You ever buy a twenty-two-dollar airport sandwich and convinced yourself it was worth it?
That’s what this week’s episode is about — except the sandwich is a photography competition.
In Gold Star, Patrick unpacks his love-hate relationship with the American Photographic Artists’ Untitled competition — and what it reveals about the creative world’s obsession with approval. From spreadsheets of judges to award-show absurdities like the Oscars and Grammys, this episode digs into why artists still crave validation from systems they don’t even believe in.
It’s funny, frustrated, and a little too honest — a meditation on why we keep chasing the gold stars that will never love us back.
Featuring a clip from Jim Carrey’s Golden Globes speech, a story about Patrick’s first Houston Addy Award, and a Light Leak that challenges you to make something that doesn’t need anyone’s permission to exist.
You’ll hear about:
- Why creative competitions feel like overpriced validation
- The psychology of approval and the decay of validation
- What Jim Carrey can teach us about artistic hunger
- How to stop mistaking opportunity for illusion
- Why the real reward is the right to keep doing the work
Mentioned in this episode:
- American Photographic Artists (APA Untitled Competition)
- Jim Carrey’s 2016 Golden Globes speech
- The Addy Awards (American Advertising Federation)
- Rick Rubin, Diane Arbus, Van Gogh, Tom Sachs
Light Leak: The Paradox of the Work
What if you stopped making work for judges, algorithms, and invisible audiences — and started making the thing that’s too honest to explain?
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Office Hours with Patrick
Stuck on your website, portfolio, pricing, marketing, or business strategy?
Office Hours is a one-on-one, 60-ish minute conversation to help you work through whatever you’re trying to figure out. No agenda. No curriculum. No pitch. Just honest feedback, thoughtful questions, and a fresh perspective.
$99
Learn more or book your session:
https://theterriblecreative.com/office-hours
What is The Terrible Creative?
The Terrible Creative is a storytelling podcast for photographers, designers, and creative professionals working through the parts of the creative process no gear review or business course ever covers.
Each episode is 30 to 40 minutes. Solo. Story-driven. Built around mental health, artistic identity, and what honest work costs in a career rewarding performance over truth.
This is not a photography podcast about cameras, presets, or client strategy. This is a podcast about the inner experience of being a creative professional, made for the mid-career photographer or designer who has mastered the technical side but lost the thread.
Hosted by Patrick Fore, commercial photographer, author, and former lead photographer and brand designer for Taylor Guitars. His work has appeared globally for clients like Nike, Petco, and Verizon. He built this show because none of the podcasts he found addressed the real problem.
If you are a photographer or creative professional who feels competent on the outside and quietly lost on the inside, you are a Terrible Creative. This is your podcast.