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If the internet was different

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If Instagram and TikTok didn’t exist, would people still “create”?

Whether people want to admit or not, the thought that nearly everyone has kept in the back of their mind while on a photoshoot for the last 15 years is “Will this do well on social media?”

If you’re a model, photographer, dancer, actor, baker, etc.. Would you still create if you couldn’t post it to a social network? I’ve met many people who were only at the photoshoot to produce “content” for Instagram. And I gotta be honest, that sucks. Cause really that means the thing they’re actually into, isn’t the process of creating art, playing or experimenting. That means the thing they’re actually into is getting validation & gaining social notoriety through posting on the internet.

Here’s another version of the question: What videos would people create and post if you couldn’t follow or like any of the posts?

What if TikTok/Instagram/YouTube didn’t exist, and the only way people could watch a video on the internet would be to have a direct link to an actual website, where the video file was hosted, and that’s it. You couldn’t follow the person who created the video, and you couldn’t like the video. You could only watch it thru a direct link on a website.

How many of the videos that you see on TikTok would still be posted if you couldn’t follow the creators or like the video? I would think, not very many.

And that’s the problem. Whether people are putting out comedy videos, lifestyle content, political videos, outrage at whatever is in the current news cycle that day, etc.. All of these people aren’t actually creating for the sake of spreading the word about their topic, they’re creating to have people hit follow and hit like.

Keep that in mind next time you’re watching a short form video. Ask yourself: “Would they still make and post this video if no one could follow them or like the video?”



Till next time,

-Oliver Endahl

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Bradley Denniston: Musical and Photogenic

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Bradley Denniston is an audio engineer and singer/song writer. When it comes to audio, there is nothing he can’t do. Plus in addition to all that, he’s also very photogenic.

On top of his solo pop music career, he’s also worked on the music for a ton of movies and TV shows that you’ve probably seen. Including: Thor Ragnarok, Cannon Busters, The Lego Movie, The Lego Ninja Movie, Abstract: The Art of Design, Beatriz at Dinner, Pitch Perfect 2, Vacation, Hotel Transylvania 2, and 22 Jump Street. (Just to name a few)

For these photos, Bradley and I got together and shot at a photo studio in Los Angeles from the afternoon into sunset.

You can stream Bradley Denniston’s solo pop music on Apple Music and Spotify (And all other streaming networks)

My four current favorite tracks by him are currently “Stolen Love” “Stars” “Haunted by You” and “Reflection”

You can follow him here on IG

You can also check out all he has to offer here thru his Link Tree

-Oliver

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More fleeting than you think

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One of the biggest misconceptions and mistakes I see, is how much the thought of social recognition, the thought of being famous, drives people.

Fame drives some people so much they are blinded by it. It can affect them in a variety of ways, and of course it can affect the work that person produces during their life.

Here’s the thing about fame though, it is extremely fleeting.

In fact, it’s so fleeting, that there is basically no world where the pursuit of fame is worth it.

The pursuit of becoming famous, generally, requires a tremendous amount of energy, work and luck. But even when everything falls into place, the rate that fame disappears is extremely fast.

Let’s look at 90s boy bands. The 90s were 30 years ago now. The Backstreet Boys, N Sync, 98 degrees, etc.. These boy bands had multiple members each, and each band was huge. They were at the top of the music game. Doing world tours and they had fans in various countries around the globe. But now? If you saw any member from any one of these bands, besides Justin Timberlake, would you recognize them? Probably not. And that was only 30 years ago.

Fleeting like snow

Let’s go back further and look at Hollywood.

Here is the wikipedia description for the actor “Clark Gable”

“William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an American film actor. Often referred to as the "King of Hollywood"he had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute.” (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Gable )

The KING OF HOLLYWOOD. Does it get more famous than that? And now just a few decades later, the vast majority of people haven’t even heard of him. He was the fucking king of Hollywood. So it’s just comical to me that there are so many people constantly striving for fame, when even if they achieve it, even if they become a star so big they earn an awesome nickname like the king of Hollywood, they’ll be forgotten just a short while later.

You’ll eventually pass a mountain range as you drive by.

This post isn’t meant to bum you out, it’s just an observation. It’s a good thing to keep in mind.

Till next time,

-Oliver Endahl

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Kitty Cam Time in Downtown LA

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Kitty Cam Time is a model and adult film star. She and I created these various stills at 2 different photo studios in the downtown Los Angeles area.

Kitty Cam has a great sense of style and brought a bunch of fun outfits and wigs with her. For this fit below, we channeled Harley Quinn and Alicia Silverstone from Clueless.

Shooting with Kitty Cam is a blast. She always knows how to work various expressions and emotions that light up the camera.

You can find her work on the internet by typing her stage name into google, and you can follow her on IG here.

-Oliver

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Ariana Emnace in SoCal

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Ariana Emnace is a dancer and model. We’ve been shooting for nearly a decade, and it’s always a blast.

For these photos, Ariana and I created at Santa Monica Beach, a photo studio that had built a set resembling the inside of a private jet, a white cyc-wall, and also an indoor photoshoot pool.

Loved the golden light we got here and how it backlit her hair.

Love the ethereal nature of these ones with her in the dress in the water.

Ariana is captivating to photograph. She always brings a unique and intriguing energy to the photos.

You can follow Ariana on Instagram here, and keep an eye on this website for more photos from our shoots.

-Oliver

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Actor and model Sammy Todd in the studio

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Sammy Todd is an actor and model. You might have seen her in the TV show Watch Your Six, the movie “The Memory Scanner” and the TV show “The Prank Panel”

We’ve created stills and videos together a few different times. Here’s a few of my favorites from our work together.

Sammy has a cool vibe and is always a pleasure to shoot with. You can check out her IMDB page here and you can follow her on IG here.

Take care,

-Oliver