New Year, New Brand
- joshuabrandstetter
- 14 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Today is the official launch of the "Wild & Unruly" brand. The website, social media, and all other platforms will now adhere to this branding and mission statement. Why is that significant? Read on or watch the video.
For the past year, I have been going through a personal challenge to capture and share one photograph every day, for an entire year. I started off being very consistent but eventually got to the point of missing an entire month (November).
This challenge ended on January First, Now, it's time to turn the page and begin something new, something that has been a long time coming. For a while, I have been sharing my work under the name "August Gem Photographs." That's ending now, but more on that later.
Photo-Every-Day Reflection
Let's take a look back over the past year of my Photo-Every-Day challenge and reflect on the experience for a moment. I've written down ten questions to see what I've really learned from setting out on the mission to shoot and post every single day for one year. Now, I'm going to answer the honestly.
Questions
Is a poorly-done challenge better than none at all?
Should I have done it for a shorter time?
Will I do this again?
What's my next challenge?
How has my photography changed?
What happened to my analogue photography?
Why did I start this challenge?
How do I feel now that it's complete?
What did I learn through this challenge?
Would this have gone differently with an accountability partner?
The questions are each addressed in the video, but I'll summarize here. I do believe that a poorly-done challenge is better than no challenge at all, and that's because the purpose of a challenge is to get you to try, to work, to push your limits. It's supposed to challenge you. I could have done it differently. A photo a day for a month would have challened me and given me the opportunity to change things up and try something new. I'm sure that it would have kept me more engaged. Nevertheless, the most important thing is that I did challenge my self. Now, I'm in the position to make better decisions using my gained knowledge and experience to inform my future projects. You will see shortly that I do have upcoming projects, but, as for challenges, I'm allowing my self some time to reflect.
My photographic skill haven't advanced so much as my understanding of my own nature. One thing that changed with this challenge was a reduction in time spent on projects for fun, including taking photos on film and getting them processed. Now that the challenge is complete, and a new year has begun, I'm actually a little over-eager to try some fun photographic and artistic experiments. However, I've learned a bit about the importance of focus through this experience. So, I'll be making sure to not overload, but to give each project the attention it deserves. I'll also be implementing some accountability, as I have no doubt that doing so would have been helpful for the Photo-Every-Day challenge, and I have seen numerous times how much it can increase consistancy with all types of work and projects.
Wild & Unruly Introduction
I mentioned earlier that I will no longer be sharing my work under the name of "August Gem Photographs." That's because, today, I am launching "Wild & Unruly." Wild & Unruly is my new wildlife photography and education brand. There's a link to the Vero page and the website in the description for this video. "Wild & Unruly" represents the emphasis on wilderness and wildlife that I have always wanted to give with my work. It's also about more than just photography. Here's the "Wild & Unruly" Mission Statement.
Mission Statement and Pledge
"Out of a deeply engrained and relentless passion, adoration for, and fascination with wildlife and nature, itself, the mission of Wild & Unruly is to educate and fascinate people with wildlife-themed photography and art that glorifies the wild One who created it all, igniting people's hearts and exciting their minds. The mission is also to guide people through wildlife experiences with video, text, and any other formats that fit the creative pursuit.
Nature exists in perfect harmony with God's Word, and, at Wild & Unruly, this will be acknowledged and emphasized in my art and creations."
New Projects
So, what projects will I be starting with the launch of Wild & Unruly? Two things right now. One is a monthly featured photograph. On the Wild & Unruly blog, I'm going to feature a favorite photograph from each month and tell the story behind it. Each of these will go up for sale immediately on the website. Now that the pressure of trying to shoot and post every day is off my shoulders, I can step back and share this more thoughtful content. My other new project will be reviewing my Photo-Every-Day posts from 2025 and selecting up to five favorites from each month to feature on the blog, along with one or more lessons learned in that month of the challenge. There will also be more photos and projects put up for sale on the website. So, make sure to check in every now and then to see what's new! Folks, that's all for today. Until next time, embrace your inner wild, or something. I'll figure out a tagline some time.
