just tristan.

2011 - love(s) and cove(s).

F2.8, shutter 1/250, RAW, 16mm

2 Feb 2013 / 9 notes

bijan:

“I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant” — Henri Cartier-Bresson (and his first Leica)

“I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant” — Henri Cartier-Bresson (and his first Leica)

4 Jan 2013 / 42 notes

in the zone.

13 Dec 2012 / 5 notes

my interview with Tyler Perry in chicago re: Entrepreneurship. I learned so much from this man over the few conversations we’ve had. The greatest learning? When we all realize the “trials we go through and the blessings we receive are the same thing” we’ll push forward as entrepreneurs. Inspiring man. Inspiring story and I’m incredibly thankful for his advice.

30 May 2012 / 18 notes

what’s next.

Once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky, you nail your dream job. It happened to me a little over two and a half years ago when I walked onto the 5th floor at 36 Cooper Square. From day one, the opportunity at foursquare enabled me to think big, take risks, re-imagine what’s possible … and following an incredible journey, I have decided to resign from foursquare to pursue my next big dream.

The past two and a half years spent with the foursquare team have been nothing less than life-changing and it has left me incredibly thankful and inspired. It’s been an amazing experience to watch us grow from 3 to over 100 and my love for the company runs deep – it always will.

I am extremely proud of the hand I had in shaping foursquare’s future and helping us with a bunch of first-evers for the company and industry as a whole. I thank Dennis for his incredible support, partnership and friendship every step of the way.

As for what’s next, I have accepted an offer from Andreessen Horowitz to be an Entrepreneur in Residence, a spot where I can work with a blank slate, people are encouraged to think big, and the opportunities are endless…

I’m excited.

2 May 2012 / 95 notes

i hate email.

Recently, I had the good fortune to catch up with a friend, Harj (Partner at Y-Combinator). Of course, we talked about how busy we were and usually these types of conversations pivot into a vent about how email sucks (and our inability yo keep up with the deluge). He advised me to try something he did recently: he deleted all email accounts from his iPhone.

When he first told me that he deleted all email accounts from his phone, I thought he was crazy.

In January ‘11 I committed to keeping my phone on silent so I wouldn’t get distracted by the vibrations and sounds caused by incoming calls, texts, tweets, etc. It helped, but not that much. The problem was not only the amount of calls, emails, etc that would come in but also my anxiety about the emails that “wouldn’t” come in.

Let me explain. I’m an “inbox zero” person. If there are any emails in my inbox at the end of the day, I’ll go crazy. That said, I’d find my self constantly refreshing my inboxes on my iPhone (just because I could) even if I wasn’t expecting any emails. Anxiety….I try my absolute best to reply to most of my emails (hundreds a day)

—-> a few unintended consequences of living “inbox zero”:

It became more and more difficult for me to focus and think in *complete* thoughts.
Every second (outside of work hours) I’m checking for emails is a second lost spending time with loved ones (and most importantly, my wife). We’ve have a rule at home “no laptops in the living room” so that we can spend uninterrupted time together….but then “smartphones happened”….and now we have an excuse to get around the “no laptop” rule. Change was necessary
Emailing while driving. Never a good idea. And using an iPhone doesn’t make emailing while driving any safer

Anyone who knows me knows I’m never more than 3 feet away from my phone emailing away so it’s no wonder why i thought Harj’s suggestion was crazy. Either way, I decided to give it a shot for one week.

Result: I will never (ever) again put my email accounts on my phone. I also moved the mail icon app to the last iPhone screen. I’d encourage everyone to give it a try.

Some pluses:

I was able to think in complete thoughts. I usually do a lot of conference calls while on the run so I’d usually have access to email an the ability to multitask. Without the option to read / respond to emails, the folks on the other side of my calls had my full attention. I remembered a hell of a lot more of the content on this week’s conference calls (sans taking notes) than I had on my calls for the past couple years. Win.
My wife was in DC this past week but for the two days she was with me (before she left) and during those times this week when I was with friends, they too had my (almost) total, uninterrupted attention (i didn’t exclude calls, texts etc). This is always a good thing. Win. We had some of the most interesting, fulfilling conversations I’ve had in a long while.
Weird benefit. I “look up” more (head high) when I walk. Checking emails while crossing the street is not safe….at all. Without access to email while mobile and with my head held high, I was made more aware of my surroundings. Flowers in full bloom mode in palo alto btw! Win.

Seriously, I’d encourage you to give it a try. I promise you that you will not regret it.

12 Apr 2012 / 20 notes

4/3/2012 - love.

just a few shots taken on my vacation with my wife amoy in Puerto Vallarta. The hotel’s photographer took these and he let me do the post processing. I love how each photo came out. Excuse the last photo (ha!). The photographer made us do it!