In this video I’m stepping a little outside my usual wildlife photo walks and gear tests to share something personal: my fourth solo album, “Lotus,” is out now on streaming platforms. I’m using my small platform to promote it, because music is what I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid—and it’s honestly still wild to hear one of my own songs come up in rotation. I also give you a behind-the-scenes peek at how I build these tracks: I program the drums (I’m hearing my old drummer Tony Radford in my head, with that Steve Smith kind of influence), I play the guitars (except one song), and I show what’s happening in the session that you’d never hear in the final master. I talk about how different recording is now versus the old expensive studio days—these days I can record in my pajamas, scotch in hand, with my wife and the dogs nearby, and still get a polished master. I also get into why “Lotus” is more personal than my earlier albums, with songs tied to my wife being in the hospital, life events, and even losing our little dog. And because I can’t help myself, I end the video with a quick nod to my filming setup—this Sony ZV series camera has been a lot of fun to shoot with.