documentarian. And conversely, when I go back and I
now go from my documentaries and I shoot a model
(20:55):
shoot or whatever else, I shoot those better because I
do documentaries. There's technic, there's lighting, there's posing, there's confidence
that comes from any kind of photography or videography or
just creative work that you do. And so that's why
there is a lot of value in trying different things,
and then eventually you'll start heading towards Okay, this is
(21:16):
this is a what pays the bills and b this
is something I love.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
You know what I mean? What about you, Kevin? What
are you thinking about when it comes to a portfolio.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
What I'm thinking about my portfolio is does that include
like what I want to do. Yeah, okay. For me,
what interests me is the long run for sure, weddings
because I know that makes the most amount of money
as a new photographer in the industry. But I am
(21:52):
also into auto photography maybe forgot the name, but to
like stars or something, astro photographers, photography, and just well rounded.
I just want to be guy shoots pretty much everything,
(22:12):
including monitos as well landscape and everything.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah, and even I love that you said that because
even the landscape and the like when I go to
Africa you mentioned Africa earlier, When I go to Africa
and do all that stuff, if I didn't understand how
to shoot, Like even when I shot the NFL.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Right and I'm shooting sports.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
When I shot the NFL, I have to learn how
how to shoot them to where I can capture them because.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
They run so fast.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Right, Well, those dudes run fast, but it ain't nothing
like a cheetah. So when you're trying to shoot lions
and cheetahs and orangutans and baboons and everything else, and
you got baboons jumping on your car and everything else,
you have to learn a lot of stuff. But I'd
be like Okay, cool, the elephant's running towards me. But
(22:58):
if FINAL shoot it of a net I learned in
the NFL. If I don't shoot a fast enough shutter speed,
that elephant's going to be blurry.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Right. So that's how I.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Use all these different lessons to be a better photographer
in every area of my work. The other thing I'll
tell you is when you shoot other different, other kinds
of photography, and like I said earlier, you're going to
eventually focus on two or three major things.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Eventually you will.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
But the benefit is one of the reasons why people
say this, and you guys say this about me all
the time. But whenever I travel, people are saying, man,
you're so calm, Like, no matter what happens, you're calm.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
That's because I've had a lot of crap go down
on me.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
You know, I've had a lot of I've had elephants
chase me, I've had the cartel chase me. I've had
people just go crazy. And it's like I told you
the other day, you have to be clear minded. You
have to be clear minded. Kevin said to me recently, said, man, Dad,
I could tell when you're angry. You don't you don't
talk too much? And what did I say to you?
I don't talk, but because I don't want to say
(24:00):
anything stupid. You learn to think versus just let anything
come out of your mouth and then you regret it later.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
It doesn't mean if I don't give people the silent treatment,
I just like, Okay, I'm just gonna be quiet until
I make sure that I'm in a good space to
be able to communicate. So the point is, no matter
what you do in the world of photography as that
comes to building a portfolio, it will benefit you.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
What about you, Jay, what are your what are your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Same as as Michael, I'm also into you know, auto
photography and just on that days if you will. But yeah,
my currently might might just our auto photography with wildlife.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
And also what's that name for this guy? Astrophotography? Also
that one too, So okay. So so I'm gonna tell
you guys.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
One thing that I would tell anybody out there the
bet that key to to taking and building a portfolio
that pays. I should actually coin that phrase a portfolio
that pays. But a portfolio that pays boils down to this.
You have to find what you love and then find
out of those things the main one or two.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Things out of those that will actually pay the bills.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Like a lot of times, and I traveled with Africa
and I do all these crazy chips to Yeah, because
we've been down to Cuba and all this crazy stuff.
When I've taken you guys down to Cuba, it was
either workshops or weddings that was paying for that, right,
Nobody paid me to go to Cuba.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I just went.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
So people ask me all the time, my fans, they
always ask me, Jason, how do you make money?
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Is that's how I do it?
Speaker 1 (25:40):
It's it's I do it those I either do weddings
or workshops or other stuff like that, and then from
there it's the that pays for all the trips that
I want to do. So I'm saying to you guys
what I tell everybody else out there that I teach.
When you're like, I don't want to do this, I
don't want that. Unless you choose something that actually pays
(26:03):
good money, then then photography is just going to be
a hobby for you. It will never be a career.
So if you want to do car photography, that's great.
Got to find the stuff that pays in car photography.
Figure out where this is going to pay. Weddings pays, okay,
baby photography, pet photography, that kind of stuff pays.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Astro photography. I love it. I've taken you guys to
Joshua Tree and we've shot the comments. Remember, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
It's very cool. But nobody's paying me for that. I
shot the eclipses. Nobody's paying me for it. It's cool,
and that's okay. There's things that we do that we love,
but you also have to figure out the things that pay.
Otherwise it's just going to be a hobby. It'll never
be a career. Does that make sense? So what's scared
(26:54):
you guys about being twenty years old and trying to
become photographers When you sit sit there at night and
you like, oh man, what comes to mind.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
What was scary to me is it's my communication, you know,
because I know I'm going to be talking to some
strangers and some new people and I just want to
work on that. And that's the scary part for me.
And another scary part is knowing that something else is
(27:28):
bigger out there, especially especially in the Florida area, such
as was the alligators.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Yeah, do you want to say. We were in Alaska
when Kevin was what the boys are maybe what twelve thirteen,
and we're walking up a pathway and what came across
our path it was I think it was a grizzly bear.
It was a grizzly bear. And that was the first
(27:55):
time what work came out of your mouth that it
was crazy four pops out of his mouth. And ever
since then he says he doesn't like things that are
in the in the world that are bigger than him. Yeah,
but but if you're gonna live in the world, you
gotta you gotta get over that, right.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
And just take some bear spray with you.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
And but just like when we're down in Mexico, so
much of what we do it's not it doesn't mean
it's going to be a guarantee, but so much about
what we do, guys, it's just not being stupid. Even
when I went did that trip and I came up,
I was watching my back like crazy.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Be smart, know your surroundings.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
Know who you with.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Yep, when we went into Mexico just the other day,
I think it was that yesterday or.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
The day before, Yeah, day before.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
What did I tell you guys, watch the streets we're
going to never never go the same path, Never go
the same path, and know how to get back. I said,
you guys, if something goes down, I said, you guys.
If something goes down and I tell you guys, go
back and I gotta take care of something. I told you, guys,
go back to the board and I'll take care of it.
But know how to get back, Like, knowing how to
(29:04):
get out of a place.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Is as important as how to get in.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
In fact, is probably more important, because once you're in
a place, if you don't know how to get out
of it, you're in deep trouble.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
And that's that's another piece of advice.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
When we go to some of these abandoned places, you're
gonna hear me talk about you have to know how
to get out of trouble. One of the main reasons
people get into trouble is because once they start getting it,
you know that feeling you get when you're like this
isn't this isn't gonna be good. They're good feeling right
when that hits. We all have those signs where like
(29:35):
we see somebody walking up, all right, it's time to go.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Why wait?
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Like if you know it's not gonna be good. Yeah,
it's time to go. Like I've been to all the
riots and all the stuff. I've had people chase me
and smashed my car. You know, there's times where I'm like,
it's time to go, and you have to make very
decisive decisions in those moments. So some of the stuff
that we do when we go to these abandoned places.
You know, I've been to places where you know, they
drop dead bodies, people do crazy stuff. It's about being
(30:03):
smart and also knowing who's there.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Right. A lot of times there's criminals in these abandoned places.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
To be real, they want to figure out if you're
a narc they want to figure out if you're a cop,
or they want to figure out if you're going to
call the cops. So you have to figure out how
to work these people when you're going into these situations.
That's that's as important as anything. I remember I was
in Detroit and I walked into this this this abandoned
hospital and there was a guy in there. And one
(30:32):
of the main things that they'll do is people go
into these abandoned places and they'll still copper wire because
they'll sell it, right So there's a guy in there,
he's hanging out of an elevator shaft.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Walk I walk in, Hey, what what if you're doing here?
Speaker 4 (30:46):
Man?
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And I'm like, I'm just taking pictures and he's like,
get that out of here. I said, no, I'm good,
but I said, you're just you're just taking copper wire?
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Right what? Yeah, dude, I'm going to leave you alone.
To leave me alone.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Okay, that was it, right? You just have to know
the surroundings. Or there have been times where I'm in
a place and if you're get in sincly like this
is dangerous. This isn't just risky, this is flat out dangerous.
Then you just leave and you be smart and you
don't be stupid. That's why I'm still alive right now,
(31:22):
just by all the crazy stuff I've done. And I've
told you guys this too when I've traveled. The one
thing that makes me the smartest when I'm in a
bad situation is I've always said to myself, I have
to return home to my sons. Ten out of ten,
That's what I say to myself every time. So when
you guys find yourself in a scary situation, it's going
(31:44):
to be less scary if you know how to get
out of it. So even let's take away bad people. Right,
we go down into the swamp and you see an alligator, Well,
there's certain things that you do that will make you
much bigger target for alligators.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Number one, don't step in anything that's swampy.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Right, You want to make sure you have really good
footing if you go to a place where there's alligators,
which I've been around tons of alligators. If you go
to a place and you step into and you know
that when you step in something, your feet get stuck,
you don't want that to happen around alligators. So don't
be stupid. Wear good footwear, don't wear flip flops. And
it may sound funny, but this stuff actually matters. Like,
(32:23):
if you're stupid and you go into these places, something
is probably gonna happen to you.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
But if you're.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Smart and you're like, nah, I can see the alligator
from here, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Right.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I've been around hippos and lions and all of that stuff,
I mean straight up this close to them. I've been
in front of grizzly bears, I mean huge ass grizzly bears,
and you just gotta be smart. It doesn't mean it's
a guarantee, but there are things that we can do
that put us in a much in much more harms ways.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
That makes sense.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, So one thing, when we go to Bandam place,
you know what I'll do, I'll sit there. Now, if
it's in the middle of the woods, that's different. You know,
unless there's some redneck there, I'm not too worried about it.
But like if you're in a like Detroit or Chicago
or some of these places that there's a lot of crime,
(33:16):
la whatever. You know what I do, I'll sit there
in my car and I'll watch the building for like
an hour, just like a bank robber wood or copwood.
I'll sit there and watch the building and I'll see
who comes in, who comes out. That way, I know,
before I make any commitments, before I'm inside the building
and it's too late, I'm kind of checking it out.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Does that make sense. That's one thing that I do.
Another thing that I do is this is also important.
You know why people get robbed. They're stupid.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
They walk into somebody these places without checking it out,
and then they have tons of gear wrapped around them.
But you're just asking for it. You're just asking me
to get robbed. So I'll just I'll look at a
place and I won't even do anything until either A
I have people with me, which is always smart, or
be you know, you check it out and if it's
not good, you just don't go. So what are some
(34:10):
of the locations you guys? Are you know the types
of things? Abandoned locations, these kinds of places?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
What what? What excites you or scares you? Or what? What?
Speaker 1 (34:18):
What comes to mind when you think about these places?
Some of the places will go.
Speaker 6 (34:25):
Like the de ended places too.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
You gotta watch your people, you know in Detroy, a
lot of gang affiliated people down there. You gotta see
what's you know, see who's good?
Speaker 4 (34:40):
Thank you kidding.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I remember when we were in the Bahamas with my
whole family. Remember we went on a big walk and
then I cut through the abandoned building and my sister
and my brothers with their kids they all walk the
regular path and be and the boys, we've walked right
through the abandoned.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
That was fun. But I mean, is it scary you
guys are going to some of these places. It's okay
if it does. Oh, I mean, you don't know who's
who or what's in there? Right now?
Speaker 6 (35:11):
All you can see from the outside it's abandoned.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Its cool, scary video good shots and scary from jays Also, yeah,
it's scary.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
It's new and exciting. Yep.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
And the other thing that you have to think about
some of these abandoned locations is, you know, watching out
the floors.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
It's not just people that can mess you up in
these places.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
It's the fact that ceilings can fall on you, floors
can fall out from underneath you.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
I've fallen through folly that you You've fallen and you've
ate it yep.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
And I've sliced my legs open and it's it's it's
so you have to again. That's another thing about being
smart when you go into some of these locations is
just don't act stupid. And one thing, here's another one.
When we go into some of these places, shut your mouths.
And I do the same. I watch so many stupid
kids run into these buildings and they're screaming, laughing, playing music,
(36:09):
throwing stuff, and I'm like, my gosh, man, you're just
asking for it.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
You have no idea who's there.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
You're not listening, you're not familiarizing yourself with the surroundings.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
You know.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
One of the things I like to do when I
go into these aban locations is I'll sit there. Now,
this is after if I watch it with my car,
But if I just like, okay, it's like a farmhouse
or like it's just a place in the middle of nowhere.
Really there's not a high likelihood of people being there.
I'll if I walk into the place, you know, one
of the first things I do is I'll sit there
and I'll just for like a minute or two, I'll
just be I'll just sit down and be quiet.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
I want to hear what sounds this place has.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Because as I'm walking around, if I hear a bang,
I'll know, okay, that's kind of normal, like when the
wind hits the window kind of bangs one of the
like a still curtain or you know, still roof or something.
But the other the reason that's good is if I
hear something that's not that sound, I'm like, okay, that's
not a normal sound. Somebody's here. I need I need
to really pay attention. So it's like you when animals
(37:09):
walk around and their ears perk up. So when I
go into these places, I'm watching for that stuff. I'm
alcle watching for cars, and I'm watching where I leave
my car because you don't want to come back, because
I've had that happen too. I left my car in
the Bronx and I came back. It was a suburban
and people came by and smashed all the windows and
stole everything. So that's why I don't leave my gear
(37:31):
in the car. That's why every night when we come
into the hotel, we pack in the gear and because
people will just smash your stuff.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Makes sense?
Speaker 4 (37:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (37:40):
Yeah, what are so many other thoughts about these locations?
What about you? Michael Tat Michael spoke Jason Kevin.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Oh yeah, I just have to watch out for our
you know, our footing around the around the buildings.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
Again, you just don't know what's what's around there.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
When you guys have seen me go into some of
these places as a kid, like because I know you
guys watch my videos.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
What have you thought? This man's crazy?
Speaker 4 (38:13):
First of all, what he said pretty crazy.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Right, You guys think you could do the same thing
or want to do the same thing.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
Definitely gonna build up to it.
Speaker 6 (38:24):
Obviously you've done this for a while and now you
kind of got used to it, kind of like you.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Know, you were drilled.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
You know, you know what to do, you know whatnot
to do. So yeah, I definitely think I can do this.
It's just gonna have some you know a lot of
like a lot of going into.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
These experience experience.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
Yes, Michael may not remember this, but when he was younger,
I was. I was scolding him for something and I said,
you can't do this, Michael. And Michael turned to me
and he says, well, you're the one who breaks along
and goes into these buildings.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
That's right. Yeah. Wow, So that that's Michael for those
who don't know. But okay, cool. What about other locations?
Speaker 1 (39:05):
What about like is it excite you guys or is
there anything that you that I do that you don't
want to do?
Speaker 2 (39:11):
And that's okay. If there is, let me see.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
U or some of the bandon places, you know, they're
scared of me. I'm like, you know what, maybe I
don't want to put myself in that situation because the
possibility of some you know, breaking my car or again
something bigger out there.
Speaker 4 (39:34):
I hate hate doing that.
Speaker 5 (39:36):
Like if there's a you know, tall guy in that building,
that's pretty scary, you know, because I'm only like five ten,
you know, at the most.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Kevin makes himself sound like he's some midget man and
he's not. But but yeah, that's fair, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
What about you, Jace anything. Yeah, for me, probably the abandoned, the.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Go ahead, the I forgot about, that's all right anyways,
the like, oh gosh, I have all my tongue abandoned buildings.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Yeah, it was like at night because I know that's
kind of scary. Yeah, because I know you just don't
know what's out there.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
And and I'll tell you guys, even when I'm in
some of these places.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
At night, especially dude, I'm I'm like a ninja. I'm
so quiet. I am so quiet in these places.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
And I walk around and I even tell people who
go with me, models or assistants or whatever. I tell
them if if they make noises, I tell them, shut up, seriously,
shut up.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Like we need to hear our surroundings and do this stuff.
So and it to be fair.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
If I have a feeling that it's going to be
straight up dangerous, then I just don't do it risky.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Maybe no, like if it's.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Going to cause harm to your life, or my life,
then I won't do it. And I'll also tell you
this much, not just because you're my son's but even
when I travel with other people, I always take their
safety and put it above mine because it's one thing
(41:22):
for me to risk myself, but it's not fair for
me to risk the lives or the safety of other people.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
So just keep that in mind when we're going to
these places.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
You know, if there's anything risky to do, I'll I'll
do it before I ask it or even recommend anyone
else to do it. So we watched the Six Flags video,
the original one the other night. We got to kick
out of it because I was much heavier, and even
in the video, I was like, yeah, I'm not going
to walk across that piece of wood, probably because I
(41:50):
need to go to the gym. So I was like,
I knew for a fact I probably fall through that wood.
So well, guys, what excites you the moment just about
going on this journey? Is there anything from this journey
so far that you want to share or or what's next?
Speaker 3 (42:09):
What's next is just learning everything again we've kind of
just in the beginning of the trip is just driving,
seeing what's see what's out there. But now we're gonna
these like this upcoming week or two, we're going to
dive in actually get some the real life like lessons
on like doing photography and maybe videography.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
And we learned that.
Speaker 3 (42:29):
Especially among with my brothers and my dad. So that's
what I'm looking forward to. And then also I just
want to like do this. I mean, we're young, so
if we can do this, like you guys can do
this at home too, maybe our age as well, or
even younger or even older. So it's a lesson in
life that don't it's never too late or never too
early to dive.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
Deep into something then maybe just give a shot. So
absolutely big, big lessons. Just take that. Take that in
ur you know.
Speaker 4 (42:54):
I like that. I like that. Like that a lot.
Speaker 5 (42:58):
Something I want to share so far is that we
went to the White Sand National Park.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
I believe.
Speaker 5 (43:06):
It was like the first because we've been to the
one Yellowstone. I believe that one has animals. That one's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
We want you've been to a lot, but yeah, yeah
that's the one.
Speaker 4 (43:17):
I remember the buffalo yeah right yo, yeah, But we.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Went to the Norway National Park with our grizzlies. Oh yeah,
that one too, Grand Canyon.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Oh yeah, ever, oh wow. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (43:34):
But what I'm trying to say is the White Sands
is pretty different. You know, it's it's beautiful, it's white,
it's it's sand, but it's so different. You know, no animals,
you know, that's what spoke spoke to us.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
I think especially spoke to you.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
You like, knowing that the only thing at that White
Sands that was living there was an ant.
Speaker 4 (43:55):
Yeah, but yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
That's great, Thank you guys.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
The other thing I'll say is for those listening at
home that I've been telling my boys to do, is
they've been working on creating their own Instagram accounts that
are photography related. Create and the next step is then
building a portfolio and then creating their own websites. So
you're gonna see us coming out with that stuff, and hopefully,
(44:24):
if we can get enough content together, you'll see a
video of all this and we hope you guys like it.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
So, Jason, anything else you want to share? Brother, I
can't wait for the journey again.
Speaker 3 (44:38):
We're just you know, we're new at this, so hopefully
we can show what we can do as a new photographer.
And yeah, we'll share it to you guys.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Great, I really you guys know I love you more
than anything. You know you mean it more to me
than anything. You guys already know that. And something that
is tattooed on all of our arms we've got tattooed
back in Hawaii is a snake a cobra surround the
three triangles.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
And that's Dad surrounding the boys.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
And that's boy time, because one thing we've done forever
has been boy time. It's always been the four of us,
and it's been absolutely amazing. So thank you, guys, Thank
you for joining me on this trip, thank you for
being my sons, and for this amazing opportunity for us
to share this together. And I truly hope that I
(45:29):
can do everything in my power to help you guys
learn to become your own men and support yourselves. Because
if there's one thing that I a big believer on
the whole thing about, you can give someone fishing and
teach them how to fish. And I'm trying to teach
you guys how how to fish, because the point isn't
for you guys to, oh, just you.
Speaker 2 (45:49):
Know, make me more money. I don't want you to
make me any money.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
I want you guys to make money for you and
I want you guys to be successful so you can
live your dreams. Because you know, like you guys are,
you only have one chance to get it right.
Speaker 6 (46:01):
That's right, let's do it again.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Started start of a journey.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
So for those listening at home, I hope you guys
enjoy the journey. It's gonna be a lot of fun.
We hope to share as much content as we can. So, Kevin,
what's your Instagram?
Speaker 5 (46:17):
My My new instagram is Kevin Linear Pictures.
Speaker 4 (46:24):
That's mad perfect.
Speaker 6 (46:27):
Michael minding me basic, It's Michael Linear Photography.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
I like it. Jase, I forgot the name, but.
Speaker 3 (46:37):
I'll remember it last time, I mean next time.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Oh man. All right, well, we love you guys, thanks
for listening. For those who enjoyed the podcast, please please
make sure to share with other people.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
We really appreciate that. Please do, please do.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
Jason Linear Junior said that, and also make sure to
join me at one of the upcoming workshops that we have.
We're actually gonna be doing one on my birthday in Miami,
and then we have a whole slew of workshops coming
out next year that I can't wait to join you
guys at So you guys can hit me up and
join me at any of those events at Jason.
Speaker 2 (47:13):
Linear dot com. I really look forward.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
To that, and I'm really grateful to be able to
do this podcast with my sons, and I'm grateful to
all of you out there for listening.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
I love you and I appreciate you more than you know.
Don't forget to follow me at all the fun stuff
and share this. If you don't, I'll just go and
cry on my pillows. So I could.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
I could threaten you, but it wouldn't do any good.
I'll just cry. So until next time, what do we say?
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Guys? Keep shooting.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
I'm fine and remember.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
You only have what that's right, baby. We love you guys.
We'll talk to you later.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
Peace, Good job guys
Speaker 2 (48:00):
All at the Legal Rains
Hi, guys, looking to Jason Leonard and filtered very special
podcast today. We're doing something really different and I wanted
to film or not film, but I wanted to record
a podcast talking about how to become a mentor, because
it's so hard for people to find mentors in.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
A lot of industries, especially the photography industry.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Traditionally, photographers don't like to share and don't like to
mentor unless they're getting paid to do so. And I
get it because I get paid.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
To mentor people.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
But I'm in the middle of doing something that is
kind of life changing for me and life changing for
my family because I am sitting here with my three sons, Kevin, Michael,
and Jason.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Over the course of my time.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
On YouTube and any other place that you guys have
watched me online, you guys have gotten to know my
sons a little bit. But we're kind of taking it
up a notch and we've kind of taken a deep dive,
if you will. So I'm going to describe it, describe
what we're doing, and then you're gonna hear from my
sons and we're going to talk about what we're doing
right now.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So we moved back in July.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Of this year, and when we moved that that kind
of set off a chain of events with jobs and
everything else. And my sons have apprentice for you know,
electricians and hvac. They've worked at McDonald's, They've done a
ton of different things. And something that I always wanted
to be really big on with my sons especially was
I never wanted to force.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Them into doing what I do.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
I do get asked a lot by by many of
you out there, Hey, any of your sons are interested
in photography, And I've always said, yeah, they're kind of interested,
but you know, I'm not going to force them into it.
I wanted to be something that they want to do
because for you to have lasting, staying power in anything
that you do in life, you have to want to
do it.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Nobody can force you to do it.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
And I've explained in my sens countless times, and they've
watched it over the course of the last twenty years
that they've been in my life, which is the best
thing that's ever happened to me. They've watched me countless
times editing, working, doing all this stuff, and so you'll
get to hear a little bit from them what it's
been like over these many years doing all that with me.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
But recently.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
We found ourselves in a scenario where I had the
opportunity to show my sons what it's like to really
be a photographer and to give them a glimpse behind
the curtain, if you will. So this is taking a
behind the Wizard of Oz and they can actually see
what it's like to be a photographer. And over the
course of them living with me, my photography career has
(02:49):
taken me to a lot of cool places, like I've
They've gone to Australia with me. They've gone, you know,
to Europe with me. They've gone a lot of really
cool places. And we've got Hawaii a million times. And
just recently a year ago, we were in Hawaii in
the Shelby GT. Five hundred racing around. It was amazing.
They've gotten to enjoy a lot of the fruits of
(03:10):
my labors. But I wanted to show them what it's
like to really be a photographer and you're not just
staying in you know, Marriotts and driving Tesla's and doing
all this other cool stuff that that I am very
fortunate and have worked very hard to be able to do.
And so we decided to do a road trip. We
left my Jeep and my Mercedes and all the fun
(03:31):
cars at home. We packed up the old Kia. I
bought a cargo carrier and a roof rack. We put
it on the top, put on the back so we
could pack this car up and do an incredible road
trip that I'm dubbing the photographer life.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
This is the real photographer life.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
And we're skipping my lifetime titanium at the Marriotts and
all that fun stuff. We're skipping the delta flights that
we've always done. The boys, I think will.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Be first to tell you they've never done a trip
like this. And we're having a blast.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
We're going to we're staying where are we staying, guys,
super ights? Yeah, we're staying in some super as we're
road tripping.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And how we eating lunch? What are we doing for lunch?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Sandwiches in the bad Turkey sandwiches and yogurts and everything
about ships.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And yeah, we I bought it one of those coolers
that that is a refrigerator, so we plug it in
the back and we're doing it all old fashioned style
where we're making turkey sandwiches and stuff and our ultimate
destination is to go all the way from Los Angeles
to Miami and back. And as we speak, we're kind
of in the middle. We're in Galveston, Texas. We're right
(04:45):
down to the beach. But it's only day four of this.
And so while we're driving today, I started turning on
some photography podcasts because I wanted them to see or
hear some of the other you know, influencers or influ
is in the photography industry and they could kind of
get an ideas to what is what. And so we're
gonna be filming a lot of this. We're gonna be
(05:06):
doing a lot of this. I'm gonna be taking them
into some of the banding stuff that I do. I've
already taken him to White Sands National Park, we went
down into I took him into Mexico. We walked into Mexico,
which was the first time for them.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And I'm gonna take.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Them into the swamps and We're gonna do some crazy stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
And I wanted to.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Share this journey with you and hopefully it shed some
light onto how you can really thrive as a photographer.
And the second part of that is my sons are
twenty For those who don't know, if you haven't followed me,
My sons are triplets, so they're twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
So I have three twenty year olds.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And what's incredible about that is I work with a
lot of people in their generation in that age range.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
And I'm not speaking specifically about my boys.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
But in a lot of the people that I've met
in that age range, there's a lot of anxiety, there's
a lot of fear, there's a lot of unknown. When
you add everything that went on with COVID, when you
add on just how crazy this damn world is. It's
a scary place for a lot of people, and they're
trying to figure out where they fit in this world,
(06:19):
what they're going to do for a job, what they're
going to do for a career, how they can live
a successful life and be happy and support future families
or support future lifestyles that they want. So I'm trying,
I'm stepping in right now as a dad to do
everything that I can to help teach them and give
them the tools to be able to provide for themselves.
(06:42):
So it's not about giving this to them. They have
to earn it. So with that being said, I've spoken
quite a bit on this. I want to introduce my
sons you guys again seeing them in the videos, and
if you were just new to me and new to
the channel, new to whatever, you can go and watch
some videos.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
The boys know how to get to my heartstrings.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Every time they want something, they'll turn on one of
the old videos where we're on YouTube, and I'll shed
it here too, because you know, I'm a dad and
I love them to death. So we'll start with you.
Jason will go around, So introduce who you are.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Okay, all right, everybody. My name is Jason Lenier Junior.
I'm the Oh, oh gosh.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
It's all right, It's all good. That's okay. So I'm
new at this.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And this is part of the process. This, this is
actually right now, guys. This is a mentoring session, like
I'm showing you how to do a podcast. This is
this is the whole point of this whole thing. So
it's okay to be a little nervous. It's okay to
be a little shy, because this is how we break
those comfort zones and we get we get to a
place where we can thrive and you can talk just
(07:50):
like me.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
You can just diary of the mouth.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
I can see it.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
That's Kevin. Kevin's a little sick right now, so his
voice is a little bit different. But go ahead and
introduce yourself, keV. All right, my name is Kevin Lanier.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
I'm the youngest out of my brothers by like thirty seconds.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Thirty seconds or something.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
But yeah, I'm here for the journey, starting from the
from the ground and on the way up.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Great job, great job.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
And what you guys will learn is the second time
we do this, it'll be easier, and the third time
it'll be easier. So what I always tell my sons
and I tell to all the people that I teach
online too and in person, life isn't about comparing yourself
to other people. It's about comparing yourself to yourself for real.
It's about making progress.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
You can sit here and.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Say, oh, my dad just talks and talks and talks
and talks. Well, I wouldn't have spoken this way when
I was twenty years old.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I didn't. I had to.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Progress to this level and you guys can too. So
that's what life's all about. So don't worry about where
I'm at, where you're at. Worry about where you're at today,
and then the next time we do a podcast, ask
yourself that I do better. And then the next time,
you know, five podcasts from now, did I do better?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Better? Better?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
So anyways, next, last, but not least, is mister Michael.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
What's so everybody?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
My name is Michael, and I I'm the oldest out
of the three. So I'm the leader of the three.
I gotta show them what's good. I gotta show them
I'm still the older brother. But I'm huge to learn,
just to see what I'm going to get into and
see what I can actually pursue and see what we
canna do with my future.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Here. Great, great answer, great answer.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
So what we're gonna do is I'm just gonna kind
of interview my sons, or my sons can interview me,
whatever way you want to do it. But let me
ask just what was it like growing up as the
sons of a photographer? What are some of the memories
or the just what was it like? I mean, do
(09:52):
you have any thoughts to share anything that was that
comes to mind?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Kevin, Yeah, go.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Ahead, Okay. My thoughts are.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
That our old house basically, and I remember you came
home from Africa or something and we always look forward,
look forward to the souvenirs that you got us, and
you got us some some elephants, and it was pretty cool.
And and like one time you went to Australia, we
(10:26):
didn't go to that one.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Yeah, you got us some souvenirs and then some pictures too.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
That's really cool, that's awesome. Did you did you think
that growing up that? How did you think I was successful?
Did you think it was a struggle? What did you
think it was like being a photographer for your dad?
What'd you guys think?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
I knew you were like successful because to see how
much like photos you got and how much people responding
to you, and like how much work you're getting.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
I knew that was successful.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
And also like just a touch based on what Kevin said,
it's also it's not also just the souvenirs. Like the
stories you told and like the adventures you went through
was awesome here and as.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Little kid, that was a pretty cool party about it.
That's awesome. Do you guys remember And I'll have to
find it.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
But when you were little and I would call home,
I would record those conversations so I could hear you
guys talking to me.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
That's cool because that was like, it was so special
to me to call you guys when you were little
and when and when I did take you guys to Australia.
I'll never forget. I have a video of Michael trying
to say the word alligator. Yeah, I remember that, Dad,
there's alligators.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
It was so cute. I love it.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
But what about you, Jason, what are some of your
thoughts on growing up with a dad with as a photographer.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Oh, it's just different.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
You know, most most dads worked to a nine to five,
you know, just a regular job, and then you know,
just SENI your dad just come home from like two
weeks to three week trips and it's just a different
It's different from other people.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
So cool.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
So as we've embarked on this journey, I know, we
spoke a lot about it. We were excited before doing
it a little bit. There's some apprehension. Everybody's kind of
you know, anxious, what's gonna happen, what's gonna go on?
How has this been different than what you thought my
photography trips were like?
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Or has it been different?
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Pros?
Speaker 5 (12:39):
This is what I expected to be, you know first,
you know we're gonna travel, and that's like the morning part.
I guess you're sitting in the car and you know,
because I don't like to stay in one place. But overall,
this is kind of what I expected. I know, we're
about to begin good journey.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Nice, So let's talk. Let's talk.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
When we began the journey. One of the first things
that we did was we went into Mexico. And you
guys were a little nervous about that, or maybe maybe
some of you were, some of you weren't.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
But what I just because I just.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Pulled up to a small little border town called Naco
uh in Naco, Arizona, and on the other side is Naco, Mexico.
And I took my sons in there and we walked
over and I went check with border patrol because the
boys had passports, but currently don't. We're working on getting
them new ones. So I wanted to find out if
we could cross and get back with just driver's licenses.
(13:39):
They said we could, and so we went in. So
what do you what were your thoughts in going to Mexico?
Was it nervous and being right up next to the
we went right next to the border wall. We went
to the border wall on the Mexican side. I mean,
just share your thoughts. What was it like going in there?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Was going like in there for me at least. This
is Michael.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
This is Michael.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Sorry, Michael, have to say your name was good. It
was really cool saying what the other side would be.
You know, there's a lot of security guards, a lot
of cops you would say, have a lot of guns
walking around just normal on the streets.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Like they just they like to have a.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Football or basketball in their hands. They they carrying them around.
You know, it's really cool, really cool to see. And
then seeing like the wild dogs, like a bunch of
dogs like running everywhere and there's like there's no owner,
there's no like harness or anything.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And yeah, we had a pit will come up to us. Yeah,
but it was nice actually wagging its tail. It was
a really cool experience.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Did you feel because one thing that I'm trying to do,
not only as a dad but as a as a
mentor is I'm trying to provide opportunities that I feel
confident and comfortable in doing because I've done them so
many times, but maybe you wouldn't. So did you feel
more comfortable walking just walking into Mexico because you're with
(14:52):
me or definitely.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Yeah, if I was gonna do that alone, or if
maybe all three of us would have.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Done that, I would definitely feel different. Definitely, definitely on that. Definitely.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
Yes, you've already done this, so we just followed the leader.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
It was awesome seeing what you kind of like we
learned too. Hey, you don't walk this way, walk over here,
you know. I like how we learned that as a group.
Two and I have one more coming, Kevin, Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
Another thing that my dad said is, uh, don't stay
in one place for too long. Yeah, you know, because
we did see a coup of guys were caught down
by the border.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Wall and they were watching us show.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Yeah, these three.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Guys were watching us and I didn't I didn't notice it,
but my dad noticed it. So yeah, don't stay in
one place for two of them.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
For those who don't know, my my sons are half white,
half Mexican, but they look full Mexican.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
So you got one white guy.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
And Fedora and three Mexican dudes and we're just we're
just cruising through the town.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
But it was good.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
It was good. Jason, what do you think what was
your experience, what was your feelings? And going to Mexico,
it's just a new feeling.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
And I don't know.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
For me, I've always wanted to go into Mexico, so
you know, as a kid, because we've never gotten into it.
So it's just awesome to keep seeing new places around
the world.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
And yeah, it's.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Great, awesome, but no, that's that's really good stuff. And
one thing that I'm big on, and I've said this
to my sons and it's something that I've said to
the people that i've trained all over the world too,
is it's important.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
That you break your comfort zones. Guys.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Comfort zones were made to be broken. A comfort zone
is a comfort zone for a reason. You're not being pushed.
You don't feel pushed anytime I tell this to people,
anytime you're feeling frustrated, you're feeling anxious, you got to
understand if you can flip that around in your mind
when you're feeling that, uh, that's an opportunity where you
can actually say to yourself, this is an opportunity for growth.
Speaker 6 (17:03):
This.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
I'm feeling anxious because I haven't done this before. I'm
feeling anxious because I'm scared. I'm feeling anxious because I
don't know what's going to happen. Typically in my life
when I have felt those moments are some of the
best moments of my life because I've pushed myself to
do things and I'm like, oh my gosh. It's like
when I went and I did the whole trek from
South America up to the United States, as I told
(17:25):
you guys, and I was with the cartels and traveling
and running through the jungles and people were chasing them
machine guns and machetes. It was crazy. But I was like,
I could die right now, and I don't want to die.
But I was like, this is wild and I lived
it through it, and I'm like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
That was amazing.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
So the point is anytime that you're feeling this, or
anybody listening to this, anytime that you're feeling that anxiety
and it's holding you back from moving forward, that is
what should tell you this is.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
A moment for me to grow. It really is. So
just remember that we.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Went to White Sands and I'm I'm trying to work
with the boys on the men, but there might always
been my boys, but I'm trying to work with the
guys on building a portfolio. And we got them some
some cameras they're going to be shooting with and we're
talking about building a portfolio. So let let's talk about that.
What what do you guys think it means to build
(18:22):
a portfolio?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Oh, it's Jason so for that and for me, in
my eyes, that's probably just I mean, my bad, it's not.
Probably it's just having like some pictures to show you know,
your your your clients and just trying to because.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
You're good, No, you're good.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
Keep going.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
This is when you believe in yourself. Just keep going.
I don't know what to say.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
What you're saying, great stuff, because you're right it is.
And you know what else the portfolio is about? And
this is really important for you guys learning this and
for those of you who are listening on to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
You know what a.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Portfolio is is a portfolio is, yes, what you're gonna
put online.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
But you know what is more important about a portfolio.
A portfolio is how you.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Figure out what you want to do and how what
you're good at. Right, So when you're when we talk
about building a portfolio, it's not just about putting up,
you know, something a picture of a lizard or a
picture of a girl or a picture of a guy.
It's about building something substantial for you, but for you
to figure yourself out, like do you guys, what do
(19:33):
you guys want to take pictures of?
Speaker 3 (19:36):
I mean, what really sparked me into just joining this
trip with you is like, I have a buddy who
does photography and vieography and cars, and that'd be cool
to add to my portfolio or to my pali, if
you will.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
That would be dope.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
That's one of the one of the things that I
would like to add or like to just go into,
not only into weddings or what you kind of do,
which is everything.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Basically, You're right, I do do everything thing. I love
doing everything. But that's really good, Michael, and I'm really
glad that you're into that, and I want to do
anything that I can to help you pursue that.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
And one thing that I'm going to tell you, and.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
This would apply to any photographer listening and to your
two brothers, would be when building a portfolio is just
understand that anything that you shoot, anything that you do,
can help you in another area of photography. And a
lot of people don't understand that. They're like, I don't
want to shoot weddings or I don't want to shoot dogs. Dude,
I've shot so many different things in my life, even
(20:33):
when I shoot my documentaries, when I've did the COVID
documentaries or I've done the documentaries with the border or
any of that kind of stuff, or when I was
in Ethiopia the wedding shoots, the model shoots. Everything that
I did during those shoots helped me to be a
better documentarian. And conversely, when I go back and I
now go from my documentaries and I shoot a model
(20:55):
shoot or whatever else, I shoot those better because I
do documentaries. There's technic, there's lighting, there's posing, there's confidence
that comes from any kind of photography or videography or
just creative work that you do. And so that's why
there is a lot of value in trying different things,
and then eventually you'll start heading towards Okay, this is
(21:16):
this is a what pays the bills and b this
is something I love.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
You know what I mean? What about you, Kevin? What
are you thinking about when it comes to a portfolio.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
What I'm thinking about my portfolio is does that include
like what I want to do. Yeah, okay. For me,
what interests me is the long run for sure, weddings
because I know that makes the most amount of money
as a new photographer in the industry. But I am
(21:52):
also into auto photography maybe forgot the name, but to
like stars or something, astro photographers, photography, and just well rounded.
I just want to be guy shoots pretty much everything,
(22:12):
including monitos as well landscape and everything.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah, and even I love that you said that because
even the landscape and the like when I go to
Africa you mentioned Africa earlier, When I go to Africa
and do all that stuff, if I didn't understand how
to shoot, Like even when I shot the NFL.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Right and I'm shooting sports.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
When I shot the NFL, I have to learn how
how to shoot them to where I can capture them because.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
They run so fast.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Right, Well, those dudes run fast, but it ain't nothing
like a cheetah. So when you're trying to shoot lions
and cheetahs and orangutans and baboons and everything else, and
you got baboons jumping on your car and everything else,
you have to learn a lot of stuff. But I'd
be like Okay, cool, the elephant's running towards me. But
(22:58):
if FINAL shoot it of a net I learned in
the NFL. If I don't shoot a fast enough shutter speed,
that elephant's going to be blurry.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Right. So that's how I.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Use all these different lessons to be a better photographer
in every area of my work. The other thing I'll
tell you is when you shoot other different, other kinds
of photography, and like I said earlier, you're going to
eventually focus on two or three major things.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Eventually you will.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
But the benefit is one of the reasons why people
say this, and you guys say this about me all
the time. But whenever I travel, people are saying, man,
you're so calm, Like, no matter what happens, you're calm.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
That's because I've had a lot of crap go down
on me.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
You know, I've had a lot of I've had elephants
chase me, I've had the cartel chase me. I've had
people just go crazy. And it's like I told you
the other day, you have to be clear minded. You
have to be clear minded. Kevin said to me recently, said, man, Dad,
I could tell when you're angry. You don't you don't
talk too much? And what did I say to you?
I don't talk, but because I don't want to say
(24:00):
anything stupid. You learn to think versus just let anything
come out of your mouth and then you regret it later.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Right.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
It doesn't mean if I don't give people the silent treatment,
I just like, Okay, I'm just gonna be quiet until
I make sure that I'm in a good space to
be able to communicate. So the point is, no matter
what you do in the world of photography as that
comes to building a portfolio, it will benefit you.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
What about you, Jay, what are your what are your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Same as as Michael, I'm also into you know, auto
photography and just on that days if you will. But yeah,
my currently might might just our auto photography with wildlife.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
And also what's that name for this guy? Astrophotography? Also
that one too, So okay. So so I'm gonna tell
you guys.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
One thing that I would tell anybody out there the
bet that key to to taking and building a portfolio
that pays. I should actually coin that phrase a portfolio
that pays. But a portfolio that pays boils down to this.
You have to find what you love and then find
out of those things the main one or two.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Things out of those that will actually pay the bills.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Like a lot of times, and I traveled with Africa
and I do all these crazy chips to Yeah, because
we've been down to Cuba and all this crazy stuff.
When I've taken you guys down to Cuba, it was
either workshops or weddings that was paying for that, right,
Nobody paid me to go to Cuba.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I just went.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
So people ask me all the time, my fans, they
always ask me, Jason, how do you make money?
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Is that's how I do it?
Speaker 1 (25:40):
It's it's I do it those I either do weddings
or workshops or other stuff like that, and then from
there it's the that pays for all the trips that
I want to do. So I'm saying to you guys
what I tell everybody else out there that I teach.
When you're like, I don't want to do this, I
don't want that. Unless you choose something that actually pays
(26:03):
good money, then then photography is just going to be
a hobby for you. It will never be a career.
So if you want to do car photography, that's great.
Got to find the stuff that pays in car photography.
Figure out where this is going to pay. Weddings pays, okay,
baby photography, pet photography, that kind of stuff pays.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Astro photography. I love it. I've taken you guys to
Joshua Tree and we've shot the comments. Remember, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
It's very cool. But nobody's paying me for that. I
shot the eclipses. Nobody's paying me for it. It's cool,
and that's okay. There's things that we do that we love,
but you also have to figure out the things that pay.
Otherwise it's just going to be a hobby. It'll never
be a career. Does that make sense? So what's scared
(26:54):
you guys about being twenty years old and trying to
become photographers When you sit sit there at night and
you like, oh man, what comes to mind.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
What was scary to me is it's my communication, you know,
because I know I'm going to be talking to some
strangers and some new people and I just want to
work on that. And that's the scary part for me.
And another scary part is knowing that something else is
(27:28):
bigger out there, especially especially in the Florida area, such
as was the alligators.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Yeah, do you want to say. We were in Alaska
when Kevin was what the boys are maybe what twelve thirteen,
and we're walking up a pathway and what came across
our path it was I think it was a grizzly bear.
It was a grizzly bear. And that was the first
(27:55):
time what work came out of your mouth that it
was crazy four pops out of his mouth. And ever
since then he says he doesn't like things that are
in the in the world that are bigger than him. Yeah,
but but if you're gonna live in the world, you
gotta you gotta get over that, right.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
And just take some bear spray with you.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
And but just like when we're down in Mexico, so
much of what we do it's not it doesn't mean
it's going to be a guarantee, but so much about
what we do, guys, it's just not being stupid. Even
when I went did that trip and I came up,
I was watching my back like crazy.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Be smart, know your surroundings.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
Know who you with.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Yep, when we went into Mexico just the other day,
I think it was that yesterday or.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
The day before, Yeah, day before.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
What did I tell you guys, watch the streets we're
going to never never go the same path, Never go
the same path, and know how to get back. I said,
you guys, if something goes down, I said, you guys.
If something goes down and I tell you guys, go
back and I gotta take care of something. I told you, guys,
go back to the board and I'll take care of it.
But know how to get back, Like, knowing how to
(29:04):
get out of a place.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Is as important as how to get in.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
In fact, is probably more important, because once you're in
a place, if you don't know how to get out
of it, you're in deep trouble.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
And that's that's another piece of advice.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
When we go to some of these abandoned places, you're
gonna hear me talk about you have to know how
to get out of trouble. One of the main reasons
people get into trouble is because once they start getting it,
you know that feeling you get when you're like this
isn't this isn't gonna be good. They're good feeling right
when that hits. We all have those signs where like
(29:35):
we see somebody walking up, all right, it's time to go.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Why wait?
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Like if you know it's not gonna be good. Yeah,
it's time to go. Like I've been to all the
riots and all the stuff. I've had people chase me
and smashed my car. You know, there's times where I'm like,
it's time to go, and you have to make very
decisive decisions in those moments. So some of the stuff
that we do when we go to these abandoned places.
You know, I've been to places where you know, they
drop dead bodies, people do crazy stuff. It's about being
(30:03):
smart and also knowing who's there.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Right. A lot of times there's criminals in these abandoned places.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
To be real, they want to figure out if you're
a narc they want to figure out if you're a cop,
or they want to figure out if you're going to
call the cops. So you have to figure out how
to work these people when you're going into these situations.
That's that's as important as anything. I remember I was
in Detroit and I walked into this this this abandoned
hospital and there was a guy in there. And one
(30:32):
of the main things that they'll do is people go
into these abandoned places and they'll still copper wire because
they'll sell it, right So there's a guy in there,
he's hanging out of an elevator shaft.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Walk I walk in, Hey, what what if you're doing here?
Speaker 4 (30:46):
Man?
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And I'm like, I'm just taking pictures and he's like,
get that out of here. I said, no, I'm good,
but I said, you're just you're just taking copper wire?
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Right what? Yeah, dude, I'm going to leave you alone.
To leave me alone.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Okay, that was it, right? You just have to know
the surroundings. Or there have been times where I'm in
a place and if you're get in sincly like this
is dangerous. This isn't just risky, this is flat out dangerous.
Then you just leave and you be smart and you
don't be stupid. That's why I'm still alive right now,
(31:22):
just by all the crazy stuff I've done. And I've
told you guys this too when I've traveled. The one
thing that makes me the smartest when I'm in a
bad situation is I've always said to myself, I have
to return home to my sons. Ten out of ten,
That's what I say to myself every time. So when
you guys find yourself in a scary situation, it's going
(31:44):
to be less scary if you know how to get
out of it. So even let's take away bad people. Right,
we go down into the swamp and you see an alligator, Well,
there's certain things that you do that will make you
much bigger target for alligators.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Number one, don't step in anything that's swampy.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Right, You want to make sure you have really good
footing if you go to a place where there's alligators,
which I've been around tons of alligators. If you go
to a place and you step into and you know
that when you step in something, your feet get stuck,
you don't want that to happen around alligators. So don't
be stupid. Wear good footwear, don't wear flip flops. And
it may sound funny, but this stuff actually matters. Like,
(32:23):
if you're stupid and you go into these places, something
is probably gonna happen to you.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
But if you're.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Smart and you're like, nah, I can see the alligator
from here, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Right.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I've been around hippos and lions and all of that stuff,
I mean straight up this close to them. I've been
in front of grizzly bears, I mean huge ass grizzly bears,
and you just gotta be smart. It doesn't mean it's
a guarantee, but there are things that we can do
that put us in a much in much more harms ways.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
That makes sense.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, So one thing, when we go to Bandam place,
you know what I'll do, I'll sit there. Now, if
it's in the middle of the woods, that's different. You know,
unless there's some redneck there, I'm not too worried about it.
But like if you're in a like Detroit or Chicago
or some of these places that there's a lot of crime,
(33:16):
la whatever. You know what I do, I'll sit there
in my car and I'll watch the building for like
an hour, just like a bank robber wood or copwood.
I'll sit there and watch the building and I'll see
who comes in, who comes out. That way, I know,
before I make any commitments, before I'm inside the building
and it's too late, I'm kind of checking it out.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Does that make sense. That's one thing that I do.
Another thing that I do is this is also important.
You know why people get robbed. They're stupid.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
They walk into somebody these places without checking it out,
and then they have tons of gear wrapped around them.
But you're just asking for it. You're just asking me
to get robbed. So I'll just I'll look at a
place and I won't even do anything until either A
I have people with me, which is always smart, or
be you know, you check it out and if it's
not good, you just don't go. So what are some
(34:10):
of the locations you guys? Are you know the types
of things? Abandoned locations, these kinds of places?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
What what? What excites you or scares you? Or what? What?
Speaker 1 (34:18):
What comes to mind when you think about these places?
Some of the places will go.
Speaker 6 (34:25):
Like the de ended places too.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
You gotta watch your people, you know in Detroy, a
lot of gang affiliated people down there. You gotta see
what's you know, see who's good?
Speaker 4 (34:40):
Thank you kidding.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I remember when we were in the Bahamas with my
whole family. Remember we went on a big walk and
then I cut through the abandoned building and my sister
and my brothers with their kids they all walk the
regular path and be and the boys, we've walked right
through the abandoned.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
That was fun. But I mean, is it scary you
guys are going to some of these places. It's okay
if it does. Oh, I mean, you don't know who's
who or what's in there? Right now?
Speaker 6 (35:11):
All you can see from the outside it's abandoned.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Its cool, scary video good shots and scary from jays Also, yeah,
it's scary.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
It's new and exciting. Yep.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
And the other thing that you have to think about
some of these abandoned locations is, you know, watching out
the floors.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
It's not just people that can mess you up in
these places.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
It's the fact that ceilings can fall on you, floors
can fall out from underneath you.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
I've fallen through folly that you You've fallen and you've
ate it yep.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
And I've sliced my legs open and it's it's it's
so you have to again. That's another thing about being
smart when you go into some of these locations is
just don't act stupid. And one thing, here's another one.
When we go into some of these places, shut your mouths.
And I do the same. I watch so many stupid
kids run into these buildings and they're screaming, laughing, playing music,
(36:09):
throwing stuff, and I'm like, my gosh, man, you're just
asking for it.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
You have no idea who's there.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
You're not listening, you're not familiarizing yourself with the surroundings.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
You know.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
One of the things I like to do when I
go into these aban locations is I'll sit there. Now,
this is after if I watch it with my car,
But if I just like, okay, it's like a farmhouse
or like it's just a place in the middle of nowhere.
Really there's not a high likelihood of people being there.
I'll if I walk into the place, you know, one
of the first things I do is I'll sit there
and I'll just for like a minute or two, I'll
just be I'll just sit down and be quiet.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
I want to hear what sounds this place has.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Because as I'm walking around, if I hear a bang,
I'll know, okay, that's kind of normal, like when the
wind hits the window kind of bangs one of the
like a still curtain or you know, still roof or something.
But the other the reason that's good is if I
hear something that's not that sound, I'm like, okay, that's
not a normal sound. Somebody's here. I need I need
to really pay attention. So it's like you when animals
(37:09):
walk around and their ears perk up. So when I
go into these places, I'm watching for that stuff. I'm
alcle watching for cars, and I'm watching where I leave
my car because you don't want to come back, because
I've had that happen too. I left my car in
the Bronx and I came back. It was a suburban
and people came by and smashed all the windows and
stole everything. So that's why I don't leave my gear
(37:31):
in the car. That's why every night when we come
into the hotel, we pack in the gear and because
people will just smash your stuff.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Makes sense?
Speaker 4 (37:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (37:40):
Yeah, what are so many other thoughts about these locations?
What about you? Michael Tat Michael spoke Jason Kevin.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Oh yeah, I just have to watch out for our
you know, our footing around the around the buildings.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
Again, you just don't know what's what's around there.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
When you guys have seen me go into some of
these places as a kid, like because I know you
guys watch my videos.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
What have you thought? This man's crazy?
Speaker 4 (38:13):
First of all, what he said pretty crazy.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Right, You guys think you could do the same thing
or want to do the same thing.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
Definitely gonna build up to it.
Speaker 6 (38:24):
Obviously you've done this for a while and now you
kind of got used to it, kind of like you.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Know, you were drilled.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
You know, you know what to do, you know whatnot
to do. So yeah, I definitely think I can do this.
It's just gonna have some you know a lot of
like a lot of going into.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
These experience experience.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
Yes, Michael may not remember this, but when he was younger,
I was. I was scolding him for something and I said,
you can't do this, Michael. And Michael turned to me
and he says, well, you're the one who breaks along
and goes into these buildings.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
That's right. Yeah. Wow, So that that's Michael for those
who don't know. But okay, cool. What about other locations?
Speaker 1 (39:05):
What about like is it excite you guys or is
there anything that you that I do that you don't
want to do?
Speaker 2 (39:11):
And that's okay. If there is, let me see.
Speaker 5 (39:18):
U or some of the bandon places, you know, they're
scared of me. I'm like, you know what, maybe I
don't want to put myself in that situation because the
possibility of some you know, breaking my car or again
something bigger out there.
Speaker 4 (39:34):
I hate hate doing that.
Speaker 5 (39:36):
Like if there's a you know, tall guy in that building,
that's pretty scary, you know, because I'm only like five ten,
you know, at the most.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Kevin makes himself sound like he's some midget man and
he's not. But but yeah, that's fair, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
What about you, Jace anything. Yeah, for me, probably the abandoned, the.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Go ahead, the I forgot about, that's all right anyways,
the like, oh gosh, I have all my tongue abandoned buildings.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Yeah, it was like at night because I know that's
kind of scary. Yeah, because I know you just don't
know what's out there.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
And and I'll tell you guys, even when I'm in
some of these places.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
At night, especially dude, I'm I'm like a ninja. I'm
so quiet. I am so quiet in these places.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
And I walk around and I even tell people who
go with me, models or assistants or whatever. I tell
them if if they make noises, I tell them, shut up, seriously,
shut up.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Like we need to hear our surroundings and do this stuff.
So and it to be fair.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
If I have a feeling that it's going to be
straight up dangerous, then I just don't do it risky.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Maybe no, like if it's.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Going to cause harm to your life, or my life,
then I won't do it. And I'll also tell you
this much, not just because you're my son's but even
when I travel with other people, I always take their
safety and put it above mine because it's one thing
(41:22):
for me to risk myself, but it's not fair for
me to risk the lives or the safety of other people.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
So just keep that in mind when we're going to
these places.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
You know, if there's anything risky to do, I'll I'll
do it before I ask it or even recommend anyone
else to do it. So we watched the Six Flags video,
the original one the other night. We got to kick
out of it because I was much heavier, and even
in the video, I was like, yeah, I'm not going
to walk across that piece of wood, probably because I
(41:50):
need to go to the gym. So I was like,
I knew for a fact I probably fall through that wood.
So well, guys, what excites you the moment just about
going on this journey? Is there anything from this journey
so far that you want to share or or what's next?
Speaker 3 (42:09):
What's next is just learning everything again we've kind of
just in the beginning of the trip is just driving,
seeing what's see what's out there. But now we're gonna
these like this upcoming week or two, we're going to
dive in actually get some the real life like lessons
on like doing photography and maybe videography.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
And we learned that.
Speaker 3 (42:29):
Especially among with my brothers and my dad. So that's
what I'm looking forward to. And then also I just
want to like do this. I mean, we're young, so
if we can do this, like you guys can do
this at home too, maybe our age as well, or
even younger or even older. So it's a lesson in
life that don't it's never too late or never too
early to dive.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
Deep into something then maybe just give a shot. So
absolutely big, big lessons. Just take that. Take that in
ur you know.
Speaker 4 (42:54):
I like that. I like that. Like that a lot.
Speaker 5 (42:58):
Something I want to share so far is that we
went to the White Sand National Park.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
I believe.
Speaker 5 (43:06):
It was like the first because we've been to the
one Yellowstone. I believe that one has animals. That one's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
We want you've been to a lot, but yeah, yeah
that's the one.
Speaker 4 (43:17):
I remember the buffalo yeah right yo, yeah, But we.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Went to the Norway National Park with our grizzlies. Oh yeah,
that one too, Grand Canyon.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Oh yeah, ever, oh wow. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (43:34):
But what I'm trying to say is the White Sands
is pretty different. You know, it's it's beautiful, it's white,
it's it's sand, but it's so different. You know, no animals,
you know, that's what spoke spoke to us.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
I think especially spoke to you.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
You like, knowing that the only thing at that White
Sands that was living there was an ant.
Speaker 4 (43:55):
Yeah, but yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
That's great, Thank you guys.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
The other thing I'll say is for those listening at
home that I've been telling my boys to do, is
they've been working on creating their own Instagram accounts that
are photography related. Create and the next step is then
building a portfolio and then creating their own websites. So
you're gonna see us coming out with that stuff, and hopefully,
(44:24):
if we can get enough content together, you'll see a
video of all this and we hope you guys like it.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
So, Jason, anything else you want to share? Brother, I
can't wait for the journey again.
Speaker 3 (44:38):
We're just you know, we're new at this, so hopefully
we can show what we can do as a new photographer.
And yeah, we'll share it to you guys.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Great, I really you guys know I love you more
than anything. You know you mean it more to me
than anything. You guys already know that. And something that
is tattooed on all of our arms we've got tattooed
back in Hawaii is a snake a cobra surround the
three triangles.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
And that's Dad surrounding the boys.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
And that's boy time, because one thing we've done forever
has been boy time. It's always been the four of us,
and it's been absolutely amazing. So thank you, guys, Thank
you for joining me on this trip, thank you for
being my sons, and for this amazing opportunity for us
to share this together. And I truly hope that I
(45:29):
can do everything in my power to help you guys
learn to become your own men and support yourselves. Because
if there's one thing that I a big believer on
the whole thing about, you can give someone fishing and
teach them how to fish. And I'm trying to teach
you guys how how to fish, because the point isn't
for you guys to, oh, just you.
Speaker 2 (45:49):
Know, make me more money. I don't want you to
make me any money.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
I want you guys to make money for you and
I want you guys to be successful so you can
live your dreams. Because you know, like you guys are,
you only have one chance to get it right.
Speaker 6 (46:01):
That's right, let's do it again.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
Started start of a journey.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
So for those listening at home, I hope you guys
enjoy the journey. It's gonna be a lot of fun.
We hope to share as much content as we can. So, Kevin,
what's your Instagram?
Speaker 5 (46:17):
My My new instagram is Kevin Linear Pictures.
Speaker 4 (46:24):
That's mad perfect.
Speaker 6 (46:27):
Michael minding me basic, It's Michael Linear Photography.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
I like it. Jase, I forgot the name, but.
Speaker 3 (46:37):
I'll remember it last time, I mean next time.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Oh man. All right, well, we love you guys, thanks
for listening. For those who enjoyed the podcast, please please
make sure to share with other people.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
We really appreciate that. Please do, please do.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
Jason Linear Junior said that, and also make sure to
join me at one of the upcoming workshops that we have.
We're actually gonna be doing one on my birthday in Miami,
and then we have a whole slew of workshops coming
out next year that I can't wait to join you
guys at So you guys can hit me up and
join me at any of those events at Jason.
Speaker 2 (47:13):
Linear dot com. I really look forward.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
To that, and I'm really grateful to be able to
do this podcast with my sons, and I'm grateful to
all of you out there for listening.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
I love you and I appreciate you more than you know.
Don't forget to follow me at all the fun stuff
and share this. If you don't, I'll just go and
cry on my pillows. So I could.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
I could threaten you, but it wouldn't do any good.
I'll just cry. So until next time, what do we say?
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Guys? Keep shooting.
Speaker 1 (47:40):
I'm fine and remember.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
You only have what that's right, baby. We love you guys.
We'll talk to you later.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
Peace, Good job guys
Speaker 2 (48:00):
All at the Legal Rains
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!