Check Out Krystal Blake’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Krystal Blake. 

Hi Krystal, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
So, in my high school years, I began my journey in music when I learned to play the drums at fifteen. Within two years of playing, I joined a band called ¡Hey, Nostradamus! with Ethan Gower and Josh Troiani. I grew a lot as a musician during the time I was with the band and I also had the opportunity to meet Daniel Blake, who is now my wonderful husband, a father, creative partner, and business owner of “Daniel Blake Production/The Schoolhouse Studio” in Armbrust, Pa. I knew Daniel as a child because our parents went to the same church together, but it wasn’t until my bandmates decided to seek him out for recording purposes that we reacquaint in life. Soon after Daniel and I met, we began to date and 5 years later we married. 

During the time that Daniel and I dated, I decided to play around with photography and videography. Capturing candid moments is by far one of my favorite forms of photography, so photographing or filming musicians doing what they do best was something I fell in love with. Daniel and I now work together on a lot of projects with musicians who come into his studio. We most frequently do live audio/video sessions together, with me on the visuals and Daniel on the audio. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Finding my niche in life was definitely a bumpy road for a while. In high school, I would piddle around in Adobe Photoshop and make logos and designs for my band. With all of the pressure to decide on a career before graduating, I jumped the gun and went to Seton Hill University for graphic design, where I soon realized, after a year of going there, that I hated graphic design, aside from album cover art which I still enjoy making. I took over a year off from school to “figure myself out”. It was a tough year with lots of lows, but during this time while I was photographing nature in the mountains on a camping trip, Daniel said to me “why don’t you go to the local community college for photography?”. Suddenly, everything clicked. Being that I have played with cameras my entire life, I felt silly that I never thought of doing it as a career sooner. I suppose I didn’t really think something so fun could be a job. I ended up getting a certificate in photography in 2016 from Westmoreland County Community College. 

However, I don’t necessarily believe that college is for everyone, especially people in the art and entertainment field. I’m also someone who struggles with ADHD and doesn’t learn as well in traditional school settings as I do with hands-on, experiential activities. Almost everything I have learned to do, I learned by simply tinkering around until I figured it out. There are, of course, pros and cons to this style of learning but it’s what works for me, so I go with it. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I suppose you could call what I do a “business”; however, I would consider myself more of an “artist/creative”. I don’t exactly have the expected “business skills” that most entrepreneurs have; my brain just doesn’t work that way. I am a pretty extemporaneous person and I don’t work well with creative tasks when I’m under too much pressure or when I’m expected to follow some kind of rigid “template” per se. Naturally, I’m a very spontaneous person who just enjoys seeing how things naturally come together. I also say that I’m more of an artist than a business because I don’t take any and all jobs simply to make money. There are plenty of photographers and videographers to go around, so I try to stick to my niche because I know it’s what I’m best at. That “niche” would be anything in the video/photo world involving music, anything candid, animals, and nature. The other creatives can have the weddings, babies, senior pictures, and all that other stuff because I’m not trying to compete in that arena nor is it what I’m good at. I think part of being an artist/ business is realizing what your strength is and sticking to it. By doing so, you keep others happy and yourself while also encouraging diversity in the business/creative world. 

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
The only other thing I would like to share with my readers is this: make music or art for yourself. Don’t do it to please others, don’t do it to become “famous”, don’t do it simply for money (not that there’s anything wrong making an income with art). Do it for yourself because that’s the only way, I believe, that art can stay alive and authentic. When you begin to do things to please others, you lose the flame that sparked the passion in the first place, and what you once loved becomes a dull, monotonous chore rather than something that brings you joy. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystalrmedia/?fbclid=IwAR0jVqhvOx0bvTZip8jcPTJ3h4hJm-mHpGTfWhBUfSmgRGTovan7102QGpU
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krystalritenourmedia/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_dEf6auCQwfdrBt6ihLoeA/videos
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/7LRwGhmUzT3eezPTXZDUng?si=Ce4jtzabTyuUvCSuZkZ7sg

Image Credits
Krystal Ritenour Media
Daniel Blake