Really have to agree with all of this. When I first got into photography, in what I intended to be a serious way, I just about drove myself crazy. I would look at photography magazines and I wanted to do everything. I was dashing here and there and doing this and doing that and none of it satisfying me. I was like a bear cub fishing at Brooks Falls. Dashing after this fish and then that one and another and never catching any. I got tired of the rat race and almost quit. But something happened. I'm not sure what it was, but I started receiving requests from friends and people I knew: please shoot my daughter's wedding; please do a graduation portrait for my son; and then, we would like to feature your photography in our magazine with a series of "at home with" articles with country music mega stars. That and some commercial advertising shots started getting me a reputation. All done with film. But, the last 7 or 8 years have been the most satisfying of my career. I'm long retired and have concentrated on photographing birds. I current have a gallery showing of 60 framed bird prints and I almost always receive some type of recognition in the photo contests I enter. This year was the culmination. I received Best of Show overall and 1st place in one of the categories. Now, I have a gallery show and I just turned 80 years old. My health is saying it's about over for me but for once I'm satisfied with what I've accomplished. With an amazing amount of support from a wonderful wife.
I loved and amazed when I saw the image appears in the developer in the darkroom! Yes graphic angular shapes textures is what I look for as well. Thank you
This reminds me of what one of my professors and photography school did back in the eighties. He said print out your favorite work and set it somewhere in your house where you walk past it every day. Every day that you look at that image for a week or two you will notice that your thoughts about that image will change. You may fall in love with the image or you may decide that you really don't like it. I do this quite a bit and it's amazing how well it works
I started photography in 2020 and have mostly been self-taught from online LinkedIn and UA-cam classes without feedback. Since discovering your channel a couple of months ago I try to take in the creative lesson from each video and apply it to further improve my pictures and I'm now starting to get creative feedback from other photographers as well as paid work that I'm passionate about. Your videos are a great resource for inspiration and a lot better than typical influencer videos. Thank you :)
There are not enough video essays about actually making Photographs versus technical camera reviews or photographic techniques, and this is excellent. I have been an Advertising photographer since the early 70's, and have always had Print Portfolios in progress. That meant laying out dozens of 11"x14" prints on a floor of white seamless, to edit and sequence. I could see if there was a common thread between the images, and to see a body of work altogether, was very enlightening. It kept me inspired to do more as I immediately saw areas of strengths and weaknesses. My Assistants were diplomatically honest and that helped! I concentrated on Ad Still Life work, and it wasn't till 2008 that I got back into Street Photography. I traveled to Seoul for a friend's wedding and brought my Nikon F5 film camera. I shot a few frames at the wedding but spent the next two weeks shooting photographs on the street. I had the color neg film processed and made 4"x6" prints that showed the black rebate. I loved how they looked all laid out on a boardroom table. I started with just one, but after a few weeks, I had over 20 large format "C" Prints made and had an exhibition soon after. If I had not looked at my photographs as a series of small prints, that I could sequence as a show, I would not have begun to change my direction and eventually shoot only Fine Art photography. I have a side business making Fine Art prints for clients after I learned enough about Printmaking to produce a Retrospective show in 2016. I have a studio at home, and a roof deck with great light, plus a big Epson printer, and I can shoot a photo in the morning and have a retouched image to print by the end of the day. It makes such a difference when you can do everything, and at your own pace...
Your tips and advice inspire me everyday, Alex. Your honesty and simple way of expressing them make your channel worth watching every time. Thank you, Alex.
This is a brilliant suggestion...I was told to hold on to a photo printer I was going to get rid of. I have someone who prints my images for exhibits and sale but they suggested I keep my printer for the very reason you pointed out. I will try the exercise you recommended. The idea of using this method as a means to focus on what seems to compel me naturally when I shoot is really exciting. Thanks again.
My portfolio goes back decades and is relatively small but there it is, vehicles and general traffic scenes. I always thought I was capturing a moment in my day for the sake of posterity. I once took a photo of a sunset because I liked the look of it, but there's a silhouette of a plane taking off in the image that I hadn't noticed at the time. Most of my snaps have the same theme. I wasn't aware of it before.. My favourite stuff was taken on a Nokia 108 dumb phone in VGA quality but the theme is the same, vehicles and general traffic scenes, even though at the time I thought I was taking pictures of the Square Mile. You sir are a legend!!
A portfolio is an excellent idea for reflect and introspection, but I found "time away" creates distance from your own work allowing one to have a better perspective!
As someone who grew up printing my own pictures right from the start.. then printing and wiring when I worked for the wire service... I have always loved seeing my pictures in print..( I used to stick the wet prints up on the wall in hotel bathrooms, where we use"d to process on news assignments to get an overview of my coverage and chose the final prints to wire..) Digital has taken most people's pictures and imprisoned them in a hard drive or phone, only to get deleted or forgotten. Over the last few years I have been using Blurb, (no affiliation) and making photo books on a regular basis.. What joy to once again see my pictures in print. Photographers who don't see their work in print form are missing out on a lot... Thank you for the video.
Well, I'm only a couple of months ahead of your advice having finally getting a selection of my photos printed but I can confirm it's a revelation. Looking at your work in another format than on a screen somehow helps you to become an outside observer and see things you had missed. I'd add that getting a nice frame and mat that these prints will fit into easily is a further tweek. Swap them out regularly as it helps to isolate the work and help you concentrate on it. Wish I'd done this years ago. Great video, great advice as always. Thank you.
I re-watched this thanks to your newsletter this week, thanks Alex. It was really inspiring. I loved the Joel Meyerowitz images and they have given me some fresh ideas. Thanks again.
While i was on my masters course, it was as normal as breathing to print your work out for edits and critique. The irony is, digital has made it so much easier and yet not many digital photographers have physical prints to edit through. They just want to sit in front of a screen and star or unstar work
Your channel, your recommendations, your insights resonate and motivate. I love the laying out of proofs idea. It’s like me really seeing me in a whole new way.
Thank you Alex for your depth of inspiration about photography. You and another UA-cam vlogger had a similar message and have inspired me to go out and start having my photos printed instead of leaving them stored in digital format most of the time. I have to agree there is something rewarding for me when I started to print and frame 3 photos I made. Because of this I am looking forward to accomplish what you and many photographers have done. And that is to publish my personal photo book even though for now it's collection of many genre. Hoping that by doing this something would reveal itself as a collective subject to learn and specialize in, until a new subject again is revealed. More power and I keep learning from your lessons.
I have more prints than my F-150 can carry. I wouldn't know where to even start looking, or where to find room to sort them. Just my pictures... not even thinking about the images from my wife.... is overwhelming. It just makes me grin. My kids are going to hate the job of sorting! I'm 72 and still adding to the story.
Somebody else suggested to make a photo album printed once a year with your best photos, but this seems more natural and also enlightening. Many thanks for sharing. I'll start a scavenger hunt too find a printing company to make these. Many hugs from Chile 🇨🇱to you and all photo friends
Crazy how we tend to think that we don't need to print anymore but all you mentioned on this video is true! I will compare it to proof reading a document only to find many errors once printed, the same can be applied to images. Thanks for all the great content you create Sir!
Printing is a great idea! I use to print some photos for photography club competitions and then put them away. I realized I should display them where I can see them so they are in front of me at my desk at work; it's been a while since they have been up and I've been thinking it's time for some new ones. I like the idea of smaller prints as was suggested to get more prints in the area. It may not be as impactful as 20,50 or 100 prints but I see them (when I actually look at them) everyday.
You're one of the most interesting and helpful photograhy channels on UA-cam. I'm a hobby/amateur photograher, and the last coulpe of years, I've not been active at all. Your videos make me want to go out and shoot again!
My photography voice happened by chance. I've always been more interested in people rather than scenes and I had just bought a new camera that in truth I did not have a clue as to use it properly and I told a girl that I knew about it and she asked me if I would take some photos of her. Her friend saw the photos and wanted some photos herself. I asked another girl and she was not willing to model but she wanted some photos of her daughter who was a dancer. The resulting photos got the attention of a professional model who was also an ex-Miss England. The resulting photos got me offers from several other would-be models and I was soon doing 35 photo-shoots per year. That was all over 12 years ago and a break for covid and illness mean that I do very little now but it was a great journey and I loved every minute of it. .
That's a pretty good idea and a bit overlooked in today of digital photography. Reminds me of when I was taking lessons that our teacher would have us develop all the negatives of a roll on a sheet photo paper or two and study them as a whole before deciding on what to enlarge.
You and your fireside chats.... Yet another good one and, yes, a cool game to play. Because i'm quite tall, i think i'll hang something fuzzy on the wall and velcro shots to it. An armchair, a generous Lagavulin, a spare hour or two - hope i find something i like! All the best from the swamp Downunder.
I just trashed over 2,000 photo's. I'm caught between just random photographs and getting those emotional / immersion, once in a lifetime, outstanding photos whether through natural shots and or post processing. I want something better. This video fell right into the right place at the right time. I also just reorganized my photo files and that's why I trashed those 2,000 photos. Thanks Alex.
two years ago I trashed 52.000 photos (2008-2015) of which I realized where repetitive. I picked 10 that stood out bc of 'a secondary subject', and about 20 based on a primary color. Funny. So it was liberating and helped my creative process.
@@mvw5721 Do you one better, remember a few years ago there was a computer hack that locked up computer systems until you paid them to unlock it ? I got caught up in that and and I lost close to 60,000 photo's because I wasn't going to pay them. I learned a couple of years ago that the FBI finally arrested them.
Alex, This is invaluable and brings me up short. When did I last print a "roll" of film? Since I moved to digital photography, I've printed out less and less whilst taking exponentially more images. In the analogue days I would think about each and every shot, as each roll of film was 36 images. (or 24 in some cases). Now I jfeel that I take too many poor shots and wouldn't want to print an entire memory card. However, I'm going to take a selection of my latest images and send them off for printing as you suggest. I look forward to the exercise.
I just went back through my shots mentally and actually discovered the exact same thing that you did about my photography lol I like the same sort of thing
As a lapsed film photographer this is interesting. We have come full circle. Less is more, film is better and prints are king. Our obsession with digital is definitely flattening out.
I've never owned a digital camera and doubt I ever will, when you know you have only a fixed number of opportunities to capture a moment it becomes more valuable. Not being able to edit is useful too, the picture screams truth and honesty.
hello...I watch all your videos, I work with photography and they have inspired me a lot, especially in black and white photography....thanks for your videos and teachings.
In a similar approach, in the days of shooting film, I learned a huge amount from contact prints, in a roll of ‘36’ 35 mm or 10/12 120film usually 1 ( or 2) would just stand out in the set then analysing why and what made that image/s. Your advice is great as in only looking on screen’ at images one loses so much of seeing a pattern/theme and the juxtaposition of and relationships within the images.
I agree with Eric. You are inspirational and have shared much good information and thoughts and ideas. Hope and pray you do not devolve into product adverts, info-tainment about equipment, and “reviews” based on the manufacturers promo information.
What a wonderful concept. Do it yourself! The majority of photographers I've met always want to do it fast and easy. That reminds me of drive though resturants. Everybody seems to be in such a hurry today, they don't have time for self-made quality. Sort of like the old saying about stopping and smelling the roses. They would rather use someone else "preset".
Great message and wise words. If you haven't heard of it yet check out street photographer Siegfried Hansen's PILOT system. His Siegfried is to identify your triggers (like you talk about identifying in your video here) and seeking them when out photographing. The effect is to capture collections of images, among which golden nuggets will be found over time. I've had good luck with this technique. Thanks again for your inspiring and hard work on these videos!
This is such an ironic post. As I'm approaching retirement in my career I was thinking about my difficulty in choosing one in the first place. I'm a teacher. One reason I chose it is that I am interested in so many different things. Teaching allows you to visit many subjects and try to inspire children to find something they love. I still joke with my students telling they that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. But, turns out, I also just love interaction with people and learning about them. My family grudgingly allows me to tag along to the grocery store because they know I'm going to find someone to chat with there. I'm often accused of "talking to strangers on street corners" by my sarcastic daughter! LOL! I didn't even have to actually look at any images to know the answer for me. I have the most fun when I'm a "fly on the wall" shooting people doing their thing. For so long I've only used conversation to feed my habit. Only recently did I include a camera. To be fair, it emerged again after a long hiatus since the early 1980s when I bought a camera. You my friend are a friggin genius. Have a great weekend......
Great valuable content! I’m tired of all this “Sony vs Nikon vs Canon”… this is true valuable content worth watching. I recently saw your vid “careful what you wish for” or something like that. That was true, deeply honest video. I believe all of us photographers have felt like that in a moment of our lives, but nobody else will “lift” us, we have to do it ourselves.
This is a great idea. With apps like Photobox offering 50 prints per month for just the cost of the postage, it’s a no-brainer. Just about to select 50 of my favourite photos and give it a try. It will be interesting to find out what it’s like to see them all en masse.
Great content, man! I recently did that and it’s surprisingly different viewing your photos form a screen than from a print, I actually send some photo to print due to the photography class I have in my career, we had to pick a subject and select 20 photos to print them in a small size to then select 10 to print them a tiny bit bigger, and as you said viewing all your photos in the table is sort of a game changer.
I'm hear via your newsletter. Good advice, thankyou Alex. Btw...I was distracted by the reflection behind you. Is is water or sunlight through a tree, or both?
Very good video / lesson. I will try that. There is a really neat reflection on the picture on the wall on the right. I don't know if it is caused by sun through leaves or sun light reflecting off water. It seems to be breezy outside. But my eye/brain saw water flowing under the bridge. Thanks for all your thoughts and videos
I started to print in 20x30 and hanging over the walls. Any picture that I somehow liked it. The experience is crazy, the only problem is thst in 3 months i am about to finish the walls, lol. But I am really learning the meaning of my photography.
One should just beware of locking oneself into one single style. My "photographic voice" changes with my mood, or based on where I am... Or just on what I find today. Any one "voice" CAN be a great source of inspiration for a while. But don't ever let that voice tell you to not try something new. That's when that "voice" becomes the devil on your shoulder.
OMG, I certainly got it from a video but can't remember if it was one of yours or somebody else's, but I've been printing my photos and building a physical archive of my images and it's really nice to go through them. I also rearrange them every time, so every time I add new pics I forcedly go through all my pics. I got around 100 since I'm pretty new to photography, and I have unconsciously done de laying them all down and looking at them all. I also often do that with the pics I just printed Edit: I don't print all of them, only the ones I really like
I have noticed that when I print photos after my photo sessions I have noticed repeating patterns what I tend to like to shoot. Churches, tombstones and Christian symbolism is very common theme, but also rooftops of buildings, graffitis and old and rusty elements. Most of these are photographed using strong contrasts and shapes are very often important. Printing probably have teached me something about my photography since now I have realized more easily repeating patterns what I naturally like to shoot and how :)
Enjoy your videos.I think the concept of reviewing one's work is a worthwhile exercise. Since using Lightroom for the past nine years, I have a catalog with over 110,000 images. So printing is a bit impractical. Since I do like your approach, I wonder if a practical way for me, is to view my images in a grid format on the computer using the Lights Out feature.
It costs ~$10 for a small 20 page photo book. Makes sense to me to fill one with up to 40 of your best, rather than ~100 photos for a similar price i.e. quality over quantity and
I like your content. That is why I am subscribed. I am not always good at giving thumbs-up. I subscribe to a variety of channels all about photography. Each is unique. I think your channel of all channels I am subscribed to is the only one that talks about other photographer’s work. I’ve learned a lot ( about other photographers and things might find interesting ) from watching your channel. I’ll try better to give thumbs-up to provide feedback that the video was meaningful to me. Thanks for the work you do. I do appreciate it.
At 2:10 ..... I wonder why he has a fraction of a person encroaching the right side of the frame. If he left it uncropped just to annoy people, it worked a treat.
My office walls are covered with prints, probably 60 in number. I was just thinking I need to replace them with new images. I think that would work. I like to see them. I forget what I’ve done.
Every time I watch your videos, I soak up invaluable information. As if I've paged through a new Photography Book every video. Thank you!
Wow, thank you!
This video has TRUE value!!!!!!!!!!!! 💎 saving and coming back every time I lose my voice as a photographer
Your video are pure gold, you go for what essential to become a better photographer. No one else is doing this on Internet.
Really have to agree with all of this. When I first got into photography, in what I intended to be a serious way, I just about drove myself crazy. I would look at photography magazines and I wanted to do everything. I was dashing here and there and doing this and doing that and none of it satisfying me. I was like a bear cub fishing at Brooks Falls. Dashing after this fish and then that one and another and never catching any. I got tired of the rat race and almost quit. But something happened. I'm not sure what it was, but I started receiving requests from friends and people I knew: please shoot my daughter's wedding; please do a graduation portrait for my son; and then, we would like to feature your photography in our magazine with a series of "at home with" articles with country music mega stars. That and some commercial advertising shots started getting me a reputation. All done with film.
But, the last 7 or 8 years have been the most satisfying of my career. I'm long retired and have concentrated on photographing birds. I current have a gallery showing of 60 framed bird prints and I almost always receive some type of recognition in the photo contests I enter. This year was the culmination. I received Best of Show overall and 1st place in one of the categories. Now, I have a gallery show and I just turned 80 years old. My health is saying it's about over for me but for once I'm satisfied with what I've accomplished. With an amazing amount of support from a wonderful wife.
Great story, it was pleasure to read! Could you tell me something more about "click" experience? What it was? I mean "But something happened."
Well done sir.
Wonderful story. I think sometimes our limitations focus your minds or choices. At 80 you have just started.😊
To Clifton Whittaker: great story !
There isn’t a photography channel on UA-cam that has proved more valuable to me than this channel right here.
Thanks so much Alex. 💙📸
💯
He just has conversations with us…awesome approach!
I loved and amazed when I saw the image appears in the developer in the darkroom! Yes graphic angular shapes textures is what I look for as well. Thank you
I’m drawn towards dead trees. I also love photographing lighthouses in monochrome in the day time and making the sky black.
This reminds me of what one of my professors and photography school did back in the eighties. He said print out your favorite work and set it somewhere in your house where you walk past it every day. Every day that you look at that image for a week or two you will notice that your thoughts about that image will change. You may fall in love with the image or you may decide that you really don't like it. I do this quite a bit and it's amazing how well it works
I started photography in 2020 and have mostly been self-taught from online LinkedIn and UA-cam classes without feedback. Since discovering your channel a couple of months ago I try to take in the creative lesson from each video and apply it to further improve my pictures and I'm now starting to get creative feedback from other photographers as well as paid work that I'm passionate about. Your videos are a great resource for inspiration and a lot better than typical influencer videos. Thank you :)
True
Can I just say. Thank you that you share not just u and other methods. But you encourage the I (eye) within us. Truly amazing
There are not enough video essays about actually making Photographs versus technical camera reviews or photographic techniques, and this is excellent. I have been an Advertising photographer since the early 70's, and have always had Print Portfolios in progress. That meant laying out dozens of 11"x14" prints on a floor of white seamless, to edit and sequence. I could see if there was a common thread between the images, and to see a body of work altogether, was very enlightening. It kept me inspired to do more as I immediately saw areas of strengths and weaknesses. My Assistants were diplomatically honest and that helped! I concentrated on Ad Still Life work, and it wasn't till 2008 that I got back into Street Photography. I traveled to Seoul for a friend's wedding and brought my Nikon F5 film camera. I shot a few frames at the wedding but spent the next two weeks shooting photographs on the street. I had the color neg film processed and made 4"x6" prints that showed the black rebate. I loved how they looked all laid out on a boardroom table. I started with just one, but after a few weeks, I had over 20 large format "C" Prints made and had an exhibition soon after. If I had not looked at my photographs as a series of small prints, that I could sequence as a show, I would not have begun to change my direction and eventually shoot only Fine Art photography. I have a side business making Fine Art prints for clients after I learned enough about Printmaking to produce a Retrospective show in 2016. I have a studio at home, and a roof deck with great light, plus a big Epson printer, and I can shoot a photo in the morning and have a retouched image to print by the end of the day. It makes such a difference when you can do everything, and at your own pace...
Your tips and advice inspire me everyday, Alex. Your honesty and simple way of expressing them make your channel worth watching every time. Thank you, Alex.
This is a brilliant suggestion...I was told to hold on to a photo printer I was going to get rid of. I have someone who prints my images for exhibits and sale but they suggested I keep my printer for the very reason you pointed out. I will try the exercise you recommended. The idea of using this method as a means to focus on what seems to compel me naturally when I shoot is really exciting. Thanks again.
My portfolio goes back decades and is relatively small but there it is, vehicles and general traffic scenes. I always thought I was capturing a moment in my day for the sake of posterity. I once took a photo of a sunset because I liked the look of it, but there's a silhouette of a plane taking off in the image that I hadn't noticed at the time. Most of my snaps have the same theme. I wasn't aware of it before..
My favourite stuff was taken on a Nokia 108 dumb phone in VGA quality but the theme is the same, vehicles and general traffic scenes, even though at the time I thought I was taking pictures of the Square Mile.
You sir are a legend!!
A portfolio is an excellent idea for reflect and introspection, but I found "time away" creates distance from your own work allowing one to have a better perspective!
As someone who grew up printing my own pictures right from the start.. then printing and wiring when I worked for the wire service... I have always loved seeing my pictures in print..( I used to stick the wet prints up on the wall in hotel bathrooms, where we use"d to process on news assignments to get an overview of my coverage and chose the final prints to wire..)
Digital has taken most people's pictures and imprisoned them in a hard drive or phone, only to get deleted or forgotten.
Over the last few years I have been using Blurb, (no affiliation) and making photo books on a regular basis.. What joy to once again see my pictures in print.
Photographers who don't see their work in print form are missing out on a lot... Thank you for the video.
Well, I'm only a couple of months ahead of your advice having finally getting a selection of my photos printed but I can confirm it's a revelation. Looking at your work in another format than on a screen somehow helps you to become an outside observer and see things you had missed. I'd add that getting a nice frame and mat that these prints will fit into easily is a further tweek. Swap them out regularly as it helps to isolate the work and help you concentrate on it. Wish I'd done this years ago. Great video, great advice as always. Thank you.
I re-watched this thanks to your newsletter this week, thanks Alex. It was really inspiring. I loved the Joel Meyerowitz images and they have given me some fresh ideas. Thanks again.
While i was on my masters course, it was as normal as breathing to print your work out for edits and critique. The irony is, digital has made it so much easier and yet not many digital photographers have physical prints to edit through. They just want to sit in front of a screen and star or unstar work
Your channel, your recommendations, your insights resonate and motivate. I love the laying out of proofs idea. It’s like me really seeing me in a whole new way.
One of the most useful videos on photography, thank you!
Thank you. I am fascinated by your observation on what and how these pictures speak to you as the creator of these pictures. I will do this exercise
Thank you Alex for your depth of inspiration about photography. You and another UA-cam vlogger had a similar message and have inspired me to go out and start having my photos printed instead of leaving them stored in digital format most of the time. I have to agree there is something rewarding for me when I started to print and frame 3 photos I made. Because of this I am looking forward to accomplish what you and many photographers have done. And that is to publish my personal photo book even though for now it's collection of many genre. Hoping that by doing this something would reveal itself as a collective subject to learn and specialize in, until a new subject again is revealed. More power and I keep learning from your lessons.
Best art is when we utilize as many of our senses as possible, why I enjoy(ed) being in the darkroom . Thanks again for another great video
I have more prints than my F-150 can carry. I wouldn't know where to even start looking, or where to find room to sort them. Just my pictures... not even thinking about the images from my wife.... is overwhelming. It just makes me grin. My kids are going to hate the job of sorting! I'm 72 and still adding to the story.
Somebody else suggested to make a photo album printed once a year with your best photos, but this seems more natural and also enlightening. Many thanks for sharing. I'll start a scavenger hunt too find a printing company to make these. Many hugs from Chile 🇨🇱to you and all photo friends
Crazy how we tend to think that we don't need to print anymore but all you mentioned on this video is true! I will compare it to proof reading a document only to find many errors once printed, the same can be applied to images. Thanks for all the great content you create Sir!
Printing is a great idea! I use to print some photos for photography club competitions and then put them away. I realized I should display them where I can see them so they are in front of me at my desk at work; it's been a while since they have been up and I've been thinking it's time for some new ones. I like the idea of smaller prints as was suggested to get more prints in the area. It may not be as impactful as 20,50 or 100 prints but I see them (when I actually look at them) everyday.
This video offers the best advice any photographer will ever get.
2Gud a heart-2-heart conversation. Everytime. Thank you!
Thanks!
You're one of the most interesting and helpful photograhy channels on UA-cam. I'm a hobby/amateur photograher, and the last coulpe of years, I've not been active at all. Your videos make me want to go out and shoot again!
@ThePhotographicEye Just a heads up! I think you got scammers in your chat. Apparently I've won some thing 😂🤗
The scam message was deleted pretty fast after my respons 🤣
I could listen to your inspirational Videos all day! Thank you so much!
My photography voice happened by chance.
I've always been more interested in people rather than scenes and I had just bought a new camera that in truth I did not have a clue as to use it properly and I told a girl that I knew about it and she asked me if I would take some photos of her.
Her friend saw the photos and wanted some photos herself.
I asked another girl and she was not willing to model but she wanted some photos of her daughter who was a dancer. The resulting photos got the attention of a professional model who was also an ex-Miss England.
The resulting photos got me offers from several other would-be models and I was soon doing 35 photo-shoots per year.
That was all over 12 years ago and a break for covid and illness mean that I do very little now but it was a great journey and I loved every minute of it. .
That's a pretty good idea and a bit overlooked in today of digital photography. Reminds me of when I was taking lessons that our teacher would have us develop all the negatives of a roll on a sheet photo paper or two and study them as a whole before deciding on what to enlarge.
Thanks! Will follow this advice or a photo book this fall.
Thank you once again. So enjoy your Chanel. Sharing your experienced soul journey of the joy of creative photography is so inspiring. Cheers
Thanks a lot for your suggestions.
I must say that this is the best idea of a lot of good ideas I’ve gained from you!
Thank you so much!
You’r on a tear. Great insights !!
You are simply amazing! This has opened my eyes.
Thank you very much for these nuggets..
Thanks, Alex. Not sure quite where to start with all the images I have in my digital archive, but I’ll certainly try this. 😊
You and your fireside chats.... Yet another good one and, yes, a cool game to play. Because i'm quite tall, i think i'll hang something fuzzy on the wall and velcro shots to it. An armchair, a generous Lagavulin, a spare hour or two - hope i find something i like! All the best from the swamp Downunder.
I just trashed over 2,000 photo's. I'm caught between just random photographs and getting those emotional / immersion, once in a lifetime, outstanding photos whether through natural shots and or post processing. I want something better. This video fell right into the right place at the right time. I also just reorganized my photo files and that's why I trashed those 2,000 photos. Thanks Alex.
two years ago I trashed 52.000 photos (2008-2015) of which I realized where repetitive. I picked 10 that stood out bc of 'a secondary subject', and about 20 based on a primary color. Funny. So it was liberating and helped my creative process.
@@mvw5721 Do you one better, remember a few years ago there was a computer hack that locked up computer systems until you paid them to unlock it ? I got caught up in that and and I lost close to 60,000 photo's because I wasn't going to pay them. I learned a couple of years ago that the FBI finally arrested them.
@@tedbrown7908 that's nuts and so unfortunate, damn
Agreed with Fat Eric, you are a true inspiration!
Thx for the tutorial, now I can play it without problems with the framing
I love clouds!
Alex, This is invaluable and brings me up short. When did I last print a "roll" of film? Since I moved to digital photography, I've printed out less and less whilst taking exponentially more images. In the analogue days I would think about each and every shot, as each roll of film was 36 images. (or 24 in some cases). Now I jfeel that I take too many poor shots and wouldn't want to print an entire memory card. However, I'm going to take a selection of my latest images and send them off for printing as you suggest. I look forward to the exercise.
I just went back through my shots mentally and actually discovered the exact same thing that you did about my photography lol I like the same sort of thing
Thanks so much for your video x
Thank you once again.
You're a true inspiration.
As a lapsed film photographer this is interesting. We have come full circle. Less is more, film is better and prints are king. Our obsession with digital is definitely flattening out.
I've never owned a digital camera and doubt I ever will, when you know you have only a fixed number of opportunities to capture a moment it becomes more valuable. Not being able to edit is useful too, the picture screams truth and honesty.
hello...I watch all your videos, I work with photography and they have inspired me a lot, especially in black and white photography....thanks for your videos and teachings.
In a similar approach, in the days of shooting film, I learned a huge amount from contact prints, in a roll of ‘36’ 35 mm or 10/12 120film usually 1 ( or 2) would just stand out in the set then analysing why and what made that image/s. Your advice is great as in only looking on screen’ at images one loses so much of seeing a pattern/theme and the juxtaposition of and relationships within the images.
Such an amazing aesthetic mind. I'm learning so much listening to your excellent videos. Thank you 🙏❤️
Thank you for watching
I agree with Eric. You are inspirational and have shared much good information and thoughts and ideas. Hope and pray you do not devolve into product adverts, info-tainment about equipment, and “reviews” based on the manufacturers promo information.
I put my favs up on my wall. It's overwhelming.
What a wonderful concept. Do it yourself!
The majority of photographers I've met always want to do it fast and easy. That reminds me of drive though resturants.
Everybody seems to be in such a hurry today, they don't have time for self-made quality. Sort of like the old saying about stopping and smelling the roses.
They would rather use someone else "preset".
“Don’t be a hollow copy, be an original specific” got it!
True inspiration. I appreciate your work and advice. Will definitely do this. Thank for this 🙌🏽
Thank you so much for the inspiration. This is great video.
Love your channel
Thank you
Best advice of the day
Great message and wise words. If you haven't heard of it yet check out street photographer Siegfried Hansen's PILOT system. His Siegfried is to identify your triggers (like you talk about identifying in your video here) and seeking them when out photographing. The effect is to capture collections of images, among which golden nuggets will be found over time. I've had good luck with this technique.
Thanks again for your inspiring and hard work on these videos!
Thank you very much, absolutely great tip!
Brilliant suggestion, thank you
This is such an ironic post. As I'm approaching retirement in my career I was thinking about my difficulty in choosing one in the first place. I'm a teacher. One reason I chose it is that I am interested in so many different things. Teaching allows you to visit many subjects and try to inspire children to find something they love. I still joke with my students telling they that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. But, turns out, I also just love interaction with people and learning about them. My family grudgingly allows me to tag along to the grocery store because they know I'm going to find someone to chat with there. I'm often accused of "talking to strangers on street corners" by my sarcastic daughter! LOL! I didn't even have to actually look at any images to know the answer for me. I have the most fun when I'm a "fly on the wall" shooting people doing their thing. For so long I've only used conversation to feed my habit. Only recently did I include a camera. To be fair, it emerged again after a long hiatus since the early 1980s when I bought a camera. You my friend are a friggin genius. Have a great weekend......
Great valuable content! I’m tired of all this “Sony vs Nikon vs Canon”… this is true valuable content worth watching. I recently saw your vid “careful what you wish for” or something like that. That was true, deeply honest video. I believe all of us photographers have felt like that in a moment of our lives, but nobody else will “lift” us, we have to do it ourselves.
Thank you
This is a great idea. With apps like Photobox offering 50 prints per month for just the cost of the postage, it’s a no-brainer. Just about to select 50 of my favourite photos and give it a try. It will be interesting to find out what it’s like to see them all en masse.
Great content, man!
I recently did that and it’s surprisingly different viewing your photos form a screen than from a print, I actually send some photo to print due to the photography class I have in my career, we had to pick a subject and select 20 photos to print them in a small size to then select 10 to print them a tiny bit bigger, and as you said viewing all your photos in the table is sort of a game changer.
For myself it is Trees, there are in most of my black and white photos; particularly Birch trees, thank you
What a fantastic idea! Thank you for this.
I'm hear via your newsletter. Good advice, thankyou Alex. Btw...I was distracted by the reflection behind you. Is is water or sunlight through a tree, or both?
Very good video / lesson. I will try that. There is a really neat reflection on the picture on the wall on the right. I don't know if it is caused by sun through leaves or sun light reflecting off water. It seems to be breezy outside. But my eye/brain saw water flowing under the bridge. Thanks for all your thoughts and videos
You mentioned Photobox quality is a bit crap, and I agree. Can you recommend a good print service for high quality prints in the uk?
Love this!
I started to print in 20x30 and hanging over the walls. Any picture that I somehow liked it. The experience is crazy, the only problem is thst in 3 months i am about to finish the walls, lol. But I am really learning the meaning of my photography.
Oh you wonderful man.
One should just beware of locking oneself into one single style. My "photographic voice" changes with my mood, or based on where I am... Or just on what I find today. Any one "voice" CAN be a great source of inspiration for a while. But don't ever let that voice tell you to not try something new. That's when that "voice" becomes the devil on your shoulder.
Great video.
OMG, I certainly got it from a video but can't remember if it was one of yours or somebody else's, but I've been printing my photos and building a physical archive of my images and it's really nice to go through them. I also rearrange them every time, so every time I add new pics I forcedly go through all my pics. I got around 100 since I'm pretty new to photography, and I have unconsciously done de laying them all down and looking at them all. I also often do that with the pics I just printed
Edit: I don't print all of them, only the ones I really like
I have noticed that when I print photos after my photo sessions I have noticed repeating patterns what I tend to like to shoot. Churches, tombstones and Christian symbolism is very common theme, but also rooftops of buildings, graffitis and old and rusty elements. Most of these are photographed using strong contrasts and shapes are very often important.
Printing probably have teached me something about my photography since now I have realized more easily repeating patterns what I naturally like to shoot and how :)
Again an excellent tutorial
Thank you. All the best. 👍📷😎
Brilliant, thank you.
This is like the old contact prints that we had in the film days. :)
Thank you.
Enjoy your videos.I think the concept of reviewing one's work is a worthwhile exercise. Since using Lightroom for the past nine years, I have a catalog with over 110,000 images. So printing is a bit impractical. Since I do like your approach, I wonder if a practical way for me, is to view my images in a grid format on the computer using the Lights Out feature.
Good video, like the shorter succinct versions
انت مبدع شكرا جزيلا
It costs ~$10 for a small 20 page photo book. Makes sense to me to fill one with up to 40 of your best, rather than ~100 photos for a similar price i.e. quality over quantity and
I like your content. That is why I am subscribed. I am not always good at giving thumbs-up. I subscribe to a variety of channels all about photography. Each is unique. I think your channel of all channels I am subscribed to is the only one that talks about other photographer’s work. I’ve learned a lot ( about other photographers and things might find interesting ) from watching your channel. I’ll try better to give thumbs-up to provide feedback that the video was meaningful to me. Thanks for the work you do. I do appreciate it.
Great advice
At 2:10 .....
I wonder why he has a fraction of a person encroaching the right side of the frame.
If he left it uncropped just to annoy people, it worked a treat.
My office walls are covered with prints, probably 60 in number. I was just thinking I need to replace them with new images.
I think that would work. I like to see them. I forget what I’ve done.
Was it £2 for all that. Wow, I couldn't find anything close to that cost. Could you please perhaps help on what companies you use for printing
Whereabouts in South Africa did you hail prior to going to England?
Whereabouts in South Africa did you hail prior to going to England.
I noticed how most of my recent Instagram pictures revolve around circles. Clocks. Holes in walls. Round windows. Roundabouts.