Well, October definitely flew by. I didn’t even have the time to write out a proper newsletter. So my apologies if it’s a bit short.

Thanks for reading

Giel Sweertvaegher

Last month’s work

🆕 I was able to upload a video on Youtube. It's essentially a short compilation of impressions from my trip with the ferry to the UK back in July. I also have a video ready from when I went flying in the Catalina. That one will be online very soon.

🆒 My favorite Instagram posts I made this month: Melissa Burns in stunning sunset light.

⬇️ My worst performing Instagram post: scenes from the American Desert.

⬆️My best performing Instagram post: the beautiful Comet Racer.

🖨️ Latest prints. (The last time on Society6. I’ll be moving my printshop to a new POD site in November.)

Behind the Scenes

🚫

• I don’t have too much to talk about this month. I did get the news that Society6, the POD website I have been using for years, is now forcing a subscription on its users. Essentially, you have to pay to sell your products, or you're limited to having only 10 prints for sale with a maximum payout of 10% of the base price. This means I would only earn a few dollars per print sold. I've been able to fund a significant portion of my gear through print sales, so I'm reluctant to lose this source of income, especially since it's my only one. Instagram isn't generating any revenue, this newsletter is read by few so far, and I'm far from meeting the requirements to monetize on Youtube.

  Luckily I have a backup plan. I have been uploading all my work to RedBubble too in case something would happen with Society6. My shop there is a complete mess, but with some work it could become a reasonable looking webshop. Reviews are also good and it’s still POD so I don’t have to put any time and effort in it. If you would know of any other POD sites or other ways to sell prints, I would love to hear from you.

🆕

• Once the new printshop is operational, I'll be revamping my website as well. It’s wildly out of date and not to my liking anymore. I envision a more minimalistic design with fewer pages. Basically I want it to become a referral page to my socials and other noteworthy pages and a small portfolio. Nothing else.

🎥

• In November I hope to get two videos out. I have the Catalina video ready but I also hope to make a video from the visit at the Duxford museum or make an air to air video from the flights we did with the warbirds in July.

Worth Sharing

✈️

• Flight deck operations filmed and narrated by the pilot himself.

• And another nice video by Kermit Weeks when he visited the USS Nimitz back in 2012.

• Camden Thrasher at it again with some amazing photography.

• I thought my 39000 likes on a photo on the Vertical Mag Instagram would be a record. Then they uploaded this photo and all it took was 3 days to pass the 40000 likes. It now has

🎥

• How the blastersound from Star Wars was created.

• Lawrence Sher on filming Joker.

• Visited FilmFest Gent and watched 5 movies. I can recommend all five!

  • Theater Camp. Just good fun.

  • Dream Scenario. It’s with Nicolas Cage. That should be all there is to know. Ending could have been better but I wouldn’t know how to end a story like this one either.

  • The Old Oak. Good, but not Ken Leoch’s best movie.

  • The Sweet East (my favorite). Think Alice in Wonderland but the modern day version. The Q&A afterwards with the cast and crew was comedy gold.

  • Dumb Money. How crazy was the whole 'GameStop’ craze?

🏎️

• Rally spectators are crazy.

Connect

• I would appreciate your feedback on this newsletter, so please feel free to share your suggestions for future editions with me.

• Have something noteworthy that you’d like to share? Submit here.