The Creator Issue

THE FOX

DREAM BIGGER WITH US.

MAGAZINE

THE

CREATOR ISSUE

PHOTO BY: KMPHOTO

C R E D I TS EDITOR IN CHIEF MIKE FOX

EDITORS KENZIE SHULTZ LISA KHIEV MATT CASKEY JESSICA LOTICUS

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS EMILLY ANDRADE FARUK SHUAIBU

I NTROD UCTI ON PHOTOGRAPHY

Content is KING. Creators keep the world moving and ideas flowing.

LAURENCE HALL

This issue not only showcases a wide range of artists but also provides

JUSTIN RENFROE

detailed tips about what really goes into what it takes to be a creative

SAMUEL HEWITT

in 2020 + beyond. The goal is to inspire anyone that reads this to create

HANNAH SWEDE

something or keep creating, no matter what type of creative they are.

CJ JOHNSON JR DENI ALIC GEMMA R. GONÇALVES DA SILVA MARY CHORMAN

OUR M I SSI ON Our mission is to be a leading source of inspiration for people

GIORGIA DEGLI ESPOSTI

determined to chase their dreams and seek a fulfilling lifestyle. Along

TASHA CHERKASOVA

with an active readership, we work with a broad network of creatives,

KMPHOTO CHRISTINA ZIMMERMAN

brands, and influencers around the globe. The platform gives people the opportunity to learn, share stories and increase exposure worldwide.

NATALIA GRIBOVA PATRICK SELIN VITALIY PAYKOV

CONTACT US Contact Mike Fox: Founder & Editor In Chief e: info@thefoxmagazine.com Kenzie Shultz: Publicist & Community Manager e: pr@thefoxmagazine.com

EDI TORS’ NOT E

To me, being a creative is everything. It’s my livelihood.

Photography was the passion that started everything you’re reading today. This issue is a special moment in time to reflect on the advancement of passionate art and technology. Without either of those things, it’s hard to say where we would be today.

As you flip through these pages to see some beautiful photographs, please think about all of the long nights and early mornings it took to create it. Perspective is everything in 2020.

I truly hope this gives you the perspective and inspiration to CREATE whatever you want.

SECT IONS

C R EAT IVE CON TR OL The more creative you are, the

ME ET THE FOUND ER Get to know the founder of

PHOTO PARA DIS E Dive into art submitted from all

more ideas you will be able to

The Fox Magazine. He is a

across the world. After all, creators

create. You can be creative even if

photographer, entrepreneur and

keep the world moving and the ideas

you don’t think you are.

on a mission to inspire the world.

flowing. That will never change.

TA B L E OF CO N T ENTS

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IGNITE YOUR CREATIVIT Y

14 HOW TO USE ISO

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20 TAKE BETTER WILDLIFE PHOTOS

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MEET THE FOUNDER

PHOTO PARADISE

PARADISE COLLAGE

CREATIVE CONTROL TIPS TO IGNITE YOUR CREATIVITY Many great things have started as a simple, creative idea.

Being creative and thinking up world-changing ideas begins in the smallest ways. Everyone can be creative but they have to be willing to start. The creative process will then become more natural over time. The more creative you are, the more ideas you will be able to create. You can be creative even if you don’t think you are.

Try the following tips to help you on your journey: 1. Record your ideas on whatever is comfortable and convenient at the moment. What is important is that you record your ideas. Choose what will work best for you and make sure you have a way to record your ideas at all times.

You never know when an important idea will surface.

2. Don’t limit yourself to ideas that seem possible. Even those that seem impossible to implement are important for a couple of reasons.

First, what seems impossible to you may not be impossible sometime in the future or for someone else. Second, impossible ideas encourage further creative ideas that might be more likely to be implemented.

Capture all of your ideas.

3. Change your scenery or location. A change of scenery can stimulate the creativity inside you. A change might be as simple as looking out a window.

You can also visit someplace new like a park, beach, or mall.

The new environment can foster new ideas.

4. Read on many topics. It is amazing how many things in a totally unrelated subject can prompt new ideas. By broadening your knowledge into more areas, you make your creative potential grows.

Never stop learning.

5. Go for a walk. Some of my best ideas have happened when I was on a walk. This applies to any form of moderate exercise. I have heard of others that have written articles and speeches while walking or jogging.

A walk can actually help relieve a lot of stress.

6. Focus in 10-15 minute increments. It does not take a significant amount of time to brainstorm some potential ideas. In fact, brainstorming works best when done for short periods of time.

Concentrate for a few minutes on generate as many ideas to address a specific area or problem.

Then capture anything that comes to mind throughout the rest of the day (see tip #1).

You will have several ideas for consideration for little investment of time. One of those could become something tremendous for helping others.

7. Think big. Dream big. What question are you asking to prompt your ideas? The larger the question, the larger the impact those ideas may have on the world. You can start by addressing smaller problems but don’t limit yourself to those.

You have unique experiences, knowledge and talents that should be applied to helping others on a grand scale as well.

Follow these tips and you will be on your way to generating ideas that have the potential to change the world. Don’t let your previous lack of creativity keep you from developing and donating your ideas.

Get started today!

CREATIVE CONTROL WHAT IS ISO AND HOW DO YOU USE IT TO TAKE BETTER PHOTOS? It doesn’t matter what you do for a living or where you live; everybody loves to take photographs.

They are how we capture our favorite –– and sometimes random moments so we could remember them later on. It might be a picture of your school friends getting together after years of not seeing each other, or it can be a photograph of a beautiful sunset that you want to remember forever.

Those images we take will always be a part of our lives which is why photography is an art that transcends the limits of time. Contrary to popular belief, it is not an impossible art to master, too. You just need to know the basics, starting with ISO and how to use it.

What Is ISO? ISO is one of the most fundamental elements of photography, and you have to understand how it works if you want to take better photos. So, what exactly is it? ISO is the part of your camera settings that allows you to control the degree of brightness on a photo. As you learn more about photography, you will understand that lighting is everything when it comes to taking good pictures, and ISO lets you control just that.

It determines the level of sensitivity of your camera’s sensor to light, changing the exposure of the image as you adjust it. In other words, it determines how much light is captured by the sensor. By controlling how much light the camera is using for a photograph, ISO allows you to capture images in dark settings.

How Does It Work?

It is actually pronounced “eye-so” rather than separately like “I.S.O.” So, how do you use it?

Well, ISO is measured along a scale that you can increase or decrease, controlling the degree of light caught by the sensor. Each value on the scale is double the one before it.

Take the ‘pro’ settings you get on modern smartphones these days, for example; it’s usually a scale doubling like this: 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800. The scale is obviously bigger for professional cameras, going all the way up to 3200 or 6400 in some cases –– giving you greater control over the light.

Understanding ISO on Your Camera There are often manual and automatic modes. In the latter, the camera sets the ISO depending on the lighting conditions. There are also models with a semi-automatic option where you could change the ISO value if you want. These are settings that you need to study carefully, and learning how they work will take some time, but you will get there. Your smartphone may or may not offer a manual option to adjust the ISO, but it definitely comes with an automatic one.

The important thing when it comes to photography, in general, is to keep practicing. The more photos you take in different lighting conditions, the better you will understand how to use ISO to take highquality images. Try both nighttime and morning photography to understand the difference, and soon enough, you will be able to use the ISO proficiently.

CREATIVE CONTROL THE BEST TIPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING WILDLIFE All over the world, there are people that enjoy the thrill associated with wildlife photography.

Wildlife photography is very challenging, but the challenge is what draws people to it.

You need to hone your shot-taking skills and improve your knowledge of diverse wildlife to be good at wildlife photography. A good camera is never enough!

Let’s look at five key tips that will aid you in your quest to become the best wildlife photographer ever.

That’s if you’re not content with simple animal snapshots.

Get A Quality Camera And Lens You can never go wrong with a quality camera. However, you do not only need a quality camera, but you also need to know how to work one with a quality lens. It is important not to see your camera as just another piece of technology. The camera should be an extension of your arm, and you need to treat it as such. The lens you use is also very useful to capturing different emotions of wildlife such as telephoto, macro, and even wide-angle.

You also need to be flexible with your camera since the subject will not sit there all day, waiting for you to click some shots. Once you get a quality camera, practice as much as possible so that you become one with your camera. After all, practice makes perfect.

Be Patient Patience, as they say, is a virtue, and lack of patience can cost you a good shot or even get you no shot at all.

Wildlife creatures are unpredictable, so it is important that your patience does not wear thin in a short amount of time.

Your attempt to click the shot of the decade should not have an expiry date because the perfect opportunity might show up when you least expect. You need to be able to wait for hours, days, even weeks if it means finally getting the perfect shot.

Respect The Wild You should know the importance of not disturbing or hurting animals you encounter on your photography journey. Your safety, as well as the animals’ safety, depends on all the knowledge you have gathered.

You know how the animals in your location behave, how they feed, their territorial habits, and where you are likely to find them, to avoid accidental encounters. Your knowledge is your guide, so learn about different wildlife species before journeying into the wild. Do not break wildlife rules and regulations for any reason.

Know Your Wildlife If you are trying to capture wildlife, you need to know everything about them. Do not enter the wild with zero knowledge about animals! For example, if you are trying to capture different bird species, you need to find out where birds live. That way, you will not waste time moving about.

Whenever you are out taking wildlife shots, make sure to experiment with different field depths. You can pair the bokeh effect with continuous autofocus to create unique shots. You can place objects between your lens and the subject to create a shot with great depth and blurred foreground.

Meet The Founder

MIKE FOX Mike Fox is a published lifestyle photographer, entrepreneur, and founder of The Fox Magazine.

From Bowling Green, Kentucky to Los Angeles, California, Mike now utilizes his skills as a multimedia entrepreneur that inspires + empowers people to chase their dreams and live a fulfilling lifestyle.

His photography has been featured all around the world with clients such as FILA, The Chive, MedSailors, Blaze Pizza, and more.

Mike is a first-generation college graduate from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Marketing & Criminology, which he’s surprisingly incorporating the education into business now.

Two weeks after graduating from college, Mike packed up his car and road tripped from Bowling Green, KY to Los Angeles, CA on a mission to chase his dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur while inspiring others from all around the world to chase their dream too. He likes to call this.... “The Leap”.

Mike’s work has been featured, bought, and displayed in various places that have allowed him to travel the world. In 2016, he got the opportunity to work as a contract photographer in Greece and caught the travel bug while finding his true passion for lifestyle photography.

After traveling on assignment to 12 cities in a year and a half, he was convinced photography was his calling.

This lead to the vision of something bigger than himself and in March of 2016 – The Fox Magazine was created as an outlet to inspire others to chase their dreams and provide them with the tools to make it happen that has evolved into other media/lifestyle businesses with the same mission.

Get to know Mike from previous interviews with VoyageLA Magazine + The Timeless Podcast Mike, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.

The vision all started growing up in Bowling Green, KY and at the age of 18, my life has changed all from a camera. The camera opened up a new world to me. From using a borrowed Canon camera for yearbook club in high school to owning my own Nikon gear – the journey has been long and challenging but most importantly, rewarding.

Fast forward to now and I am an internationally published lifestyle photographer who’s been blessed enough to capture many cities, countries, and cultures around the world. I’ve experienced so much along the way that I wanted to share the journey with an actual audience and inspire them to do whatever they wanted to do in life. This lead to the creation of The Fox Magazine, a lifestyle publication focused on beginnings, creativity, and risk.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

The road is never smooth in my opinion. There will always be struggles, but the way we deal with them gets smoother. My biggest struggle on this journey has been finding the right tools, platforms, and suppliers to actually create at a higher level with a limited amount of resources. This applies to photography, business and entrepreneurship in general.

Mentors have helped with this struggle many many times, and I am thankful for the people I’ve connected with to further this journey.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Fox Magazine – what should we know?

My work expands across a few industries with a focus on lifestyle. First starting with photography, it has expanded into media publishing (The Foxthat has also expanded into e-commerce and events. There are still more projects on the way to build a complete portfolio / one-stop-shop for dreamers to take action and achieve success.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?

This is definitely not a solo effort!

I’ve had many mentors, coaches, friends, family, team members and even clients that have played a big role in getting to the point where I am today. In high school, my soccer coach at Warren Central High School encouraged me to take photography a little more serious and gave me the opportunity to photograph my first paid shoot of his two young daughters. I was pretty trash at soccer, so I’m glad he pushed the seriousness of photography on me lol.

Shoutout to Coach Alford for sparking the vision!

Mentors come at different times in life, but what I’ve learned is never take the information for granted even if it is delivered in a way we may not want or expect.

Different people have different perspectives and experiences, so it’s important to be open-minded for progress and definitely for long-term success.

Thanks to all the mentors and supporters that have believed in the vision thus far.

“

NEVER STOP DREAMING. NOBODY CAN TAKE AWAY YOUR DREAMS.

“

PHOTO PARADISE DIVE INTO ART SUBMITTED FROM ACROSS THE WORLD Creators keep the world moving and ideas flowing.

ON LO CATION KMphoto is a photographer from the Netherlands. He prefers photoshoots on location, since it stimulates creativity/ Besides photography he loves traveling, which combine well.

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TEAM CREDITS Photographer: KMphoto

Model: Polina Leybzon Retoucher: Nataliya Kotova

DE S PERATE Mary Chorman is a photographer from Ukraine, Kyiv.

6 years ago she moved from her native city due to the war. From there, she graduaded from National Aviation University as a journalist.

After she started working as a journalist and a volunteer, Mary then realized her passion for photography. As a photographer she graduated from 2 schools - “Kiev Photography School” - the oldest one and the best in the country and “PhotoMania” - another school of photography where she learned how to edit.

Additionally, she graduated from “Profstudy” as a stylist.

The clothes were made by Karina - the female model.

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TEAM CREDITS Photographer: Mary Chorman

Model: Ilya Model: Karina

PHOTO PARADISE THE CREATOR ISSUE