letter number two: february 23, 2025

What a couple of weeks.

I hope that you have remained clear of the particularly nasty flu running around. Take it from the Barber/Rogers household, it’s pretty brutal.

Anyway, I hope that this letter finds you well. Let’s begin!

Your future needs you. Your past doesn’t.

(left to right) Tim; Nala and Tim; Cooper; Chance.

These are some of our complex’s dogs, and seeing them makes me happy. I hope they make you happy, too.

A Letter | 2.22.25

For the Burned Out

Elijah sat under the broom tree and prayed that he would die. And then he slept.

I think there’s something holy about sleep.

He woke when he was awakened, and he didn’t get a speech. No why-the-long-face. No questions about killed puppies.

“Get up and eat.”

You forget to do these things sometimes. To eat or to brush your teeth or to wash your face. The dishes and dirty clothes pile. Memory is funny in here; you forget what you forget.

Elijah looked and there were hot stones with fresh bread beside him. Some water in a jar. He ate.

And then slept.

You may have felt this cycle. Wake-despair-eat-sleep. Repeat.

There’s something holy about repetitions, too. Make it to the floor; make it to the door; make it to the front; make it to the car.

Elijah woke again to more bread, more water. He listened. “Eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”

Take your time to rest, this voice told him. You’re already on the journey, and it is going to continue. But I’ll walk with you if you’d like. There may come a day when you feel the thrill of wonder, where the color returns, where the road stretches a few feet further in front of you, and that will be wonderful; until then, eat. Or the journey will be too much.

For forty days Elijah walked. It might have seemed endless. But he had rested enough to endure the endless.

It is endless already. And beginningless. Here there are only middles and nows. That is okay. You know how that feels already. Eat and breathe.

And then there was a hurricane. But God was not in the hurricane.

It is spectacle and awe; it is okay if you don’t find God where you used to. Under the lights and magic, in the wind sweeping through the plain in front of your leaping, in the majestic and the striking. It is hard to see the awe from here. But that’s fine because that’s not where God was.

And then there was an earthquake. But God was not in the earthquake.

It might’ve felt like the mountain was coming down. They say that disaster brings you closer to God; but it is hard to feel disaster from in here. In here, disaster is the same as sameness. That’s fine, too. Because that’s not where God was.

And then there was a sweeping fire. But God was not in the fire.

You’re fine with any of it burning. The smoke and the fog are similar, and at least the fire is light; burn the idols. Burn the traditions. Burn who you wanted to be. Burn whatever you need to; craft your torches from yesterday’s pages if only to see the ground. But it’s hard to feel the warmth from here, and that’s fine. Because that’s not where God was.

And then there was a gentle whisper.

Guess where God was.

Sometimes the holiest thing is quiet.

PLUM |

For Inspiration

Sometimes I have to make things to keep myself inspired.

But I admit that sometimes I listen to things I’ve made in order to get inspired again. I want to share one of my favorite little sketches this week that makes me remember that this world is still an enormous, beautiful place, no matter how small and ugly it feels like it is becoming.

It’s the first time I chopped up existing audio as an element in one of these; this particular audio makes me feel big things. I called it Plum because all of the vibes are the color plum in my brain. I hope you understand.

PLUM

ROLODEX |

Friends, and Signing Off

In my last newsletter, I told you that I’d be introducing you to new people every week.

I wanted to start close to home. I admit, this week’s guest is my sister, but she’s more than that. She’s an entrepreneur and artist; she’s an actress and an activist. She’s one of the coolest people I know, and I legitimately think that she will be able to help some of you out.

As I do these profiles, I’ll be collecting them in a little rolodex on my site. It’s bare bones right now, but it’ll grow.

And I’m excited about y’all growing it with me.

You can see that page here, and you can read about KB down below.

I hope that you have a brilliant week, and I’ll hopefully see you in seven.

-your pal,
hamilton.

ROLODEX

KB |

Katy Beth Barber

currently available for:

headshots
event management
portraiture
personal training (soon!)

gram web

alright, KB. someone comes up and asks you what you do. what do you tell them?

I own my own photography company, based primarily in NYC and the surrounding areas (CT, Hamptons, NJ, etc). I am also Chief Operating Officer of Double A Management, a full-service event management and creative consultation company based out of Miami and Atlanta.

things are probably insane right now. but tell me about what you're up to.

I’m currently living in NYC and working my becoming a certified personal trainer while also gearing up for the year ahead both with event management across the country and photography!

How long have you been taking photos? What got you into it?

I've been doing photography for over a decade now, which is a little wild! I bought my first camera before camera phones were decent—when I went to LA for the first time at 18 years old. I wanted to be able to document my time in LA and my hunt for an agent, as well as just continue to tell stories through a different lens. I started acting when I was younger and have always loved telling stories, so it was appropriate that my hunt for an acting agent brought me to photography!

what keeps you doing it?

What a good question. I love it because my clients are amazing and no shoot is the same. I get invited into the most precious moments of people's lives from surprise proposals to weddings to capturing the first smile of their newborn baby! It's hard not to love what I do, knowing that I make such a difference in the lives of my clients - and they make such a difference in mine! It's been really cool to have a client turn into a friend who continually invites me back to capture their growing family or new branding shots or their next fabulous Linked In headshot.

tell me about how Double A Management came about.

Double A Management was formed in July of 2013 - about a month before I met the founder and President. Del Ro (as he is known in the industry) noticed a trend on our college campus: all of the people who were brought to speak, DJ, put on events, etc., looked a lot more like me than our friends and the people who live in Atlanta. Del Ro and I actually met at a college party and instantly clicked, laughing about the wack DJ. The rest was sort of history.

I started off as his assistant and we dug in and filled the diversity void that was painfully evident on campus. We threw parties and festivals and booked talent at our own university as well as other campuses across Atlanta. Now, 12 years later, I am the Chief Operating Officer and we have an incredible team of 9 people and produce events all across the country, into Canada, and we expanded into Ghana at the top of this year. Absolutely wild.

what inspires you about producing events?

There is never a dull day, which I absolutely love. It takes all aspects of my creativity, organizational skills, people skills, stress management practices, and leadership to produce incredible events. I love how even if an event is copy and paste, the people, vendors, venues, and experience can be totally different. I love the challenge of figuring out where the pain points are in existing events and helping our clients truly just sit back, relax, and enjoy their event while my team and I handle everything from talent booking to venue coordination to running the show to handling the content team (and even being able to photograph a lot of the events myself!). Event production brings together all of the things I am passionate about into one field.

Also, my team is absolutely incredible. Del Ro and I are very picky when it comes to creating our chosen DAM family and so every time we get together whether it's 3 of us or all 9 of us, the energy is captivating, the laughter abounds, and the work continues to be fun. I couldn't ask for more incredible people to surround myself with.

what is something that you've been involved in that you're most proud of?

I think one of my all-time favorite events is the Boston Art and Music Soul Festival (BAMS Fest) that takes place in Boston every year. We were able to help grow the festival from 8k to 15k people, book a lineup full of headliners like D Smoke, Xxavier Omar, Rapsody, and BJ The Chicago Kid, to local talent including dancers and "Kidchella" performers, and helped get systems in place to create year-round programming. It was truly an honor to watch the festival grow and know that we helped create such an impact in the greater Boston area.

what have you found is the value of making connections in your industries? do you have any tips?

Talk to everyone. Seriously.

Whether you're sitting next to them on an airplane or waiting in line at the hair salon or wherever life takes you, everyone has a story to tell and likely something that you can help them with. Maybe you can help them create an event, or their sister is 7 months pregnant and is looking for a newborn photographer. Word of mouth will be your best marketing tool.

Never be ashamed to advocate for yourself. Sometimes things will work out beautifully and you may gain a new client or maybe you were just able to fill some time and make a new connection for something down the line. You never know what may come from just striking up a conversation. One time I got a client while I was waiting to get passport photos taken at a Staples just because I made a grumpy kid smile.

Another tip is to know your worth. Don't sell yourself short and don't allow others to talk you down or out of what you know your true value is. A lot of people will want discounts (I mean, who doesn't love a good sale??), but never give people more than it's worth to you. Exposure doesn't pay bills.