Thanks everyone for watching - Though the next month, save 10% on Learning To See, the course which will give you the tools to create memorable images. Click this link tpe.teachable.com/p/learning-to-see and use coupon code 'BRAVE'
Ten years from now, when I become a well known and revered photographer, I am going to credit the heck out of you and bring your contributions and teachings up every change I get. 😊
Loved the part about visualization, and even if you're not carrying your camera you can still think photographically. Reminded me of a documentary a friend watched, about an xGames mountain biker. This pro biker said a big trick to his success was visualizing himself riding down the mountain when he had some spare time. That creative act of imagination helped his brain prepare to react when the time came to do it for real.
The first time I ventured on a stage with my guitar I was surprised by the amount of terror I all of a sudden felt. In time I came to terms with it and then, came to like those butterflies.
I try to remember that even not a single image from the day, walk, etc ever sees the light of day... its an excuse to be outside, not watching Netflix. It's at least some exercise and some time where I can focus on whatever I feel. When I was fist diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and adhd, I would purposely walk as often as I could and got really into shooting Polaroids. It made me slow down and simplify! It doesn't get more stripped back than an instant photo. Photography has kinda been like therapy this past couple years... that keeps me shooting.
Damn.. This is actually some super good advice... Not just relating to the creative aspects of my life, but also regarding me building my career... I'm only 20, I already greatly struggle with imposter syndrome, and I let it get a hold of me... Maybe it is time to learn how to use it to my advantage. Thank you for this video!
I've been in and out of photography several times over 35 years. I had my own darkroom and loved printing. Then I moved and sold everything. No photography for 5 years. Then cellphones came in and I started taking again. Wasn't long before I needed bigger better and an increase of quality. Then it faded away. Then my daughter went to university. On the tour we saw the art rooms. Large prints hanging on the walls. Black and white images. My creativity kicked in. I need to print! I still don't print , I send away for that. But seeing an image up on a wall. That's what pulled me back. It's the physical print. I share masses online and it gets liked but a print given to a grateful recipient shows me that yes im good. But I'm good at being me. It's my art. That's what's hard to see when you struggle in the inspiration moment. My art is who I am. Flawed but beautiful in its own way. Thanks for a wonderful video sir.
Others have said to go pro but afraid to leave hobby status as it will rob the joy of my photography and turn into a obligatory way. Great video, great advice.
Alex, you hit the nail on the head for me once again. For the last couple of years I’ve been doing weddings, family shoots etc. and not being awfully successful at it because I wasn’t really committed to it. The reason is that my heart lies in artistic photography so just this week I’ve made a decision to go for it. Commitment comes so easily to me there and I have that burning ball of creativity you describe. Thank you for once again voicing my thoughts.
Not sure how well it translates from German. When I bought a photo book from a German RUclipsr, there was a card in the package, which read: "Doing is like dreaming, just more rad"
One tactic that helps me get moving again is to detach from the immediacy of the resistance. I either picture my work or myself in the more distant future, such as the idea of photographing a landscape next winter instead of this fall, or I review my work from farther in the past, such as that time I hiked to the summit of Mount Fuji or that time I photographed the Milky Way arch at 3 am. These perspectives show the current "stuck in the mud" me that I was and will be the creatively productive version of myself I desire. It is like traction out of quick sand by either stepping up from a rock in the past or tying a winch to a dream for the future. Thanks for your videos.
I can identify with all you have said, but I always try and remember a quote I once read. I think it was Ansel Adams who was paraphrasing the great Alfred Stieglitz, his mentor. He said " when I come across a scene that evokes an emotion in me, I photograph it with my camera, the print is the equivalent of that emotion ." This is what I do. I try not to have any pre-ideas of a photograph when I set out to photograph. I find that constantly striving to achieve a look, repeat what has been photographed a thousand times before, and trying to replicate a cliche soon wears me down. It sucks the enthusiasm and joy out of my photography, and once the joy has gone, the photography becomes mundane, stale and then the inevitable end.
Alex - you & your videos are, by far, the most insightful, educational, & enjoyable “shows” re: the ART of photography on RUclips (IMO). I always wait expectantly to find a new one (or old one that I’ve missed) show up in my feed. In lieu of that, I often re-watch some of them. I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate your candor, wisdom and honesty. 🙏🏻
The thing about fear is that it's somatic (in the body) as well as in the mind. Courage is intellectual along with 1/2 of fear. You cannot hide that knot of fear in the stomach as it's part of what protects us from bad things. As you say, just learn to live with it, and throw up if you must. Courage helps, but giving fear it's due respect instead of trying to cover it up is the first step to overcoming fear. It will never go away, but it should not be allowed to become a crutch to avoid life. I remember the fear of the bullies at school and the intellectual desire to learn. It was never an easy choice especially in the warm blankets, but i would eventually get out of bed, on that cold Dublin morning, and head out into the grey morning to face my fears and make it to the warm classroom, where my chair was next to the radiator. Each and everyone of us, including those bullies and teachers had their own fears. Thank you for this honest discussion.
Just discovered your channel today Alex, love your relaxed style of presentation, new sub from me. I am picking up photography again after my last serious attempt was back I 35mm days, picked up an EOS M50 mkii absolutely love it so far and learning lots from your channel, keep up the good work.
Like you I started photography again just over a year ago with the same camera. Since then I have made some of the best pictures of my life. An absolute gem of a camera.
@@peterreber7671 good to hear, I’m am enjoying learning Manual mode again after all these years, trying to avoid the temptation to let the camera do the work.
I no exactly what you mean, every think you talk about in this and other videos, you are so bang on the nail. You truly are an artist with a gift of true photography, and you regularly say look at others who inspire you, to answer that question you done that thank you. When a child is asked to draw some think, without any remarks the pleasure on a child's face is of sheer pleasure, before were all changed and influenced as we grow up and judged ridiculed laugh at or moulded by influences and the rat race, and yet we become the photographers we don't really want to be. I'm so glad I discovered your chanel, as I'm relatively new to photography and of the older generation and was going down the same old sheep track, and I'm so glad you do these videos, and I no hundreds if not thousands of up and coming photographers will miss what your saying, but but you've defiantly made me see and think, and by your reveiws others have got it to.
It's sort of mundane, but "always have your camera with you," has done wonders for me. That and I think it was Marc Silber, or one of his guests that talked about embracing your identity as a photographer. When people ask me what I do, I used to say that I was a journalist even though stills were a big part of how I work. Now I actually say "I am a journalist and photographer" and it has made it easier to approach my work and it gives me the motivation to keep improving and moving forward. It's sort of like the difference between calling yourself "a runner" and saying that you go for runs. By internalizing running as part of your identity you are more likely to do the things you need to do to be a runner. This helps you grow. Great video as always!
This is once more exactly what i need so much. I truely love your channel, your content that sparked the passion for photography inside of me two years ago and still does. You're a wonderful source of inspiration for me. Thank you Alex 🙏 You helped me through really tough times in my life🙂
I need to start leaving my other lenses at home. I always find myself wanting to switch going from a telephoto to a prime and back. I can never just commit and i feel it’s really limiting. I appreciate you Alex
Thank you so much Alex. Listening to you has instilled more confidence in me taking pictures of what I love. Still struggling with confidence in showing it to the world as I believe I am not good enough. Your videos are helping me with dealing with it. Slowly but surely I will come out of this hole soon.... Keep em coming and what a treat to see your own pictures.... Thank you from India 🙏🏼
Galen Rowell wrote an interesting essay in one of his books (originally a column in Outdoor Photographer magazine) about the difference between who becomes a pro photographer and who doesn't and he called it The Size of the Rat. The rat in this case is the rat eating at your stomach to go out and do it. Because it is always going to involve sacrificing comfort and money and security. Not doing your art is the path of least resistance, unless you are so driven that you just must.
A friend shared this video as I was struggling to believe in the photos I was taking, self doubt, comparing to others and constantly thinking i needed a niche to make myself seen ..you have made me remember the reason why photography is so important to me. The happiness it brings, it allows me to stop and see what others just walk past . Reviewing what I have snapped and seeing my art Thank Alex for you open talk I hope we all follow our heart, open our eyes and create our own art. Not everyone will like what we display but hey we don't like everyone else either 📸
As you mention the book that you do, I watch it lie idle near to me, waiting to be picked and finished reading for a while now!!! Will do so now onwards. Great content on your channel & the format you make them in, is very well suited to your style of getting information & messages across... Keep on mate 🤘
For me, the best advice is, “do something every day that scares me”. I will take that to heart. Sometimes it will be with a camera, sometimes with a new adventure, a goal in a sport learning a new sport… or combining my love of biking with photography and becoming a volgrapher… 😊
I have three journals of ideas that I use to create a photographic concept. I find ideas or concept almost everywhere and from anyone. I make a note of them because they spark a visual. Most of time my photo shoots have a ready concept where my only responsibility is to execute the concept and contribute my vision of the concept, but when client says to me "you got any ideas?" and I have to open one of these journals to put forth my personal concept, those make for very sleepless nights and here the thing I can never get through my thick head everyone wants the project to succeed and offer their knowledge and experience.
Maybe that is why I put off printing photos. I like the way they look on screen but have every excuse not to create the physical print. Processing for printing, time, the right paper, perhaps that is the fear. Thank you Alex for giving it a name.
Best way to improve your photography - work at an in depth photographic project. Take all your pictures around this theme and be single minded in the way that you work. Be your own self and have faith in your ability - accept that we are all different and just because you don't get hundreds of Facebook likes etc DOESN'T mean that your pictures are not good!
Been shooting since ‘84 , regularly, since the early 2000s, I have a game plan and I stick with it , you’re not gonna please everyone, and as you said previously “ not every photograph has to tell a story “ 👍🏻 I’m pretty private in my work , conversely, I avoid other peoples work . This works for me . I sleep well 😴
Thanks for another great video, Alex, I love that you're sharing more of your photos! I'm picking up where I left off about 10 years ago and I get my courage to stay on this path from channels like yours and videos like this. Cheers!
I always want to go out of my comfort zone and experiment with photography sometime it works out sometime it doesn't but at list a know in sted of wandering what it could have been
As always, a great video. For me the timing is perfect. I have always struggled with making excuses that limit my own potential and my own creativity. Oddly enough, until you pointed out we format these type of excuses as external reasons, I never really stopped to consider that. Very recently I took a huge, frightening step towards committing to a more creative approach to my work. This video affirms my choice. Also, thanks to your mention of it, I just downloaded Pressfield's book, The War of Art. I look forward to learning and applying these creative lessons. Thank you for the great content you create and provide for us.
informative 12.5mins on creativity, fear challenges in photography generally. Cinematography (t - stops) is equally taxing, (fear is v useful for cine / video projects) inspiration is a bit different (watched the great great Geoffrey unsworth 2nd film he shot in 1974) conceptuality v inspirating even the story is tricky to figure out) reading up on the new sony a7r v (8K) and the technical potential. very thought provoking.
Having recently qualified as a judge for the SCPF my fear would definitely be that of being faced with an image that I don’t understand or that lacks artistically or technically and trying to find the right words to encourage the photographer. I have found your RUclips channel invaluable in broadening my knowledge and understanding of photography, giving me the courage to take on the challenge.
The girl's portrait at 8:08 is wonderful. Film? Digital? Post processing? How did you get such smooth gradients? That's the look I want to try for myself.
It's a very old pic. IIRC it was on a Hassleblad HD4, the post was again, IIRC in Photoshop rather than lightroom. Afriad beyond that I don't really have much to add, beyond it was lit well in the first place, and the tones on the file were awesome :D
Dear Alex, I love your channel because of your creative approach to photography ❤️ When I started with photography, I was 7 years old we were actually buying a lens with a camera attached to it, right? All this over the top gear BS is, it's my opinion actually leading the potential talents into a wrong direction unless they are going to get serious and learn about the art properly. I am sure, this we agree upon... Still, they are great and important lenses in the history of photography which have a story behind them, the story of purpose their creators invented them for. I am thinking of my Zeiss Distagon 35mm f2 zf or Nikon Nikkor 105mm DC af-d f2 or some Summicrons and so on... All this lenses have so much character and are very unique, each representing a very personal way of seeing. They are also very individual, in the way that you have to understand them with all their pros and cons in order to get the best out of them. It's more of a psychological issue, the choice of glass corresponding to your inner vision... I know your channel is not about the gear but, as some of them are really so special and constructed by great masters I wish you would bring them closer to your audience, with all their complexity and the proper way of using them. I mean, it's still about the glass, isn't it? The whole magic happens between our eyes and the lens, the camera is only a tool, the lens isn't... All great photographers you are talking about were attached to a certain lens, like if it was an extension of their inner eye. Today's run for pixels and sharpness and lack of CA and so on is so very misleading and the audience needs somebody as competent as you to talk about the human aspects of some epic glass. I would really love to see you doing it in your own way, which is keeping us following your wonderful channel! Thank you and, best regards from Croatia 🤜🤛📸✌️
Another great listen and good to see your work,. Alex. I wish people would go out and find their own shots rather than follow the crowd and shoot the same golden hour Landscapes. I an't imagine the great artists following each other about painting the same Landscapes. Whitby, eight photographers with their Tripods and cameras out to photograph the sunset, behind them looking in a different direction a lone photographer, photographing the amazing colours in the sky and the reflections on the sea and no burnt-out highlights.
Great thoughts and advice as ever, Thankx Alex ! Beautiful images, keep em coming !! ... as long as you only think about creations, everything can be as great as you like, but as soon as you start creating you come to terms with reality, I think i am afraid of that a lot of times .......greetings from germany .....
Will you be doing a video on how to study photographs of famous photographers in general. What should we look for or try to identify when we look at a picture by Saul Leiter for example, to learn. Thx
How important is High Mega Pixel cameras and sharp lenses for creativity? Why does some keep getting newer equipment to stay interested in photography? I start to slowly upgrade my equipment after my D300 (DX) stopped working after 13 year to a FF camera, first to a D700 2 year ago and this year a D800E that I wanted from the begining, I’m now saving to a 2nd hand D850 or a Z8. But I discovered that I need to update some lenses to sharper lenses to the D850 and I try to upgrade as little as possible. My goal is an AFS 24-70F2.8 E VR, an AFS 70-200F2.8 E VR and an AFS 400mm F2.8 G VR. Also I will get a Zeiss Milvus 50mmF2.0 Macro next year. I may get a 2nd hand Zeiss 15mmF2.8 or a 2nd hand Nikon 19mmF2.8 PC.
Neither my photos nor my videos are perfect. I have my fair share of snafus with the latter, especially. But I share those mistakes, along with what I learned from them (with a touch of humor when possible). People appreciate it and relate to it. I still hate screwing up, though. I didn't know about Henry Fonda's stage fright. But another case is actor/singer Barbra Streisand. She rarely performs live concerts at all, because she is admittedly terrified of singing before an audience.
So here's the sticking point for me..we are all in some way confronting or running away from self doubt and insecurity about our talent. What if you are a person quite enthusiastic about your art, but in reality not very good? Maybe your work suffers from technical issues or your possibly your 'eye' is just not very critical. That's the source of the lack of confidence...and who is out there to look at your work and tell you truthfully and skillfully one way or the other? I have prints hidden away in boxes because I thought they weren't very good, then I see a gallery showing of work that;'s not as good as my throw aways... So what to do?!
Interesting. Satan does tempt us but what with? What can we tempted by? We can only be tempted by things we want otherwise they wouldn't be tempting. It's ordinarily why we can’t say `no' to temptation. So when moved by the spirit make sure it’s a good spirit first. You’re right when you say we can’t choose to be inspired or not. This means the spirit is not under our control. The spirit is not for us to manipulate to our own ends. Rather it calls us and so we say art is a journey and indeed it is. Its not a meaningless journey though. It has a destination otherwise why bother. This is why when after the honeymoon period of the initial inspiration is over it’s such hard work to commit. It’s why we tend to give up at the first hurdle. The `down in the doldrums’ has always fascinated me. Part of me thinks it’s where the rubber hits the road. Whether it results in us following other pursuits or to keep going…either way. It could be likened to St. John of the Cross’ `Dark night of the soul’. John gives us a way to try to determine if its depression or not. If, when in the doldrums, we think the journey is not real and we just want to give up and drink alcohol, we’re probably depressed. If we still desire the journey despite `not feelin’ it’ for a while and persist it’s more likely a dark night of the soul and we should indeed rejoice and be glad because there’s a reason for it. This I know is a photography channel but the Christian message is just this - the inspiration we feel? It’s worth the effort no matter what path we walk and no matter how hard it becomes. Your photography Alex is really good. Keep going.
Alex, what's the point or meaning to make pointless and meaningless pictures, billions of them and call it creativity or art? The smarter ones try to copy the "Old Masters, Legends" style and call them their own creative style. The not-so-smarts like me just do the boring, pointless, meaningless picture taking and we think, we are great photographers and will be a "legend" one day. If a photographer can do a few "a picture is worth a thousand words" he has the vision and talent for taking photos, the rest of us without creative vision we just do the talking.
Thanks everyone for watching - Though the next month, save 10% on Learning To See, the course which will give you the tools to create memorable images.
Click this link tpe.teachable.com/p/learning-to-see and use coupon code 'BRAVE'
Ten years from now, when I become a well known and revered photographer, I am going to credit the heck out of you and bring your contributions and teachings up every change I get. 😊
Wow, that’s awesome. Thank you
Loved the part about visualization, and even if you're not carrying your camera you can still think photographically. Reminded me of a documentary a friend watched, about an xGames mountain biker. This pro biker said a big trick to his success was visualizing himself riding down the mountain when he had some spare time. That creative act of imagination helped his brain prepare to react when the time came to do it for real.
Just... make it for yourself. If you like it, it's good. Thanks for an excellent video again.
The first time I ventured on a stage with my guitar I was surprised by the amount of terror I all of a sudden felt. In time I came to terms with it and then, came to like those butterflies.
You will do it brother 💪
I try to remember that even not a single image from the day, walk, etc ever sees the light of day... its an excuse to be outside, not watching Netflix. It's at least some exercise and some time where I can focus on whatever I feel. When I was fist diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and adhd, I would purposely walk as often as I could and got really into shooting Polaroids. It made me slow down and simplify! It doesn't get more stripped back than an instant photo. Photography has kinda been like therapy this past couple years... that keeps me shooting.
Damn.. This is actually some super good advice... Not just relating to the creative aspects of my life, but also regarding me building my career... I'm only 20, I already greatly struggle with imposter syndrome, and I let it get a hold of me... Maybe it is time to learn how to use it to my advantage.
Thank you for this video!
Thanks for watching
I've been in and out of photography several times over 35 years. I had my own darkroom and loved printing. Then I moved and sold everything. No photography for 5 years. Then cellphones came in and I started taking again. Wasn't long before I needed bigger better and an increase of quality. Then it faded away. Then my daughter went to university. On the tour we saw the art rooms. Large prints hanging on the walls. Black and white images. My creativity kicked in. I need to print! I still don't print , I send away for that. But seeing an image up on a wall. That's what pulled me back. It's the physical print. I share masses online and it gets liked but a print given to a grateful recipient shows me that yes im good. But I'm good at being me. It's my art. That's what's hard to see when you struggle in the inspiration moment. My art is who I am. Flawed but beautiful in its own way. Thanks for a wonderful video sir.
Thank you for watching
Others have said to go pro but afraid to leave hobby status as it will rob the joy of my photography and turn into a obligatory way. Great video, great advice.
Alex, you hit the nail on the head for me once again. For the last couple of years I’ve been doing weddings, family shoots etc. and not being awfully successful at it because I wasn’t really committed to it. The reason is that my heart lies in artistic photography so just this week I’ve made a decision to go for it. Commitment comes so easily to me there and I have that burning ball of creativity you describe. Thank you for once again voicing my thoughts.
Thank you for watching
Not sure how well it translates from German. When I bought a photo book from a German RUclipsr, there was a card in the package, which read: "Doing is like dreaming, just more rad"
I get the impression you looked deep within yourself for this one Alex. That might have made this a hard video to make but It's appreciated 🙏
Thank you
One tactic that helps me get moving again is to detach from the immediacy of the resistance. I either picture my work or myself in the more distant future, such as the idea of photographing a landscape next winter instead of this fall, or I review my work from farther in the past, such as that time I hiked to the summit of Mount Fuji or that time I photographed the Milky Way arch at 3 am. These perspectives show the current "stuck in the mud" me that I was and will be the creatively productive version of myself I desire. It is like traction out of quick sand by either stepping up from a rock in the past or tying a winch to a dream for the future. Thanks for your videos.
Thank you for watching
I appreciate your channel - nothing to do with gear - all about creativity, thought processes and philosophy 👍
Why I like photo books, with lots of diff artists. Seeing all these styles makes me realize, whatever you think is cool, IS cool!
I can identify with all you have said, but I always try and remember a quote I once read. I think it was Ansel Adams who was paraphrasing the great Alfred Stieglitz, his mentor. He said " when I come across a scene that evokes an emotion in me, I photograph it with my camera, the print is the equivalent of that emotion ." This is what I do. I try not to have any pre-ideas of a photograph when I set out to photograph. I find that constantly striving to achieve a look, repeat what has been photographed a thousand times before, and trying to replicate a cliche soon wears me down. It sucks the enthusiasm and joy out of my photography, and once the joy has gone, the photography becomes mundane, stale and then the inevitable end.
Alex - you & your videos are, by far, the most insightful, educational, & enjoyable “shows” re: the ART of photography on RUclips (IMO). I always wait expectantly to find a new one (or old one that I’ve missed) show up in my feed. In lieu of that, I often re-watch some of them. I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate your candor, wisdom and honesty. 🙏🏻
Wow, thank you!
I loved seeing your own photographs going along with your poignant talk about creativity and the ever killing courage. Thanks.
Thank you
Always relevant. Thanks also for showing your photographs. They're great.
Thank you
I always look forward to your videos and I rewatch older vids👍👍
Thank you
The thing about fear is that it's somatic (in the body) as well as in the mind. Courage is intellectual along with 1/2 of fear. You cannot hide that knot of fear in the stomach as it's part of what protects us from bad things. As you say, just learn to live with it, and throw up if you must. Courage helps, but giving fear it's due respect instead of trying to cover it up is the first step to overcoming fear. It will never go away, but it should not be allowed to become a crutch to avoid life. I remember the fear of the bullies at school and the intellectual desire to learn. It was never an easy choice especially in the warm blankets, but i would eventually get out of bed, on that cold Dublin morning, and head out into the grey morning to face my fears and make it to the warm classroom, where my chair was next to the radiator. Each and everyone of us, including those bullies and teachers had their own fears. Thank you for this honest discussion.
Just discovered your channel today Alex, love your relaxed style of presentation, new sub from me. I am picking up photography again after my last serious attempt was back I 35mm days, picked up an EOS M50 mkii absolutely love it so far and learning lots from your channel, keep up the good work.
Like you I started photography again just over a year ago with the same camera. Since then I have made some of the best pictures of my life. An absolute gem of a camera.
That’s awesome. Thank you for watching
@@peterreber7671 good to hear, I’m am enjoying learning Manual mode again after all these years, trying to avoid the temptation to let the camera do the work.
I no exactly what you mean, every think you talk about in this and other videos, you are so bang on the nail.
You truly are an artist with a gift of true photography, and you regularly say look at others who inspire you, to answer that question you done that thank you.
When a child is asked to draw some think, without any remarks the pleasure on a child's face is of sheer pleasure, before were all changed and influenced as we grow up and judged ridiculed laugh at or moulded by influences and the rat race, and yet we become the photographers we don't really want to be. I'm so glad I discovered your chanel, as I'm relatively new to photography and of the older generation and was going down the same old sheep track, and I'm so glad you do these videos, and I no hundreds if not thousands of up and coming photographers will miss what your saying, but but you've defiantly made me see and think, and by your reveiws others have got it to.
Thank you for watching
I really enjoy these chats
Thank you
It's sort of mundane, but "always have your camera with you," has done wonders for me.
That and I think it was Marc Silber, or one of his guests that talked about embracing your identity as a photographer. When people ask me what I do, I used to say that I was a journalist even though stills were a big part of how I work. Now I actually say "I am a journalist and photographer" and it has made it easier to approach my work and it gives me the motivation to keep improving and moving forward.
It's sort of like the difference between calling yourself "a runner" and saying that you go for runs. By internalizing running as part of your identity you are more likely to do the things you need to do to be a runner. This helps you grow.
Great video as always!
Thanks for watching
Simple, clear and sensible advice!
You cracked the code, the connection between fear and caring about your work. Genius!
This is once more exactly what i need so much. I truely love your channel, your content that sparked the passion for photography inside of me two years ago and still does.
You're a wonderful source of inspiration for me. Thank you Alex 🙏 You helped me through really tough times in my life🙂
Wow, thank you. Thank you for watching
I need to start leaving my other lenses at home. I always find myself wanting to switch going from a telephoto to a prime and back. I can never just commit and i feel it’s really limiting. I appreciate you Alex
Thank you
A photographers best friend...Alex thanks mate love your podcasts
Perspiration beats inspiration...
As we say in the open source community; "Fight the FUD!" (fear, uncertainty & doubt)
Thank you for another thought provoking video and thank you for sharing your images. They are wonderful and they inspire me to be creative. 🙏🥰😍
Thank you
It’s great you are showing your photography! I really enjoy your work 😊
Thanks so much! 😊
Thank you so much Alex. Listening to you has instilled more confidence in me taking pictures of what I love. Still struggling with confidence in showing it to the world as I believe I am not good enough. Your videos are helping me with dealing with it. Slowly but surely I will come out of this hole soon.... Keep em coming and what a treat to see your own pictures.... Thank you from India 🙏🏼
Thank you for watching.
Galen Rowell wrote an interesting essay in one of his books (originally a column in Outdoor Photographer magazine) about the difference between who becomes a pro photographer and who doesn't and he called it The Size of the Rat. The rat in this case is the rat eating at your stomach to go out and do it. Because it is always going to involve sacrificing comfort and money and security. Not doing your art is the path of least resistance, unless you are so driven that you just must.
A friend shared this video as I was struggling to believe in the photos I was taking, self doubt, comparing to others and constantly thinking i needed a niche to make myself seen ..you have made me remember the reason why photography is so important to me. The happiness it brings, it allows me to stop and see what others just walk past . Reviewing what I have snapped and seeing my art
Thank Alex for you open talk I hope we all follow our heart, open our eyes and create our own art. Not everyone will like what we display but hey we don't like everyone else either 📸
Awesome, thank you for watching
Always inspiring, helpful and brilliant. Thank you Alex. I will look forward to seeing another brilliant inspiration! Cheers.
Wow, thanks
Your words are so inspiring sir .
Thank you
The Dunning-Kruger effect, the less one knows the more confident one is, and vice versa.
As you mention the book that you do, I watch it lie idle near to me, waiting to be picked and finished reading for a while now!!! Will do so now onwards.
Great content on your channel & the format you make them in, is very well suited to your style of getting information & messages across... Keep on mate 🤘
Thank you
For me, the best advice is, “do something every day that scares me”. I will take that to heart. Sometimes it will be with a camera, sometimes with a new adventure, a goal in a sport learning a new sport… or combining my love of biking with photography and becoming a volgrapher… 😊
I have three journals of ideas that I use to create a photographic concept. I find ideas or concept almost everywhere and from anyone. I make a note of them because they spark a visual. Most of time my photo shoots have a ready concept where my only responsibility is to execute the concept and contribute my vision of the concept, but when client says to me "you got any ideas?" and I have to open one of these journals to put forth my personal concept, those make for very sleepless nights and here the thing I can never get through my thick head everyone wants the project to succeed and offer their knowledge and experience.
Thank you so much😊
Maybe that is why I put off printing photos. I like the way they look on screen but have every excuse not to create the physical print. Processing for printing, time, the right paper, perhaps that is the fear. Thank you Alex for giving it a name.
Thanks for watching
Best way to improve your photography - work at an in depth photographic project. Take all your pictures around this theme and be single minded in the way that you work. Be your own self and have faith in your ability - accept that we are all different and just because you don't get hundreds of Facebook likes etc DOESN'T mean that your pictures are not good!
Been shooting since ‘84 , regularly, since the early 2000s, I have a game plan and I stick with it , you’re not gonna please everyone, and as you said previously
“ not every photograph has to tell a story “ 👍🏻
I’m pretty private in my work , conversely, I avoid other peoples work .
This works for me .
I sleep well 😴
Thanks for another great video, Alex, I love that you're sharing more of your photos! I'm picking up where I left off about 10 years ago and I get my courage to stay on this path from channels like yours and videos like this. Cheers!
Thank you
I always want to go out of my comfort zone and experiment with photography sometime it works out sometime it doesn't but at list a know in sted of wandering what it could have been
I like your images..they are creative.
As always, a great video. For me the timing is perfect. I have always struggled with making excuses that limit my own potential and my own creativity. Oddly enough, until you pointed out we format these type of excuses as external reasons, I never really stopped to consider that. Very recently I took a huge, frightening step towards committing to a more creative approach to my work. This video affirms my choice. Also, thanks to your mention of it, I just downloaded Pressfield's book, The War of Art. I look forward to learning and applying these creative lessons. Thank you for the great content you create and provide for us.
Thank you for watching
I think a Leica M11 and a 50mm F/1.2 Noctilux would give me the courage to be creative!!! 😉
informative 12.5mins on creativity, fear challenges in photography generally. Cinematography (t - stops) is equally taxing, (fear is v useful for cine / video projects) inspiration is a bit different (watched the great great Geoffrey unsworth 2nd film he shot in 1974) conceptuality v inspirating even the story is tricky to figure out) reading up on the new sony a7r v (8K) and the technical potential. very thought provoking.
One of your best videos yet, Thank you for sharing this with the rest of us.
I just love your channel!
Awesome
In the creative moment itself all art is primarily created for oneself. The rest of the world can wait.
The portrait at 10:44 is outstanding, Alex.
11:34...another gem! Alex, if you ever do a photowalk in NYC, I'd love to attend.
Having recently qualified as a judge for the SCPF my fear would definitely be that of being faced with an image that I don’t understand or that lacks artistically or technically and trying to find the right words to encourage the photographer. I have found your RUclips channel invaluable in broadening my knowledge and understanding of photography, giving me the courage to take on the challenge.
That’s awesome, thank you for watching
The girl's portrait at 8:08 is wonderful. Film? Digital? Post processing? How did you get such smooth gradients? That's the look I want to try for myself.
It's a very old pic.
IIRC it was on a Hassleblad HD4, the post was again, IIRC in Photoshop rather than lightroom.
Afriad beyond that I don't really have much to add, beyond it was lit well in the first place, and the tones on the file were awesome :D
Thank you. Always enjoyable and thought provoking. Thank you for sharing your images, your art is appreciated. All the best. 👍📷😎
Thank you
Dear Alex, I love your channel because of your creative approach to photography ❤️ When I started with photography, I was 7 years old we were actually buying a lens with a camera attached to it, right? All this over the top gear BS is, it's my opinion actually leading the potential talents into a wrong direction unless they are going to get serious and learn about the art properly. I am sure, this we agree upon... Still, they are great and important lenses in the history of photography which have a story behind them, the story of purpose their creators invented them for. I am thinking of my Zeiss Distagon 35mm f2 zf or Nikon Nikkor 105mm DC af-d f2 or some Summicrons and so on... All this lenses have so much character and are very unique, each representing a very personal way of seeing. They are also very individual, in the way that you have to understand them with all their pros and cons in order to get the best out of them. It's more of a psychological issue, the choice of glass corresponding to your inner vision... I know your channel is not about the gear but, as some of them are really so special and constructed by great masters I wish you would bring them closer to your audience, with all their complexity and the proper way of using them. I mean, it's still about the glass, isn't it? The whole magic happens between our eyes and the lens, the camera is only a tool, the lens isn't... All great photographers you are talking about were attached to a certain lens, like if it was an extension of their inner eye. Today's run for pixels and sharpness and lack of CA and so on is so very misleading and the audience needs somebody as competent as you to talk about the human aspects of some epic glass. I would really love to see you doing it in your own way, which is keeping us following your wonderful channel! Thank you and, best regards from Croatia 🤜🤛📸✌️
Great to have you here Karlo! Thanks for the comment
Another great listen and good to see your work,. Alex. I wish people would go out and find their own shots rather than follow the crowd and shoot the same golden hour Landscapes. I an't imagine the great artists following each other about painting the same Landscapes. Whitby, eight photographers with their Tripods and cameras out to photograph the sunset, behind them looking in a different direction a lone photographer, photographing the amazing colours in the sky and the reflections on the sea and no burnt-out highlights.
Great thoughts and advice as ever, Thankx Alex ! Beautiful images, keep em coming !! ... as long as you only think about creations, everything can be as great as you like, but as soon as you start creating you come to terms with reality, I think i am afraid of that a lot of times .......greetings from germany .....
Hey Germany, thank you for watching
Thank you
Will you be doing a video on how to study photographs of famous photographers in general. What should we look for or try to identify when we look at a picture by Saul Leiter for example, to learn. Thx
Bravo ...
How important is High Mega Pixel cameras and sharp lenses for creativity? Why does some keep getting newer equipment to stay interested in photography? I start to slowly upgrade my equipment after my D300 (DX) stopped working after 13 year to a FF camera, first to a D700 2 year ago and this year a D800E that I wanted from the begining, I’m now saving to a 2nd hand D850 or a Z8. But I discovered that I need to update some lenses to sharper lenses to the D850 and I try to upgrade as little as possible. My goal is an AFS 24-70F2.8 E VR, an AFS 70-200F2.8 E VR and an AFS 400mm F2.8 G VR. Also I will get a Zeiss Milvus 50mmF2.0 Macro next year. I may get a 2nd hand Zeiss 15mmF2.8 or a 2nd hand Nikon 19mmF2.8 PC.
The War of Art is required reading for, well, anyone!
Every endeavor is subject to the influence of luck. The more I get off the couch, the luckier I get.
Neither my photos nor my videos are perfect. I have my fair share of snafus with the latter, especially. But I share those mistakes, along with what I learned from them (with a touch of humor when possible). People appreciate it and relate to it. I still hate screwing up, though.
I didn't know about Henry Fonda's stage fright. But another case is actor/singer Barbra Streisand. She rarely performs live concerts at all, because she is admittedly terrified of singing before an audience.
So here's the sticking point for me..we are all in some way confronting or running away from self doubt and insecurity about our talent. What if you are a person quite enthusiastic about your art, but in reality not very good? Maybe your work suffers from technical issues or your possibly your 'eye' is just not very critical. That's the source of the lack of confidence...and who is out there to look at your work and tell you truthfully and skillfully one way or the other? I have prints hidden away in boxes because I thought they weren't very good, then I see a gallery showing of work that;'s not as good as my throw aways... So what to do?!
Broo add some background music also..
It will make a great difference 🔥
Nooo I like it without the music 😅
Interesting. Satan does tempt us but what with? What can we tempted by? We can only be tempted by things we want otherwise they wouldn't be tempting. It's ordinarily why we can’t say `no' to temptation.
So when moved by the spirit make sure it’s a good spirit first.
You’re right when you say we can’t choose to be inspired or not. This means the spirit is not under our control. The spirit is not for us to manipulate to our own ends. Rather it calls us and so we say art is a journey and indeed it is. Its not a meaningless journey though. It has a destination otherwise why bother.
This is why when after the honeymoon period of the initial inspiration is over it’s such hard work to commit. It’s why we tend to give up at the first hurdle.
The `down in the doldrums’ has always fascinated me. Part of me thinks it’s where the rubber hits the road. Whether it results in us following other pursuits or to keep going…either way. It could be likened to St. John of the Cross’ `Dark night of the soul’.
John gives us a way to try to determine if its depression or not. If, when in the doldrums, we think the journey is not real and we just want to give up and drink alcohol, we’re probably depressed. If we still desire the journey despite `not feelin’ it’ for a while and persist it’s more likely a dark night of the soul and we should indeed rejoice and be glad because there’s a reason for it. This I know is a photography channel but the Christian message is just this - the inspiration we feel? It’s worth the effort no matter what path we walk and no matter how hard it becomes.
Your photography Alex is really good. Keep going.
Alex, what's the point or meaning to make pointless and meaningless pictures, billions of them and call it creativity or art? The smarter ones try to copy the "Old Masters, Legends" style and call them their own creative style. The not-so-smarts like me just do the boring, pointless, meaningless picture taking and we think, we are great photographers and will be a "legend" one day. If a photographer can do a few "a picture is worth a thousand words" he has the vision and talent for taking photos, the rest of us without creative vision we just do the talking.