I first watched The Sopranos in its entirety in my early 20’s and thought it was every bit as fabulous and defining as, well, everyone else did. I’ve never met a person who doesn’t rate that show and I don’t care to either, because it’s simply the best there is.

It’s nice (and rare for me) to feel in total and utter agreeance with the rest of society when it comes to a piece of media and the consensus on it. I usually annoyingly have some bone to pick, but when it comes to The Sopranos I have no notes, no bones, it’s just that good.

So the internet doesn’t need another Sopranos analysis or essay delving into the deep psychological problems that plague every character, nor does it need bringing to your attention the fact that the show is what defined television and projected it into the respected realm it now finds itself in.

The Sopranos made television what it is today - no questions asked.

We are currently rewatching this masterpiece and it’s nearing the end, so I wanted to point out a two things I’ve noticed that stick out in comparison to the shows we watch today, generally speaking.

• Ambiguity as to who is right, wrong and everything between. What characters really feel or mean with their actions or what they do or don’t say. Leaving in the blanks and letting the viewer ponder them.

• Each episode ends with a fade to black that isn’t a cliffhanger. It’s like the anti cliffhanger in fact. It ends on a pensive note that leaves you sitting there mulling over all sorts of moral complexes and in doing so makes you want to watch more.

The Sopranos isn’t interested in creating constant action and ending every episode on an extreme high because this was a social media free time.

This means that there was no reliance on the internet losing its shit over this week’s ep and posting about it relentlessly online, creating buzz and then having to maintain that buzz seasons on with more cliffhangers, more twists and turns, more endings leaving you at the edge of your seat.

The Sopranos wasn’t desperate. It was in no rush to get to the action or the big reveal. It was confident in how it would unfold and sometimes that was quite slow, meandering through each characters foibles and slowly weaving them together over a very long period of time. Something that shows now likely just don’t get the chance to do due to budget or creative constraints.

In the last two substacks I’ve really been sounding like some nostalgic boomer who has an issue with every recent development in culture or technology and maybe I am. Or maybe things just used to be better? Whether it was the way things were made in a more considered and quality manner, be it a pair of shoes or a television series about a mob boss and his family.

My husband was actually the one that pointed out the specific way each episode comes to an end. It circles back to the overall theme of the episode (which can sometimes exist all on its own separate from the series as a whole) in a way that lands you softly at the end, opening the gate to leave Sopranos land with a helping hand, not a jarring mic drop that leaves you wide eyed and gasping like today’s TV shows do, or strive to.

I started playing a little game where I would rewrite the ending, pointing out where they might have cut the episode if this was a show running today. I think the influence social media has had on the way we consume TV and cinema is greater than we may even comprehend. You don’t understand until you go back and watch something as sprawling and truly captivating as The Sopranos.

Of course there is the question of what is deemed “okay” by today’s standards and like a lot of 90’s shows and films I’m not sure certain things would pass today, for better or worse.

Aside from that though, it’s also the way it’s put together, the way it was allowed to be put together. It could lay down the roots for what it would end up being and get those roots right underneath you and your couch!

You feel compelled to root for Tony at all costs, even to your own, now very lowered, moral standards and this is because the show doesn’t just give Tony airtime, it allows every part of his universe to come into play, layering him up like a big ol’ deli sandwich.

It would seem an odd comparison to liken GOT and The Sopranos in any other way than both being HBO classics and also culturally defining shows, but they have another commonality: They build worlds with deeply flawed characters who progress and unfurl at a pace that feels real and relatable. The episode isn’t bound by it’s runtime, it’s doing what it needs to do to tell the story in how ever many seasons it needs to. I can’t say as much for shows today.

It’s as if I can feel the writers scrambling to try and make it a hit! Or I can feel the money run out and the ending change. I can feel the desperation in the way it’s so jam packed and “leaving me hanging” in this cloyingly artificial way that feels inauthentic.

The Sopranos reigns supreme because of its lack of desperation to have you continue watch it, it’s aloof in a way that nothing in 2026 could ever be because it would just be buried or scrolled past.

Imagine for a moment if The Sopranos was being made now for the first time, for today’s audience. It would be full of good looking people that’s for sure, and that fucking pisses me off. I want my Sopranos family, dirty, fat and sweaty from all the pork products they just consumed.

It would also be hyper edited to be “cool” like a Tarantino movie, or something in the vein of Peaky Blinders where it’s got this needledrop soundtrack and every bit of dialogue is so rehearsed. Every episode would need a breathy threat cause the guys are so tough.

Instead The Sopranos is looser and less concerned with being “cool” or “a hit”, in fact the majority of scenes show the mundane qualities of even someone as high up as Tony and we don’t get slick montages and brutal kills, instead we just get Tony driving in his SUV singing badly to ‘Dirty Work’ by Steely Dan, something I’ve heard my own (non mobster obviously) father do growing up.

This grounds Tony and keeps him close to us as regular people. I don’t feel like TV today knows how to do that.

I’ve enjoyed recent shows, yes, but none have hit me in the stomach, or heart, like The Sopranos did in my early twenties on first viewing and even more so now as a 34 year old woman with a family and various responsibilities.

I feel that The Sopranos respects me as a viewer and that’s likely because the creators were writing for an audience that were untainted by all these endless distractions we face today. They weren’t tasked with the battle of “dumb it down so people who are on their phones can still understand it”.

In fact the spots someone would look down at their phone during The Sopranos are the exact ambiguous moments that make the show what it is. It’s not giving you all the answers and it’s merky in it’s morality and how it makes you feel for judging or not judging certain characters.

Spanning family, society, politics, crime, love, sex, addiction, religion, culture, race, class, desire and of course, the meaning of life. Why are we here and what should we do whilst we are?

It’s an 86 hour long extensional crisis played out in what feels like a lifetime.

Everyone pulls their weight, including the audience who devoured the show and the lifelong fans it’s made years after.

My overarching point here isn’t to say that The Sopranos rules and every other show sucks, although I would happily say that and die on that New Jersey hill.

It’s more so to say that a rewatch of this entire series has helped me to identify what is missing in our current cultural landscape and that is subtlety, ambiguity, mystery, more ugly actors, audiences not on their phones and the confidence to invest in characters that take the time a sunday ragu does to fully become tender.

I have more to say about The Sopranos family but hey, who doesn’t?

Goomars, gabagool and goodnight to you.

Thank you for reading my Sopranos rant.

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Every time I open my phone lately I see a talking head video, an article, or post, about the shift back towards physical media. The fatigue with the internet and digital everything has really set in, and so has the rot that comes along with it when we feast our eyes on our phones for hours on end.

This desire to get offline is being talked and written about endlessly and I’m not really looking to add to the pile of comments in that regard.

I get it, you get it, we all get that it’s not normal to be stuck to our devices scrolling, the same way we know it’s not good to drink coca cola or eat Mcdonalds, despite those things being consumed on the daily by millions of people, as is Instagram.

Just as the food debate is fraught when it comes to the question of what is healthy, what is not, and what we should do about, so is the question of what do we do to lower our screen time?

Go for a walk, spend time with actual people, read a book or, I dunno, bake a cake?

There are many things you can and could do as a human being and there are also millions of reasons, or rather excuses, not to. This is the curse of being human and why it’s so awfully hard to get anything done, because we largely live in our heads. At least I know I do.

So these article writers and trend setters have championed physical media and told us all to buy DVD’s, books, magazines, vinyl records, CDs and basically anything that we can touch with our two fair hands to stop us from picking up our phones.

I’m not going to get into that part though. The part about how all of that was just how people used to live and enjoy their hobbies because I’m not looking to slam younger people for thinking that a CD or a flip phone is novel. If it’s offering them even a moment of solace from growing up in the metaverse then GO FOR IT!

The thing I haven’t really seen or heard anyone talking about is the privilege, and therefore the problem, that comes with physical media in the modern age, and I’m not necessarily talking about the cost of it.

I’m talking about the cost of housing it.

People say time is money, and this is true, but space is also money, and in this current climate with house prices higher than ever, space is something that comes at a premium.

Maybe this is on my mind more than ever because we are (fingers crossed) going to move soon and we will be forced to live in a MUCH smaller abode than what we currently reside in. Not complaining at all, just airing my thoughts on what that looks and feels like for a family that quite enjoys, maybe even obsesses over physical media.

Where do we put it all if we live in 50 square meters?

I feel as though we own 50 square meters of physical fucking media.

Avid thrifters, prop gatherers, hi fi enthusiasts, camera nerds, notetakers, magazines as references, endless books full of photos and/or words, boxes of childhood lego, CD’s in the CD stacker, Live concerts on DVD, shoes…..so.many.pairs.of.shoes.

Okay, so shoes don’t count as physical media but to me they are as important and value adding as my record collection.

Hoarder is another word that could be coming to mind here as you read this and if you are a Marie Kondo tidying up type I do apologize for how stressed you feel right now reading how my family chooses to live.

Some simple answers here are, maybe just don’t be such a freak and buy so many things… and yeah totally. But also when you indulge many hobbies you end up with this giant pool of interests and hobbies = stuff. Unless your hobby is minimalism.

My husband’s life long love affair with fishing and music has resulted in a garage full of stuff and it’s sad to cull that down because space is now a very finite thing if we ever want to embark on homeownership. A price we are both happy to pay by the way, but it doesn’t make it any less sad. Our camera collection is also going to be a HUGE problem…

Obviously everyone reading this has a different idea of space and home, when it comes to size, but here in Australia the “Aussie Dream” and the idea of a family home has always been a house with a porch and a backyard, two things I don’t actually care for much because I want more inside space to put my shoes in, but the idea of a “normal” sized home to fit a family was what I assumed we would one day own I guess.

Much like what I hear of from movies about the “American Dream” it’s something that seeps into your brain and is sold to you as a right that you should have, or at least the destiny that awaits you if you work hard enough. Both nations’ dreams now seem like a lie to be honest, or at the very least, totally and utterly out of reach for the vast majority.

Apartment life is how many of us will live in the future and this leads to questions of families. Will people have less children, or perhaps no children at all considering how unstable housing has now become?

Putting aside the question of children though, what about my DVD’s?

Some would argue that considered spending and curbing of acquiring various items can only be a good thing, but exercising restraint can be difficult when something brings you so much joy.

The purchasing of physical media is one barrier, especially in this economy, but if we also have to consider and navigate living in a very small space then that adds another barrier to procuring physical items over digital ones.

I can’t remember which YouTube video it was but there was some famous person showing how they stored their journals. They kept them all in boxes labelled in this room and I thought wow, I would love a journal room, or just the space to house and organize the things to me that are precious and part of my creative process.

That kind of privilege is one that isn’t spoken about enough. We talk about money making things easier but it’s more so that money affords you time and as a creative person time is more valuable than money. Time allows things to come to fruition and one could argue that this time will make the work better and make you more money perhaps, if it was something you do for a living.

We don’t all have the same 24 hours in a day and we don’t all have enough room to keep and store all the things we love, or will find and grow to love in the future.

Engaging with physical media or hobbies isn’t about consumerism, at least not at its core, it’s about owning objects that offer rituals along with them. It’s about picking something up and putting it on and really hearing all of it. It’s about turning a page and seeing an image and running your fingers over it as you take in each layer. It’s about displaying your shoes as objects like art as well as functional items that get you from A to B and crafting a story around who you are in those shoes and letting that inspire the rest of your creative practice.

I love stuff. I love objects. I love considered clutter. I love having more chairs than people to sit in them. I love the inspiration that comes with viewing and handling something in real life. I want my home to be a shrine to the things I adore and give my life meaning. I want my house to look like the haul of a lifetime, a haul that took a lifetime to gather together and reflect who we are as a family.

I guess I’ll have to keep watching those NEVER TOO SMALL videos on YouTube and hope that I can one day afford some chic architect to bring my families creativity hoarding dream home to life.

Right now it feels like trying to fit a square into a circle so I should probably get back to listing things on facebook marketplace and sizing the fuck down ready to live a more small, but hopefully still very creative life.

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I was born in 1992, so I came of age in the early 2000’s. This was not a tech free time, we had tumblr, ipods, Nokia 3315’s and most likely by then, at least one computer in the family home. Mine was in my older brother’s room so it was hard to access.

All these items felt like they added to your life and they also felt really exciting when it came to discovering anything new or old in the arts and cultural sphere.

There was a level of dedication required to finding these gems and that created deep and thriving cultures around them.

This was what was known as “outsider culture” or subculture and these groups were defined by the struggle that came with having a particular niche interest that doesn’t appeal to the mainstream, as well as the deep yearn to find and identify with others who also expressed the same level of passion as you for this interest. The search for the subculture or the feeling of being understood and seen was half the hobby, at least it was for me growing up in a very boring suburban setting.

The path that led to finding both the interest (and the group that shared those interests) was windy and required more input and hours from you, the cultural enthusiast.

This meant there was a deeper value in both the interest or hobby, and the sub culture around it and those two things fed into each other. The passion came from the long hours of searching for the paraphernalia, the information, the hours it took to physically be somewhere for a gig, an opening, or an event, so when those individuals met and formed a group based on a shared interest it was robust and authentic, because it was earned.

This is exactly why we look back on the 90’s and pour over the movements and the moments of those decades, because there was a lack of ease in finding special, interesting and challenging media, fashion, and art. The search for it was part of the enjoyment as well as the cost of admission into the devoted group who also loved it. Some would class this type of description as gatekeeping and yes, it’s a form of it, but I think the scales have tipped too far the other way now where all the gates have been lowered and everyone is invited to everyone else’s parties. That has watered down the real authentic, actual passion and enthusiasm for everything.

Fast forward to 2026 and I can’t really remember the last time I was genuinely excited about a moment in recent culture, or felt a true physical belonging like I did as a younger adult. Some of this may be due to getting older and how life shifts, but I do think a large part of it is the lack of barriers to finding those special moments within the arts.

All of my core movie and music memories are rooted in either stumbling across something mind blowing and being taken by surprise, cementing a feeling of being intrinsically attached to that thing, or having had to work hard to finally find, watch or hear something after a long period of coveting it. The satisfaction was delayed and the energy expenditure on getting to get the thing, or see the thing, made your mind pay attention to it more and therefore be a better more engaged audience member.

Even in the aftermath of consuming something like, for example, Twin Peaks or Donnie Darko, both staples for alt millennials, you had to then work to find the answers or seek others opinions. Nowadays it’s coming at you from all angles and you go from watching something to hearing someone else’s opinion within hours, maybe minutes, leaving no time for you to digest any of what you saw or heard. There is no space left for discoverability but furthermore, there is no space left for digestibility of one’s own and therefore there is a drought of authenticity in both what people create and how they consume it.

The “run to the internet” exercise we do soon after any activity nulls and dulls our own true feelings towards it and it’s beginning to interfere with what is now funded, created, and how it’s received and consumed.

The more connected the more alone we are in our subcultures because how we find our way to those sub cultural groups is at the click of a button, not over many years of pulling back the layers because those layers were actually there. It’s just too easy, automated and suggested.

Everything is homogenised now, swimming in the pool of mediocrity that is social media.

Lines and wires are crossed and everything is mashed up in a bowl of confusion that doesn’t really speak to any one group specifically. Instead it pigeonholes, groups and serves interests like a maths equation, not like a cooler older sibling or a highschool boyfriend. Word of mouth counts for so much more but somehow word of mouth online doesn’t feel like word of mouth.

If you think about the way in which you now come across most things in your life it is via an online platform, it’s a passive servitude that doesn’t require much energy on your behalf and this is a problem for all of us.

We need to feel challenged as human beings especially when it comes to the arts and finding our identities. In the absence of friction there is a contempt we adopt that lowers our ability to appreciate what is being shown or played to us. Discoveries don’t feel special now because they are too easily found or they get recommended off the back of what you watched yesterday by an algorithm. We used to have recommendations in video stores by the employees or for fans of (FFO) stickers on records so you could guide a purchase based on the music nerd that worked at the CD store. We’ve exchanged that for an algorithm, a robot that doesn’t care about you having a core memory around a song or movie, it just wants to serve you the ‘correct’ content - it’s not looking to challenge you and say, “hey give this a go, it’s out of the box but it’s important”.

It shouldn’t matter as much as it does but that pathway to finding stuff is part of why people in their 30’s and over don’t feel like they can find new things to enjoy as much as the stuff they discovered back then. Or at least that’s my hypothesis as to why. Your input is very welcome.

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I don’t quite have the answer for how we overcome this but I do know that YouTube still feels like it has a shred of dignity in how it allows us to have input on the platform. We type in “how did MBV get their sound?” and go down quite a lovely rabbit hole on the topic. I can’t say the same for Instagram and I’m sure you feel that way too.

So what do we do about this and how do we keep our discoverability our own and not fodder for the explore pages on IG and Tik Tok?

I think one avenue is reading books and paying close attention to the references in them. I found out about a lot of music from reading books or interviews with artists I admired when I was younger and I need to push myself back into that zone.

Another option: Rather than letting spotify recommend us the next song based on what we just selected, look at the record label that the bands we enjoy are signed to and find music based on that grouping instead. When I first started buying vinyl I always looked at the logo on the record and went to the website to see who else was on that label. Obviously this still involves some internetting but it’s that good early 2000’s kind.

The other one that is arguably the most valuable and also romantic is having a conversation with someone who is really into something and experiencing your world open up into theirs. What do they love and what are they dying to tell you about!? Or better yet, what comes up naturally and unexpectedly that sparks an idea or thought pattern in you and gives you an opening to discover something fresh, or rehash something old you hadn’t thought about for some time.

The truth is we are all going to be online to some extent and that’s not a bad thing. We just have to ensure we don’t live our life on easy mode, letting the algorithms do all the discovering because if you cast your mind back that was actually the best fucking part of it all!

It’s been a while since I shared on substack and tbh it’s mostly down to being very busy but also some fatigue perhaps with how this platform has changed and grown in popularity vs when I started writing here 4+ years ago.

There is nothing more annoying than a life update from an online personality, bar maybe excuses about why they haven’t posted, so I’m sparing you that and instead just wanted to share the above thoughts as I had them, hoping they would resonate.

See you next time I have a thought worth sharing.

Love Lucy x

Everyone’s a little funny when it comes to talking about money.

The online space has become flooded with money talk and it tends to do well because people are nosey and money is also a taboo subject so it gets the clicks!

That’s not why I’m sharing this info with you today though because money is nice but it’s kind of boring and I also suck bigtime with numbers.

In today’s post I want to break down the various income streams I had last year to showcase how diversification isn’t just key, it’s also kind of just what 99% of creatives need to do nowadays.

So let’s talk about earning money with our beautiful creative minds!

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Product Photography

I’m not strictly a product photographer in the true sense of the word and part of me does wonder if I niched down into that then maybe I wouldn’t need to write about all my various income streams…lol.

In all seriousness though it’s risky to have all your eggs in one basket so I like to spread them out and have offerings in different areas because this keeps my skill set diverse and I think in 2026 that is what a creative needs to do to survive.

We’ve made this business work because we don’t just solely do YouTube we also do product photography and an array of other things which I’ll talk about soon.

This type of work is often repeat from the same few clients who like what we produce and appreciate the speedy turnaround compared to what they might get through an agency.

Sometimes it’s at home makeshift studio shots with proper lighting and then other times it’s environmental shots that feel more in the moment.

This is my dream because I love finding creative ways to make things look interesting or striking and I get to play around with beautiful products and get paid. I only got here by doing free work showcasing my eye and ability though so remember that if this is something you long to do!

I probably do something like this 1-2 times a month I’d say.

YouTube

This one is fairly obvious by now but I’ll breakdown how we earn money from this so it’s very clear.

We earn through the Google adsense partner program which is decent compared to other platforms that do ad revenue share, but it’s not enough to live on unless you are getting those Mr. Beast views!

The most we have ever earned from adsense (this is the money that we get from the ads that are played before and during a YT video after YT themselves take their bigger cut) is about $1300AUD a month and that’s like a banging month where the views are good!

Obviously this is nice to see hit the account but it’s only a small part of our income.

What makes up the largest part of our income is sponsorships on YouTube and IG. These are what keeps us in business and making content for you all to enjoy so without these I would probably only be able to output about half of what I do currently, maybe less, because I would be doing something else to bring in the dollars.

So next time you complain about sponsored ads remember that this is generally what keeps a YouTuber going and allows you to watch content totally 100% for free!

I have a yearly Squarespace sponsorship in 2026 which is amazing and this covers two videos a month on my YouTube channel.

I have a talent agent who takes care of all of that for me and she will pitch me for other opportunities and deal with inbounds that come through.

Usually I take on a maximum of 4 sponsorships a month on YouTube, depending on the time of year and what aligns with me and my values of course.

Instagram is a great place for me to partner with more diverse brands as it is more lifestyle for me and I’ve really enjoyed collaborating with fashion brands and other fun companies over the last 12 months.

The only problem with earning through this model is that it can be very all or nothing and I don’t have control over the budget companies have for marketing so it can leave me not knowing what the next month will bring.

That is why long term deals with brands I believe in are so important and it’s also why I choose to offer other services to keep myself fluid and be able to pivot in case one area is a little quieter.

Modelling… but it’s not really

Okay so I refute the term model because model is Kate Moss or girls in RUSSH mag who don’t have binge tats and more importantly they are hired on a model basis through an agent or whatever…

I work in a different way which is always as a duo with my husband. I book the job with the brand, I plan it out come up with the vibe and then he shoots it and I’m in it.

Sometimes it’s someone else photographing but very rarely. We like our little bubble and working with someone who knows you (and your good angles) really helps.

I suppose this often falls in the influencer category which is also a term I feel conflicted about using. I am first and foremost a photographer and then I just sort of built an audience around that and now it’s kind of resembling influencer???

Anyway, labels, who cares.

These jobs are often a mix of video and photo and can also even be product shots as well as worn on me too so it’s a mixed bag. Being able to offer the photographer, the model, the creative direction, the video/editing and the location all from one client is why I think we’ve survived so far.

I love being in front of the camera and I see all this work as a part of my creative work because I’m having a lot of input in how it all comes together.

This is something we are doing a few times a month. Sometimes I still also do a gifted collab if I love the brand and have a time slot to add in a shoot and get some new work for the folio.

Email Marketing

This one is unexpected. I helped a friend out doing the emails for her shop and I actually really liked it. I was able to learn how to use shopify and I also realised that I had a lot of skills to carry over from YouTube and Substack in terms of titling an email to get people to open it.

I’m no EDM expert at all but I’ve enjoyed learning something new and for brands who just want someone to take that off their plate and upkeep the list with photos, news and fun bits and pieces I think I do an okay job.

This work isn’t a huge part of our income but it’s great because it’s ongoing on a monthly retainer basis and this acts to give us some stability.

It’s also extremely accessible because all you need is a laptop and to upskill yourself a little, depending on who you were working for of course.

A lot of brands/companies/businesses need people who can write engaging titles and copy so don’t sleep on the humble written (or typed) word as a way to up your income!

UGC (User Generated Content)

Occasionally we create content for brands to use in their online marketing strategy. This is often video content that I don’t post myself but is used on various platforms to talk through a product or showcase something.

We have built up significant video and editing skills so we have a more polished and refined result we can offer in a sea of iphone content and at times this has been a great way to earn money with the gear and skills we have honed.

Digital Products

Look, people really harp on about this and how it earns them bucket loads of cash and whilst that might be true it’s def not as easy as it’s made out to be and it’s been a minor part of our income over the years.

I sell a few things on my website and I’m sure if I tweaked my sales funnel or whatever it would increase but I really much prefer taking on sponsors or fun collabs and then being able to create more free content for you all.

My preset sells fairly often but it’s very low ticket so it’s a nice little bit of money here and there but it’s nothing crazy.

I launched an online course last year and whilst there was a decent number of you who jumped in and really enjoyed the course it’s not something I promote enough to see a high return from.

I enjoy sharing info freely and want to put stuff out there that is as accessible as possible and that was my goal when starting the YouTube channel. That is why I prefer the sponsorship model because viewers don’t have to put their hand in their pocket unless they want to but still get the entertainment regardless.

I couldn’t even give you an amount but I sell a few presets a week and sporadically sell a course here and there and I’m grateful to those of you who choose to buy those things from me.

Video Editing

Another occasional way we make money is putting my husbands epic editing skills to work for other brands.

This isn’t something we want to do a lot of because we are so busy editing our own content but it is in high demand and if you want to learn a skill LEARN VIDEO EDITING!!!!!

Honestly I rarely see anything well edited in the fashion/lifestyle space and I think it’s crying out for someone who can take footage and make it look and sound good or just interesting at least.

I’m confident we could have a whole biz doing this but we mostly want to be doing our own YouTube videos above all else so we need to keep our eye on the prize.

Portfolio Reviews

Last year I actually had an amazing response to these and was booked solidly sometimes for a whole month which felt so amazing.

I LOVED doing these reviews via email but they were very time consuming and I could never seem to make it work with my schedule the way I needed it to.

I found the more I talked about this service the more it booked out so that was interesting, but again created more work for me in the marketing end of things which took away from other income generating activities.

It’s not all about money but it kind of is when you have a child to support and a sky high rent that keeps going up in a very expensive city like the Gold Coast.

I want to provide the best life for my child so the numbers have to add up and that’s just real life, unless you have someone else to bail you out or pay your way and we don’t!

But you know what, I like it that way because it means the only people I need to rely on are me and Lux. We make it happen or it doesn’t and that gives us all the power if we just keep working hard at it.

So there you go those are the money making activities. I hope you enjoyed, even if it was just a nosey read that made you understand the Lumen biz a bit more.

Any follow up questions let me know below and I hope this helps you to figure out the structure of your creative endeavours this year when it comes to earning from what you do.

It’s also fun to do stuff just for fun and where possible I do that as well.

If you haven’t check it out I have a movie/TV show review channel as a side quest so who knows maybe that will become something bigger one day too!

Thank you for reading guys. Stay creative and talk to you all soon.

Love Lucy xx

It’s been a minute guys!

Lux and I were lucky enough to work on so many amazing projects in the last few months, all of which were mostly unexpected. This meant that I had to pause on substack writing (I also paused the paid subscription too so no billing would continue while I played catch up) and grab these opportunities with both hands.

This year has involved so much growth and change for us and I feel as though I am reaching some of the goals I always dreamed of as a creative…but then also on the flipside there are things that didn’t go to plan or just felt really hard this year too.

So let me share a few things I would like to normalise in 2026 when it comes to being a creative.

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YOU are just as important as what you create!

So it might seem like the last thing the internet needs is another face or talking head popping up but that’s actually exactly what we need right now! More passionate individuals that will show up and share their work with the world.

There is such a push and pull with creatives and the online space and I think sitting on the sidelines complaining about the way thing currently are is only going to hurt you further.

In 2026 I hope we can just normalise the fact that creatives who do utilize the online world and show up in whatever way is comfy and doable for them will open themselves up to more opportunities and that’s just a fact!

An example I would like to give are the duo behind Emulsions podcast. Since launching the show we have seen them go from strength to strength with group shows and big guests like Stephen Shore! One of the hosts even said to me recently that the podcast has changed their lives and I feel the same about what YouTube has done for me.

There are many positives to sharing online despite its obvious evils. Find the way that works for you and your goals and embrace the even playing field that the internet and social media has created for us all.

Normalise sharing you as well as your creations in 2026 and see where it takes you!

Multiple income streams doesn’t make you a failure as a creative

This year I went full time on YouTube and what I didn’t realise was how long I would have to wait to actually get paid from sponsorships. Most are working on at least a net 30 day payment term if not 60 or FML 75!

Being so bad at maths I didn’t realize what this meant for “cash flow” (a term I had no idea about until it was a problem for me) and the gap it would leave until I actually got paid.

It also turns out that having all your eggs in one basket like YouTube can also be its own problem. Views on YouTube have dropped across the board and this can mean lower earnings through ad revenue that is paid to creators from google. This is exactly why it’s great to have fall backs, plan b’s and other tricks up your sleeve to take the pressure off.

I’m planning a piece of content where I will go into the various ways I earn money as a creative and I’m doing this to normalise doing more than one thing.

I recently read an interview with the Academy Award winning director Sean Baker in where he explained he has to take on other work e.g. directing commercials and other roles to make ends meet as an independent filmmaker. This honestly surprised me but also made me feel less alone and well…normal.

I constantly beat myself up over where I’m at financially or professionally based on other people’s success, but what I’m seeing on the exterior is often not the entire picture of someone’s situation.

If I don’t tell you that I am doing email marketing on the side for brands and taking on other various jobs that you aren’t always seeing, then I’m perputing this false narrative and that is not what I want to do at all!

So if your thing, that you wish was your main thing, isn’t quite your whole thing, don’t feel bad because same here!

Especially in this current economic climate I think doing a few things to earn money and create the life you want is totally normal and we should be as open about it is possible.

You can’t win them all

We tend to share the good and the wins and then brush the fails under the rug and although we are all becoming a lot more “share everything” online, when we really analyze it, it’s the high points we naturally want to post about.

I do and have done A LOT of client work and I feel my hit rate is quite good but I’ve definitely had feedback that indicates I’m maybe not hitting the mark in some way for whatever reason. I really struggle with this it honestly kills me to my core to think someone isn’t happy with what I’ve done and I think this is a good thing because it means I care!

It’s also important to understand that this is normal and not every photo you take will be a banger. Not every client will be over the moon with what you do and some weeks will just suck when it comes to personal and professional creative pursuits.

It’s totally normal and why I shared a love for the “burner shots” that are the in between photos on the way to the bangers.

It’s also worth remembering that the world of creativity is subjective so what one person loves and thinks is wonderful, another might think is totally not the vibe.

One interest or hobby doesn’t totally define you as a person

I’m so OVER social media putting us in a box! Yes you need some cohesion across what you share and talk about online but I detest the idea of an entire feed that completely disregards the complex facets of creative people!

At the core of everything and how people come across me is usually photography and that is awesome but it’s not my whole personality. I am inspired and influenced by so many things and I’m keen to share that with you all and I think you are too.

This year I started a movie review channel as a way to have an outlet for my love of cinema and it’s been so great for my creativity. I’ve also done a lot of work in the fashion space this year and it’s awesome to see photographers embrace this and see how the visual aspects of fashion interrelate to our visual medium of photography.

I would like to see more multi passionate creatives sharing online and finding the thread that ties it all together to make the algorithm see that you don’t need to just do one thing all the time to cut through.

It’s totally normal to have no idea what you are doing

Need I say anymore on this subheading?

No one really knows for sure and that becomes more and more apparent to me as time goes on and see the curtain pulled back on various things. It’s so rare that a person tries something, it works and then they continue on in that vein and have it all figured out.

What works for someone else won’t work for you and the only way you know is if you try things and learn from them. That’s actually why I enjoy working in the content creation space because it’s essentially marketing really when you break it down.

You have an idea you want to share and you figure out a way to execute it and package it up to get to the right people and this involves risk and experimentation. There is no guarantee it will work and you have to be okay with that.

Even when it doesn’t work or go as planned you are rewarded with what you learn from it and this is worth its weight in gold for a creative person.

So let’s normalise things falling flat, not working out and taking risks to find that out because it’s really the only way to keep the wheels turning.

I still don’t know what I’m doing, I just show up and share and that is okay!

I have a new plan and approach to how i’ll be showing up on Substack in the new year. This will involve more BTS of what I’m working on and pulling back the curtain by sharing anecdotes and intimate updates on all things life and creativity!

It’s great to be back writing to you all again.

If you missed my recent YouTube video about shooting colour to open up your scope as a photographer catch up with that here.

This newsletter isn’t sponsored but I wanted to drop a link that offers you 2 months of picdrop for FREE if you are looking for a photo storage and sharing solution that offers more features than the usual ones do. I highly recommend it as it’s made by photographers for photographers.

Love Lucy x

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Hello,

September was a little crazy and went by way too quickly. October is here and next week i’ll be 33, soon my son will turn 5 and so will my photography YouTube channel!

But I’m not here to list things that have happened and are going to happen because that would be really boring for you…Instead I’m going to pop some photos, some videos, a podcast, a substack rec and maybe a few words below for you to save for your train or car journey or where ever you find yourself in need of an internet friend.

I’m always here for you on one of the platforms guys!

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Digicam Love

These past few months I’ve been carrying a Nikon Coolpix and I honestly love the photos. I thought it would be like a novelty thing where it’s cool…but it’s not that cool. I can confirm that this thing takes really coolpix. See below.

I’ll be sharing a video soon on why this feels so much more fun than taking those everyday moment snaps with your smartphone. Keep an eye out!

If you missed it I recently compared the Canon 5DC to the D700 and reveal my preference. It’s a fun watch and plenty of great convo’s going on in the comments so get in there.

I also have a roadtrip adventure (a little bit vlog style even) shooting the AMAZING D200. This camera blew me away with it’s colours - the hype is real on this one guys! This is the kind of video I want to make on the channel moving forward so if you do like this please like and let me know so the algo knows too and I can take you on more travel photo trips!

Shoes & Bags

Other than cameras all a girl wants is handbags and shoes…well this one anyway.

Honestly I’m not a huge shopper or anything but I love a well designed item like a structured handbag or a beautiful square toe slingback like the one pictured below that I shot recently with the D200 and a new flash set up.

Today I spent some time in the city working on a fun video for the ethical and always stylish Sans Beast. Look out for that soon on Instagram and I’l share more pics here too but here is an XT4 shot from today…

Movie Channel Update!

So I started a movie review channel about a month ago now and tbh I was feeling really vulnerable and insecure about doing something new online but boy am I glad I did!

I’ve been back watching movies way more often now and it’s fueling me creatively when we go out and shoot/film. It’s also exposed me to a whole new community of people who also love cinema and it’s great to see some of the photography crew come over and get involved - thank you!

I do love a heavy, full on, tense, edge of your seat kind of watch so here is a list of some that are very good but are only a one watch type of situation.

To cleanse the palette and curb your nightmares you want to watch this video afterwards that covers a handful of indie gems that are truly overlooked and underrated. A few of them were shot on film too!

While your over there you can also catch my real time out of theatre reaction to the new Benny Safdie film The Smashing Machine which was very different to what I expected. I have some more thoughts to add on this film so I’m trying to gear myself up to do a livestream on the topic…

I’m really stoked to be sharing about one of my biggest passions and have an additional creative outlet to photography/cameras.

A New Substack To Follow

My good friend Alessia E Art is finally on Substack!

You might have watched my interview with her recently and seen the photo shoot we did together but since then Alessia has been making big moves with her snail mail club and it’s nearly at 1000 people!!! INSANE!

Alessia is a wonderful writer and a great source of inspo for anyone wanting to build a consistent online presence and turnt hat into something meaningful like a snail mail club.

Read ’s first article below.

Return to Sender

A Letter to the City I Tried to Love

I moved to the city on the 24th of January 2024. I presumed the relocation to be indefinite and had planned accordingly. I put my entire life and all my earthly possessions (including my kiln and entire studio set up) in the hands of a very scrawny truck driver and his dilapidated truck. I don’t regret the experience (at least not wholly), but I do thin…

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8 months ago · 5 likes · Alessia

A Podcast Episode For You

I have been listening to the My Daily Business podcast for about 4 years now, maybe more and I never dreamed I would be a guest and then I was!

A pinch me moment and tbh I can’t even listen back past the lovely intro that Fiona the host gave me because I was so excited I feel like I just couldn’t contain myself during the chat.

I’ve had some amazing feedback from those of you who have listened and I urge you to listen back to the other interview episodes with creatives of all kinds because you truly never know what goes into someones journey and it’s humbling to hear it so candidly.

Listen below and be sure to hit up Fiona and tell her you found it helpful!

Thanks for hanging out with me on here guys and i’ll talk to you in the next one.

Love Lucy x

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Hello Substack friends,

Thank you for the kind comments on my last post talking about how heavy the world feels right now. Knowing so many of you feel the same really helped.

I thought to follow it up I would share some photos from my latest YouTube video and invite you all to enjoy the stillness of the images and hopefully inspire you to carve out time to go on your own photowalk before the month is over!

How To Go On A Photowalk

Okay so obviously it’s pretty straight forward but sometimes our anxiety can get in the way of even the simplest of plans right?

So here are some tips on how to plan for your next photowalk and make sure you actually get out the door, camera in hand and totally stress free.

Tip 1 - Schedule it in and keep it simple

If you are a procrastination sufferer, a person who tends not to actually do the thing they want to do then I guarantee it’s because of the following…

• You overthink everything to the point of paralysing yourself

• You can’t decide and therefore never get to the actual activity

• You make things WAY more complicated than they need to be

I myself am guilty of all three. Let me know below if you relate?

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Okay so let’s bust this behaviour right now so you can sidestep the self sabotage and actually use your camera(s)!

If you don’t carve out the time the time will never happen, trust me. It took me like three weeks to open a letter that was on my desk once because I was waiting for the perfect moment. I ended up having to legit schdule in a time in my google calendar to do this 3 second task. No joke.

The reality is this: our lives are pretty fucked up right now, it’s chaos to just be alive so I’m not surprised that feeding ourselves, not becoming a screen addicted monster or just simply finding time to open a goddamn letter is so hard.

First step is to schedule in your photowalk so that time slot of your life is accounted for and only a dire occurrence or emergency will alter that.

Okay so you are locked and loaded with the when. Now we have the how which can get hairy really quickly if you don’t set some parameters.

Keep it all as simple as possible when it comes to gear. You don’t need your whole collection and even though you might like to have a few lens options along with some filters plus a point and shoot and the spare batteries or copious amounts of film you are really better off stripping it all back.

If you take too many cameras it’s likely you’ll just feel guilty when you don’t really use all of them or you’ll spend all your time switching from one to another and it will just kill your photowalk flow.

Just take one camera you know you vibe with and don’t worry too much if you don’t have the perfect focal length for every scene or you only have black and white film and you see a whole tin of yellow paint spilt on the pavement (this happened to me and it killed me haha).

The photowalk is 50% about the photos and 50% about the walk and all that comes with it.

This means it’s not really about the camera and its specs, it’s about the act of being outside, which in these trying modern times is something to pat yourself on the back for even doing. From there it’s all the benefits you are reaping from being in the fresh air and the elements, the movement of walking, the chance of maybe a fleeting social interaction, and of course noticing the spaces and scenes around you. This is where the photo part comes in.

What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Shoot

Walking out into the big wide world with your camera is like the equivalent to a writer sitting down to a blank piece of paper, hopeful and terrifying.

If it’s been a while since you’ve actually gotten out and shot, this can be amplified and have you turning back around, going home or maybe not even heading out in the first place. That is why you need some focus for you photowalk.

Mine is built in easily because it’s normally a YouTube video with a concept and this is actually why I prefer shooting for YouTube because I know my purpose and that helps me to get started and keep going.

For you though it might look like a simple constraint.

Choosing a colour or a certain subject matter can be a great simple one to implement to avoid you flailing and thinking “why did I even bother” or maybe it’s something a little more cerebral like a feeling or mood you want to capture.

You can choose a gear constraint of course but I find this makes you more in the gear headspace than the actual photo one but you do you.

You can also use your choice of location to inform these constraints too, so consider this before you schedule in your walk. For example, you might want busy scenes because you are wanting to focus on people, maybe block out a day when there is an event.

Perhaps you want to capture a nostalgic mood? Consider picking an older part of town and planning ahead to drive there and even considering what’s along the way that you could add in?

I often like to circle back to an area if it’s been a little while because things will likely look different this time and I enjoy seeing how differently I can capture the location a second or third time.

As you can see here this is endless so don’t get too caught up on it but make sure you have something to draw from when you are actually in the field in case you start feeling doubtful, uninspired or a bit rusty.

If you want to see my most recent photowalk adventure to get you inspired and plan your own then watch my latest YouTube video here or click below. These types of videos never perform as well as gear focused ones so please do give it a thumbs up if you enjoy and leave a comment so it can be shown to more people who will appreciate it. Thank you :)

Other Considerations To Make This Photowalk An Epic one

All walks are different and some yield many bangers and some just don’t. That’s okay!

As someone who has been recording many of their walks for well over 4 years now it’s never a guarantee what you will capture which is why I place emphasis on other parts of the experience to safeguard myself from bangerless endeavours.

FOOD - Plan your walk around it! I can’t tell you how often my photo location for a video is dictated by a sandwich or unbelievable pastry option nearby. Making it about the lunch or little coffee break is a great way to take the pressure off you having to take great photos. Just enjoy the journey to the sandwich and the photos are a byproduct.

FRIENDS - I personally prefer to photowalk alone (or with Lux filming me of course) because when I’m with people I don’t actually take many photos. But for some, being with people can really help. Maybe you can meet halfway or just organise a catch up for afterwards so again you feel as though you are just out killing time before the social plans. Anything to take the pressure off and also get you out with your camera!

MUSIC/PODCAST - I know it’s idyllic to hear the bird song but a solo photowalk can also be a prime time to chuck on that new deftones release or listen to that 2 hour podcast you’ve been chipping away at uninterrupted. I love listening to music when I’m walking around (if it’s safe to do so) because I imagine I’m in a movie and this is the soundtrack. Even if you only take a handful of photos but you got some quality ‘you’ time in to absorb not one but two of your interests, that my friend, is a big win!

All in all it’s just good to get out there and engage in something other than an endless depressing newscycle and remind yourself that you have such an amazing creative outlet.

I appreciate you reading here and watching on YouTube and I’ll be in your inbox next week with more thoughts.

Love Lucy x

Look, I don’t hop online crying and airing my problems with the world, not that I judge anyone who does, but I do feel a responsibility to be honest and transparent so as not to create a perfect online exterior that only makes everyone feel more pressured and alone.

I’m also not one to hop online with a woe is me sob story about how hard everything is because that feels incredibly tone deaf right now.

I also strive to always try and bring positivity to the online spaces I share in and even when I’m feeling down and force myself to show up for the people who so kindly watch/read/listen to what I have to say, the negative vibes shake off me so quickly because I feel like I have a purpose!

Lately though, it’s been feeling hard to get the ball rolling when it comes to showing up in #alltheplaces

Even on Substack, which is usually my sanctuary, I have been kind of scared or even at a loss with what to write. This is so unlike me!

I’ve realised that it’s okay for me to write to you and simply tell you how I’m feeling and maybe even offer you the chance to do the same.

The world feels so heavy right now and whilst it’s good to be informed and not just turn our heads or bury them completely in the sand, there is also a threshold to how many of the world’s ills a person can absorb before descending into madness themselves.

I have always found escapes from reality comforting and those escapes come in the form of art that, more often than not, has an underlying message that pokes at my frustrations, worries or big feelings.

For some reason it feels safer to explore those emotions within creativity and art and I kind of feel like it’s the only space I can turn to right now because everything feels dangerous. I’m finding myself lost in movies and books and allowing that to bring about conversation that helps me unpack the world around me.

In times of strife personally and economically, creativity is often the first thing to go. I’ve said it before but it bares repeating, creativity is a lifesaver, and I would argue it’s more important than ever to be able to fully immerse yourself in something that can provide solace or even just a good quality distraction.

Something I used to do religiously was go to the movies and then spend hours afterwards researching the film, watching interviews with the cast and crew and becoming totally wrapped up in the world they had created on the screen.

As life has gotten busier for me and there is a little one to tend to, I’ve become increasingly more passive in my absorption of art. I used to be an active participant not just a bystander paying half attention.

I’m not sure what it is about making YouTube videos or maintaining a channel but I just adore the idea of creating these corners of the internet that serve a purpose and help me to engage in my passions in a deeper way.

Recently starting a movie review channel has made me apply myself more diligently to something that used to come so naturally but has fallen by the wayside.

It feels lately that even the things we know we enjoy or make us feel good can feel like a task, like a mountain we have to climb. Instead we seem prone to “rot” or anything that allows us to enter a state of total numbness or mentally “checking out” which has lowered our tolerance for any sort of real creatively challenging material.

The netflixification of entertainment has lowered our expectations and allowed us to spend valuable time scrolling through the endless (mostly average) choices at our fingertips. Content that doesn’t ask much of the viewer and can facilitate you checking your phone, eating a chocolate bar and following a badly written predictable storyline.

Sure, we all need some comfort viewing every now and then, but I wonder if sometimes we are slowly turning our brains to mush when what we need is something that turns us back on. We need that fire reignited and to do so we need something that is going to demand our attention and require our input to extrapolate all of its themes, twists, complex characters and dedication to making something that honours its viewers, not just spoon feeds it palatable packaged up premises that are formulaic and safe.

Deep diving on a director imo is a great way to work those creative muscles and shine a light on a new perspective, a way of being or pave the way for your own new creative idea.

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Another way I combine my love of cinema and film photography is by perusing the Kodak website to find out what movies are coming out soon that have been shot on film. I find some photographic inspiration from cinema and it’s just the cherry on top when it’s also shot on film! There are often interesting interview articles with the cinematographer well worth checking out too.

Kodak Movies

I can’t imagine “not liking movies” but of course each to their own and if you can apply the message from this week’s letter to your own situation and interests I think you’ll find that there might be something in your life worth becoming more engaged in.

I find obsessed people so fascinating and someone else’s vigour and intensity for any hobby or interest can be infectious, both in a good way and bad.

Life is really fucking hard and it feels extra hard lately. Trying to have or find “balance” whatever that means and be a person that doesn’t squander the time we have on earth can create overwhelm and distress.

I want to see more movies, books, articles and videos that reflect how a lot of us are feeling right now. Art that signals a collective understanding and fosters conversation around how exactly to cope in this current climate.

All I know is that the more opportunity I have to pour myself into activities or content of substance the better I feel. My creative mind needs a good workout just as my physical body does and I hope this has been a good reminder for you if you’ve felt caught up in spaces that don’t really serve you well when you zoom out and reflect.

Let me know what you are pouring yourself into lately or just how you’ve been feeling below, I’m all ears!

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These two movies, both shot on film, are coming up soon and discussed below in a recent video on my movie channel. If you haven’t come on over to chat movies please do, I would love to hear from you.

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Hello Substack friends,

Today we are discussing one of the most captivating tv series in history - TWIN PEAKS! I’m always urging my readers to get inspired by visionaries like David Lynch and look to cinema and TV to spark new ideas and ways of seeing the world.

I’m very excited to be partnering with MUBI to bring you this love letter to Twin Peaks. Readers can explore Twin Peaks Season 1 & 2 and THE RETURN, as well as many more gems on MUBI with 30 days free at mubi.com/lucy

If you haven’t seen Twin Peaks then this is the perfect time to binge it!

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If you are a fan of the show like me, be sure to let me know what your first Twin Peaks viewing experience was like in the comments and I hope you enjoy hearing mine.

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As a teenager my world comprised of a only a few things (one being highschool of course). Not for long though, as I left to be a waitress full time when I was 14 years old, sadly I never got to serve any filter coffee or cherry pie à la the Double R Diner - think more big mugs of cappuccino served to baby boomers post their morning cycling session.

Decidedly not as cool.

The other things that made up my universe was watching my parents’ (who are decidedly very cool) VHS tape collection, which was vast and consisted of many viewing moments that would shape my future interests.

I had seen David Lynch films prior to discovering Twin Peaks, notably Wild At Heart, which actually stars Twin Peaks’ Sherilyn Fenn (Miss Audrey Horne) and Sheryl Lee (The famously “dead and wrapped in plastic” Laura Palmer) and loved it’s strange, endearing and sexy qualities. It felt like something I shouldn’t have watched, like entering a dangerous world, a world that Lulu (Laura Dern) describes in the film as “Wild at heart and weird on top”. Which also echos another line in Lynch’s masterpiece Blue Velvet, where Jeffrey Beaumont remarks to Sandy Williams, "It's a strange world, Sandy"and let’s face it, no one does strange better than Lynch.

Entering the strange world of Twin Peaks came later for me though, by way of an older, cooler friend who was a bigger Lynch fan and privy to much more than I was when it came to film and TV.

I had already seen snippets of Twin Peaks floating around on…yes, you guessed it, Tumblr. Often these images were of the famous Red Room, but more often than not they were of Audrey Horne played superbly by Sherilyn Fenn.

Audrey was elegant but she had an edge, she seemed girly but saucy, cute and bookish in her outfits, but still oozing this temptress nature that drew you in and made you wonder “Who’s that girl?”.

Tumblr was full of movie stills and it’s funny to think how many of us were exposed to certain cultural icons via that platform growing up. We got a snapshot and then sought out the full experience. That full experience of Twin Peaks never really ends though, we are all still discussing its themes, meanings, secrets and of course, the aesthetics. Oh, and don’t forget the iconic soundtrack too!

Witnessing this episodic version of Lynch’s work, it felt more immersive than his feature films. I remember telling my mum I was watching Twin Peaks with my best and coolest older friend and her and my father recounted watching the show when it first aired and told me how they would spend so much time talking on the landline phone with other family members and friends after each episode, trying desperately to unpack and decipher what they had seen.

Sure, we see this happen now online with certain TV shows, I have to say the telephone conversation sounds much more romantic, but aside from that we must acknowledge that the conversation around Twin Peaks is still going on now, maybe even on a landline somewhere. It’s become part of our cultural history, but it feels like Twin Peaks has become even bigger than itself!

The viewers have pulled it apart, obsessed over it, talked about it on Reddit, tried to uncover its secrets and it’s lived on in our hearts and minds decades later.

When I think about watching Twin Peaks for the first time I get excited for those people who haven’t experienced this weird and wonderful world yet. I envy them because to stumble across a TV show like that is a once in a million kind of life experience.

It also sounds like working on Twin Peaks was a glorious life experience too, which makes me really happy and proud to be such a fan of the show!

A recent comment on one of my videos in which I mention David Lynch and my love for his creations, recounted a heartwarming and insightful look into life on set of the famous series. This has to be my favourite comment ever made by a viewer in my four years on YouTube!

Funnily enough, the thing about Twin Peaks that caught my attention the most as a teenage girl and let’s face it, even now as a 32 year old suburban mum, was THE WOMEN!

Prior to seeing Twin Peaks, the only TV show I had watched closely was The OC and don’t get me wrong, anyone my age will remember the impact this show had on us all, but the female characters were thin and not given a whole lot of thought or depth.

The women of Twin Peaks however all have a hefty dose of mystery and complexity to them, they are torn romantically and navigating a difficult time, a tragic loss and big emotions. There is darkness and intrigue in all of them despite how they might first present.

I also loved and appreciated that each female character in Twin Peaks had a specific look and they weren’t just these perfectly polished usual stereotypes of what we normally see cast in teen dramas. Part of that is of course because Twin Peaks is so much more than a soapy teen drama, but it’s also a testament to Lynch’s vision and seemingly uncanny quality for depicting women on screen, that I myself consider unmatched and as a women very much appreciate.

Damn do I wish I could have been a Lynchian leading lady but instead I’ll just keep practising my best Audrey Horne dance at home.

If you would also like to bask in the mystery and vivid colours of a lasting pop-culture phenomenon that redefined television as we know it, you can catch the collection streaming right now on MUBI which includes Seasons 1 and 2, plus the much-anticipated return, from showrunners Mark Frost and David Lynch.

Now streaming on MUBI in United States, United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Russia and India.

Haven’t heard of MUBI before? Let me explain why it’s my favorite streaming service! MUBI is a place to discover ambitious films by visionary filmmakers. From iconic directors to emerging auteurs. It’s more than a streaming service though, it’s a curator, a publisher, a distributor and your fellow cinema lover all in one platform.

The community reviews on MUBI are so insightful too and help you to get a taste of what the film will be like, which is so handy for those of us with choice paralysis! It reminds me of the video store days checking out the staff picks and reviews.

Try MUBI for free

The Most Hyped Book On Creativity…

I was skeptical before I read this as it’s mentioned so often and on the bookshelves of nearly every creative person. It always pops up in YouTube videos about how to stay creative and although I’m a Rick Rubin fan, I wasn’t sure if it would be worth my time reading.

Well it was…which is why I’m re-reading it and inviting you to explore the advice and themes in the book with me this month!

I’ve touched on parts of The Creative Act before on YouTube but I’m wanting to revisit this book to see what stands out on a second pass. We are always in such a different spot in our creative endeavours and advice that felt irrelevant at one point can suddenly speak to you so deeply and be just what you need.

In an attempt to stay focused and patient with what I have going on in my creative career I really need the voice of another to ground me and put things into perspective and this book is perfect for that.

It feels like creative therapy!

I’ll be hosting a livestream at the end of September to discuss the book and share some action points so you can walk away feeling motivated and centred.

Last months livestream is all ready to be replayed and it’s the perfect hour of power to leave you feeling less alone in your creative pursuits and stay focused on what really matters to YOU!

I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs over the last 4 years being on YouTube, becoming a professional photographer, creating content and trying to stay the course and believe in myself. It’s been challenging and I wished I had more people to make me feel seen when I was building things up so I hope this monthly stream can be that for you guys. I’ve made it super affordable for everyone to join at only $5 a month!

Join us by hitting the button below and you’ll also get 20% off my online class “How To Put Yourself Out There As An Artist”

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Hello substack friends!

I’ve got something fun to share with you today but before we get into that I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads these newsletters and has done over the years. I’ve branched out and started live streaming on here lately and it’s been so much fun to be with you all in person in real time. Thanks for hanging out with me!

Alright so let’s get into today’s topic shall we!

A Third YouTube Channel?!?!

Alright so how many YT channels does one girl need?

Turns out I need 3!

One to share my love for photography and cameras.

One to share advice for creative people trying to keep their shit together and show up online.

And one for….drum roll please…

REVIEWING AND TALKING ABOUT MOVIES!!!

It’s no secret that I’m a movie lover and I’ve often talked about how much inspiration I draw from cinema in general. I believe it’s the perfect coming together of everything I enjoy most.

Music, visuals, storytelling and a way to interact with others, whether it’s the message the director is conveying or the conversation with others around me about how they felt after experiencing the film.

I spent a really good chunk of my teens in the local Blockbuster grabbing 7 weekly rentals for $10 and closing the door to my bedroom for the weekend, pouring over each one.

I’ve always played a game where I imagine you have to choose between music or movies for the rest of your life. If you could only have one for all of eternity which would it be?

My answer to this totally made up scenario was and is always, MOVIES.

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Movies very much informed my interest in photography and still to this day. Seeing a movie is the number one thing that makes me wanna get straight out and take pictures. I don’t feel that way after looking at a photobook or scrolling photography online, so movies for me is much more linked to my photography experience than anything else!

I tell you all of this because it might seem madness to have so many channels on the go, but lord knows the internet loves you to stay in a lane, so I thought why not start the LUCY LUMEN REVIEWS channel where I can debrief post cinema visit, which is afterall, my favorite part!

Starting a photography channel allowed me to explore the hobby a lot more and it turned into something WAY BIGGER than I had ever expected. I’m still pinching myself that it’s my job!

I’ve noticed that when I have a “why” around my creativity it really helps to push me to make it a priority. Before having Luca I was at the movies every week and I would watch panel discussions on YouTube with cast and crew afterwards and just generally be plugged into the movie universe. Being a parent does simply mean you have less time to do what you want to do and it’s easy to just let things you feel passionate about and that inspire you totally fall off a cliff.

It’s a rare and niche cure but honestly, having a YouTube channel helps me to stay engaged with my hobbies and interests because I have an end point for at all.

I also adore the community aspect and feeling like even though I don’t have time to be super social or live somewhere where it’s all happening I can find that online.

So if you love movies, or even if you just like movies, come on over and join me on this new channel and be part of the conversation.

My Movie Review Channel

I’ll be covering reviews of recently released movies, plus hidden gems and classics, as well as reporting on movie news I’m excited about and fun listicles that are easy to watch!

If you want some cosy recs for the weekend ahead check out these videos below. Or go check them out on the channel directly.

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Hello to my most favourite people on the internet.

It’s been a full week with lots of head-down-bum-up work from Lux and I and it made me realise how much a good routine and a positive mindset can impact your ability to reach a goal and get shit done!

I have adapted one of my favourite pages from Rick Rubin’s book, The Creative Act which is titled Thoughts and Habits Not Conducive To The Work and it’s a one page list of everything Rick thinks you should kick to the curb. Rubin’s book is very useful and I would personally like a big poster print out of it hanging on my wall to remind me.

I have decided to do my own round up of thoughts and habits that are likely to get you down or generally just kill your vibe as a creative.

Feel free to save this post and come back to it or add your own thought or habit below, so we can all side step the behaviours that aren’t serving us creatively.

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The following images (taken with my Canon Eos 7 and Fuji 400) in today’s newsletter are all of Alessia E Art a ceramist and friend who I was lucky enough to photograph and interview recently. If you are looking for some advice on how to put yourself out there as a creative this is a must watch. Click here to see the full interview with all the visuals or just pop it on and listen like a podcast.

Letting Fear Take Over

Fear overwhelms us in debilitating ways, especially when it comes to putting ourselves out there. Lately I have been really unpacking my fear around certain things and life and trying to be as rational as humanly possible, which is very difficult for someone who is an extremely emotional person!

Reminding myself of the reality of various likely outcomes and playing through what that would actually be like, shows me that it’s my mind that’s really the enemy here, not the situation or opportunity.

Fear stops us from doing a lot of things and in fact, I’m going to quote one of my favourite Smiths songs to illustrate my point.

Shyness or fear, it all stands in the way of what we really want to do with our lives. Creativity is a place to experiment and it’s also a chance to put yourself out there and let others see you. Don’t let fear of what will or won’t happen stop you from bringing your visions to life.

Using time as an excuse to not get on with things

Alright this one is tough to hear but let’s go!

You are the person in control of your life even if it doesn’t feel like that. We can all make time for our passions even when we are time poor. If something hasn’t happened yet it’s actually largely down to you, not external factors.

I am guilty of this in a toxic way where I prefer the setting and time to be optimal for me to, say, write a Substack or even read a book. I have this perfect idea of how it will go down and reality never offers me up that perfection, so guess what happens? It never gets done and I have the excuse I need to keep putting it off.

If I had a dollar for every DM I get saying “I really want to start a YouTube channel but I don’t have time” I would have hundreds of dollars worth of poor excuses.

I feel I can say this to you because I’m not some finance bro with a Patrick Bateman-esque morning routine that screams “I have no children and all the money in the world”

I’m a mum, a partner, a daughter and I am spread pretty thin across my endeavours some weeks and that means I have to lock in and sacrifice other elements of life like socialising. Everyday I feel the pull to put things off and as soon as I do, I go in the opposite direction and rip that bandaid right off and get it done!

We make time for things that we really want to do and often the excuses and justifications, while sometimes valid to an extent, are often fear rearing its ugly head to stop you really finding out what it’s like to just go for it.

Blaming the internet or algorithm or AI

Again if I had a dollar every time I heard this…

Look I get it, it’s super frustrating and I hate so many things about the way the internet is these days. IG is a shell of what it used to be and the increasing need to sensationalise everything is really tiring… but it’s a small price to pay in exchange for access to the world and a democratic playing field when it comes to getting your work seen or carving out a niche and either just enjoying the creative side of it, or turning it into a full time gig.

The problem with constantly using the algorithm as a get-out-of-sharing-my-work-free-card is that you’re up against something that you are unlikely to alter and this means that unless you find other ways to share and be seen or reach your goals (which is semi possible) you’ll always be in this frustrated, stunted spot where you want to share but resent the best tools to do it.

The real world has many pitfalls and gatekeepers that act much the same as the algorithm so it’s a case of choosing your evil, getting to know it and working out a way that gets you what you want in a way you feel good about.

Life is an endless compromise and artists can tend to want things to be exactly the way they had envisioned and this only happens on rare occasions so you may be waiting forever for that to occur.

I could go on about this but try not to let the system get you down man haha. Work within and create a change from the inside by massaging through content you want to make or using the opportunity for good by focusing on the positive impact you can make instead of dwelling solely on the negatives.

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Thinking it’s too late to start

It is legit never too late to start and I mean that! Better late than never applies to all creative pursuits.

Sure you might be entering in a more competitive time or facing more challenges than others did, but this is an invitation to shake things up or offer a new perspective. Those that have been doing something for a long time often get complacent and rest on the laurels. You can come in with the new, fresh take and energy that is so infectious when someone is starting out.

4 years ago when I started YouTube I kept saying that it was too late. I also kept saying that there were already a lot of channels so why would people watch mine.

Fuck that!

There is always more room if you bring something new to the table or in my case the TV. Find the gap, lean into your difference or inexperience, or just do it and have fun and don’t worry about what everyone else is doing.

There is a David Lynch quote that is escaping me now but it’s something along the lines of not paying attention to what others are doing or creating and focusing on your own plans and visions instead. Basically not getting distracted and inviting in more ways to second guess yourself. We can see that so clearly in Lynch’s work and I would say the creative blinkers he put on allowed him to focus and nail his vision and that made him both unique and authentic.

You are never too old, or too late, or too inexperienced to get started.

Once you start you’ll just laugh at the you that worried so much and pontificated about all the outcomes. Start now and get that awkward shit outta the way, welcome the uncomfortableness of it all and push through to the other side cause I gotta tell you, it’s nice here.

Once I want to do something I just get going because I know all the challenges I’ll face and continue to face so I’m ready to tackle them and move forward.

Alright pep talk done!!

I hope you feel so ready to START or CONTINUE with whatever your heart desires.

If you want some extra support with sharing your work online and staying on track then my 6 part course is the perfect resource to support you.

LEARN FROM ME

A reminder that if you are looking to make a website to showcase your work or you are renewing your site with Squarespace you can use the code LUCYLUMEN for 10% or visit this link for a free 14 day trial. I’m always happy to have a look and give some feedback on your site if you use my code too!

START YOUR WEBSITE

Hey substack friends!

There are always so many new people here and it’s amazing to see this platform grow in popularity. I’m such an advocate for substack and enjoy sharing here, but today I want to talk specifically about YouTube and why it’s SUCH a powerful platform for creatives.

If you’ve ever thought about starting a YouTube channel then today’s newsletter is a must read.

A reminder that I’m back offering portfolio reviews again so if you are wanting some feedback on your work and actionable steps to take towards your goals as a photographer book in and let me help!

PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Traditional Media Decline

It’s no secret that traditional forms of media are on the decline. Less and less of us are watching free to air TV or getting our news from mainstream sources that were once king. The stats around YouTube consumption are only going up and this is because YouTube caters to niche interests and we love that!

The options have opened up in terms of what we can consume as a society and this has created pockets of content appealing to specific hobbies and interests. It’s splintered the views across thousands of individual creators as opposed to handful of giant media companies and I think that’s pretty cool.

This shift means many opportunities have opened up to everyday people like you and me to literally create their own TV show. The barrier to entry is lower than ever if you want to press record and share a message, execute a vision or even make a movie!

There are pros and cons to all of this, but I want to focus solely on what this means for creative people wanting to build something online.

I believe that this decline we see across mainstream media will only continue and fast forward to the future we will see a world where Youtube is like Netflix, something you tune into consistently to see your favourite shows. It’s already acting this way in our homes and on our personal devices but I think right now it’s just scraping the surface of how it will be in years to come.

The home screen has already changed and is looking a lot like Netflix so this is telling of where YouTube is headed.

What does this mean and why should you care?

I’m saying this because it means that it’s not too late to start your YouTube channel! In fact, this means it’s the perfect time to get started because it’s so clear that YouTube has stood the test of time and is invested in becoming a solid part of entertainment in our culture and society.

This also puts a lot of money on the YouTube table. Whether you are interested or not in making Youtube an income stream, I think it’s worth taking note of this information.

When traditional media was king, advertisers were spending all their money in those few concentrated places in order to access the viewership they had. All the usual ways like ad breaks in TV shows or in newspapers, magazines or radio shows, those were where the money was being spent and it was A LOT of money!

Now in 2025 a large portion of that is going to ads on social media aka YouTube videos and then further than that, it’s going to individual creators like me who can make niche, informative and entertaining videos for you to watch for FREE.

Everyone has a different viewpoint on this but I think it’s blown the space wide open and allowed many more people to explore their creativity and make an income doing it. Growing up I always thought that if you wanted to build your own business you had to be privileged in some way, but nowadays it seems that if you have an internet connection and you are willing to carve out the time and show up you can literally build your dream career without needing specific connections or significant funds.

It’s democratised the entire media and creative landscape and I don’t think enough people take advantage of that because we are still hanging on to old conventions and ways of doing things.

It still feels like there is a stigma attached to being a YouTuber. Like you are mucking around or it’s not a “real” career. Younger generations seem to accept it more and aspire to it, maybe a little too much even, but it isn’t given the validity it deserves. When you really look at what goes into any successful channel vs a television production with numerous people working on it and a much larger budget, I think YouTubers deserve a bit more credit for what they do.

I’m not trying to be that annoying content creator that bangs on about how hard it is and expects people to feel sorry for them, because let’s face it, that is annoying. What I am trying to do is make the case that YouTube is an extremely valid way to share your creativity with the world and it also happens to be a solid way to earn an income too.

The other platforms vs YouTube

Creating content takes a lot of time. It doesn’t matter how you do it, where you do it or how experienced you are at it, it’s just time consuming AF.

The same way making a movie is really time consuming. To bring multiple elements together in a way that feels cohesive is a huge task and I think is why so many people opt for short form over long form when it comes to creating is because of the workload involved.

It’s way easier to slap together a meaningless 20 second video and hide behind its short length than it is to expose lack of skill and thought in a 10-20 minute video.

Short form content has a much lower expectation when it comes to quality, so it tends to be the more go to place for people to dabble and hope to build something online.

Easy doesn’t lead to anything great though.

Which is why I again am advocating for YouTube because whilst the learning curve is bigger, the time spent is greater and the process is longer, when you get it right you see a genuine reward. This can be financial but more importantly it can be from the comments, from the community and also for your creative spirit.

I’m sorry but short form content doesn’t change anyone’s lives or enrich us as people. It’s something to keep us occupied in a line or on a bus and that’s fine! We all need a little snack but we know we really need a proper full meal to keep us healthy.

So when deciding where you will put your time and effort if you do want to build something online my answer is always…YouTube.

The algorithm is smarter and the analytics are better

IG is so confusing and I’m so sure that they don’t even really want you to succeed on the platform. I’m not sure they even know what’s going on, so how the hell can we?

YouTube has stood the test of time though and its algorithm is more sophisticated which helps the creator. The analytics it gives you are nuts! You can see everything about your video and channel and it’s truly insightful and helpful.

They offer videos from their internal team to help you and they also give clear updates and are fairly transparent about changes or new features. All of this makes me feel confident as a creator on that platform and I can’t say that for IG. It feels like some crazy unpredictable whirlwind on there.

So if you feel frustrated by social media I think YouTube is a good option because if you aren’t growing it will tell you why in detail. It gives you the tools you need to succeed.

It lasts forever

Your content is being seen forever on YouTube, okay so maybe not forever but definitely longer than most platforms.

It’s what we call ‘evergreen’ and that means that what you create is being viewed well after the fact. Let me give you an example here.

So you watch a YouTube video and you really enjoy it. You go to the person’s channel and you see they have a huge library of videos - amazing - you binge them. Next time they upload that video appears in your feed and this keeps repeating. It’s pretty straight forward and also fair.

Now let’s picture this scenario: You see a cool photo on IG and you click on it, you double tap and then you go to the persons profile, you scroll their feed, watch a few reels and even though you like the content it either doesn’t show up again ever or it does once or twice but you never really go back and view that person’s feed again because it’s all just snacky, it’s not a full meal.

So do you see how vastly different the viewing experience is on these two platforms and why YouTube is THE PLACE TO BUILD AND GROW ONLINE!

If I put time and effort into creating something I don’t want it dead in the water in 12-24 hours which is why I always put YouTube first.

You’ll upskill in a crazy way!

When you start and sustain a channel you hone SO MANY SKILLS.

These skills are all applicable to so many industries and will serve you well in the future. Even if YouTube was just a side project for me I would still be advocating for it strongly because I have learned so much in the 4 years I’ve had my channel.

It’s always good to have a host of skills to draw from because we never know what’s going to happen in life and with the way things are right now I think it’s prudent to build on any and all of the skills that are required to make it on YouTube.

I’m not at all being arrogant when I say this or boasting but I feel like I could walk into a marketing or creative role pretty easily now, despite having no formal qualifications which is pretty wild since before this I was a waitress for 12 years and a teacher aide for 2.

I only say all of this to empower you because for so long I thought you had to be at a certain level or point to start something of your own and that’s simply just not true and I want more people to know that.

If you are ready to get started sharing your work online and you want some realistic, sober and trend/cringe free advice to follow you should take my online class.

All the details can be found here and there is a preview video as well as an outline of the six modules I cover.

I made this course to pass on my knowledge and help other creatives build their dream career online in an authentic way. It’s very affordable because I believe in accessibility and Lux and I were able to create this 60 minute course with no overheads other than the many hours we put into it so I’m happy to be offering it for $49USD.

Join My Online Class

If you become a paid subscriber here on substack you get a 20% discount on the course as well as access to a monthly livestream and the book club!

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Hello everyone!

I find as the year goes on I tend to feel less and less motivated to do the things I set out to do. By now life has thrown so many curve balls and plans haven’t gone as smoothly as hoped for. This can get us down in life, but also when we approach our creative pursuits too.

So I wanted to share some quick exercises, questions and reminders with you to hit August with a fresh mindset and some helpful tips.

Before we dive in I want to let you know that today’s newsletter is brought to you by VALOI and their nifty easy35 home scanning kit so you can save money and enjoy bringing your film negatives to life in the comfort of your own home. Click the button below to read more about VALOI and access a 10% discount on all products.

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Taking Note Of How You Feel & Why

I often credit being self aware as the most valuable quality a person can have. The reason for this is because we are often the thing that’s standing in our way and if we can use our self awareness to unpack the why behind that, we can overcome it.

When I feel the following ways:

Like giving up

Full of self doubt

Unmotivated

Uninspired

or a vicious mix of all four, I take stock of these feelings and ask myself “why?”

Following the feeling to its root cause so I can actually deal with the problem and put things in place to hopefully mitigate it in the future.

Examples in my life would be:

Scrolling on my phone for longer periods and obsessively checking every platform

Why do I do this? - Normally because I’m anxious or trying to avoid/procrastinate. It can also be because I’m feeling paranoid about my artistic output so I look for validation online only to find things that make me feel like shit most of the time.

How does it make me feel? - 10 out of 10 times I do this as a “coping” strategy it always makes things worse. I feel even more lost and confused than before and then feel guilty for wasting so much time and now feeling even worse. This pulls me deeper down into a cycle that I have to then work so hard to climb out of. In short, it makes me feel like shit which begs the question, why do I do it?

What are things you do that make you feel good? - I always feel really good when I’m outside. Despite never wanting to do it right beforehand I always feel better after exercising. Talking to someone always helps me to see beyond my problems and get out of my head. Doing things with my hands to distract me like taking photos (which sometimes isn’t possible) cooking is a great one as it needs to be done anyway and I get immersed in it and feel productive but creative too. Hugging my son or playing with him and witnessing his wonder for the world and the absence of any real worry or complex feeling about the world (yet).

Okay so that’s the process and kind of very similar to something I would write in my journal actually. It’s all very obvious but it helps to see it laid out like that. News flash, being on your phone scrolling or checking apps doesn’t make you feel good but moving your body does…who would’ve thought right?

The world right now is not made to motivate you to do the simple things that bring us joy, so it’s actually necessary that we remind ourselves of where our feelings lie on the spectrum of emotion after activities or experiences so we can use that to inform our next ones.

I like to check in and just take note and then try and come back to a place that has the highest outcome of positivity as that will flow into everything else I do in my life, especially my creative output.

Free will

Sometimes we forget we have freewill. Of course everyone’s relationship to this word is different and the ability to exercise it looks different too, but generally speaking we have some degree of freewill in our lives.

I sometimes get myself in situations with my creativity (and otherwise) where I feel so bound to something or as if there is no other choice. Often when I zoom back, or someone reminds me, I realise that I have so much more autonomy and control than I think.

Doing things just to appease others or because we are worried what people will think is a perfect example of not exercising your own free will. We put these boundaries and rules in place but often they are self imposed and there is again usually an underlying reason why, (the above exercise might be helpful) and it all comes down to the choices we make and how much we value our right to free will over our lives.

Of course some things do bind us like paying rent or taxes, but there are areas of our lives where we can be whatever we want to be and do that to its fullest.

I get very caught up people pleasing, making other people’s priorities my own and ultimately losing time to focus on what really matters to me. This is actually my fault, I’m in control and so are you.

I think the free will thing ties into the “choose yourself” sentiment I like to remind myself of when I’m feeling creatively suffocated or as if I’m falling behind, missing out or can’t get the wheels in motion.

What about this situation can I change?

Do I need to keep doing X thing or can I change my course of action or focus?

These questions lead you to exercising your own free will and again this is something that in today’s pressure filled world can be hard to do naturally.

So remember, you have more free will than you think and you should use it more it often.

Fun Art date

Once a week I’m going to try and do something that is fun and creative (or creative adjacent) but isn’t to do with “work”. This is actually easy for me because although my passion is my job I have lots of interests, so I just need to find ways to get more involved with them more regularly.

My book club has been great for this and if you want to join you can upgrade to a paid subscription to access audio episodes and read a book a month!

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I want to do more things that fill my cup and spark new creative ideas so I’m committing to more in person events and connecting with my fun creative side again.

Next week I’m seeing Jeff Koons in conversation at my local art gallery and cultural centre which I’m so excited for! I’m also putting together an interview episode with an artist friend (keep an eye out for that) and I’m attending a women’s artist lunch in Byron Bay in September.

Having these things booked in is giving me something to look forward to and it’s breaking up the weeks for me. I’m keeping a close eye on what’s coming out at the cinema too and getting back to the me I used to be that was always open to seeing whatever new film was showing.

I’m also planning some solo days where I can just shoot for myself and decide after if I want to make content out of it or not.

Those are the ways I’m helping myself to stay sane and creative through the weeks and I hope this has given you some ideas or at least made you feel less alone if you too struggle in these same areas.

Feel free to let me know below if you have any go-to tactics for ways you keep your mental health in check as a creative!

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