Hello everyone!
I know it’s been a long minute since you last heard from me, at least via newsletter. So I wanted to send a quick personal note & give you an update on what I’ve been up to lately.
First off, if you’re wondering why you’re getting this newsletter, it’s because a few years ago the vast majority of you signed up for my old newsletter via my site illuminate.us, & that very-infrequent newsletter was driven by Mailchimp. You might had also signed up via my stock footage licensing site, formerly known as Construct Visuals.
I’ve decided to resurrect that old newsletter & on the Substack platform. And I didn’t want to leave any of you behind!
I’ve really grown to love Substack, especially its elegant app & ability to embed visual media more seamlessly. But before I started pushing out this new monthly newsletter, I wanted to give you a courtesy heads-up along with a update. (And please, feel the freedom to unsubscribe for any reason at all! I highly respect your time & inbox space.)
A Quick Update
Without going into too much detail, here are a few fun things that have taken place in my world. Some of this might be old news to you, so please bear with me. =)
In 2018, I packed my bags in Nashville & moved out to West Coast. I spent the first few years living in Portland, OR. After deciding the PNW was my new home, I sold my Nashville house & began searching for land outside Portland, driven by a desire to live in closer relationship with nature. Building a life in the forest proved to be quite the adventure, involving a failed tiny-house & a determination to start over with a new cabin build. And in the Summer of 2022, I finally moved into the cabin of my dreams & began a quieter, unhurried life in the Columbia River Gorge.
If you’d like to see the cabin I had built, you check it out on Instagram: @RivendellxPNW
Nakamoto Forestry, who provided the ‘yakisugi’ (charred Japanese siding) did a nice profile piece & video on my house, too!
You probably know me best for my work with projectors & live event visuals. That creativity is still a significant part of my professional life, mostly through my continued work with Beth Moore & her live events “Living Proof Live.” But in the past 6 years, I’ve slowly shifted my focus more & more to drones. Landscape cinematography & aerial photography has become my new artistic love language. Here’s a glimpse at where my drone has flown over these past few years!
Creating long-play aerial visuals of Earth has greatly enhanced my own live event work, & it’s also opened up the opportunity to create a stock footage licensing site for creators, artists & storytellers. Launching this project has been slow, since I’m a one-man show, but I’ve recently delegated & streamlined my workflow, so you can except new product releases each month!
(FYI: Two new Collections just released!)
You can check out the online media store @ stock.proktr.com.
Speaking of website, I have a new(ish) one! proktr.com
illuminate.us will continue to exist as a resource for the Church, but I needed a different container to serve as a portfolio for my work.
Late last year, I signed a publishing deal with Penguin Random House! This will be a for a hybrid photo/story book featuring my aerial photography along with contemplative reflections about finding calm & wonder in nature. The working title for now is “SOAR” & is expected to release Summer 2024! =)
Y’all… I did not have this one on my Bingo card! LOL
What You Can Expect from This Newsletter
If you’re into cinematic visuals featuring our beautiful planet, then this newsletter is for you. Here are a few things you can expect in your inbox each month:
A Short Cinematic Meditation: Enjoy a brief visual meditation featuring cinematic footage underscored by a beautiful, calming soundtrack. Use these as an invitation to pause, re-center yourself, & reconnect with the beauty of Creation.
Music That Moves Me: Each month, I will highlight an album or artist that’s recently inspired me. You can expect most selections to be instrumental in nature, including ambient, neoclassical & orchestral projects that are sure to inspire. To kick this off, here is my curated playlist on Music “CALIBRATE”, which has over 10 hours of meditative music. (Spotify users, click here.)
New Stock Footage: For those of you interested in licensing cinematic drone footage, each newsletter will highlight any new collections of visuals recently released on my stock footage licensing site.
News & Announcements: When there are any notable & exciting updates, this is where you’ll be kept in the loop. In the days ahead, I plan to start offering prints & digital wallpapers of my aerial photography. And of course, this Substack will be the best way to stay updated on the release of my new book!
Thank you!
My hope with this Substack is to offer glimpses into this world of wonder we live in & to share opportunities for you to engage with my work in meaningful ways. And in doing so, I hope it brings a little more calm & wonder to your day.
Thanks again for subscribing, whether it was years ago or days ago, and please tell a few friends if you feel like it!
Peace be with you,
~ Stephen Proctor (aka PRØKTR)