1,200 Degrees of Happy
1,200 Degrees of Happy
by JP Duplessis
This picture triggers an avalanche (or should I say volcano?) of memories and feelings for me. It was 2012, and I’d just joined a little software startup outside Seattle called Mylo (the ‘i’ in Mylio came later). There were twelve of us, mostly strangers, and we all flew to Hilo, Hawaii, to kick things off.
Our first team-building exercise was to take photos on an active volcano, but first we had to get up there. That meant hiking 2+ hours through a very rainy night. It was raining sideways — really sideways — so that half my body was wet, the other half dry.
Once we reached the dried lava flow, we put on gloves — not for the heat, but in case we stumbled; dry lava will cut you up like glass (which, actually, is what it is). Then we ran across live lava, making sure we placed each quick step on the dark areas solid enough to support our weight. Stressful!
But by the time we reached the main lava field in the early morning, all pain and worries just vanished. We were like kids in a toy factory. Here was the real thing: 1,200 degrees of melted rock! It was like being on another planet, mixed with a pure joy of flirting with the real Mother Nature.
JP Duplessis, Software Engineer
Who knew?
- My previous career was all about comic books — drawing, writing, and collecting them. I also like to paint.
- I’m French Canadian, yet not really a hockey fan. Go figure.
- I started writing software when punch card computers were still around. Yep, I’m that old.
I like to shoot: Anything that looks like a still frame from a movie. Probably because of my comic book background. I also love a super-fast lens. Anything below f/2.0 is an amazing feat of engineering.
My Mylio setup: 12+ devices and about 70,000 images. One of the devices is a dedicated tablet attached to my TV, so that our photos will run continuous slide shows to background music. It’s always the center of attention at parties.
JP is from Quebec, where he started coding at 15, working on borrowed computers until he bought his first: a ZX81-Sinclair. JP dropped out of school to start JPSoft, which he ran for ten years before selling the company and moving to the U.S. to work for Microsoft. 16 years later, he went back into entrepreneur mode at Mylio — and he’s loving it!
Originally published at mylio.com on March 30, 2016.
