Moved back to NYC. Had my first painting exhibition. Got into boxing. Spent the summer in Montreal. Attended a 3-month graphic design boot camp and officially became a graphic designer!
by Jason Lam
1 SECOND EVERYDAY - 2022
A bit of a tough year, but it ended well. Fell in love with Hawaii. Reunited with my friends. New York City! Spent a month focusing on my art in LA. Got some painting done. Went to Bali for the first time. A lot of yoga. Japan. Life is such a rollercoaster. Thank you for another year.
by Jason Lam
AIN'T NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
The world isn’t going to end if you don’t become a millionaire
Your life doesn’t end if you don’t buy a giant house
Your friends don’t stop being your friends if you don’t have a fancy job title
Life doesn’t end if you don’t attain all the things you’re supposed to want
Focus on you
Focus on your craft
Focus on what you’ve got to contribute to the world
And when the world comes crashing down
Find peace in knowing that you gave yourself a chance
by Jason Lam
DO NOT DIE AN IMPOSTOR
“Do not die an impostor”
This came to me in a dream
It felt too important. So I will remember it here
by Jason Lam
KEEP TRUSTING YOURSELF
Creating and putting your work out there is the greatest form of trust you can ever have for yourself. It is the ultimate testament. Leave nothing in the tank. Go for it. You might crash and burn. But you won't know until you try. At the end of the day, what matters most is that you keep stumbling forward no matter the self-doubt, no matter the hate, and no matter the rejection. Keep fighting. Keep creating. Keep trusting in yourself.
by Jason Lam
ACCEPT YOUR FLAWS
If you accept your flaws you can use that towards your art
Hide away from them and pretend like you’re ok, and you block yourself off from one of your greatest forms of authenticity
Because we all suffer, one way or another
What makes us unique is how we cope with it
Art is an outward expression of our willingness to survive and what we make of ourselves when things don’t quite go to plan
It’s a statement of our inherent strength
Our unifying truth
So share your story with the world
Because you are not alone in your endeavors
We're all afraid
by Jason Lam
THROWAWAYS
Some art projects are meant to be throwaways
You gotta get it out
Get it over with
So you can get to your real work
Get all the clever ideas out
The cheesy jokes
The trendy fads
Be done with it
And if you have the wherewithal
Keep on going when you’re out of ideas
Because that’s where the truth lies
Your truth
by Jason Lam
I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT THAT WAY BEFORE
Hopefully what I capture is not just someone looking into a camera, but someone who is looking for more. Yes. I am taking your picture in this very moment, but I’m also thinking about every year past this moment when looking back at this moment. What do you see? Someone who was brave? Or someone who was scared? There is no right answer, only what’s honest. And perhaps that’s what it is, that you allowed yourself to be seen. Not just by me. But by you. That’s a moment I want to help capture. Perhaps that’s what I do. I help you see you. I never thought about it that way before.
by Jason Lam
WHY WE LIKE GREAT ARTISTS
I think I figured out one reason why we like great artists.
We like great artists because they show us a part of ourselves that we have not been able to tap into yet.
By exposing the deepest parts of themselves, great aritsts, the ones we admire most, make us feel understood, less alone, and most importantly, they remind us that we, too, have it in us to tap into the deepest most parts of ourselves.
The question I then ask is, well, "Why does this even matter?"
I think the reason is because when operating in human society, it's easy to get lost playing a role. So much so, that we forget who we are. Artists bring us back to who we really are—our true nature. They remind us of the soul we have in all of us.
Great artists are like beacons in the night, emitting signals, reminding us of which direction to go.
I would like to be the light in the dark. To inspire you to be more than you are. To remind you that you are not alone. And ultimately, to never forget your true nature.
by Jason Lam
1 SECOND EVERYDAY - 2021
Returned to California. Spent quality time with family and friends. Got LASIK. Got a puppy! Had a bunch of car problems. Got rid of a bunch of stuff. Played with my nephew. Painted my first mural. Cooked a lot. Did some photoshoots that I absolutely loved. Life is beautiful and I'm happy to be alive.
Happy New Year!
by Jason Lam
ONWARDS
For the past decade of my life, I’ve tried to craft this perfect image of a cool, stoic, black and white photographer. Ugh, just typing it out makes me want to puke. The reasoning behind it all was because I thought I needed to present myself in that manner in order to get work and build a good reputation. After all, many of the photographers I’ve looked up to seem to project this sort of mystical aura. They almost seem like gods who can create masterpiece after masterpiece, and here I am, just struggling to pull together a shoot, yet still trying to make it look like it’s all so easy.
It’s not.
There are, in fact, many minor inconveniences about photography. You need to find the right subject. If you are shooting outdoors you need to hope and pray the weather is good. Before that, you need to find a location. And if you are going to shoot in a studio instead, well, you’re going to have to pay, and it can get quite expensive. People cancel last minute. And even if everything lines up, you might not be able to develop any chemistry with your subject to come up with good work. Lastly, some clients don’t pay. I remember all of them.
But still, I’ve persisted with this cool… calm image.
It’s fake.
At least, I think my intentions are real. No, my intentions are very real. I have absolutely no other desire but to create raw, honest, and timeless work. Outside of the basic well-being of myself and those around me, that’s all I really want to do in my life. I just want to create, and I want to create at the highest level possible. And I guess, I’m coming to the realization that continuing as this cool calm black and white figure that I’ve created for myself is not the way.
The way forward is to continue as authentically me as possible, and that means not limiting myself to an image crafted by a younger, more naive version of me.
I need to grow.
Seems to be the case, huh? No matter how much you learn, how much you grow, and how many damn lessons life has thrown at you. There’s still more.
So much more.
Moving forward, I will continue creating from the truest parts of me. I will not limit myself to this image I’ve crafted. I will let life be a little more messy. I will let my authenticity express its full self, and accept it in every form that it takes.
Onwards.
by Jason Lam
EVERYBODY HAS AN OPINION
Everybody has an opinion
But not everybody creates
Your job is to create
Let everybody else decide whether they like it or not
by Jason Lam
YOUR WAY, IS THE WAY
For most of my artistic career, I always felt like there was something I was missing.
A secret.
A technique I have yet to learn to get me the phenomenal results that would set me apart from everyone else in the world.
But then I reached a point where I had to acknowledge the fact that perhaps I wasn’t missing anything.
That my way was the way.
And that was when I set myself free.
To create whatever I wanted, however I wanted.
by Jason Lam
TO BE WITH YOU
To be with you is like drinking coffee on a foggy day
Like finding a twenty-dollar bill under the couch
Like getting a venti vanilla frappuccino, when you only ordered a grande
To be with you it almost feels like it’s Sunday, but every day
Sunshine,
A perfectly toasted ham and cheese croissant,
And the softest patch of grass I’ve ever laid on in my life
To be with you is like seeing a new leaf sprouting out of my monstera
Like kissing a frog… wait—
Like kissing…
Just kissing!
You know, those soft sensual kisses that are just the right amount of pressure
Like, not too much, but not too little either
And maybe just the right amount of chapstick leftover, in case your lips are also hella chap too
Cause that’s always a little bit gross
What was I talking about?
Oh yeah, to be with you is like meeting you for the first time every time—
Man, that’s hella cheesy
To be with you
To be with you…
I just like to be with you
by Jason Lam
BE YOU AND OWN IT
“Be you and own it”
This was a piece of advice I received about five years ago.
To this day, I still think back to it because I feel there’s a part of me that still hasn’t fully integrated what this piece of advice has to offer.
"Be you," I think I have that part down.
Owning it?
That’s a whole different animal.
That means to be proud. To stick your neck out. To put your name on the line. And not only to just shine a light but to keep shining despite the haters trying to put you out.
This isn’t easy. No wonder I haven’t owned it.
I noticed I still take the safe route.
Like there’s a deep part in me that says, "Don’t put yourself on the line. Create a brand and come up with a fancy logo, people will love it!"
But really it’s just a dinky little costume I don in the hopes that people will like me better without having to expose too many parts of myself.
I need to be me. I need to own it.
by Jason Lam
1 SECOND EVERYDAY - 2020
Traveled to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam for the first time. Hopped on over to Japan for a bit. Covid-19 took over the world. Stayed safe in Taiwan. Taught myself some music production. Learned how to surf and free dive! Made a ton of new friends. Got really homesick, but can’t complain. I am alive, healthy, and well.
Happy New Year!
by Jason Lam
THANAKA POWDER
What is thanaka?
It’s a natural powder made from the ground tree bark of thanaka trees in Myanmar. It’s used as a natural form of sunscreen and it’s good for your skin!
If you venture far enough in the Northwestern parts of Thailand, you might come across some hill tribes using it on their faces.
However, it is most prominently used in Myanmar.
So prominently used, you will see people of all classes, ethnic groups using it, regardless of the occasion, regardless of whether or not they have to go to work.
This is just what they do. It’s a thing.
Now, why am I writing about it?
Because it inspires the heck out of me.
At first, I thought it was only women who do it, but men do it too.
I also thought you had to do it with a certain pattern, and different shapes have different meanings.
Nope.
You put it on whichever way you like.
You can draw circles on your cheeks, a straight line down your nose, or just apply it all over your face. It doesn’t matter. It’s up to you, anybody can do it, and most importantly, nobody will judge you for it.
(Ok fine, I saw some people put hearts on their foreheads, I felt like that was a little much, lol)
Three Reasons Why Thanaka Powder Inspires Me:
I come from a place where people don’t put thanaka powder on their face. The fact that I see people using it here on the daily basis and for that to be the norm just inspires me. If I was to do that in the states, everybody will be staring at me wondering what in the world I am doing, or if I’ve gone crazy.
I love how this tradition is allowed in the workplace. I walked through a more modern shopping mall and did not see it there, nor did I see it on flight attendants and at airports, so perhaps it is not encouraged in more “modern settings” but despite that, I like the fact that this traditional practice is more or less accepted throughout the country.
Self-expression. You know me, it has to be about self-expression. In the western world, men don’t wear makeup. Women wear makeup. In Myanmar? The sky is the limit for both men and women when it comes to thanaka. I love that. They don’t need fancy clothes or the newest shoes. They have thanaka powder. To be honest, I’m actually kind of jealous.
So, thanaka powder. You can use water and grind it on a stone if you want to do it the traditional way. Or you can buy it pre-made at the store. Whatever the case, it’s a staple here in Myanmar, and I love it.
Self-expression and pride at its finest.
Hold onto your roots, remember your roots, celebrate your roots.
by Jason Lam
MOTIVATION IS LIKE A FLAME
Motivation is like a flame
Every once in a while you need to feed it
Otherwise, with no oxygen, no fuel, and no spark, it can die and be that much harder to get going again
If you ever end up getting going at all…
If you find that you’ve built a flame, find a way to keep it going
Shield it from the haters
Surround the flame with people who care for you and support you
Even go so far as protecting the flame against yourself
Because sometimes, we can be our own worst enemies
by Jason Lam
BURN IT DOWN
What if you lost everything right now?
Your entire work history. Your life story. Everything.
Where would you want to go from here?
Which target would you aim at?
If you can answer the question honestly it can be very telling.
We often cling to our narratives and past selves. Keeping us exactly where we are. Making sure we stay on the path crafted for us from a younger more naive self.
But if you lost everything right now. Even if it’s in a figurative manner. How would things change?
How would you change? What would you do? Where would you go?
You might find your answer surprises you. Even if you don’t have an answer at all, you might find a weight lifted off your shoulders. A burden, gone missing despite years of blood, sweat, and tears, crafting your identity into who you are today. Because when you burn it all down, you get to start over again. But this time, with new information, more wisdom, and without the weight of the past.
Perhaps a rebirth is something that we can give to ourselves. Not something to be handed to us. Maybe not even something to be considered a tragedy.
So, if everything burned to the ground and you lost everything.
Where would you go?
by Jason Lam
BEGIN ANYWHERE
When starting a new endeavor there can be so much anxiety about how to start. For good reason. We don’t want to waste time. We don’t want to be wrong. We definitely don’t want to embarrass ourselves. The problem, however, is this beginner’s anxiety can keep us frozen for way too long and we end up doing nothing.
A different approach would be to “Begin Anywhere”. Sure, maybe you don’t know how to begin, but you probably won’t know until you get started. So just get going. Accept that the first few steps may not be a straight path. Chances are you’ll be zig-zagging left and right and even making a couple of circles when you first take off. Then again, this can also be considered your opportunity to gather information and find out where the proper path is located.
With enough time, you might find that you are always beginning. You may also discover that there isn’t always a clearcut path, and sometimes you must create your own. Everything is an experiment. Maybe the secret to life is to simply begin, and to begin again.
by Jason Lam