Tag: Photography

  • Marsh Deane

    Marsh Deane

    “Especially because right now is a digital world, the world is just an open oyster for creatives so just do it. Otherwise, the dream will just stay in your head.”


    Marsh Deane is a filmmaker, photographer, and outdoor educator based in Pawleys Island, SC. Through his business ML & L Media, he captures South Carolina’s hidden stories and landscapes with heart and purpose.

    Interview

    Transcript

    Lexi Raines 00:00 

    So first, just give a little introduction of yourself. What do you do for work and where are you currently working from? 

    Marsh Deane 00:09 

    So, my name is Marsh Deane. I’m a photographer and a filmmaker and an outdoor educator. I’m based out of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and I own an independent media company called ML & L media. 

    Lexi Raines 00:26 

    That’s awesome. So, how long have you been doing this? 

    Marsh Deane 00:30 

    I’ve been into photography since I was in middle school. Probably 20 years as a photographer. But as a career, I only started in 2019 when I graduated from Coastal Carolina, so I’m in my sixth year as this career. 

    Lexi Raines 00:52 

    Yeah, that’s amazing. So, you said you work out, you work in Pawleys Island. What’s one thing that you love about working as a creative in South Carolina? 

    Marsh Deane 01:01 

    Well, for me, it’s definitely the access to nature, the access to the outdoors. Here along the coastline, we have, of course, amazing beaches that everyone knows about, but we also have amazing river systems. We have Cypress forests. We have remote barrier islands. We have a lot of special places that have been conserved and are kind of off the beaten path. And a big mission of mine as a creative is I try to document, and I try to showcase our heritage. I try to showcase the parts of South Carolina that visitors don’t see and really, as an outdoors enthusiast. It’s a playground for me. I’m a boater. I’m a kayaker, and that’s kind of what I’ve become known for.  

    Lexi Raines 01:53 

    I would completely agree with that. I think that a lot of people, whenever they think of South Carolina, only think of the super touristy parts. And yeah, we do have that, but we also have a lot of other stuff. So, what do you think South Carolina brings to your work, and what is its unique influence on you compared to being anywhere else? 

    Marsh Deane 02:15 

    Well, I’m born and raised here, and a kind of unique part of my story is that, I grew up in historical locations. My parents were antique dealers, and they purchased old plantation properties. So, I was very, very lucky to grow up on 50-acre properties by the river in 150-year-old former plantation houses. And when you grow up in a place like that, on one side, I had the natural beauty, I had access to that which really shaped my development and my interests. And then there also is a negative side to our history, and I learned about that at a young age. We had slave cabins on the plantation that I grew up in, and so I learned about that history, and I learned about, you know, the dark truth of the South Carolina story. And that also shaped my interests, and it shaped the stories that I wanted to tell. And so, for me it’s a very personal journey. As a proud South Carolinian, I hope to tell our story. I hope to share our heritage. Also, in this area, we have a lot of tourism and a lot of development. So, I see a unique opportunity that as this region changes, part of my job is that I can capture moments in time, and I can tell these stories while we have them, because I know that down the road, this area is going to change so much. And I feel a little bit of a weight on my shoulders that as a South Carolinian, I’m trying to preserve some of our heritage for the future generations to enjoy. 

    Lexi Raines 04:05 

    I think that’s definitely an amazing thing to do, for sure. How would you describe your local professional community? 

    Marsh Deane 04:13 

    Very giving. I live in Pawleys Island, and we’re a little tourist town, and when I started out, I was with the Georgetown RISE program at Coastal Carolina. And from there, I was connected with the nonprofit world. We have a lot of nonprofits in this region, and I started marketing for the nonprofits. And I found out that this area is just so giving from churches to school groups, to community groups. I mean, there are, I believe now, in Georgetown County, there are 90 different individual nonprofits that you know have community missions. And so, I’m heavily involved with southern hospitality that is alive and well down here. And that can really impact your career, you know, especially as a creative finding ways to share the positive stories and the positive the giving nature of this region. 

    Lexi Raines 05:12 

    One thing I’ve noticed is that everyone who moved here from the north, their number one thing they always say is everyone’s just so friendly, so like, I’m glad to hear that it’s the same in the professional community as well. So, how would you define professional or personal success in your creative endeavors? 

    Marsh Deane 05:29 

    For me, it’s really about having a tangible impact that you can see in the creative industry. There are different paths you can take. And nowadays we get sidetracked by social media. We get sidetracked by, you know, followers and views and short form media, right? And that gets a lot of attention, you know. So, you can focus on social media, on Instagram, YouTube, and get those high views. And there’s certainly a great career in that of being an influencer, but there’s also other things. For me, it was more getting involved in local communities, creating short films that were, you know, supported initiatives that I’m interested in. So, yeah, as a creative our work is individualized to us. It is an expression of us and our energies and our efforts and our interests. And so, no matter what it is, whether it’s on social media or whether it’s in the local community, there’s so many ways to feel justified and fulfilled in your time spent in this creative industry. And there’s so many different niches. There are so many different things that you can do nowadays, and it’s very rewarding. Once you find that path that’s working out, and you find that that job or that that gig or that niche that satisfies you. It’s just extremely rewarding, in my opinion, more so than any views or really any dollar amount. And it is just the satisfaction of being an artist and knowing that I’ve done something that has created a ripple.  

    Lexi Raines 07:11 

    Yeah, I completely agree with that. I feel like long form content has definitely been lost with the rise of social media. So, I feel like it’s awesome that you are still finding beauty in that, because I think there is a lot of value in it. What was your biggest fear when you first decided to pursue the arts professionally? 

    Marsh Deane 07:33 

    Definitely the biggest fear is, you know, going out on a limb by yourself, not having a boss, not having a company that you’re working for, and not having a guaranteed paycheck when you start a business as a creative. The great thing about it, is that you can shape it to what you want to do and have not having a boss is great, right? Setting your own schedule is great. But there’s also immense pressure with that, because you realize you are the one responsible for the income. And so, it is taking a leap. It’s taking a leap of faith, if you really commit to it, I think anyone that takes that leap is going to find success, especially because right now, it’s a digital world, and so the world is just an open oyster for a creative you know? And again, whether you’re going to focus on social media or you’re going to focus on the business side of it, there’s just every company, every industry, every business needs marketing, needs to tell their story. And so, there’s just so much out there you might not even know when you take that leap. You might not have a clue what you’ll be doing next year, but you have got to take the leap to find out.  

    Lexi Raines 08:47 

    I think that is definitely one of the most important things. I’ve talked to a lot of creatives, and they have all said that you just got to take that leap. I agree that it’s very important. Can you describe a defining moment in your creative journey? Was there a particular project that made a significant impact on you?  

    Marsh Deane  09:09 

    I would say probably my internship with the village group started it off for me. I had been doing some Real estate photography, and so I knew that I could make money doing Real Estate photography. I knew that there was some potential there, but it didn’t fulfill a lot of satisfaction. It was a great career to be in.  I started my internship with the village group, and I was doing marketing, showcasing what this nonprofit is doing for children in a rural Plantersville community. And through that nonprofit, first I was doing marketing, but then they found out, oh, well, you like the outdoors? Hey, would you like to take our students on an outdoor walk? And then that outdoor walk became, I brought my cameras along, and I let the students use my cameras. Then that became a Media Club, and we got a grant, and we got 20 cameras for the students. It quickly went from a marketing internship to a teaching opportunity, and it was just this eureka moment, because I loved it. I mean, taking these, these kids, out into the woods on a nature trail, giving them cameras, and kind of teaching them photography, and just seeing how just how interested the kids were, it’s a fun class to teach, and so I get the best out of the students. And that was the moment where I was like, I definitely want to do this for the rest of my life, if I could just keep doing this, finding an avenue to, you know, combine my camera the outdoors and people having a good time, and the village group having that internship through the Georgetown RISE program. Had I not done that, I have no clue what I would be doing today.  

    Lexi Raines 10:58 

    That’s so special, like, I’m sure you gave special memories for those kids, and that you might have given them something they really love too. So, that’s actually awesome. So, what’s the best and worst advice you’ve ever received?  

    Marsh Deane 11:15 

    I guess the best advice I’ve received in many ways over the years, the Nike slogan, just do it. Just do it. It’s so easy. Nowadays we’re surrounded by comfort, and it’s so easy to put things off. It’s so easy in the evening to, you know, sit down and turn on the TV. But if you have any goal, you have to just do it. You have to, sometimes you must give yourself that little kick in the pants to get up and chase that dream, to make that project that you want to make. Otherwise, it’ll just stay in your head. You have to just do it. You know, action, and especially nowadays, I think a lot of my generation and younger, with all these distractions around us. I think a lot of us do struggle with procrastination. And so, really, the best thing is you got to get up and do it. You know, you got to be moving, momentum. The worst advice being opinionated online, I tell students, just to be careful with, you know, online right now, there’s so many different things going on in the world, and we’re all very passionate about many things, and online discourse, as we all know, gets very it’s easy to misunderstand, it’s very easy to misunderstand people, and then it gets negative pretty quickly, right? And so, I’ve learned just that, you put something out there, and you really need to take the time to make sure that your thoughts are understood by the reader in the way you intend. And let’s say, if they’re not understood the way you intend. Don’t take it personally, and don’t get in those comments. And you know, it’s easy to get even a little triggered online. And that goes for all of us, and I admit that. And you know, sometimes you can turn away viewers. You can turn away the audience you’re supposed to reach, just with online misunderstanding. Misunderstandings and bad advice that I’ve received, but I do just that’s I know that that’s advice I try to give my students of things not to do is just take a little slower online when dealing with other people and just understand communication. We’re meant to communicate face to face and see each other and hear each other’s tone, I don’t know if that really answers the question.  

    Lexi Raines 13:49 

    It does. I think that is good advice, because I feel like if you don’t listen to that. There is so much that could go wrong in that situation. So, can you walk me through a typical workday, what does your process look like and what’s expected of you on a daily basis? 

    Marsh Deane 14:07 

    Well, so the cool thing as a creative and owning my own business is that I am my own boss. So, I get to wake up when I like usually, I’ll wake up between eight or nine, but it depends. Really, you know what’s on the schedule. I have set up my business so that most of the work I like to do after 10am. I like to give myself that extra time in the morning to kind of wake up and have a slower pace. So. usually during the day, after 10am it’s meetings, I’m going out into the community to different locations for photo shoots or video shoot, interviews, and then the afternoons and the evenings are usually set aside for editing time and editing as a creative that’s one thing. Yeah, we work a lot. We work a lot behind the scenes. Often, I’ll be editing until 11 or 12 o’clock at night. And so I’ll tell some people that I work 80 hours a week, but those 80 hours aren’t what you would typically think of as work. You know, because sometimes I’m sitting at the computer, I’m working on a project, but as the computer is rendering, I’m pulling out my phone and on social media, or I’m multitasking, I’m bouncing around. My days are very, a little disjointed, you know, I’ll spend an hour working on something, and then I’ll get up and walk around my yard for a little bit, do some yard work. I’ll go inside, you know, make a meal. So, I don’t really have a set schedule. I don’t have a nine to five, and I love that. But also, again, sometimes it is annoying, you know, when you find yourself at midnight still editing and working on that project. So, for creatives you kind of have the power to be as structured as you want or as unstructured as you want. I’m unstructured by nature. I’m ADHD. But I would definitely say being a creative you do have that power to structure your life whatever way you wish. And I think that’s amazing. I tell many people that I get up when I want to, I go to sleep when I want to, and I schedule work when I want to, but of course, you schedule your work around your client and when they’re available, and so really, on a week to week basis, it changes. I travel a lot for work, which is great, and there’s also a lot of time spent. Though people don’t see this as a photographer or any creative, there’s a lot of time spent packing gear, charging batteries, processing data on the computer. And if for painters or other you can translate that into dealing with, you know, the paint or your canvas, there is a lot of unseen. It’s not as glorious as you think, being a creative there’s a lot of time doing busy work in between to get everything lined up so that you can create. 

    Lexi Raines 17:09 

    You have already explained this a little bit, but how do you create a work life balance where you’re able to maintain. Like your professional creativity, your personal creativity, and what are some habits that you have that you think would be beneficial to others wanting to pursue the arts? 

    Marsh Deane 17:26 

    For me, having the work life balance there, there really is no, well, it’s unbalanced, but that’s a little bit of a good thing for me, because it is my passion. Every day I’m working on projects. Some days that’s a project for a paid client, so it’s work. But then there are other days where I’m working on a personal project. And those personal projects, it might be a video going out into the swamp and showing people a really cool tree, right? YouTube videos. So, my balance is that I’m balancing the professional work and then the personal, the passion work, right? The work that I want to be known for, the work that I enjoy. I’m not getting paid for it, like the YouTube videos, or the swamp adventure videos. That’s not my career, but I do see it as work, because I see it as my portfolio. I see it as my legacy. And so, for me, it’s having that passion and doing what you love. If I didn’t have the time to do those personal projects that I enjoy, I probably would be miserable. And so, I think, for any creative just make sure that, yes, you’re doing a lot of work for clients that are going to get you paid but make room for the personal work that you want to do. I feel that most creatives are always working on something, and so just be sure that some of that is giving you enjoyment. It’s for you, it’s for your soul, it’s for your satisfaction as an artist, because you can get burnt out really easily. And I certainly got burnt out about a year or two into my journey, because all I was doing was working for money, working for other people’s vision, and I wasn’t doing things for myself. 

    Lexi Raines 19:19 

    I think that honestly is really amazing advice, because, as you’re saying, it is so easy to get burnt out as an artist. 

  • Lauren Rose

    Lauren Rose

    “Let your ego go and be willing to learn.”

    Lauren Rose is a publication designer and the Design Editor at North State Media in Raleigh, NC. With roots in student journalism, she now brings clarity and creativity to print layouts in a fast-paced newsroom environment. 

    Interview

    Transcript

    Lauren Rose   

    My name is Lauren Rose. Currently I am a publication designer, and I’m from Longs, South Carolina. I’m right outside Loris, a small unincorporated area. So I usually say Loris so people know. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    And you’re, you’re from there? Or are you currently working there? 

    Lauren Rose   

    Oh, yeah, yeah. So yep, I was born and raised in that area and lived there until I was 22. And then I got, I graduated college and got my job. Pretty much three months out of college, I was very lucky and just moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. So I’m just up the state a little bit ahead, or above. But yeah. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Okay, so what exactly do you do for work? What’s your official title? And how long have you been working there? 

    Lauren Rose   

    So my official title today is Design Editor. I am basically in charge of all the design at a publishing company in North Carolina, North State Media, I’ve worked with them for, oof, 2016. So going on eight years, actually, March 1 will be eight years, I joined. So when I started, it was just one newspaper, I joined from the second issue. And I’ve been on every single issue since. Now, we have grown from one newspaper to seven newspapers. We do a statewide paper, and then we do local county papers. So when I was hired, I was just hired as a graphic designer, one of a few people, just putting words on the page. And since then, it has evolved into being in charge of the design and the direction of that for the paper. So it’s been, it’s been a lot, a lot of growth, but I’m very grateful for where I’m at right now. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah. So you started as a graphic designer. How did you end up in that field? And how did you end up with your job now and kind of transition from graphic designer to now? 

    Lauren Rose   

    Yeah, so the field, it really started in high school, funny enough. I’ve always been into art. And even before high school, like as a kid, like, I love the art sets and just being creative. And going into high school, I was introduced to graphic design, digital photography, and for me that, like, it really combined my artistic side with, I also am a more analytical person. I like numbers, you know, very logic based. So graphic design to me was like a perfect mix. It was important to me if I was going to pursue this as a career that I do have some element of passion in it, I want to enjoy it. So through high school, I would do little, like, side gigs for people, flyers and all that. And then going into school, I didn’t really know what type of design I wanted to do. You know, there’s publication, there’s logo, branding, all of that. I think it was just kind of a series of events, I ended up applying to be the art director of the Chanticleer [the school newspaper]. And I was the art director for a year and a half. I was very proud. It really solidified my love of design, but then, newspaper, which is very interesting, because we think of paper newspapers, very dated and dying, like print instead. But it’s just, it’s been very interesting working in the industry, and just kind of, just kind of a series of events happened. And I happened to enjoy the journey along the way. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah, I love that. So right now, what does your typical workday look like? What’s expected of you? What do you work on on a daily basis? What’s kind of your process? 

    Lauren Rose   

    So this is, this is gonna be fun to talk about, because my work week is not a typical nine to five at all. A lot of creative careers will probably, some won’t be like that, you know, I’m sure there are plenty of design firms with a nine to five, but a lot of my like, co workers and my peers, they’re up at all hours of the night. They work, they don’t work during the week, and then they work on the weekend, you know. So right now we’re weekly, we publish weekly. So the majority of my work happens Sunday through Tuesday on any given week. So I’ve really learned to be like flexible and it’s difficult to describe because it is so like fast pace, kind of like so during the week it, like, slows down and then I’ll do like your basic housekeeping, make new templates, maybe explore new design ideas. And then once Sunday hits, and I do work on the weekend, which is fine, but just on Sunday, but around Sunday is when I start getting all the content and the writers get their stuff in, the photographers get their stuff in. So I need to start formulating how I’m gonna lay this paper out. I, along with being the designer, I also work very closely with editors. They appreciate my input not only artistically, but with an editorial work, the design is as important as the content a lot of times so. So yeah, it is, it’s kind of like, it’s hard to describe, because it’s just so up and down. But we get it done every week somehow. And I think a lot of people can relate in this industry. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah. On a specific project that you worked on, that you were like extremely passionate about, or like a defining moment in your creative journey, it could be a specific project that had a significant impact on you, or just something that really showcased your creativity? 

    Lauren Rose   

    So, probably when I was at Coastal [Carolina University], my favorite part about Coastal’s design department was the freedom you had. Like, of course, they had projects and guidelines, but they really encouraged you to do what you want, like, take this theory and make it work for you. So I did a few projects there that I was super proud of with the Athenaeum Press. I worked on Gullah: The Voice of an Island. I was very, very excited to work on that. We went to St. Helena, I did photography, I did some web design, even though it’s not necessarily my forte now, but very, very proud of that one. And I’m still good friends with Jen and Alli, and I see all the updates. And it just makes me happy to kind of see that as just kind of still existing. But that’s the one I tell everyone about I think kind of both in my professional career and just my colleagues, I always bring that up because it was like my first big project, but also one I had a lot of passion for. So. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    I love that. Just in general, do you find your career challenging? How do you kind of bridge the challenges that you face, especially in a creative career? 

    Lauren Rose   

    Yes. I think in any career where you are engaged and growing, it’s going to be challenging at points. And I think that’s how I get through those challenging points. I really try to frame it as, you know, this isn’t a problem. This isn’t a struggle. It’s a way to test myself and adapt myself. I’m going to use last year as an example. We probably doubled company size last year alone, and we went from a small company to a midsize one. And that doesn’t sound like a lot. But you know, when you’re in a small startup, it’s changes. And there were some times last year I was like, “I’m quitting, I’m living in the woods. I’m not doing this, like it’s done, I’m done.” And, you know, what really just pushed me through was, let’s be realistic, we have bills, we have bills to pay, but again, like coming out with more knowledge. And I told myself today, like, if I had to redo it, I would be able to do it 10 times better, I would, I would have a better system. So the challenges aren’t there to keep you down. I kind of look at it as a way to grow. And I know that might sound a little cliche, but it is so applicable. And I find myself like thinking about these cliches that I’ve heard and I’m like, “You know what, they’re cliches, they’re for a reason, you know, like, they’re applicable. So. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah. And in your work, are there any specific skills that you have that you find particularly important to have? Or can you recommend any special skills that someone applying for a job should have in their kind of toolbox to increase their chances of landing a field, er, landing a role in a creative field? 

    Lauren Rose   

    I think one of the biggest things that you can showcase to make yourself solidify your part at a company or within your coworkers, is going to be adaptability. Definitely being adaptable, and being open to different perceptions of things, especially in a creative field because you’re going to meet with clients who you’re like, “This is, my design, professors would kill me if they saw, like, what these people want,” you know, but you’re, it’s kind of like, that adaptability, that overcoming those challenges and letting them help you grow. And just being kind of, letting the ego go, like go into a job, willing to learn, willing to mess up and know that like you’re not being judged. I think more employers and co-workers appreciate someone who can say, “Yeah, you know what, I’m wrong. You’re right. Let’s go this direction.” And then, you know, you learn something along the way. 

    Lauren Rose   

    A few weeks ago, I had, I was designing an ad for an advertiser, and they were being very, very specific with their instructions. And it almost felt overbearing, and you know, I let myself, I was getting frustrated. I was like, oh, like, “design it yourself, blah, blah” in my head. And at the end of it, all their suggestions looked great and I was like, “You know what? They were right,” you know. I, learned something today, and I can implement it now. So, a lot of just being humble, kind of. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah, that makes sense. 

    Lauren Rose   

    And I guess that’s more of a soft skill. I mean, obviously, you want to have technical skills, but I think that’s maybe not so much a skill, but a mindset also. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah. And so you grew up in South Carolina, but you are now in North Carolina. Do you have any, like local organizations, programs or events that are either in South Carolina or North Carolina that have kind of helped you grow, either network or just helped inform you about creative fields? 

    Lauren Rose   

    This one was very specific to me. My high school art teacher, of course, you know. She was kind of my first line, to finding out about these things, being aware of these things, even knowing to look for these things. And just the fact that, you know, as my teacher, she was so accessible. And, you know, when she found out how passionate I was about things, and how serious I was about art, and pursuing it, like, you know, that gave her a directive to help me and, you know, really utilizing people and counselors at my high school. So that was probably my first way in. I definitely also entered a few small like little county fairs just to kind of get experience getting work out there, and just networking. And honestly, also in high school, I won the congressional art award for my district. And so my art like was in Washington DC for a while. And I just think little things like that helped, obviously, kind of get my name, get some stuff behind my name, but also, like, helped me realize, like, “Yeah, I’m an artist,” like people are looking at my work. 

    Lauren Rose   

    So there’s really not like one organization I can suggest. I think I would honestly suggest, especially in today’s age, it’s so different, because like, you can go on Facebook and Google or search like anything, and there’s groups for anything. So some of my advice might be a little outdated, but I just think like, the importance of kind of starting small, and not like shooting for the biggest, like the country wide competition, do your county, you know, do little things and, and then expose yourself. And then yeah, I think it’s all about growth. 

    Emma Plutnicki   

    Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. And so, just as we wrap up, do you have any advice for someone who is looking to break into a field, whether it’s a current college student or high school student who’s looking to get into a creative field, any advice? 

    Lauren Rose   

    It’s so hard, because there’s so many different types of creative fields. So I think if I had to just, like, generally approach it, I would just say, you know, you know, it is a job, it’s a means to an end, but you need to have some passionate about it, and you need to be interested in it. And you also need to think about, do I want to do this every day for 50 years? Like, is this something like, you know, there’s a lot of factors to that and it’s very individualized.