Your videos are like therapy sessions for us mere mortals being sucked into the abyss of social media. Each time I open Instagram I feel Dan's slap on my face, I grab a book instead ;) Thank You!
Love it! There's a cafe near my work, Billy's: cheap, good, photo wall featuring customers, very working class clientele. From time to time, a couple of buddies play chess at the table by the door. I go past every lunch time, camera in hand, hoping to catch them playing. It may not be today, but the time will come when I get that photo. And when I do, I hope it will be worthy of Billy's photo wall. Thanks for the film.
I dont want to sound like a know it all but I completely know and understand what you described in this video. However I could never articulate the words to explain it to others in the way you did. Even after 30 years of photography you help me narrow all this down. Thank you so much for coming back to UA-cam because I share your video with other photographers I know. Hats off to ya 🙌
Yes. Period. I'm not even in the 20%. In 2018 I took a serious step back ... and then I stepped out. During that time, I fell back in love with photography because I was doing it for no one but myself. I had to figure out how to make "this" work. My life is very conscientiously crafted to be simple so that my part time job (that has nothing to do with photography) satisfies my full-time life, which includes my personal photography projects which no one likes ... except me. And I am OH SO OKAY with that. Thanks again Milnor for a thoughtful video (and a smashing intro ... my goodness)
“You cannot find purpose or meaning from somebody else, it has to come from within”. Also this is why many UA-camrs don’t have any interesting work. They spent too much time repeating the formula, a soulless formula.
Such a random comment/question! I just discovered the voice memo function on my xt2. I was wondering if you have used it before. I know you like the combination of sound and stills.
AMEN! Punching out work for an art director drains every ounce of the juice that feeds your soul. Yeah, the money is nice, but you know what you're called when you do what you "love" for a handful of cash. Exactly. It's taken me more than a year after retiring from the business to finally be able to breath life again and see how I did while in college when nothing mattered but my spirit.
At times I went through so many rounds of "stuff" with art buyers, art directors, that by the time it came to the photography I didn't even want to do it.
@ I had three levels of assignments: 1. It was going to be fun and I got creative control. 2. It would be good samples 3. They paid me a boatload of money. If the job didn’t pass at least one of those, I walked away. I was lucky, I found designers who gave me a lot of fantastic assignments. One three-month cross country gig came with the following art direction - Go Make Great Pictures.
Carlos Santana on guitar. Pure soul. Herman Hesse, soul, especially Siddhartha. I could go on. Great subject. Want soul in your work? Follow your heart. If your heart’s not in it, it won’t have soul.
This video hit at the right time as my phone just stopped working yesterday and I am amazed at how lost I feel without being able to look up stuff, not important stuff either. Worryingly I am sure it has had an effect on my mood as well. I do need to get it fixed, but I will be using the disconnected time productively. I am curious as to who the gallerist is that you mentioned, are you unable to mention them as they sound like someone whose gallery (if it is online) would be interesting to look at? (P.s. It wasn't Peter Fetterman was it?)
Nope, not Fetterman. The name must remain....in the vault. And not having a phone for a while is good. I am without several times each day. Mandatory for clarity of thought.
The simplest things are the hardest. This one thing has been sitting in the back of my mind for so long that I started wondering if my work has no meaning or if it has meaning and I’m simply afraid to find out and own what that meaning is. Thank you for your thought provoking work.
Whenever I listen to Coltrane (Giant Steps especially), I think there must be some math as to why it's so good, a pattern we could tease out to objectively classify soulless vs soulful... I think a person could hate jazz but still know how amazing he is. But alas quantification of soul is a slippery slope as you say. Looking forward to meeting you in Berlin!!
I always know when I watch one of your videos that you will say something of value and this time was no different. For any creative, picture maker or whatever, you need to spend time alone and figure out who you are and what you think about and like, what piece of ground you stand on that's different from anybody else. All good things start from there.
Yep, that's it. I run into quite a few people who say, "Have you seen this and this and this and this and this person and this film and this, etc." Most often I reply, "No, not yet." Knowing I most likely never will because when it comes to figuring out what I need/want to do, it comes from internal not external sources.
My soul meter is..when you hear a song and in your minds eye see images flowing with the music....when you look at an image be it a painting or photo and you hear a poem or music/ sound that speaks to the image...when you read a piece of work and it sings in your head...this may just mean I need a new prescription but I'll leave it there. Did I say I hate country music (now)!!!! Lol
“Half of the people can be part right all of the time Some of the people can be all right part of the time But all of the people can’t be all right all of the time I think Abraham Lincoln said that ‘I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours’ I said that.” - Bob Dylan
Is that the Abo Mission down by Mountainair? Makes a great backdrop I guess. Somewhere along my photography journey I was able to switch from the "how do I work this thing" and the "what am I supposed to make" modes to the "what do I feel" mode. Feel. Shoot. Move on. Its that simple.
Hi Daniel, a little off topic, but can I please get your thoughts on how you take book notes? Are you writing notes on a digital document or in a physical journal?
@@DANIELMILNOR505 you mean like you're working on a video? I'm torn right now between making my book notes on a digital document or a more analog process like I have with the rest of my journaling.
A young admirer of Coltrane said “you’re a hard man to find” Coltrane replied “yeah I move around a lot”. It’s been 40 years since I bought the big camera rig. I think I might see meaning off in the distance.
Daniel, next rant would you reflect on Art making, art and photography and artists who who use photography to create their work. Perhaps consider Man Ray and Lee Miller. Suerte...
Nope. Not him. I see Peter as a foundational piece to modern photography YT. Not only did he crack the system way back in the day, but he's built a career around it. Not easy.
Really Daniel ? non-people related photography is very strange to hear this phrase from you. :-))) Some time ago i sent you my photo zine, which you completely ignored, and i was sure that this happened exactly due to this subject - no people, isolation etc. And i remember one of your phrases saying that photography for you is only about people :-) But you know already that sometimes just signs of the people is good enough to feel them somewhere around. Just my point of view. Good luck with the project -)
But remember, I said the 20% of the project that is non-human. As for the Zine, not ignored, but most likely still in the pile to review. You must understand the volume of material I receive, and the reality that this channel, my Shifter site, my Discord, is maybe 5% of my life. I kneel at the reign of Blurb most of the time. And yes, I love the idea of residue of people. We are certainly leaving one.
@@DANIELMILNOR505 its really ok, i fully understand your busy life, exactly like my own. I'm not living from photography, even once dreamed to do. Hope to see more about your project. Btw... my favorite subject is people and their environment, but i'm so tired from people so i run to trees to the empty streets and the endless empty desert :)
Nothing is planned. Well, sometimes someone will suggest a topic but I just sit and go. I don't have time to do much else. I think if people knew what an average day was they would think I'm weird too.
Your videos are like therapy sessions for us mere mortals being sucked into the abyss of social media. Each time I open Instagram I feel Dan's slap on my face, I grab a book instead ;) Thank You!
Yes, IG is nothing but bad news for our species. Book people tend to be the types you want to know in the long term. People capable of conversation.
Thanks for the shout out to us birders, Dan!
Best group ever!
Love it! There's a cafe near my work, Billy's: cheap, good, photo wall featuring customers, very working class clientele. From time to time, a couple of buddies play chess at the table by the door. I go past every lunch time, camera in hand, hoping to catch them playing. It may not be today, but the time will come when I get that photo. And when I do, I hope it will be worthy of Billy's photo wall. Thanks for the film.
I love a good cafe! Have you seen the movie Paterson?
@@DANIELMILNOR505 I have not, but I will check it out!
@@KirstenBayes Many scenes in the main characters's neighborhood spot. Love the movie too.
@@DANIELMILNOR505 oooh! I was a big fan of ChungKing Express for the same reason.
Some well articulated wisdom.
What an intro!
So great and inspiring that you are making videos for us again, you are truly one of a kind, thanks so much
Thank YOU for watching.
I dont want to sound like a know it all but I completely know and understand what you described in this video. However I could never articulate the words to explain it to others in the way you did. Even after 30 years of photography you help me narrow all this down. Thank you so much for coming back to UA-cam because I share your video with other photographers I know. Hats off to ya 🙌
You are very welcome. I'm glad you are finding something of value. Glad you are here.
Thanks Dan. Any recommendations as to where to start with Somerset Maugham?
THE RAZOR'S EDGE.
Yes. Period. I'm not even in the 20%. In 2018 I took a serious step back ... and then I stepped out. During that time, I fell back in love with photography because I was doing it for no one but myself. I had to figure out how to make "this" work. My life is very conscientiously crafted to be simple so that my part time job (that has nothing to do with photography) satisfies my full-time life, which includes my personal photography projects which no one likes ... except me. And I am OH SO OKAY with that. Thanks again Milnor for a thoughtful video (and a smashing intro ... my goodness)
I will be the first to say, you DID figure it out. Well done. Keep going.
“You cannot find purpose or meaning from somebody else, it has to come from within”. Also this is why many UA-camrs don’t have any interesting work. They spent too much time repeating the formula, a soulless formula.
Yes, it's a trade off. You want soul or do you want exponential growth? They don't often coincide
Such a random comment/question! I just discovered the voice memo function on my xt2. I was wondering if you have used it before. I know you like the combination of sound and stills.
I never have but I can see using it. When I was working in PJ that would have been great for getting someone's name.
It's so simple. Yet so difficult. Thanks Dan!
You are correct.
As always, great tips and motivation! Thank you Dan!
🦋🕊🌹
AMEN! Punching out work for an art director drains every ounce of the juice that feeds your soul. Yeah, the money is nice, but you know what you're called when you do what you "love" for a handful of cash. Exactly. It's taken me more than a year after retiring from the business to finally be able to breath life again and see how I did while in college when nothing mattered but my spirit.
At times I went through so many rounds of "stuff" with art buyers, art directors, that by the time it came to the photography I didn't even want to do it.
@ I had three levels of assignments:
1. It was going to be fun and I got creative control.
2. It would be good samples
3. They paid me a boatload of money.
If the job didn’t pass at least one of those, I walked away.
I was lucky, I found designers who gave me a lot of fantastic assignments. One three-month cross country gig came with the following art direction - Go Make Great Pictures.
Much respect. 🙏
Seeing this video, I was reminded of the book Landfill Dogs by Shannon Johnstone. A perfect example of resonance, impact and meaning.
She is a gem. Love her. And yes, great example. A book with purpose.
Wasn’t expecting that intro!
It's the new me...
Thanks for sharing!!
My late grandmother would say. The smaller the church, the closer you are to God. Nice video.
I like that. Your grandmother was in tune.
Carlos Santana on guitar. Pure soul. Herman Hesse, soul, especially Siddhartha. I could go on. Great subject. Want soul in your work? Follow your heart. If your heart’s not in it, it won’t have soul.
Heart or what gives you heartburn. Both work.
Thats where the rubber meets the road talking to someone about your work, immediately you declare yourself if there is no meaning.
It's a skill that you have to learn. And it can mean far more than the work at times.
This video hit at the right time as my phone just stopped working yesterday and I am amazed at how lost I feel without being able to look up stuff, not important stuff either. Worryingly I am sure it has had an effect on my mood as well. I do need to get it fixed, but I will be using the disconnected time productively. I am curious as to who the gallerist is that you mentioned, are you unable to mention them as they sound like someone whose gallery (if it is online) would be interesting to look at? (P.s. It wasn't Peter Fetterman was it?)
Nope, not Fetterman. The name must remain....in the vault. And not having a phone for a while is good. I am without several times each day. Mandatory for clarity of thought.
The simplest things are the hardest. This one thing has been sitting in the back of my mind for so long that I started wondering if my work has no meaning or if it has meaning and I’m simply afraid to find out and own what that meaning is. Thank you for your thought provoking work.
It has meaning. You might not have found the foundation of that meaning, but something is prompting you to make the work.
Yeah man, that intro is insane.
Thank you!
Whenever I listen to Coltrane (Giant Steps especially), I think there must be some math as to why it's so good, a pattern we could tease out to objectively classify soulless vs soulful... I think a person could hate jazz but still know how amazing he is. But alas quantification of soul is a slippery slope as you say. Looking forward to meeting you in Berlin!!
I suck at math, so I skipped looking for a pattern.
And yes to Berlin!
I don't trust anyone who doesn't like John Coltrane. ;)
Or jazz in general.
Never trust a man who will put his hand in your mouth. (A woody harrleson quote from some movie.)
I like Alice Coltrane's music. It definetly has soul.
Was she the maid on Brady Bunch?
Meaning is attended to. People have to remember how to pay attention. Great film Dan, hope all is well.
Attention is in rare supply. Distraction is much easier.
I always know when I watch one of your videos that you will say something of value and this time was no different. For any creative, picture maker or whatever, you need to spend time alone and figure out who you are and what you think about and like, what piece of ground you stand on that's different from anybody else. All good things start from there.
Yep, that's it. I run into quite a few people who say, "Have you seen this and this and this and this and this person and this film and this, etc." Most often I reply, "No, not yet." Knowing I most likely never will because when it comes to figuring out what I need/want to do, it comes from internal not external sources.
A good session…I feel better now.
Followed
My soul meter is..when you hear a song and in your minds eye see images flowing with the music....when you look at an image be it a painting or photo and you hear a poem or music/ sound that speaks to the image...when you read a piece of work and it sings in your head...this may just mean I need a new prescription but I'll leave it there.
Did I say I hate country music (now)!!!! Lol
That's cool. I find good literature to be the same. The visuals inspired by the text are the best part.
“Half of the people can be part right all of the time
Some of the people can be all right part of the time
But all of the people can’t be all right all of the time
I think Abraham Lincoln said that
‘I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours’
I said that.” - Bob Dylan
Wisdom
My work doesn’t always have a clear meaning but I say it almost always carry soul. My Photography is aiming to be like poetry ,bandaid for the soul.
That's a healthy goal.
Love the Dumb and Dumber reference!
There will be more.
Is that the Abo Mission down by Mountainair? Makes a great backdrop I guess.
Somewhere along my photography journey I was able to switch from the "how do I work this thing" and the "what am I supposed to make" modes to the "what do I feel" mode. Feel. Shoot. Move on. Its that simple.
That's called progress. You are on your way. Salinas Pueblo.
Hi Daniel, a little off topic, but can I please get your thoughts on how you take book notes? Are you writing notes on a digital document or in a physical journal?
Yep, working on this now.
@@DANIELMILNOR505 you mean like you're working on a video? I'm torn right now between making my book notes on a digital document or a more analog process like I have with the rest of my journaling.
A young admirer of Coltrane said “you’re a hard man to find” Coltrane replied “yeah I move around a lot”. It’s been 40 years since I bought the big camera rig. I think I might see meaning off in the distance.
Those guys lived lives that would crush almost all of us. Not you, but the rest of us.
Encouraging.
The section about assholes was priceless. Thank you. (As a Brit it was hard not to type arsehole).
Either one works, and ya, I think it's okay to be an asshole, you just have to position it correctly.
As usual, you say things about the photography and creative space that are hard for people to hear and need to be said.
Thanks. That's really what drives this. I see trends and then want to comment.
Daniel, next rant would you reflect on Art making, art and photography and artists who
who use photography to create their work. Perhaps consider Man Ray and Lee Miller.
Suerte...
I can try to figure that out.
We thinking it was a Peter McKinnon link?
Nope. Not him. I see Peter as a foundational piece to modern photography YT. Not only did he crack the system way back in the day, but he's built a career around it. Not easy.
Meaning, Soul.. Leave those birds alone.. Freak! 😅
What happened to addressing us as “jackals”?
That will come and go...
you'll probably get stuck on mars with people who only listen to modern pop music....
I never thought of that Linda. What about Neptune?
Really Daniel ? non-people related photography is very strange to hear this phrase from you. :-))) Some time ago i sent you my photo zine, which you completely ignored, and i was sure that this happened exactly due to this subject - no people, isolation etc. And i remember one of your phrases saying that photography for you is only about people :-) But you know already that sometimes just signs of the people is good enough to feel them somewhere around. Just my point of view. Good luck with the project -)
But remember, I said the 20% of the project that is non-human. As for the Zine, not ignored, but most likely still in the pile to review. You must understand the volume of material I receive, and the reality that this channel, my Shifter site, my Discord, is maybe 5% of my life. I kneel at the reign of Blurb most of the time. And yes, I love the idea of residue of people. We are certainly leaving one.
@@DANIELMILNOR505 its really ok, i fully understand your busy life, exactly like my own. I'm not living from photography, even once dreamed to do. Hope to see more about your project. Btw... my favorite subject is people and their environment, but i'm so tired from people so i run to trees to the empty streets and the endless empty desert :)
Do you plan out these rants or are they ad-lib? No complaints I like most of them but I am considered to a bit weird by most folk.🥸
Nothing is planned. Well, sometimes someone will suggest a topic but I just sit and go. I don't have time to do much else. I think if people knew what an average day was they would think I'm weird too.