Capturing the Moody Beauty of Washington State: with Harish Kumar

Calling all photography enthusiasts!

Are you tired of seeing the same old formulaic photographs of Washington state? Well, we’ve got you covered in our latest episode of Exploring Washington State!

Join host Scott Cowan and guest Harish Kumar as they dive into the depths of Washington’s natural beauty. Discover the moody and atmospheric landscapes on the east side of the state, just a few hours’ drive from Seattle!

Learn how to capture the unique and lesser-known charm of the Pacific Northwest with your camera.

They discuss chasing your passion, taking risks, and embracing failure with open arms.

Tune in now and be inspired to pursue your creative endeavors. Whether you’re a pro with fancy gear or an iPhone-toting beginner, there’s no limit to what you can achieve. So, grab your camera and get ready to embark on a photographic adventure through the beauty of Washington state!

Harish Kumar Washington State Photography Episode Transcript

Hello, friends, and welcome to the Exploring Washington State podcast. My name is Scott Cowan, and I’m the host of the show. Each episode, I have a conversation with an interesting guest who is living in or from Washington State. These are casual conversations with real and interesting people. I think you’re gonna like the show, so let’s jump right in with today’s guest. Welcome back to this episode, the Exploring Washington State podcast. 

My guest today is Harish Kumar, and I literally just found out seconds ago that as of January of 20 23, he Harish is now a full time content creator. So first off, let’s I’ll give him a big round of applause for jumping the corporate life. 

Welcome, Harish. You were introduced to me through my daughter, probably through our social media channels that I never am allowed to look at. So what little I know about you is you’re a photographer. And when we talked previously, you indicated that you were primarily a self taught photographer. Right? Okay. So how how did we get here? In other words, what I mean by that is, when did when did the photography bug hit you, and and how has that worked to the point now where you’re a full time content creator?

Harish Kumar [00:01:22]:

Well, it honestly, it goes back quite a bit. So I’ll I’ll rewind. First time I picked up a camera was 20 16. So what is that? Like, 7 years ago. Okay. And I was still I was I was at Apple at that time. I was working at Apple in retail, and and I was working 40 hours a week, so I had little to no time to go out and shoot. But the little the 2 days that I had, I would always pick up my camera and go out to the nearest hike and shoot some photos.

And luck I had a manager at that time. His name is Mio. He is an amazing photographer. He took me on 1 of my first few hikes. And he’s still my best friend this day, so it comes full circle. But he kind of taught me the ropes on, like, this is kind of composition, what you should be doing, shutter speed, those type of settings. Right. And that kind of led me to kind of fall in love with photography and the the realization that every single person has a different perspective on what they look through the few the viewfinder. It’s gonna be different to everyone, how you compose it, how you edit it. That’s I fell in love with is, like, I wanted a style for myself that was unique to only me, and So over the years, since 20 16, I’ve worked really hard to make sure, like, when someone sees my work wherever it is online, they say, okay. That’s that’s a Harish art. Like, I know what that is before I even see the name. K. And so that’s kind of been my my journey. I’ve I’ve been with Apple for almost 8 years before I started full time photography just this past January. So I was still struggling to find time to go out and shoot, but anytime I could take a vacation and go out to a longer hike, I would totally do that, take a road trip with friends. And I kept owning my my skill, like, little by little. Mhmm. And, honestly, YouTube is the best resource ever. I mean, tell people, like, I went to the school of YouTube. I didn’t go to film school. I watched many people like Peter McKinnon, Casey Neistat, like, those classic people on YouTube that we all watched probably. And — Yep. — just learned the basics, like, how to compose a shot, the rule of thirds, all of that stuff. Right? And — Right. — so slowly but surely, found my way through photography and for me, the most important thing was I just kept posting when I first started. Just consistently found some way to post my work and get feedback from people whether whether it was constructive or good. I just relish that that part of photography. And there were times when I would take months off, maybe even a year off, just because I was focusing on something else in my life. Mhmm. And I I realized, like, I don’t feel as happy as I did when I was actually, like, out there clicking my camera away. So you know, years went by, and I the thought slowly started creeping my mind like, maybe I should do this full time because I kept getting requests, like, hey. Can you work with us? Can you shoot this product for us? But I just didn’t have the time, really. So I think it was early last year 20 22. I was talking about it with my wife, and I was like, hey. I think I wanna do it. And she’s like, you’ll you got my support. Just let me know when.

Scott Cowan [00:04:58]:

And — That’s always so, you know, so vital that you have your partner support is if you don’t. Exactly. It’s okay. That’s a tough conversation. So I gotta I gotta are you alright. I got a question here. So — Go ahead. Yeah. — I warned you. So here’s a question. So you’re working at Apple. Why weren’t you using your iPhone? For a camera. Everybody uses everyone, you know, everyone I’ve got 1 here in my hand. You know? Everyone uses their their phone as a camera. You worked in the mothership of these things. Right? You you probably helped people daily with their iPhone or, you know so what was it that that drew you to to digital photography using, you know, DSLR, not not a phone.

Harish Kumar [00:05:53]:

You know, Scott, it’s a really good question because not until later did I realize, like, how powerful this phone was. So So from 20 16 to 20 20, I would solely use my Canon camera on every shoot that I went to. Because I thought, you know, this iPhone can’t take as good as quality pictures as my Canon, and I’m just gonna stick with this camera because I paid so much for it. I might as well use it. Yeah. There’s what they’re set. And until 20 20, and then the pandemic hit. And I was thankfully allowed to stay at home for quite a while, and And I started to use my iPhone more, and people started to use this thing called TikTok, right, during during quarantine. So I started to post video after video after video only shot on my iPhone, and I started to get really good feedback on that. Thinking people were saying, was this taken on your Canon? Was this taken on something else? I was like, no. This is solely my phone. And that’s when I realized, like, That’s a cliche saying, but the best camera is 1 you always have with you. Right. And I quickly learned that because I didn’t have to lug my gear around on high anymore. I could just take my phone, maybe take a a gimbal of some sort of tripod — Mhmm. — and I’d be good to go. So I started only using iPhone from 20 20 — Okay. — till even till now, when I only pull my camera out when I need to do, like, talking head videos or really professional shoots, And that’s when my social media, I think, really grew a ton is when I start to say, hey. I’m using only my iPhone, and I was and I was editing strictly using

Scott Cowan [00:07:45]:

iPhone apps as well. Oh, the — So — You see, don’t you think that makes it approachable to that person who’s likes to hike? Or it doesn’t matter what they like to do, but let’s just say hike. They like to hike, and they’re like, wow. His photography’s great. But, yeah, he’s using this this know, several thousand dollars worth of gear. He’s gotta learn how to do it. Blah blah blah. He’s gotta carry it around blah blah blah. And you then you’re saying, no. Actually, I’m now you just this was shot on an iPhone. And even more impressive to me is and I edited it on my iPhone. You literally you know, this becomes your entire studio, and you’d see in the back pocket of your pants. And you can literally if in in if inspiration hits you on the waterfront in Seattle, boom boom boom. Just post it you’re good. I’m not saying that they’re better than DSLRs. I’m not. I’m what I am saying that these are is empowering to to creators because they are so powerful. So Yeah. Absolutely. So we’re we’re gonna get to you know, just remember the the show’s exploring Washington state. So we gotta be we gotta be talking about Washington. But the the creator thing is, I think, universal. It it’s it doesn’t matter where you are. And so I think it’s it’s really a good thing to kind of unpack a little bit more. You, like a lot of us, during the pandemic, were able to spend some time a great deal of time honing in on something of interest to you. You you chose photography. Other people chose you know, there’s this guy who’s making a million dollars a year now because he taught people how to bake bread during the pandemic. I mean, it’s like, Okay. You know, that was his thing. Right? We all have our thing. This podcast got started during the the pandemic. All all of these these things that we all in in many ways, the pandemic was kind of like an opportunity for us to to to completely by by being shut down, we all got to we were forced to slow down, and then we had to figure out new ways of keeping ourselves entertained and many people, you know, dove into the creative side of things. Prior to your photography, though, were you were you into hiking and all that? Was was that your kind of thing when you weren’t working the the the day job? Were you were you are you an outdoors guy naturally?

Harish Kumar [00:10:09]:

To be honest, before photography, I didn’t hike as much — Okay. — because Without that camera, I would that’s just me hiking up a mountain. And for me, that yeah. The the thought of that was too much for me, and I was like, okay. If I’m gonna do a hike, it’s gonna be something that’s attainable for me. That’s a couple miles round trip. You wouldn’t find me doing, like, the Mount Sky, I think the the big 1. Mhmm. I would grab towards, like, rattlesnake ledge or something something of that nature. Really, I only when I picked up a camera, I was like, okay. I wanna hike this because at the top, I know I see this view. Right. So that pushed me to hike more and more. Okay.

Scott Cowan [00:10:57]:

Yeah. That’s that’s that’s actually I could find that would motivate me more too, which is why I don’t let myself take my camera out because then I’d have to exercise, and I don’t wanna do that. Just kidding.

Harish Kumar [00:11:10]:

But not really.

Scott Cowan [00:11:13]:

So you you’ve talked about something that And and and, honestly, you almost said it in a in a way that I don’t wanna say discounted it, but you you wanted your own style. Like you said, people look through the viewfinder. They see their everybody sees the the the scene differently through their viewfinder. And I agree with you on that. But you also said you wanted your own style so that somebody who saw a picture knew it was yours before they saw your your name on it. That’s not easy. That isn’t something that a lot of photographers or artists in general are able to accomplish. And you kinda just threw it out there. Like, that was your goal, and and and you you’ve obtained that. So how What did you focus on to get to this point? What how did you because like I said, let’s just use Peter McKinnon, for example, in in anybody that’s listening to this hits looked at YouTube at all, probably seen Peter McKinnon. Right? This works amazing. I don’t know that if I were looking at 6 photographs, I could pick out a Peter McKinnon from other quality photographs. Nothing against Peter McKinnon. He’s infinitely more successful photographer than I will ever be. How did you what did you focus on to to get to this point in with your art?

Harish Kumar [00:12:39]:

So it’s a good question. I I keep coming back to this. I think it you know, it ties in with Washington State because I wanted to appreciate something about our state that few people do, and I think it’s gotta be the moodiness and the rain and the weather that we have we get a we get a bad we get a bad rep for it around the country and saying, oh, Seattle, it always rains. I’m I’m happy for that. Because when it’s raining, I am the happiest person on earth. I am you’ll find me out there shooting in my camera. More often than not. And you won’t find many people like that because when I’m out there shooting, it’s it’ll just be me, and I I love it. So — Okay.

Scott Cowan [00:13:24]:

—

Harish Kumar [00:13:26]:

that’s what really drove me to find my own style is, okay, how can I showcase this beauty of the PNW rather than the the photos I always see, which is Mount Rainier and all of its fun and glory And okay? But what about the Misty Woods of the Olympic National Park that don’t get shown as often Right. So I really wanted to focus on focus in on that. And I ended up just checking the weather up every day and saying, okay. It’s cloudy. I’m gonna head out today. I’m gonna hope for some rain, hope some early fog and really capture that mood. And, thankfully, every time I did it, most likely would rain, and I didn’t see many people around me. So any composition I ever wanted was there without any crowds. So I I kept doing that over and over again, and I slowly built up a catalog of moody landscape photos. And I learned to edit it in a certain way to somewhat highlight a portion of the photograph that I that I’ve appreciated. Whether it was a flower coming up from the ground that was that had purple petals. Right? But it was raining and mooting Moody in the background, I wanted that to be the focus of the picture. So that’s what I kept doing and doing. And eventually, people would message me and be like, hey. How did you edit it like this? Like, what do you do to bring out this this darkness and that sort of northwest. And, honestly, I was just like, just go out and shoot when it’s raining in cloudy, and you’ll find the same conditions that I do. And everyone goes, no. I don’t want to. And and and they go, no. Not gonna do it. So that’s that’s how I really build my style. And and now people do say, like, I can look at your photo and know that it’s a a child is Sharisha. That’s that’s my name on social media. Right? So so I’m glad that I’ve I build my style up for myself, and I think there is there are pros and cons to that about building your own style because you have such pressure to keep the style consistent. But I think as an artist, you you are always evolving and creating new styles and — Mhmm. — and growing as a photographer and So slowly, I’ve been thinking, okay. I do love my style, and I’m forever gonna keep that moody style, but I wanna do something different. So that’s spare something in the back of my mind that I’ve been thinking about. Well, I you know you know,

Scott Cowan [00:16:07]:

many famous artists which obviously then implies even multitudes of non famous artists have changed their styles through through their careers. You know? Picasso comes to mind, you know, the Cubist stuff, the blue period, all these things, you know, his work looks dramatically different as as he progressed through his career. So you should, as an artist, in my opinion, be free to express yourself as as the stages of your life. Unfold. So I’m gonna go backwards now. Prior to Apple, So how are you a native Washingtonian? How long have you lived here? What brought you here if you’re not native?

Harish Kumar [00:16:51]:

So I okay. Well, we’ll just rewind all the way back. So I was born in India. Okay. And when I was 5, me and my parents moved to Arkansas, which is Yes. Thank you. Sorry about that. — quite different from Seattle and India. Yes. So we stayed there for about 10:11 years till I was 16. Okay. And then we moved to Seattle. Then I was in high school. Mhmm. Finished high school, went through college at U Dub, actually. Okay. And real, I’ve been to Washington ever since since I was 16. So right now, I’m I’m almost 32. Okay. So about fifth 15 years I’ve been in Washington, k.

Scott Cowan [00:17:39]:

So I gotta ask you I gotta ask you what I’m making fun of Arkansas. It’s probably not fair, but that seems like an odd place for a family from India to to move to the US for. I mean, if you would have said Boston, New York, you know, the major metropolitan areas, Why? Why Arkansas?

Harish Kumar [00:17:58]:

So Arkansas the the northwest pocket of Arkansas, they’re a city called Bentonville, Yep. And that is the headquarters of Walmart for the entire world. Yep. So a lot of Indian families actually migrated there because We got jobs as software engineers — Okay. — or our software managers. And so my dad was 1 of those people. Okay. So it’s actually quite strange and comforting at the same time because although we felt alone, we were surrounded by hundreds of Indian families

Scott Cowan [00:18:28]:

And so we would always we would know everyone in the city even though it was a very small city. So — Okay. So Walmart, it it was it was a big thing. In other words, you know, it it was 1 of those global corporations. Okay. And then you moved to Seattle. I’m gonna guess that dad took a job with a different tech company of some form. He did. Yes. Alright. Okay. That okay. That journey now, thank you for letting me connect those dots. Okay. Yeah. So you you went to high school in Seattle. And you went to the U Dub. What’d you major in it, Matthew?

Harish Kumar [00:19:01]:

I majored in business. Okay. So I went to Foster School of Business. Yeah. Okay. And that’s helped you with your photography career. You know what, Scott? It has not helped me with my photography. I’ll be I’ll be very honest. It’s okay. I keep I keep telling my parents, like, if I would have known back then that I would have gotten into photography, maybe I would have saves you some money from paying part of my college, and and they laughed about it. But I’ll I’ll say this. It allowed me to be more structured now because I am more serious about taking it seriously as a business rather than as just a hobby. So that I will say, like, I know how to manage my finance finances and things like that. Okay. But other than that, like, it was we talked about it in the beginning. It was all self taught. Yeah. But it is gonna help you with the business of art. I mean, Let’s be real.

Scott Cowan [00:19:57]:

The business of art is is something that a lot of people that are creatives struggle with. A lot of my friends, a lot of people that I know are very creative, very talented. And then they make — decisions that impact their ability to be creative by, you know, just doing things that weren’t they’re very ill advised. Okay. So did you ever okay. So this is you know, 1 of the things when I think about the U Dub campus is I think of the the cherry the cherry trees when they blossom is just magnificent. When you were walking around campus as a student, did did that ever, like, did that peak your curiosity that that because those are beautiful. Those that’s an iconic setting for a very brief period of time. Did that ever make you wanna say, gosh. I do wanna do you know, is that you see what I’m saying? Was that an early inspiration maybe, or or were you just too busy with your headphones on and a backpack on chunk into your next class?

Harish Kumar [00:21:01]:

More of the latter, honestly. But, you know, what’s funny is you maybe you can experience this. You’ve come to the same place in different stages in your life and you see things differently. Mhmm. The same cherry blossom, might just be something that you’re rushing past towards class. And now when I visit, I’m just astonished. And I pull out my phone and my camera, and I try to find the angle to take pictures. And so it’s it’s interesting. Different parts of your life, you notice the little things, you know, back light and was like, oh, there’s so many people here. Why is this so crowded? And so I was just rushing the class. I’m gonna be leaving the bus. Get out of my way. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Alright. Okay. Alright.

Scott Cowan [00:21:40]:

So let’s let’s jump. So 8 years with Apple, And on the retail side, so for that, I’m truly sorry for you because, I mean, even though the Apple stores are amazing. It’s still retail, and you still get people. And — This is true. — it’s it wasn’t scary at all to to leave the safety of a a steady paycheck to go independent. Was it? No no terror?

Harish Kumar [00:22:10]:

No. Yeah. Absolutely no terror. Well, to be honest, like, it it’s it was a long time coming. So couple years, I had been already thinking about it, talking to my manager at Apple, talking to my parents, my wife. And so the decision should have been made a long time ago, but I was hesitant because, like you said, it’s it’s terrifying coming from I know exactly how much I’m gonna get every other week to I know 0 percent of my income. What is it gonna be? Is it gonna be higher than what it was at Apple is gonna be lower. So that’s the that’s the unpredictability sometimes of of freelance photography. And to a certain extent, I felt okay with that because it was still something that I loved so much and was passionate about. I would rather be doing that sitting in an Apple store, selling selling iPhones to someone or managing group of people. Right? Which I I loved in its own bucket, but this was something

Scott Cowan [00:23:16]:

I was so passionate about. I was ready to take on all the uncertainty that came with it. Well and, you know, I don’t know what you made at Apple for sake of conversation. Every 2 weeks, you got paid x. Okay? Sure. Yeah. X. And it was stable. You knew. Had good days. You had, you know, you had a slow Wednesday, and you had a horrible Saturday if you had to work weekends. So your your team that worked for you, somebody called in sick, and you’re scrambling all these things that happen in a retail environment. Okay. But every 2 weeks, x now is an independent. You’re getting maybe x plus or a percentage of x. You don’t know, but you’re spending your time doing things that hopefully put that stupid grin on your face. You know? So you’re like, you know, like, I’m getting paid to do something I love doing. I think most people find that rewarding as long as they can keep the lights on and be comfortable even if it’s less or more, it doesn’t really matter. You’re you’re you’re being creative you’re you’re getting to live the passion that you have. So your business now, are you how are you you’re a professional photographer. So that implies you sell things. What are you selling?

Harish Kumar [00:24:31]:

Well, for a lack of a better word, I’m I’m selling myself, really. Like, I don’t right now, I don’t have any traditional products that I’m selling. You know, I’m I’m looking towards, you know, prints and things like that and — Okay. — down the road. But right now, how can I help you as a brand promote yourself through me? Mhmm. And so that’s been my my biggest source of income. Right? So, thankfully, over the past few years, as I’ve kind of leveled up and figured out what my style was. People have been reaching out to me saying, hey. Can you shoot this? Can you shoot that? Not that I’ve had the time to do it, but it was good knowing that those brands were willing to work with me. Right. So now that I have 24 7 to do exactly that. It’s it’s been great both learning how to reach out to brands, which can be scary, but also communicating with people that reach out to me and saying, hey. This is what I think I’m worth What do you think? And so that whole conversation has been really interesting to me. That’s a that’s another 1 that creative can suffer with is pricing their

Scott Cowan [00:25:45]:

their value. So what type of brands are you have you been working with? What what sort of product shoots are you doing in in how does that work into your style of photography?

Harish Kumar [00:25:59]:

So, typically, the brands that I that I say yes to are travel, adventure, brands that align with my values. So brands that allowed me to travel using their products seamlessly. I don’t like to just throw products in people’s faces on social media and be like, hey. I’m promoting this. I’m promoting this. Right. Give

Scott Cowan [00:26:21]:

me an example of a brand you’ve worked with that that

Harish Kumar [00:26:24]:

kinda seamlessly went in. Yeah. So Danner has been 1 that I was really proud to work with. I mean, I I wore Danner’s before they reached out to me. So I was like, I already have a pair on my feet right now, so this is perfect timing. Mhmm. So Danvers is 1 of them. DJI is another 1. I didn’t have a drone until 20 19, 20 20. Mhmm. I didn’t take it seriously till a couple years ago, and so I really started to, like, explore. Okay. I can take a completely different view of this this world with this drone, and I took it to Iceland last summer from a honeymoon with my wife. And that’s when I really fell in love with using the drone. And I was like, okay. I have to this would gotta be a staple in all of my photos from now on. Okay. So DGI is 1 of them. Okay. Another 1 is I work with a lot of camper van companies. They allow me to move move around freely, and — Mhmm. — and that’s I I don’t mind, honestly, if staying in a van. Like, I’m not someone that’s like, I have to have a hotel every night. Right. That’s not me. I can stay in a camper van and sleeping there at any time. So companies like Cabana, which is a local camper van company that started here, There’s a couple of Iceland campaigns companies that I’ve also worked with. So that’s kind of the niche. So Yeah. Okay.

Scott Cowan [00:27:52]:

Once again, we’re exploring Washington state, but I’m gonna ask a question about another country, much less another state. Why Why Iceland? What was the I mean, it’s beautiful, but why why Iceland?

Harish Kumar [00:28:07]:

You know what? I I had seen so many photos and videos of it as as I’ve been on social media the past couple of years, and it’s just seemed like a different world to me. Mhmm. And so I have to experience it for myself knowing, like, the type of photography that I take. It just looks so ethereal and moody. And once I got there, I was like, I I fell in love. And I’ve already been back another time since then. So and it reminded me a lot of the Pacific Northwest, which is why I was so drawn to it. III always call it the the little brother of the PNW.

Scott Cowan [00:28:46]:

And they they might object to that. I’m just gonna — They they probably will. Probably, they might object that 1, but I I’d see a point, but they might object.

Harish Kumar [00:28:55]:

Yeah. And,

Scott Cowan [00:28:57]:

yeah, that’s exactly why it was to it. I mean, it just reminded me so much of home. So you really like to work with with brands that and I like the idea that you said that, you know, seamlessly fit into what you’re doing. I I’m gonna try to pick some arbitrary big corporate brand that nobody really likes. Anything I say will be wrong here. I’m just gonna say Nike. K? Let’s just say Nike. It it And — Yeah. — and your camera fell when I said that. That was — Yes. Folks, you couldn’t see this. I said Nike, this camera just dropped. It was, like, I don’t know. Maybe I scared him. So, you know, a large corporation like Nike comes to you and says, hey. We’re looking for you know, we want you to take some photos of our our baseball cleats. That that I don’t know. That doesn’t seem like a seamless fit for you. I mean, not you know, just maybe not that’s not the right direction for your your focus. So I like the fact that you’re you seemingly are saying you’re being conscious of the choices of who you affiliate yourself with.

Harish Kumar [00:30:08]:

Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, it’s the hardest thing about being creative is staying no. Saying no to work is really hard because you know that it will help you, and it will increase your paycheck for that month, but is it worth it? Is it gonna align with your values? What is your audience gonna think, right, like, So let’s say let’s say it was Nike, and they reached out and they said, hey. We have some Nike trail shoes that we want you to

Scott Cowan [00:30:39]:

Yeah. Partner with. I’m like, okay. That more closely lies — Baseball cleats not a not not a not a not a good fit for your your focus. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Alright. So my god. III warned you that this would be all over the place. So I I wanna come back to from a technical aspect, you let’s say you’re using banner boots. Let’s just use can we maybe use them as an example for Absolutely. Okay. So Tanner boots in hires you to do some content creation for them. And you’re taking out you mentioned earlier you use Canon gear. So let’s just say take on this conversation you’re using. You’re canning gear. You’re out there. You’re you’re doing the shoot and all that. When it comes to post processing and editing, what are you what tools do you use to edit your photos? I know you said you did everything on the iPhone before, but I have a feeling your your Canon work might not be all edited on an iPhone. You’re probably sitting in front of some Apple product. I’m just curious what you’re using.

Harish Kumar [00:31:46]:

So I mainly use Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop. When I added my photos — Mhmm. And when I take videos on my Canon, I tend to use either Premiere Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, or recently, I’ve been dabbling with DaVinci Pro a lot. So I’m still kind of I’m still stuck between, like, which 1 to use, but that’s those are the main apps. I edit with. Then that’s a whole other if like, you said you would University of YouTube.

Scott Cowan [00:32:20]:

That seems to be an ongoing debate right now, the those 2 platforms? Yes. Yes. Okay. So let me ask you. So what’s your initial thoughts on da Vinci?

Harish Kumar [00:32:33]:

You know what? DaVinci is if I’ll I’ll say this. If you really wanna learn color grading, that is the app. For you because the amount of tools you get, the way you can simply manipulate your video into something that of your own vision. Mhmm. I think DaVinci has probably the best tools out there. Okay. I’ve noticed that Premier is creeping up with more and more updates to getting closer and closer to what I would imagine is, like, the ideal app. Mhmm. The easiest to use, I think it’s premier. The most intuitive. Like, if you are a beginner

Scott Cowan [00:33:12]:

—

Harish Kumar [00:33:13]:

Mhmm. — video editor, like, I would probably jump into to Premier. You’d go with Premier? Okay. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:33:21]:

I don’t I don’t know that there’s AAA right or wrong answer to that question. But, you know what I mean? There’s plenty of people that would say they’re using Final Cut you know, plenty of people are using the iMovie. Some some of the stuff I’ve seen from iMovie is like, wow. That’s pretty cool. You were able to do that in iMovie, which is Or, you know, I’ve always found Premiere to be frustrating, personally. How’s that? I’ll just say I don’t speak premier. It just doesn’t work for me. And I have found a a video editing app that makes sense to me anyway. So III save myself the aggravation. I don’t go there anymore. Okay. When you’re out, If somebody were to, quote, unquote, call you up and say, hey, Harish. We want you to take our product. Here’s our product. It’s a good fit for you. I don’t care what it is. You you can you can pick what that is. We want you to take our product out, and we want images of our our product in Washington state, where are some go to places for you for that type of scenario?

Harish Kumar [00:34:30]:

For me, I would say I frequent the Olympic National Park a lot. I mean, the majority of my posts are probably from that park. Mhmm. So, specifically, Lake Crescent is a huge huge love of mine on all the areas surrounding it. So there are a lot of waterfalls like Merry Mir Falls is a great 1. Very family accessible, very easy. Mhmm. Gold duck falls is also right there, I think, 15, 20 minutes from there. Also another easy hike. And it’s it’s quite interesting how we take it for granted, but that hike is very easy, but the view that you get at the end is just astonishing. I mean, it doesn’t feel like we deserve it. I after that hike. So I always tell people, like, you have to have to see that that that view. So that little pocket right there, like, within 20, 30 minutes has so many things to — k. — just to take in. Whether it’s shooting brain photography or not,

Scott Cowan [00:35:39]:

Yeah. Okay. So you’re you’re a fan of the Olympic National? Big fan. Okay. So I’m gonna ask you something I’m gonna put you on the spot, and it’s a negative question. So I’m gonna ask you to make a negative statement here, which — Okay. — you know how well those would go over these days. In your opinion, give me an example of an overdone area for photography. You mentioned you you mentioned Rainier, and, you know, gotta be careful of what we say about Rainier because it’s, you know, It’s it’s powering here. But where do you think has been overdone? Or maybe I mean, I’ll let you off the hook a little bit here, but maybe overdone because people they rushed. Is it is it Kerry Park in Seattle that’s got the view of Seattle? I mean, it seems like everybody rushes to that 1 spot, stands on the x, pushes the camera into this mode, pushes a button, and goes, look. See how? I don’t see a lot of creativity from that particular viewpoint. Do you have any other ones that you would say is, you know, people just don’t?

Harish Kumar [00:36:51]:

You know, that’s a tough question. First thing that comes to mind is something like rattlesnake ledge. Okay. I have seen a lot of people in varying levels of photography go there and have the same picture from the top And I’m just like, okay. Enough is enough. Like — Right. — we we’ve all seen rattlesnake. Or when I see another elopement photographer go up there and take pictures, I’m like, you you can do a little bit better than than rattlesnake. I understand that maybe hiking in a dress in the suit is easier at rattlesnake than it is at other locations. Right. So that could be a, you know, a reason. But,

Scott Cowan [00:37:39]:

yeah, I think that’s the first thing that comes to mind. Well, I’ll give I’ll give you a couple more that that I think are overdrawn. A, the space needle.

Harish Kumar [00:37:48]:

Yes.

Scott Cowan [00:37:49]:

Pike place Market. Yep. You know, they’re big they’re beautiful. I mean, these are not bad locations. I am not disrespecting. I’ll get somebody else say something bad. About me. But, you know, I’m not disrespecting the Space Needle our our Pike Place Market. It’s just it’s been done so much. It’s hard to unless there’s a weather incident, like lightning hitting the space needles. Oh, if you capture that, that’s very cool. But if it’s a if it’s a Saturday afternoon and it’s 72 degrees and sunny out, that shot’s been done ad nauseam. Another 1 and and have you ever gone out to Palouse Falls in Eastern Washington?

Harish Kumar [00:38:23]:

Just 1 stop. It’s beautiful.

Scott Cowan [00:38:25]:

Beautiful. Beautiful. But a lot of the photographs that get captured there are remarkably the same exact shot. Yeah. And I like to see you know, don’t get me wrong. There’s these are all beautiful places to go and see in Washington state. But I do feel like it’s almost like there’s a a lineup, and you’re like, photographers, stand here. Use these settings. Click post. Tag this. You’ll get viewed. And it just seems very formulaic to me. Those are those are locations that I think are that come to mind when I think are overdone of our state because there are so many beautiful places in the state to to experience. I’ll And that’s 1 of the things I get the feeling you’re kind of AAA west side person more than than traveling over to the east side of the state, which is radically different. Because you you like the moody, dare I say, dreary, grainy stuff. In Eastern Washington, we don’t have that. Right. But, you know, you think about it, 4 hours from where you are in Seattle right now, not taking into account traffic, you could be at Rainier. You could be at the Pacific Ocean. You could be in Canada. You could be in Eastern Washington and a myriad of places. I mean, you you know, it’s foreseeable in a 12 hour a day not taking into account traffic. You could drive 4 hours, work for 4 hours, drive back for 4 hours, and have radically different images every time he did that. So that’s kinda cool. What haven’t you experienced here yet? Behind the lens that you want to.

Harish Kumar [00:40:06]:

Specifically in Washington, There are parts of Central South Washington that I would love to experience more of. There are a couple of waterfalls and forest kind of on the border of Oregon, Washington. I think what is the name of the fort? It might be Gifford Pinchot National Forest, I believe, is crossing both the borders. And I’ve only been there once, and it was on the way to Oregon and the I can still remember it. We were driving there in November, meet a friend, and it was raining, and then it started snowing. And I was just, like, this is amazing. III have to come back. We were in a rush to get to a certain place by Sunrise, but so ever since that I haven’t gone back, but that that area of Washington is so beautiful. There’s so many waterfalls that I’ve only either visited once or I’ve never been to.

Scott Cowan [00:41:03]:

So I would I would love to do a a road trip around there. Yeah. The Columbia Gorge I mean, the the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge gets a lot of press. But the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge has got a ton of, a, things to do. I mean, if you’re you know, if you’re well, if you wanna hike, you wanna climb, all those things. But, visually, you’ve got just, you know, it’s a target rich environment. Let’s just put it that way. I mean, you could — Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. Where else where else have you been up to Well, you could’ve been limping us, of course. But what do you do you ever go to, like, Port Townsend? Do you ever do you ever go up because that’s a a town that, a, I think, has got great architecture. I love I love the look of downtown Port Townsend. And it gets interesting weather because of where it’s located, so you can get kinda moody there Have you been up there? Have you done Fort Warden or anything like that?

Harish Kumar [00:41:56]:

The so the I have been north of the Olympic National Park. I’ve been to Cape Flattery — Mhmm. Yeah. — which is, I guess, as north as you can go, north most northwestern point in the US, Port Townsend, I feel like I passed through it. I have not stopped in Port Townsend, but but you’re right. There’s a there are a lot of places around there that I need to explore more. I’m very familiar with the coast, the Washington coast, but I still feel like the southern portion of Washington Coast I’m not as familiar with. Okay. Oregon Coast, very familiar, but southern southern Washington coast, that might be my next trip because — Okay. — I’ve done a lot of Rialto, La Push, that can beach, those type of things, but those get more pressed than

Scott Cowan [00:42:49]:

than the other part of Washington. So — So does your wife go along with you when you are on these trips, by the way?

Harish Kumar [00:42:55]:

For most of them, she does. Especially when I was at Apple and we would only go on the weekends, she would be have more time as well. So we would take a day trip or overnight stay at a a cabin or something. And — Mhmm. — she I’m gonna give you a little bit of background into my wife and I, but we met because of photography. Okay. This was in 20 20 during the pandemic. She we had a mutual friend through Instagram. And that friend posted my account on her Instagram. It was like, hey. Check this photographer out. He’s pretty cool. And so my wife messaged me back in a stranger to me, and she was like, hey, dude. Great photography. I love your feed. And I was like, hey. I was like, thank you so much. And we started messaging from there on Instagram, and we started face timing from there. And we started dating from there as well. And a couple of months later, I proposed — Wow. — in New York City on top of the Rockefeller building. That’s where she lives, and the rest is history. So we got married a year and a half later, 20 22. The photography was literally the first thing that that brought us together. So ever since then, yeah, ever since then, she’s come on all my adventures and She grown to love this area of the of the US even though she still liked sunny days, more than rainy days. I

Scott Cowan [00:44:40]:

most of us do. I gotta be honest with you, man. You’re you’re — Yeah. I know. — already here. You’re you’re really kind of a yeah. Most of us don’t see this world the same way you do, which might help with your style, by the way. Alright? And maybe we wanna, by curiously, have a rainy day through photography. Fee.

Harish Kumar [00:44:58]:

There you go. Versus the

Scott Cowan [00:45:01]:

the actual experience.

Harish Kumar [00:45:04]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:45:06]:

Alright. So I gotta I gotta ask you, these are kinda non photography questions here. We’re gonna shift gears again. I noticed you’re drinking coffee. I’m drinking coffee. I ask everybody this question, where’s a great place to get coffee? And since you’re in the Seattle area, I mean, that’s, like, I’ve just lobbed you a softball. But Where do you like to go for coffee in the Seattle area?

Harish Kumar [00:45:27]:

Well, I’ll I’ll give you 2 places that are my favorites. So number 1 is is called Venture Coffee. It is it’s in Ballard. K. I’m a little coffee shop. My wife and I lived in Ballard for a year, and we used to walk slash drive there a ton almost every day. And they had this latte called the Maple Bourbon latte — Alright. — which doesn’t have bourbon in it, but it’s just a maple bourbon latte, and we were obsessed with it. So hands down, she would say the same thing. That’s our favorite coffee shop. Okay. Now we live in more proper Seattle. So Cherry Street coffee is a favorite of mine right now. I think there’s a couple of locations in Seattle, but that’s my that’s my favorite coffee.

Scott Cowan [00:46:22]:

What’s your go to drink when you go there?

Harish Kumar [00:46:24]:

Go to drink there. It’s called Milky Way. I’m I have a very big sweet tooth. So — I’m good. — anything that is just anything that is just loaded with chalk syrup and and whatnot, I’m I’m there. So I think that has a lot of caramel. And other chocolate things in it. Okay. Alright.

Scott Cowan [00:46:44]:

So I’m a big fan. You’re a big fan. Alright. Yeah. Those are I’ve not tried either of those 2. And, of course, you know, as much coffee as I drink, it’s impossible to try, you know, all the coffee shops, although I have — Yeah. — made a made a big effort of doing that. And then, unfortunately, you know, I like a shop. Next time I come back, it’s not there anymore, and there’s 27 other new ones I have to try, which gives a little you know, it’s I I it’s my work is never done. Yeah. Poor me. I’m gonna come over to Seattle. It’s gonna be lunchtime. I’m gonna wanna grab something to eat. Where are you recommending I go for lunch these days?

Harish Kumar [00:47:22]:

That’s a good question.

Scott Cowan [00:47:24]:

Well, I guess it depends on what you like. But personally — Your recommendation, it doesn’t matter what I I’m I’m I’m gonna trust you. Okay. Okay.

Harish Kumar [00:47:33]:

I I love Thai food quite a bit. So there is this place called Mantra,

Scott Cowan [00:47:40]:

Okay. — Thai,

Harish Kumar [00:47:42]:

which is just down the street from where I live, but it is It just has the right amount of spice and and flavor to it that doesn’t make you wanna just drink a ton of water and milk to get rid of the spice, but just the right amount that has a kick to it. Mhmm. And so we’ve we’ve frequented that quite a bit, and it’s it’s made it to our top of our list — Okay. — in Seattle. So that, and then I’ll give you 1 more. My my parents don’t live in the state anymore, so I’m always craving authentic Indian food. Okay. So there’s this restaurant called Mother India, in Seattle. K. They have amazing biryani. K. So that is probably something I’ll order probably once a week. Oh, okay. And just because I I miss my mom’s cooking so much, and so I I think of her I think of that food. I’m like, okay. I have to get it. So —

Scott Cowan [00:48:47]:

So here’s the thing. I mean alright. Grew up in a household where my mother didn’t cook, so missing my mom’s cooking is missing going to the restaurant I grew up in as a child. When people say they miss the flavors of home, where we’re home may be, whether it be, you know, Seattle or Arkansas or Iceland. It doesn’t matter. When you find a place of a restaurant that kinda reminds you of of that of of your family’s cooking style, if you will. That’s interesting. So I know very little about Indian food. What I’ve had I’ve enjoyed. I don’t but I don’t have a a my palate of Indian food is probably about, like, saying, 0II like hamburgers. Agent McDonald’s. It’s it’s not it’s not very educated. What makes that place authentic to you? What what is it that’s different than, say, any other You know? Like, when I see it when I see Indian restaurants, like, there’s there’s 1 in Tacoma I’m thinking of that, you know, they run a buffet. So it’s really popular because it’s a buffet. Hey. It’s x dollars you can eat all you want. I don’t necessarily think a buffets as being good food. So what makes this place authentic for you versus, say, any other Indian restaurant kind of that’s been just commercialized?

Harish Kumar [00:50:10]:

Well, I would say that they’re they’re not afraid to be authentic in a way that they will throw together spices and flavors that you wouldn’t think work together. Mhmm. But they do, and they taste amazing. And they they give you a huge portion every single time, which I always appreciate from restaurants not skimping out on on on food. Right? And and it’s a very affordable place as well. So that — Okay. — that plays a huge factor in it. So they gave a lot of food. They’re affordable. It tastes great. I couldn’t ask for more from a restaurant. And it always from always reminds me of home when I’m meeting It’s like I’m back in my mom’s kitchen — Okay. — or I’m I’m back in in India. Just — So what’s the best dish your mom makes? What’s your mom’s signature dish?

Scott Cowan [00:51:05]:

To you. Like, you’re going home. You’re you’re gonna go visit your parents. Mom’s agreed to cook anything you want. What’s it gonna be?

Harish Kumar [00:51:14]:

She makes this okra fry, which is just delicious. I mean, I’m not too certain what kind of spices she puts into it, but it has would imagine a good amount of I’m not sure what the spice is called, but some some sort of chili in it. But she she fries the okra just right, so it’s not completely black, but a little bit. Uh-huh. So you can see the the green and the black, and then we mix it with rice. And just amazing. So that’s

Scott Cowan [00:51:56]:

probably the best thing she makes amongst many things. Okay. But that’s your that’s what — That’s my personal favorite. — your first. Okay. Cool. Yeah. Alright. That’s that’s kinda you know, it’s always fun to to listen to people when they, you know, they they reminisce about what what they like. You know? And everybody’s family’s got a different different dynamic. You know, it’s my dad made a pasta salad that before he passed away, my my daughter worked really hard. To you know, it’s a very simple salad. I mean, it’s just it’s just the ingredients are just a handful of ingredients. There’s but it was the way my dad made it. That was always He would like, after I had left home and, you know, moved out and, you know, I mean, he would bring me you know, oh, I made you a pasta salad. I was like, oh, this is great. You know? Even when I was trying to not eat carbs, I was like, that’s out the window. We’re eating this thing. You know? And That’s my my family memory is like that. And so but everybody’s you know, something as simple as a pasta salad. Everybody’s got these cool things. Earlier on, we’re gonna bounce back to your your your folks, though, because this is a question. So earlier on. So you you went to the U Dub. You majored in business. And then, you know, now you’re now you’re in we’ll we’ll call it the arts. Okay? You’re — Yeah. — non-corporate. Yep. And you said your parents were supportive?

Harish Kumar [00:53:32]:

Yes.

Scott Cowan [00:53:34]:

What was that like when you kind of had that first conversation with him. Like, you know, gee, mom, g dad, I think I wanna be a full time artist. That’s a for every family, that’s a we want our kids to be happy. We want our kids to succeed. That’s out of left field to somebody who’d gone to business call. So what was it like? What was that conversation like?

Harish Kumar [00:54:00]:

You know what? It I think I was more nervous than my parents were, which is funny because they I think they’ve grown to know me as someone that if I make a decision, that means I’ve thought about it a lot. Mhmm. And thankfully, like, they’ve seen my photography for the last 6, 7 years. So they they had an inkling of a feeling that someday this would happen. They just didn’t know when. So they are prepared for it mentally. So when I sprung it on them, they they didn’t have much they weren’t surprised. Right? Okay. So they they were very supportive from the start I think I told them in 20 22 or, like, early 20 22. And they were just like, why didn’t you do it sooner? And I was like, that’s why I love you guys.

Scott Cowan [00:54:49]:

And — That’s so awesome when when when your your support network, if you will, parents. Spouses, friends. A lot of people don’t get it, man. A lot of people like, I remember Like, my grandfather wanted me to stay in a union job, save 10 percent of my pay because that’s what he did, and it worked for him. And so when I — stopped that type of work. I just remember him going, I don’t understand. I just don’t get it. Like, well, I wanna be self employed. No. Why are you giving up the security, the benefits, and all this? Because I go it’s it’s deadening to me. It was it was not a I was not a happy person. So having your your your parents support, that’s gotta be just, like, Super awesome.

Harish Kumar [00:55:39]:

Yeah. It’s it’s amazing. And I think my little brother has been really supportive. I only have 1 sibling. Okay. And he’s 6 years younger than me — Mhmm. — but infinitely more successful in his in his career already. And thankful for that. He’s a I you know, it’s funny. He’s a big brother. I look up to him, which is which is awesome. And so he’s been really supportive and been like, hey, Harish. Like, anything you need from me? Like, I’m here for you. Like — What’s your brother’s name? What’s his career path? So he is a software manager, software engineer. K. So right now, he’s he’s more managing people. Mhmm.

Scott Cowan [00:56:22]:

But — And it seems to be

Harish Kumar [00:56:26]:

— he is. He’s about to move to New York City in a month. Okay. He he got a a big job at New York Times recently. So — Wow. — as a software engineer. So I’m very excited for him. Don’t think of newspapers as having software engineers.

Scott Cowan [00:56:44]:

I I didn’t either. And — That’s very cool. — they need them. So That’s kinda cool. Well, the as it moves online, it doesn’t make sense. But that’s cool. Alright.

Harish Kumar [00:56:52]:

Yeah. Absolutely. So Yeah. He’s he’s been great support. My family’s been great support. That’s awesome. My wife, obviously.

Scott Cowan [00:57:00]:

And so it’s been a good transition in that sense. Not having to really worry about that. So in the first 6, 7 months of doing this full time, and then we will wrap this up. So what’s been I’m gonna ask you, what’s been the 2 biggest surprises that you’ve had so far? Number 1, positive. Like like, wow. This was not expected in a good way. And the the alternate of that is, oh, I didn’t see that 1 coming. So what so in the first 6 months, what sort of, you know, Ahas have you had?

Harish Kumar [00:57:36]:

I would say What I thought would be the best part about being freelance is having all the time in the world. But that can be it could have the opposite effect because I some someone that has relapsed having some sort of structure in my life. Mhmm. I’m working on Apple for so long. And now that I have absolutely no structure, it didn’t at the beginning when I started freelance. I was like, okay. I have all day to go shoot and then blah blah blah and edit and post. And I was like, Then I was like, wait a second. I ended up doing things that really didn’t help me. You know, I would go to do I would spend my money on another lens that I didn’t need or go somewhere else to shoot where I need to focus on this instead. Right. So quickly, I realized, like, the best part about it is also exactly that in another sense. Like, I have all time, and I could really focus in on, okay, I’m gonna work on my video editing, and now I have all the time in the world to do just that. So I really focused in on using Premier Pro and DaVinci, and and now I’ve gotten so much better at it in the last 6, 7 months. And I can take on more clients that ask for that type of stuff. Right. Right. And so that that privilege I didn’t have before, having only 2 days off a week, So both pros and cons of having — Yeah. — this much time.

Scott Cowan [00:59:10]:

Similar I’ve heard I’ve heard and I understand that. I’ll do it myself. Alright. So couple last questions. Number 1, What didn’t I ask you that I should have? This is the lazy man’s way out to make sure that, you know,

Harish Kumar [00:59:27]:

I you know, I I get a lot of questions through people that message me and ask me, like, I a lot of my audience you know, I I get insights, demographics, and things like that through Instagram and and TikTok, and a lot of them are from India. Actually. Interesting. And so a lot of them missed me, like, hey. You are someone that I look up to in terms of someone that looks like me or — Right. — sounds like me. And they asked me, like, how can I become a photographer like you? And and they assume that it’s it takes a huge amount of work or you have to have this many followers, and the same message to all of them is whatever camera you have right now, just go out and shoot and create content, share it to the world because you never know which 1 people resonate with you. That’s the beauty of social media. You can go viral overnight — Mhmm. — over a couple of days just because the way the world the way you see the world is so special and is unique to everyone else that you just have to post it and believe in yourself, and that’s the first step. Instead of always I like to call it, like I was always on YouTube saying, I gotta emulate this person or I my style has to be like this person. No. It just has to be exactly like you, and that’s what makes you unique. Right? So that’s what I tell people when they say, like, how do I do photography full time? That’s that’s where that’s how I got where I am. It’s just by leaving in what editing style I have and how I look at the world. So — k.

Scott Cowan [01:01:06]:

— that’s what I tell people. Well, that’s I mean, you’re you’re spot on. So I do have 1 last question I didn’t ask you. Childish, Harish. Yeah. Why?

Harish Kumar [01:01:21]:

So here, when I first made the account, it had 1 meeting. So I must have made the account 20 14, 20 15. I was a huge fan of Childish Gambino. Okay. Yeah. There was an artist a hip hop musician. His real name is Donna Glover. You’ve probably heard of him. Yep. So I was like, okay. This is cool. Let me just take part of his name and put my name on it, so childish race. And then I realized, like, it’s actually quite a fitting name because I’m childish in the best way. Like, I am I’m always a I’m a kid at heart. I I love chocolate. I just like it’s all the sweet things in life. I like having fun and just laughing and just taking life as it comes. And my wife always says that, like, you’re always so so happy. Like, even when there’s, like, nothing going on, like, I just go out in nature, and I can just be happy and not really think about, like, I had this this bill due next week or something. Like, I just kinda focusing on, like, what makes me happy that day. And so that kind of reminded me, like, oh, I can I could be childish in a good way? K. And so that that name had a new reason had a new meaning.

Scott Cowan [01:02:43]:

Yeah. So yeah. Well, it’s and, you know, look at kids. I mean, they’re innately curious. They’re not afraid to ask questions. As we grow up, we become less inclined to wanna ask that question for fear of you know? Like, somebody’s gonna what do you mean you don’t know that? Why yes. You know? I mean, we’re always afraid of that feedback of kids. I I think it’s a great handle. So Where can people so give you a chance here. Where can people find your work, and where do you recommend that they go and, you know, find you online?

Harish Kumar [01:03:16]:

So the the best place to find my work is both on Instagram at chalicereich and TikTok started in 20 20, and that is through the PNW. So THR0UGH, the PNW.

Scott Cowan [01:03:33]:

KII

Harish Kumar [01:03:36]:

absolutely love what TikTok has done for creators and and for me since 20 since 20 20. So lot of my work is on there. Very similar to what is on Instagram, but — Mhmm. — I think even more short form videos on there And so, yeah, those 2 places you can find me. Fingers crossed. 20 23 is the year of YouTube for me, so hopefully, I get get on that platform and create more storytelling, more videos about myself, and how I how I shoot and things like that and

Scott Cowan [01:04:11]:

more long form. So More long form. Okay. Yeah. We’ll put links to those Corey on the in the show notes. Alright. Gonna wrap up last question, final question. Maybe the most important question I’ve asked you today. Cake or pie? And why.

Harish Kumar [01:04:28]:

Oh, that’s tough. I have to say cake. Because I am a huge birthday person. I love birthdays. And birthday cake, I think, is 1 of the best flavors ever. Even when it’s in something else like birthday cake pops, like lollipops or birthday cake, and milkshakes. I’ve had tons of birthday cake flavors, and so cake in general. I love it. Cake is it? Okay.

Scott Cowan [01:05:00]:

Well, there’s no wrong answer there, by the way. So, you know, it’s like and and what’s fun is every time I ask that question and I stole that question from another show. I mean, I was I was interviewing this guest in in the back story here is that interviewed this guest and the the connection died, and the whole episode was lost. But during this conversation, she said this is a question we asked our guest, and I’m just, like, shamelessly just claimed it as mine. Because what’s funny is it’s a very simple question. Cake or pie? And why? And then the looks on people’s faces almost always like, oh, god. Like, you know, I I’ve asked them, you know, republican or democrat or, you know, I mean, it’s just like, oh, you know, it’s just it’s there’s no wrong answer here. There is there your your reason is your reason. There’s no wrong answer. And people some people are very quick to say x y. Doesn’t matter. And then some people are like, I don’t know that they’ve answered the question, and it’s been weeks since I’ve talked I I think they’re still up at night. Like, I don’t know. Is it fake or is it pie? And it’s it’s kinda fun. I don’t want you to ask me the question because, honestly, I don’t know my answer either. So it’s like it’s like I, like so, a, you know, Take birthday cake. Cool. You like to take photography with a an an element in it that isn’t that works and you’ve stylized it to your to your view of the world. I think that’s that’s awesome. And congratulations on making the job. There’s nothing wrong with corporate America. Not saying that. But it can be terrifying for somebody. And it doesn’t always work. I mean, if it did, everyone would eventually just jump and and, you know, and then and then the apples of the world wouldn’t have people working there. I mean, because we’d all be independent. Of course, there wouldn’t be iPhones for us to work with, and so that’d be sad. So but but No. I mean, it it is terrifying. From for and it should be terrifying, frankly. I I don’t think it should be. But I think it’s important that whether you succeed or fail at it and not you, this is just the royal person. Royal you. If you if you think you wanna do something, whether it be photography or, let’s just say, pottery, wanna be you wanna create you wanna do pottery. And you jump and you fail. I think that’s better than not jumping and not knowing. No. So kudos to you for taking a jump. I wish you all the best success. And I I’ve enjoyed sitting here talking to you today. And you got anything to say?

Harish Kumar [01:07:51]:

I would say just follow your passions. Don’t be afraid to take that jump like you said. Awesome. Thanks so much for being here. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Hope you enjoyed the show.