First Photon · A weekly letter
The island, before it changes
A long-term photographic record of the island's vanishing heritage and landscapes — with the craft of making the frames taught along the way. One letter every Tuesday, free, from Port Antonio.
Hey, I'm Kevin — a documentary photographer in Portland, Jamaica, making a long-term visual record of the island's disappearing heritage and landscapes. I also teach what I've learned along the way — planning, shooting, editing — through First Photon, a weekly letter written from here.
First Photon is the letter. The archive lives on the site. Both are free.
OLD JAMAICA
The island that's disappearing, one frame at a time. Great houses, fishing villages, county roads, and coastlines that won't look like this in twenty years. I'm photographing them while they're still here.
Inside every letter
Four threads, one letter, every Tuesday.
Every issue draws from four threads — technique, location, heritage, and post. Some weeks one leads. Some weeks two show up together. Over the month, you'll see them all.
First Light
One field technique unpacked. Light, weather, gear, planning.
For shooters
Island Frame
A Jamaican location worth photographing — timing, access, and the frame to look for.
For travellers.
Field Notes
A dispatch from the heritage archive. A place, a building, or a tradition being lost — and what it looked like this week.
For anyone who loves the island.
In The Edit
My Lightroom and Photoshop process and masking practice. No secrets.
For editors
Island Frame
Photographing Jamaica.
Location-by-location field notes — the timing, the light, the access, and the frames I actually came home with. The Jamaica photographer's guide that didn't exist until now.
Boston Bay
The Drama of High Seas
Blue mountains
Chasing the cloud sea
First LIght
Leveraging the power of first light
The Journey
Building the Jamaica archive, in public.
Real numbers. Real lessons. A monthly update on what's working, what isn't, and what I'm trying next.
Next update · July 21, 2026
The numbers at Day Zero. Where this starts.
First Photon launched July 14. Here's exactly where I'm starting from — income, subscribers, sessions — published openly so you can watch what actually happens.
18 months ago, I made 7,500 JMD a month from landscape photography. I'm sharing every number on the way to documenting Jamaican heritage and landscapes full-time.
Income (JMD)
7,500
Sessions
2
Subscribers
4
1:1 SESSIONS
A video call focused on your photography.
Bring a frame you're stuck on, a Jamaica trip you're planning, or a creator path you're trying to find. We'll build a clearer next step together.
For shooters, travellers, and creators alike.
When you're ready to go further
Work with me directly.
PRESETS
Built for Jamaican light.
The Lightroom presets I use on my own work — tuned for tropical greens, turquoise water, and the warmth of Caribbean golden hour.
Especially for: travelling photographers shooting the Caribbean.
ABOUT
From 7,500 JMD a month to full-time.
18 months ago, I was a hobbyist with a full-time job and a camera I used only for leisure. Today I'm building toward landscape and travel photography full-time — teaching what I know, exploring and photographing Jamaica, and publishing every number on the way. This is the letter I wish I'd had when I started.
Stay close to the work
Every Tuesday — First Light, Island Frame, In The Edit, and The Journey. One letter. Four threads. Five minutes.