This is great, Nick. I'm glad to hear other photographers feel that same angst of seeing your older work and not enjoying it anymore. You turned your print into an expensive piece of trash, but the point was well-received.
I just love this guy….just what I needed to hear. At almost 64 years old, I sometimes feel no closer to having a “style” than 30-40 years ago. I hope I finally sneak up on a style before I’m in the grave. 😉
What a great video! I’m somewhere in the mid timeline of that graph, constantly squiggling up and down, taking photos that excite me in the moment, but then… hmf. Every now and then I’m like ‘Yass’. Rinse and repeat :/
We all need to hear these words of advice. Thanks for saying them out and shared your history, it's never easy to show something you are no longer happy with. This is another great topic/episode from classic Nick Carver!!
Another important consideration for new photographers/artists is to realize that figuring out your "style" will take years. You have to be okay with that.
I've been shooting for over 50 years and have fallen down that slope quite a few times. Never being happy with our work is how we work harder to be happy. Great video, Nick!
So I watched this video and remembered, hey you uploaded another video six years ago precisely about these prints going to an art show, man you were so proud of them, and now seeing you destroying it just goes to show how much we all grow over time, I see a lot of this video in my own work as well, thanks Nick your videos and work are a true inspiration, thanks for being on UA-cam my dude 😎
I've been at it 30 years and it took a pandemic lockdown for me to finally find my style. I found an image never opened, never taken off my memory card and I worked on it to hopefully achieve my style. It worked. There was something about the image that was very different from my normal shots. I don't think I'm there yet and may never be, but what I wanted to achieve was something different from what I'd seen from other photographers and I did, then only to find it had been done in the 1800's during the Victorian era, but hey I'm putting my spin on it hopefully. What people tell me is they see my photos and straight away they know they are mine without knowing beforehand they were my images. It's still a work in progress, but will I nail my style, who knows.
Completely agree with this! I also think that just like you took on analog, the real reason why most of us continue to practice photography is for the challenge. Like the challenge of getting in the water with a housing to shoot surf images or learning studio lighting and how to dial in your settings for each situation. These are all challenges that make you a better more well rounded photographer. I love going out, shooting surf photos, and coming back with horrible out of focus images with the occasional few that are good. You have to take these small victories, like an in focus image in this case, and really break down what you did right and wrong to become a better photographer.
Instagram is saturated with those type of digital images you used to do and now hate..hell the whole of UA-cam is full of that stuff. So glad you saw the light. Great video :)
Wow...I can't believe how close this is to my experience. Even down to expressing openly that I almost quit photography altogether. Then I realized I need to return to where it all began with me...shooting film and black and white, mostly. I would say I had to return to the cradle, in a sense. And now I feel there is nothing like analogue film photography. Start to finish it is all part of the creative process. Great video, Nick! Thanks.
Good timing for me and this video. Been through everything that you covered here. I started out mostly landscapes. Then branched out and tried many other genres. I go between landscapes, old automobiles, old buildings, and stuff around the house with props. I joined a photography club and started competing, but tbh, in my mind, my photography went downhill. I was no longer creating in the moments that I was feeling creative, I was jumping through hoops doing whatever next months theme was. In doing that, even though I was learning lots, including stuff I wasn’t even interested in, I was losing MY creativity. My photography is better when I’m not trying to fit into a box and I am doing what appeals to me and not others. Fortunately lol, I don’t rely on photography to pay the bills. If I do make any money from my work it’s a bonus. Right now I’m in a nail it down phase and decide on one or two specific styles. I’d like to get back out there again and start displaying and selling my work. Thanks for the video and reminder about this ever changing photographic journey!
Someone else's work should be an inspiration, not a template, but sadly that's something that most people never understand. Congratulations Nick, you are a genuine artist.
it was great seeing someone else also still struggeling with these topics, it's just a thing one cant grasp learn or teach, it's a feeling one has to understand for themselves. Trying to find that "style" is most definetly the hardest thing for me in photography.
Reminds me of the quote "Your first ten thousand photographs are your worst". It couldn't be more true. I look back at photos I made fifteen years ago and I cringe when I think of how I thought it was portfolio worthy at the time. But like you said, the fact that I can look at it and recognize all the things I did wrong with it, means I grew as a photographer.
We love your grandiose pontifications Nick :) and you've also done well to adapt to this new world of online and youtube by connecting with the kind of people who will appreciate your work. Like you said, much of why "we" take photos is to share with the world how we see the world, using our cameras, and it's inspiring to not only find a maker of quality photos but also quality content that engages an audience. In some ways it's limiting that youtube is probably one of the most genuine way to open a space for others to engage with your work (aside from in-person relationships and prints/galleries) but in this new online world you are DOING the thing and putting the effort in - KUDOS!
Dude, you make *too* much sense for typical YT crowd!! A slap of reality is always good to get. You hit it bang on. I can totally relate, word for word. Love your content, always speaking your truth, not going for the "likes", but saying what needs to be said. Abrazo hermano (from an OC neighbor and photographer)
I think style evolves and changes as we age. We see life differently after we experience new things, new places, new music etc. Influenced by our surrounds perhaps as we are more mobile and live in many states over a lifetime. Even after working for many years on a newspaper as the digital age came in, my first love is still film in vintage cameras from the 50s. Is that a style? I don’t know. As much as I love your pano prints I still love a square prints. I love black and white prints and using the beautiful vintage cameras. Long live the darkroom arts and hand made silver gel prints on fiber paper!! Perhaps that’s my style?? Cheers All.
I subbed to you a few years back and kind of fell away from photography until recently. I always get your notifications but I couldn’t bring myself to watch since I left the art. I’m so glad I decided to watch your stuff again. Your videos are fantastic, your so humble about your craft and transparent in your struggles to become a great artist. I love your humor and your modesty. The point about the novice reminds me of the Dunning Kruger effect. It’s so true. I was the same way. Now when I go back and look at my old photos it looks terrible to me, some are ok but I have some work to do. Anyways, thanks for the refreshing videos!
As someone who has only been doing photography seriously for a few years, I think I really needed to hear this. It's true of most of my creative hobbies, but I really struggle with the fear of committing to an idea in case it's a bad one. The thought that I can only know if it's a bad one *after* I've committed something to it, and also that I should expect those ideas to often not be the right ones so it's OK to pull back when you find that out are two things I really needed to hear. Cheers dude, and good luck for the next part of the road. I certainly hope I'll get that far to see it for myself one day.
I'm an older guy who's still pretty new to photography (dabbled a bit most of my life, but really got into it maybe 5 years ago), and I'm still trying to figure out what my genre(s) is, not to mention style. Thanks for reminding me that pretty much all of us go through this -- unless they're either really lucky or are in self-denial.
Oh man… you, son, are speaking right to me. I’ve been a photographer for over 20 years now, and when I go back to videos I’ve shot and edited because a client wants to use something from then, I repeat what you said “what an idiot…..” But I tell myself each time, if I don’t look back and think “how on earth did my clients like that?”, well, it means I haven’t progressed professionally. Thanks for all your videos. To date my favorite is still the one of you sharing your experience from your trip to Paris. Sorry for your issues, but MAN I laughed!
I can sooo relate! Starting out, just hearing other talk about a style, but not what a style is, it didn't help. What! The! Heck! Is! A! Style!?? I can only agree with what you're saying. It's a feeling. You "know" when you've got something. And it is impossible to put words to. If you didn't know, the part of the brain that handles emotions can't handle words. That is another part of the brain. So, we have to rely on feelings. And I feel your pain... But, I have to say, the style you have now, I get it! Just hope I find my style some day 🙂
Nice one. Ben Horne indeed spoke the truth six years back in a comment on your video of a photo-festival retail experience: "I enjoyed the video Nick. I've done some festivals in the past and found that it was indeed a very rewarding experience talking to the people and sharing my work. One thing that was a bit disappointing through was seeing the sort of work that was selling. There were a lot of over-processed images that were being printed way too big. You could see the rough edges of selections, sloppy use of photoshop, and colors that were literally falling apart because the saturation was cranked way too high. I looked at that work, then my own, and came to the conclusion that if that is the sort of work that sells, I really don't want to be in that category. There wasn't a lot of originality -- the same sort of photos again and again, and people were rewarded for printing the biggest and having the most saturated colors." I fear this is a landscape photography disease in particular, but affects wildlife photography too. I'm a subscriber to two print magazines here in the UK, Outdoor Photography, and Black & White Photography. I'm seriously considering cancelling the subscription to the former since there's never really any effort at suggesting much photographic growth whatsoever, other than, for instance, becoming better at finding locations or pretending to be Joe Cornish (the current doyen in the popular world of UK landscape photography). I also find landscape photography competitions generally very very tedious, as they tend to promote this kind of 'excellence' too. Technical proficiency (even when it is attained) is worth zero without an idea. It's spectacularly derivative of, essentially, a 19th Romantic century aesthetic (stand in the landscape and swoon in awe). That's ok I guess, but so few people seem to understand or care less. The additional factor is that there, frankly, isn't a great and extensive photographic history of highly-regarded landscape photography work (there simply isn't, relatively speaking, a history of very much high-concept work in this area, with one or two major exceptions) especially in colour (you mention Galen Rowell - I suppose this is a technical issue to do with film stocks/difficulty, and then Mpx); in B&W you're then obviously contending with AA and the earlier pioneers in landscape. In other genres there is a great and diverse tradition/history, and, frankly, it shows, as detrimental to "landscape photography". If all anyone is doing is trying to beat Ansel (🙄) at his own game, or re-do a Caspar David Friedrich (👻), in whatever way, then the entire genre is dead. I applaud people getting out in the world to enjoy a hobby and get some exercise. But that isn't the same thing.
Congrats on the 100k Nick. Im still working out what my style is. I do draw inspiration from your work. It’s pretty damn awesome. Your work in the deserts of AZ and more specifically CA I absolutely adore. So thank you Nick for inspiring me to keep shooting 🤘🏽
Great video … you nailed it! I think your bare honesty, and clear recognition that “it’s a journey” really brought it home. And I’d add that all those excursions that we all make along the way ARE part and parcel of the enjoyment and of the “personal growth” that we experience. Can’t agree more, that venturing (or drifting back) into analog can be an inspiration and motivation, too!
It's ok to say, "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" when people ask me what kind of pictures do I like to take! I shrug my shoulders and say I haven't figured it out yet. I compare it to when I was very young and my parents always asked me what I wanted to do for a living when I got older and they'd get pissed off when I said, "I don't know" HOWEVER, I still ask myself what kind of pictures I want to take? It's crazy I know. Still haven't shaken it. This video was great and sums up how I feel many years later. It's sometimes hard to accept that there are no answers to some questions.
I’ve loved your channel for years now. You keep putting out great work and great advice both in terms of photographing and being a photographer/artist. Can’t wait to rewatch this video another 5 times this week haha hope you’re doing well bro
That was a great watch! Did come for the pictures of yours (your style if you will) and ended up staying for what you had to say. The way you explained your thoughts and all the different steps in your live developing your style was clear and easy to follow along. Sean tucker has that style of presenting sometimes and I really like it. That's said, I really enjoyed you talking us through the more philosophical aspects to photography. Reminded me of Susan Sonntags book about photography.
thank you for the latest episode, i feel that i have been through all the same thoughts and emotions. I stared with simple point, pray and shoot cameras in the sixties to digital. I started with steam railways until they were scraped and turned into cycle roots now in my mid 70's i am happy taking pano's of megalithic monuments in wide bleak landscapes on rainy days and still looking for the real me.
This is how i have felt a few years back, the insecurities I experienced, the lack of direction in my photography and the sheer self-assessment evaluation resulting in a big old, "what the heck am I doing with all this camera equipment ". But then watching many youtubers talk about the importance of having a goal and setting yourself up with some themed projects has saved me from a lack of inspiration. So now I work towards these projects and if i am uninspired sometimes at least I'm having fun along the way !! Thanks for validating how i have been feeling @Nick Carver 👌
I love how much conversations like this can span across many artistic pursuits. Struggle and go through the same thing as an amateur concept artist and illustrator. It's just a creative struggle we can all relate too. :) I love your videos man. Be well Nick.
Fun fact: I ignored the video for a whole day because of the clickbait thumbnail until I realized it's a Nick Carver video! 😅Grat advice anyway. Maybe the best video about style I've seen on UA-cam! 👍
I'll hit 70 this year and I've been a hobby photographer since the late 1960s (Box Brownie @ 14 yrs old). Personally I don't think you ever find "your style", you just keep evolving and trying new things. Change is good. I was an early adopter of digital but recently suffered an extreme bout of "Lockdown Gas" and suddenly I have 20+ film cameras from 35mm to 6x9 -how the hell did that happen?. I ❤film! but still shoot digital as well. Anyway, thanks for the videos, always interesting and I sent you a beer 👍
Inspiring words Nick Carver. You needed to do those things though didn't you? So much technical excellence there that meant you knew your stuff when you progressed. I put my DLSR to one side a couple of years ago in favour of a 35mm slr and 6x6 folding camera, I found frustration and jubilation in equal measures. I'm a world behind you on my adventure, I pick up a digital camera still as well as a film. It's such a rewarding thing.
I went through the same thing at the same time. I was even looking at getting some analog gear in 2012. I decided to quit photography instead. Glad you stuck with it though.
I'm far from a photographer but I've been a painter/digital artist for a long time and can relate. When students would talk to me about style (I worked in a college art department for a long time) I would tell them to think about their other interests besides "art" and see what kind of crossovers they can make, and to just try to make the best work they can with what they know. Firm believer that "style" isn't really something you control, it'll emerge from you when you make honest work. And if someone doesn't like their style, they probably just need to work on their skills.
Great video Nick! Been laughing my ass off.....mostly because I've been on the same trip, but also because of your delivery. Thanks mate, you continue to inspire and encourage me.
Wonderful self-analytical video Nick that conveys an interesting and informative message for all us aspiring photographers. Really enjoyed it. You indicated that a 'break point' for you was re-discovering 'analogue' photography. I have an inkling as to why many professional photographers have returned to film, but would love to know WHY this was so critical to YOUR development, perhaps even your continuation as a pro photographer.
It’s like your talking from within me. From my head. To my heart. It resonates with so many things I argue with myself about photography. I would love to have you create more and more content, just to see you express these ideas. If you’d create much more in a dedicated subscriber channel or a course dedicated to the philosophy, I would be the first one to enlist and pay. ❤
Yeah, this is a beautiful video. I appreciate this very much If it helps anyone else, the moment I finally felt comfortable with what my "style" was, was the moment I could explain *why* it was meaningful to me. I know that's kind of the opposite of what you said, lol, but that's when I understood in a deeper level what I'm trying to accomplish beyond "pretty" or whatever. Like, you can create pretty photos, and they can be valuable, but I think it's important to try to understand why your work has any more value or relevance or meaning than a student who was JUST taught one pretty technique. It might not help everyone, but that was what finally allowed me to feel confident in my place in photography without constantly feeling imposter syndrome (which I still sometimes feel tbh lol).
Nick - I think that's the best video I've ever seen on UA-cam! So many truths, honesty, and only in the hilarious way you can do it. That chart! I was laughing my ass off! Thanks man...keep it coming!
Love it...!! Great stuff, and completely relatable. Reminds me of an Indian saying: "in the end it will be perfect. If it's not perfect then it's not the end."
100% agree about not wanting to think, "I used to be a great photographer." While there are projects I've done in the past that are landmarks in my development and stand out for that reason (the best I could do...at that time) my intention is always that my best work is whatever I'm going to do next.
Oh nice! Another take on that question from my other favorite UA-camr photographer. Sean Tucker does great takes on this and similar questions and I love to see another perspective. My style (as a street photographer) is developing just now after having shot for years. Edit: Lol, that graph. Dunning-Kruger visualized.
Yep, like Tony down below said, I felt like you were speaking right to me. It was great to hear all of that and inspires me to keep going. Food for thought for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Yay! A great conversation with yourself that you are willing to share with the rest of us. Gets us all thinking on our own photographic explorations and especially why we commit bringing a camera to our eye and pressing that shutter release button. Style is so many things that we tend to emulate what we see in other work that we are drawn to. Eventually we make an image that hits an undefined mark, that we recognize is different from all the rest we've done. And we try to build on that. For me it comes down to a simple idea. I know it when I see it, and can't really express what that 'it' is in words. One of your most insightful observations in this episode. This, like all your others, was a fun one Nick!
I'm just a couple years in to photography and recently had a friend tell me he liked my "style" more than another photographer he knew. I had no idea what he could possibly be referring to but graciously took the complement.
Thanks for it all. I think I've found my style with the fujifilm cameras.. Who knows.. At least those filmic looks seem to be the style I most appreciate. Keep up the good work.
Nick, I want to buy you a beer sometime. This video was great. I can relate to your search for style and appreciate your honesty of the struggle. It happens to us all. Keep up the good work. It’s inspiring . Thank you for sharing.
Nick, I have been practicing photography on and off since the mid-90’s. I believe I am very close to your age so you can assume I started very young, all due to my mother who is a landscape photographer in BC. Although I am not “professional” in the true meaning of the word (not my primary means of income-that’s actually engineering, hah!), you really helped me overcome a whole lot of deadlock I have been experiencing for a good decade. Photography is my first passion and most people are surprised to find an engineer who battles an artsy side, so to speak. About 5 years ago I started to take on clients and found out that is not my jam. Without sounding too uppity man, I consider my photography to be art, as any aspiring photographer should. Anyways this comment is really a whole lot of word soup to just end up with me saying…. Man I admire you so much. I have been lurking your channel for a long time. After a stint in the military and getting out in 2015 to get the E degree I am still just at a point where I want to actually sell my images to those who will enjoy them. You are an inspiration man I am proud of you. Oh, and PS: My beloved camera is a typical Leica M3 with a summi 50. I know it sounds cliche but it was my grandmother’s who immigrated from Germany to Canada after WWII in the late 50s. It’s a double stroke, probably needs a service, but I’ll tell you what: Getting back to film with that camera and it pulling me away from Canon’s top of the offerings is what helped me too. I actually did it after watching one of your videos long ago. Picked it up for the first time in years and man it just clicked. I really want a 6x17 but being a disabled vet on fixed income is challenging enough. To be honest it’s challenging to not be “that Leica guy” when I’m around shooting my m3. I feel like I have to explain to folks that I am no where near being able to afford an eBay m3!
Lol - I feel like I'm at the absolute trench at 5:01 right now.... such a fresh take on the process! Looking forward to watching you continue on as a photographer a few years ahead of me, and also that ugly bumpy stage that apparently is upcoming!
Wise words. I started with analog film in high school, but when I started professional life, I barely took a photo. I've had a DSLR for 10 years and took many pictures in that time, but I still am not sure I have a unique style or even a genre. I do agree that reviewing old images, honestly assessing them, and culling all but the best is helpful in at least recognizing strengths and weaknesses, and my interests.
This is an amazing message! I've been a photographer for about 2 years and still pride myself on not having a style or genre, as it feels liberating. After watching this it feels almost like I need to find my identity as a photographer.
Always great Nick. Thanks! The journey is never over. And judging by the hairstyle, I'd say you're heading towards large format (but maybe just on Fridays).
Excellent video. Learning and progress isn’t linear, as you so described! I myself am constantly trying to find the “groove,” and because of that work, I am more clearly learning what it is. In the meantime, we just need to be nice to ourselves. Also, I actually liked one of those lamp photos haha.
Awesome video! The “Brave Little Lamp” series is EPIC. The variety of work you’ve done over the years is, to me, a testimony to how excellent you truly are.👍
I love your mention of Galen Rowell, he is the main reason I still take pictures. I am actually on a "break" now as I have become more and more frustrated with what I'm creating. I'm at the bottom of one of your dips you graphed out as I search for what I want my vision to be: or what I want it to be for now 🙂 Great video sir, keep up the great content.
Thankyou Nick. My favourite photo I ever took was on an old Hasselblad inside the Tate Modern in London. The camera has since been sitting in the cupboard for years because it was too ‘hard’, such a ‘hassle’. You’ve shown me to think differently. Thank you. A great video. Clive
Thanks Nick. I wish I lived in Orange County as it’d be great to go down the pub and have a few beers and continue this brain dump. It makes total sense. I follow a few landscape ‘style’ UA-camrs, and whilst they don’t necessarily profess to have ‘found their style’, I think you acknowledge that in a more direct and honest way. And in a way that I completely gel with. 16mm shots of a mountain with a rock in the foreground with mist blah blah blah. They have a tendency to all look the same. I’ve recently moved back to analogue, in part inspired by your channel. It is so exciting now to think about the shot. Carefully take the shot. Wait until I finish the film. Send the film off to the lab. Scan the film….. Slowing down in this way has really helped me.
Good one! Whatever else, I’m glad you’re still enjoying making these videos, you’re a great teacher and you’ve really helped me understand this hobby better. This episode kind of makes me glad I don’t take my photography nearly as seriously as you do, though. And about that sawed up print, I absolutely would have taken it off of your hands. I love Art Deco, and oh boy, that one is over the top ridiculous Florida Art Deco to the hilt. (Picture it in a beachfront house on the set of Miami Vice). On a serious note, of all the work you’ve shared with us through this You Tube series, the Liquor Store is my favorite. Your friend definitely had something right regarding your style. Cheers, Nick!
Great advice and much wisdom, thank you! I remember talking with a professional photog many years ago who knew Galen Rowell and she described him as a good photographer who worked incredibly hard and became a great photographer.
Hi Nick, a very good and inciteful video and 100k, well deserved. Just thought I would point out that the graph you drew is the Dunning-Kruger effect graph to a tee, also the description you gave is textbook. On the positive side you are and will always be an expert however you are likely never to feel like one 🙂 Love the content, keep it up and long live film photography..
Oh boy did it sound true. Thanks for sharing this with us! We definitely need to keep that in mind. And good to know you feel good about what you create now. Every time I'm on a photowalk with beginners, I tell them it doesn't matter much whether I like their photos or not. It's whether they themselves like them that does the most. IMNSHO, anyway.
Maybe I'm lucky in that I always had certain things in mind to photograph and it still doesn't get old to me. Instead, my journey was "I can teach myself all I need to know about photography!" And then realizing, no, I was doing a lot of techniques wrong and not in that creative, fun way. Then it was the process of applying myself to some proper learning and improvement. The improvement part is still ongoing. But I can look back even 3-4 years and see the improvement, as well as some expansion of things I like to photograph. But no matter what, I agree it's an up and down trip with peaks and valleys and occasional pitfalls.
I don't know, except for the possible bad combination with power tools, this would have been a great "Behind the Glass With a Glass" episode. Very enjoyable. Good advice for lots of careers.
Nick, read about Bruce Lee and Styles.......... In the end it is really just about to be open minded and have the observation. To see things in a new way into a phenomenal autentic photo like your desert photo on the wall. To be there at the right time and place. So the more you travel and takes more trips you take, the more great photo potential you gets and have. Personally wont photo mountains and deserts since my country dont have that. But my country have different kinds of photos. More over what kind of photo do wants on your wall? Colors, saturation, details, abstractions or abstracts?
This is great, Nick. I'm glad to hear other photographers feel that same angst of seeing your older work and not enjoying it anymore. You turned your print into an expensive piece of trash, but the point was well-received.
I just love this guy….just what I needed to hear. At almost 64 years old, I sometimes feel no closer to having a “style” than 30-40 years ago. I hope I finally sneak up on a style before I’m in the grave. 😉
What a great video! I’m somewhere in the mid timeline of that graph, constantly squiggling up and down, taking photos that excite me in the moment, but then… hmf. Every now and then I’m like ‘Yass’. Rinse and repeat :/
This is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen on photography. Such great advice and “realness”. “I’d hate to think I used to be a good photographer”.
We all need to hear these words of advice. Thanks for saying them out and shared your history, it's never easy to show something you are no longer happy with. This is another great topic/episode from classic Nick Carver!!
Another important consideration for new photographers/artists is to realize that figuring out your "style" will take years. You have to be okay with that.
I've been shooting for over 50 years and have fallen down that slope quite a few times. Never being happy with our work is how we work harder to be happy. Great video, Nick!
So I watched this video and remembered, hey you uploaded another video six years ago precisely about these prints going to an art show, man you were so proud of them, and now seeing you destroying it just goes to show how much we all grow over time, I see a lot of this video in my own work as well, thanks Nick your videos and work are a true inspiration, thanks for being on UA-cam my dude 😎
I like the photo of the dog on the table... The tone...the composition...exposure is spot on. Please do not throw out that photo.
Normal people: picture cropping in lightroom
Nick Carver: picture cropping with cirlcesaw. :D
I've been at it 30 years and it took a pandemic lockdown for me to finally find my style. I found an image never opened, never taken off my memory card and I worked on it to hopefully achieve my style. It worked. There was something about the image that was very different from my normal shots. I don't think I'm there yet and may never be, but what I wanted to achieve was something different from what I'd seen from other photographers and I did, then only to find it had been done in the 1800's during the Victorian era, but hey I'm putting my spin on it hopefully. What people tell me is they see my photos and straight away they know they are mine without knowing beforehand they were my images. It's still a work in progress, but will I nail my style, who knows.
Completely agree with this!
I also think that just like you took on analog, the real reason why most of us continue to practice photography is for the challenge.
Like the challenge of getting in the water with a housing to shoot surf images or learning studio lighting and how to dial in your settings for each situation. These are all challenges that make you a better more well rounded photographer.
I love going out, shooting surf photos, and coming back with horrible out of focus images with the occasional few that are good. You have to take these small victories, like an in focus image in this case, and really break down what you did right and wrong to become a better photographer.
Instagram is saturated with those type of digital images you used to do and now hate..hell the whole of UA-cam is full of that stuff. So glad you saw the light. Great video :)
I think you need that path to never end. If the path ends there's nothing to strive for anymore.
Love the graph! An artwork on its own ;-)
What a shock to suddenly see Posy comment on a Nick Carver video!
When the path ends… you’re dead
Genius! You just described my photography life, you just haven't told me the ending.
I’m impressed that in your garage you had a curl bar and 45lb weights! You the man!
Wow...I can't believe how close this is to my experience. Even down to expressing openly that I almost quit photography altogether. Then I realized I need to return to where it all began with me...shooting film and black and white, mostly. I would say I had to return to the cradle, in a sense. And now I feel there is nothing like analogue film photography. Start to finish it is all part of the creative process. Great video, Nick! Thanks.
Good timing for me and this video. Been through everything that you covered here. I started out mostly landscapes. Then branched out and tried many other genres. I go between landscapes, old automobiles, old buildings, and stuff around the house with props. I joined a photography club and started competing, but tbh, in my mind, my photography went downhill. I was no longer creating in the moments that I was feeling creative, I was jumping through hoops doing whatever next months theme was. In doing that, even though I was learning lots, including stuff I wasn’t even interested in, I was losing MY creativity. My photography is better when I’m not trying to fit into a box and I am doing what appeals to me and not others. Fortunately lol, I don’t rely on photography to pay the bills. If I do make any money from my work it’s a bonus. Right now I’m in a nail it down phase and decide on one or two specific styles. I’d like to get back out there again and start displaying and selling my work. Thanks for the video and reminder about this ever changing photographic journey!
Someone else's work should be an inspiration, not a template, but sadly that's something that most people never understand.
Congratulations Nick, you are a genuine artist.
there's avery thin and faint line between inspiration and template to be honest.
it was great seeing someone else also still struggeling with these topics, it's just a thing one cant grasp learn or teach, it's a feeling one has to understand for themselves. Trying to find that "style" is most definetly the hardest thing for me in photography.
Reminds me of the quote "Your first ten thousand photographs are your worst". It couldn't be more true. I look back at photos I made fifteen years ago and I cringe when I think of how I thought it was portfolio worthy at the time. But like you said, the fact that I can look at it and recognize all the things I did wrong with it, means I grew as a photographer.
BOY that's a deep one!
We love your grandiose pontifications Nick :) and you've also done well to adapt to this new world of online and youtube by connecting with the kind of people who will appreciate your work. Like you said, much of why "we" take photos is to share with the world how we see the world, using our cameras, and it's inspiring to not only find a maker of quality photos but also quality content that engages an audience. In some ways it's limiting that youtube is probably one of the most genuine way to open a space for others to engage with your work (aside from in-person relationships and prints/galleries) but in this new online world you are DOING the thing and putting the effort in - KUDOS!
Dude, you make *too* much sense for typical YT crowd!! A slap of reality is always good to get. You hit it bang on. I can totally relate, word for word. Love your content, always speaking your truth, not going for the "likes", but saying what needs to be said. Abrazo hermano (from an OC neighbor and photographer)
I think style evolves and changes as we age. We see life differently after we experience new things, new places, new music etc.
Influenced by our surrounds perhaps as we are more mobile and live in many states over a lifetime.
Even after working for many years on a newspaper as the digital age came in, my first love is still film in vintage cameras from the 50s. Is that a style? I don’t know.
As much as I love your pano prints I still love a square prints.
I love black and white prints and using the beautiful vintage cameras.
Long live the darkroom arts and hand made silver gel prints on fiber paper!!
Perhaps that’s my style??
Cheers All.
I subbed to you a few years back and kind of fell away from photography until recently. I always get your notifications but I couldn’t bring myself to watch since I left the art. I’m so glad I decided to watch your stuff again. Your videos are fantastic, your so humble about your craft and transparent in your struggles to become a great artist. I love your humor and your modesty.
The point about the novice reminds me of the Dunning Kruger effect. It’s so true. I was the same way. Now when I go back and look at my old photos it looks terrible to me, some are ok but I have some work to do. Anyways, thanks for the refreshing videos!
As someone who has only been doing photography seriously for a few years, I think I really needed to hear this. It's true of most of my creative hobbies, but I really struggle with the fear of committing to an idea in case it's a bad one. The thought that I can only know if it's a bad one *after* I've committed something to it, and also that I should expect those ideas to often not be the right ones so it's OK to pull back when you find that out are two things I really needed to hear. Cheers dude, and good luck for the next part of the road. I certainly hope I'll get that far to see it for myself one day.
I'm an older guy who's still pretty new to photography (dabbled a bit most of my life, but really got into it maybe 5 years ago), and I'm still trying to figure out what my genre(s) is, not to mention style. Thanks for reminding me that pretty much all of us go through this -- unless they're either really lucky or are in self-denial.
Probably the best video I have seen the last year.
I feel like nick gets a loiter crazier the longer his hair gets.
Great video nick, really insightful and through provoking.
Oh man… you, son, are speaking right to me.
I’ve been a photographer for over 20 years now, and when I go back to videos I’ve shot and edited because a client wants to use something from then, I repeat what you said “what an idiot…..” But I tell myself each time, if I don’t look back and think “how on earth did my clients like that?”, well, it means I haven’t progressed professionally.
Thanks for all your videos. To date my favorite is still the one of you sharing your experience from your trip to Paris. Sorry for your issues, but MAN I laughed!
I can sooo relate! Starting out, just hearing other talk about a style, but not what a style is, it didn't help. What! The! Heck! Is! A! Style!??
I can only agree with what you're saying. It's a feeling. You "know" when you've got something.
And it is impossible to put words to. If you didn't know, the part of the brain that handles emotions can't handle words. That is another part of the brain.
So, we have to rely on feelings.
And I feel your pain...
But, I have to say, the style you have now, I get it! Just hope I find my style some day 🙂
2:57 Yep! I’ve got one of those! I love it soooo much and I have to exercise a lot self control to not show it to everyone I talk to
Nice one.
Ben Horne indeed spoke the truth six years back in a comment on your video of a photo-festival retail experience: "I enjoyed the video Nick. I've done some festivals in the past and found that it was indeed a very rewarding experience talking to the people and sharing my work. One thing that was a bit disappointing through was seeing the sort of work that was selling. There were a lot of over-processed images that were being printed way too big. You could see the rough edges of selections, sloppy use of photoshop, and colors that were literally falling apart because the saturation was cranked way too high. I looked at that work, then my own, and came to the conclusion that if that is the sort of work that sells, I really don't want to be in that category. There wasn't a lot of originality -- the same sort of photos again and again, and people were rewarded for printing the biggest and having the most saturated colors."
I fear this is a landscape photography disease in particular, but affects wildlife photography too.
I'm a subscriber to two print magazines here in the UK, Outdoor Photography, and Black & White Photography. I'm seriously considering cancelling the subscription to the former since there's never really any effort at suggesting much photographic growth whatsoever, other than, for instance, becoming better at finding locations or pretending to be Joe Cornish (the current doyen in the popular world of UK landscape photography). I also find landscape photography competitions generally very very tedious, as they tend to promote this kind of 'excellence' too. Technical proficiency (even when it is attained) is worth zero without an idea. It's spectacularly derivative of, essentially, a 19th Romantic century aesthetic (stand in the landscape and swoon in awe). That's ok I guess, but so few people seem to understand or care less.
The additional factor is that there, frankly, isn't a great and extensive photographic history of highly-regarded landscape photography work (there simply isn't, relatively speaking, a history of very much high-concept work in this area, with one or two major exceptions) especially in colour (you mention Galen Rowell - I suppose this is a technical issue to do with film stocks/difficulty, and then Mpx); in B&W you're then obviously contending with AA and the earlier pioneers in landscape.
In other genres there is a great and diverse tradition/history, and, frankly, it shows, as detrimental to "landscape photography".
If all anyone is doing is trying to beat Ansel (🙄) at his own game, or re-do a Caspar David Friedrich (👻), in whatever way, then the entire genre is dead.
I applaud people getting out in the world to enjoy a hobby and get some exercise. But that isn't the same thing.
Congrats on the 100k Nick. Im still working out what my style is. I do draw inspiration from your work. It’s pretty damn awesome. Your work in the deserts of AZ and more specifically CA I absolutely adore. So thank you Nick for inspiring me to keep shooting 🤘🏽
Great video … you nailed it! I think your bare honesty, and clear recognition that “it’s a journey” really brought it home. And I’d add that all those excursions that we all make along the way ARE part and parcel of the enjoyment and of the “personal growth” that we experience. Can’t agree more, that venturing (or drifting back) into analog can be an inspiration and motivation, too!
It's ok to say, "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" when people ask me what kind of pictures do I like to take! I shrug my shoulders and say I haven't figured it out yet. I compare it to when I was very young and my parents always asked me what I wanted to do for a living when I got older and they'd get pissed off when I said, "I don't know" HOWEVER, I still ask myself what kind of pictures I want to take? It's crazy I know. Still haven't shaken it. This video was great and sums up how I feel many years later. It's sometimes hard to accept that there are no answers to some questions.
5:03 That’s a lot like the dunning-kruger curve, it’s healthy.
I’ve loved your channel for years now. You keep putting out great work and great advice both in terms of photographing and being a photographer/artist. Can’t wait to rewatch this video another 5 times this week haha hope you’re doing well bro
That graph also described me, perfectly. Congratulations on 100k Nick. Thanks for all the fantastic content
That was a great watch! Did come for the pictures of yours (your style if you will) and ended up staying for what you had to say.
The way you explained your thoughts and all the different steps in your live developing your style was clear and easy to follow along. Sean tucker has that style of presenting sometimes and I really like it.
That's said, I really enjoyed you talking us through the more philosophical aspects to photography. Reminded me of Susan Sonntags book about photography.
thank you for the latest episode, i feel that i have been through all the same thoughts and emotions. I stared with simple point, pray and shoot cameras in the sixties to digital. I started with steam railways until they were scraped and turned into cycle roots now in my mid 70's i am happy taking pano's of megalithic monuments in wide bleak landscapes on rainy days and still looking for the real me.
This is how i have felt a few years back, the insecurities I experienced, the lack of direction in my photography and the sheer self-assessment evaluation resulting in a big old, "what the heck am I doing with all this camera equipment ".
But then watching many youtubers talk about the importance of having a goal and setting yourself up with some themed projects has saved me from a lack of inspiration.
So now I work towards these projects and if i am uninspired sometimes at least I'm having fun along the way !!
Thanks for validating how i have been feeling @Nick Carver 👌
I love how much conversations like this can span across many artistic pursuits. Struggle and go through the same thing as an amateur concept artist and illustrator. It's just a creative struggle we can all relate too. :)
I love your videos man. Be well Nick.
Very straight lines when drawing graphs! Quite impressed! 😂
so much truth I am aged 76 and still searching and getting that buzz when it all comes together. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.
Fun fact: I ignored the video for a whole day because of the clickbait thumbnail until I realized it's a Nick Carver video! 😅Grat advice anyway. Maybe the best video about style I've seen on UA-cam! 👍
congratulations on crossing 100k mark, it is great that your work is reaching more people.! Cheers
The last part talking about the bike analogy was on the money.
I'll hit 70 this year and I've been a hobby photographer since the late 1960s (Box Brownie @ 14 yrs old). Personally I don't think you ever find "your style", you just keep evolving and trying new things. Change is good. I was an early adopter of digital but recently suffered an extreme bout of "Lockdown Gas" and suddenly I have 20+ film cameras from 35mm to 6x9 -how the hell did that happen?. I ❤film! but still shoot digital as well. Anyway, thanks for the videos, always interesting and I sent you a beer 👍
Inspiring words Nick Carver. You needed to do those things though didn't you? So much technical excellence there that meant you knew your stuff when you progressed. I put my DLSR to one side a couple of years ago in favour of a 35mm slr and 6x6 folding camera, I found frustration and jubilation in equal measures. I'm a world behind you on my adventure, I pick up a digital camera still as well as a film. It's such a rewarding thing.
I went through the same thing at the same time. I was even looking at getting some analog gear in 2012. I decided to quit photography instead. Glad you stuck with it though.
I'm far from a photographer but I've been a painter/digital artist for a long time and can relate. When students would talk to me about style (I worked in a college art department for a long time) I would tell them to think about their other interests besides "art" and see what kind of crossovers they can make, and to just try to make the best work they can with what they know.
Firm believer that "style" isn't really something you control, it'll emerge from you when you make honest work. And if someone doesn't like their style, they probably just need to work on their skills.
Great video Nick! Been laughing my ass off.....mostly because I've been on the same trip, but also because of your delivery. Thanks mate, you continue to inspire and encourage me.
Wonderful self-analytical video Nick that conveys an interesting and informative message for all us aspiring photographers. Really enjoyed it.
You indicated that a 'break point' for you was re-discovering 'analogue' photography. I have an inkling as to why many professional photographers have returned to film, but would love to know WHY this was so critical to YOUR development, perhaps even your continuation as a pro photographer.
It’s like your talking from within me. From my head. To my heart. It resonates with so many things I argue with myself about photography. I would love to have you create more and more content, just to see you express these ideas. If you’d create much more in a dedicated subscriber channel or a course dedicated to the philosophy, I would be the first one to enlist and pay. ❤
Yeah, this is a beautiful video. I appreciate this very much
If it helps anyone else, the moment I finally felt comfortable with what my "style" was, was the moment I could explain *why* it was meaningful to me.
I know that's kind of the opposite of what you said, lol, but that's when I understood in a deeper level what I'm trying to accomplish beyond "pretty" or whatever. Like, you can create pretty photos, and they can be valuable, but I think it's important to try to understand why your work has any more value or relevance or meaning than a student who was JUST taught one pretty technique.
It might not help everyone, but that was what finally allowed me to feel confident in my place in photography without constantly feeling imposter syndrome (which I still sometimes feel tbh lol).
Nick - I think that's the best video I've ever seen on UA-cam! So many truths, honesty, and only in the hilarious way you can do it. That chart! I was laughing my ass off! Thanks man...keep it coming!
Love it...!! Great stuff, and completely relatable. Reminds me of an Indian saying: "in the end it will be perfect. If it's not perfect then it's not the end."
100% agree about not wanting to think, "I used to be a great photographer." While there are projects I've done in the past that are landmarks in my development and stand out for that reason (the best I could do...at that time) my intention is always that my best work is whatever I'm going to do next.
Oh nice! Another take on that question from my other favorite UA-camr photographer. Sean Tucker does great takes on this and similar questions and I love to see another perspective. My style (as a street photographer) is developing just now after having shot for years.
Edit: Lol, that graph. Dunning-Kruger visualized.
Yep, like Tony down below said, I felt like you were speaking right to me. It was great to hear all of that and inspires me to keep going. Food for thought for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Yay! A great conversation with yourself that you are willing to share with the rest of us. Gets us all thinking on our own photographic explorations and especially why we commit bringing a camera to our eye and pressing that shutter release button. Style is so many things that we tend to emulate what we see in other work that we are drawn to. Eventually we make an image that hits an undefined mark, that we recognize is different from all the rest we've done. And we try to build on that. For me it comes down to a simple idea. I know it when I see it, and can't really express what that 'it' is in words. One of your most insightful observations in this episode. This, like all your others, was a fun one Nick!
I'm just a couple years in to photography and recently had a friend tell me he liked my "style" more than another photographer he knew. I had no idea what he could possibly be referring to but graciously took the complement.
Thanks for it all. I think I've found my style with the fujifilm cameras.. Who knows.. At least those filmic looks seem to be the style I most appreciate. Keep up the good work.
Nick, I want to buy you a beer sometime. This video was great. I can relate to your search for style and appreciate your honesty of the struggle. It happens to us all. Keep up the good work. It’s inspiring . Thank you for sharing.
Nick, I have been practicing photography on and off since the mid-90’s. I believe I am very close to your age so you can assume I started very young, all due to my mother who is a landscape photographer in BC.
Although I am not “professional” in the true meaning of the word (not my primary means of income-that’s actually engineering, hah!), you really helped me overcome a whole lot of deadlock I have been experiencing for a good decade.
Photography is my first passion and most people are surprised to find an engineer who battles an artsy side, so to speak. About 5 years ago I started to take on clients and found out that is not my jam. Without sounding too uppity man, I consider my photography to be art, as any aspiring photographer should.
Anyways this comment is really a whole lot of word soup to just end up with me saying…. Man I admire you so much. I have been lurking your channel for a long time. After a stint in the military and getting out in 2015 to get the E degree I am still just at a point where I want to actually sell my images to those who will enjoy them.
You are an inspiration man I am proud of you.
Oh, and PS: My beloved camera is a typical Leica M3 with a summi 50. I know it sounds cliche but it was my grandmother’s who immigrated from Germany to Canada after WWII in the late 50s. It’s a double stroke, probably needs a service, but I’ll tell you what: Getting back to film with that camera and it pulling me away from Canon’s top of the offerings is what helped me too. I actually did it after watching one of your videos long ago. Picked it up for the first time in years and man it just clicked.
I really want a 6x17 but being a disabled vet on fixed income is challenging enough. To be honest it’s challenging to not be “that Leica guy” when I’m around shooting my m3. I feel like I have to explain to folks that I am no where near being able to afford an eBay m3!
A wise man. This is wisdom. Thanks Nick!
Lol - I feel like I'm at the absolute trench at 5:01 right now.... such a fresh take on the process! Looking forward to watching you continue on as a photographer a few years ahead of me, and also that ugly bumpy stage that apparently is upcoming!
Nick, your best video yet !
Very honest, deep, and insightful.
Your words here should stay with me for years to come.
This what I needed to hear right now. Its good to hear the truth from people like your self.
Wise words. I started with analog film in high school, but when I started professional life, I barely took a photo. I've had a DSLR for 10 years and took many pictures in that time, but I still am not sure I have a unique style or even a genre. I do agree that reviewing old images, honestly assessing them, and culling all but the best is helpful in at least recognizing strengths and weaknesses, and my interests.
Good shit. Headed to the Baja with my new 6x6. Just turned back to analog after 19 years of mostly one's and zero's. Can't wait.
Nice video. Thanks. Have you heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect?
This is an amazing message! I've been a photographer for about 2 years and still pride myself on not having a style or genre, as it feels liberating. After watching this it feels almost like I need to find my identity as a photographer.
photographic identity seems like the best word for this, I will start calling it like that now
Always great Nick. Thanks! The journey is never over. And judging by the hairstyle, I'd say you're heading towards large format (but maybe just on Fridays).
Excellent video. Learning and progress isn’t linear, as you so described! I myself am constantly trying to find the “groove,” and because of that work, I am more clearly learning what it is.
In the meantime, we just need to be nice to ourselves. Also, I actually liked one of those lamp photos haha.
Congrats on the 100k mark! The journey to finding your style is a very long and bumpy road but with some great views every now and then.
Awesome video! The “Brave Little Lamp” series is EPIC. The variety of work you’ve done over the years is, to me, a testimony to how excellent you truly are.👍
I love your mention of Galen Rowell, he is the main reason I still take pictures. I am actually on a "break" now as I have become more and more frustrated with what I'm creating. I'm at the bottom of one of your dips you graphed out as I search for what I want my vision to be: or what I want it to be for now 🙂 Great video sir, keep up the great content.
i feel this so much. Thank you for telling me not being alone with this struggle!
Thankyou Nick. My favourite photo I ever took was on an old Hasselblad inside the Tate Modern in London. The camera has since been sitting in the cupboard for years because it was too ‘hard’, such a ‘hassle’. You’ve shown me to think differently. Thank you. A great video. Clive
Thanks Nick. I wish I lived in Orange County as it’d be great to go down the pub and have a few beers and continue this brain dump. It makes total sense. I follow a few landscape ‘style’ UA-camrs, and whilst they don’t necessarily profess to have ‘found their style’, I think you acknowledge that in a more direct and honest way. And in a way that I completely gel with. 16mm shots of a mountain with a rock in the foreground with mist blah blah blah. They have a tendency to all look the same.
I’ve recently moved back to analogue, in part inspired by your channel. It is so exciting now to think about the shot. Carefully take the shot. Wait until I finish the film. Send the film off to the lab. Scan the film…..
Slowing down in this way has really helped me.
Good one! Whatever else, I’m glad you’re still enjoying making these videos, you’re a great teacher and you’ve really helped me understand this hobby better. This episode kind of makes me glad I don’t take my photography nearly as seriously as you do, though. And about that sawed up print, I absolutely would have taken it off of your hands. I love Art Deco, and oh boy, that one is over the top ridiculous Florida Art Deco to the hilt. (Picture it in a beachfront house on the set of Miami Vice). On a serious note, of all the work you’ve shared with us through this You Tube series, the Liquor Store is my favorite. Your friend definitely had something right regarding your style. Cheers, Nick!
Great advice and much wisdom, thank you! I remember talking with a professional photog many years ago who knew Galen Rowell and she described him as a good photographer who worked incredibly hard and became a great photographer.
I love this video!!! Thank you so much Nick. A lesson in humility.
Hi Nick, a very good and inciteful video and 100k, well deserved. Just thought I would point out that the graph you drew is the Dunning-Kruger effect graph to a tee, also the description you gave is textbook. On the positive side you are and will always be an expert however you are likely never to feel like one 🙂
Love the content, keep it up and long live film photography..
I am for one am enjoying you finding your groove.
Oh boy did it sound true. Thanks for sharing this with us! We definitely need to keep that in mind. And good to know you feel good about what you create now. Every time I'm on a photowalk with beginners, I tell them it doesn't matter much whether I like their photos or not. It's whether they themselves like them that does the most. IMNSHO, anyway.
Your videos are always a treat. Bought you a beer.
Love your honesty Nick👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
My graph of time / style must look like a spirograph by now! Inspiring - and very assuring - video, thanks!
This is the most important photography video I have ever seen.
I enjoyed that video so much I watched it twice in a row.
Grande Nick, muchas gracias por compartir, un abrazo desde Chile !.
Haha! Thanks so much for putting that into words
Maybe I'm lucky in that I always had certain things in mind to photograph and it still doesn't get old to me. Instead, my journey was "I can teach myself all I need to know about photography!" And then realizing, no, I was doing a lot of techniques wrong and not in that creative, fun way. Then it was the process of applying myself to some proper learning and improvement. The improvement part is still ongoing. But I can look back even 3-4 years and see the improvement, as well as some expansion of things I like to photograph.
But no matter what, I agree it's an up and down trip with peaks and valleys and occasional pitfalls.
This is really good!!! I don't know if it's a coincidence but exactly what I needed to hear today. Oh boy what a journey...
I don't know, except for the possible bad combination with power tools, this would have been a great "Behind the Glass With a Glass" episode. Very enjoyable. Good advice for lots of careers.
i love your high satureted images by the way
Nick, read about Bruce Lee and Styles..........
In the end it is really just about to be open minded and have the observation. To see things in a new way into a phenomenal autentic photo like your desert photo on the wall. To be there at the right time and place. So the more you travel and takes more trips you take, the more great photo potential you gets and have. Personally wont photo mountains and deserts since my country dont have that. But my country have different kinds of photos. More over what kind of photo do wants on your wall? Colors, saturation, details, abstractions or abstracts?