Photographing the Midwest ep. 1 | William Gedney, Photo Narratives, and the GFX 50S II
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- The first episode of photographing the Midwest. In this one, we talk about boring photos (some of mine are), William Gedney, if photos need to tell a story, and the GFX 50S II.
0:00 - The Midwest
3:12 - "There aren't boring places, just boring photographers."
4:34 - William Gedney
6:14 - Portraits of Doug
9:07 - Does every photo need to tell a story?
14:26 - GFX 50S II
Website : www.bryanbirks.com
Instagram : / bryanbirks 
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The idea that there aren't boring places, just boring photographers made me think of Rilke saying that “if your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for to the creator there is no poverty and no poor indifferent place.” Great video, thank you 👏
This man is a true artist trying to find a way to explain his artistry to us and I'm here for it. It's inspiring.
Key phrase is trying to explain. Haha maybe one day.
Great video, the introduction really drew me in, and the video gave me a lot of food for thought.
Making photos of the place one is in, the place one knows well, is what will allow one to create a unique portfolio and style. We don't need another image of El Capitan or the Brooklyn Bridge, only you can capture the places no one else goes. I look forward to seeing more images.
You took the time to talk to Doug, and that resulted in some great images, I think they should be in the book, they are some of the strongest images I've seen so far related to the Midwest and car culture, and they have an interesting story. Good on you for going out and getting those images despite having some reluctance.
The portraits of Travis, both on the tailgate, and the closer version are great images as well, but sometimes the subject doesn't want to tell a story to accompany the words, but you have a story of your own about the images, and that's enough.
I really like Alex Soth's idea, and I think you should consider images at the front of any book you produce, with more details in text at the back. I know I like to read about many of the images I see, but not necessarily alongside the images.
If you like the GFX, and the price is reasonable. You are fortunate to get paid to be a photographer on assignment, if the GFX allows you to do that sort of work more efficiently, but still allows you to have you own style, use the GFX for assignments and that buys a bit more time on assignment and pays for the film when you want to use the large format camera for work or your own private pursuits.
Being a Brit in the Chicagoland area, I always say, if you can make a great landscape image in the midwest, you can make a great image anywhere, its the bootcamp of landscape photography :-).
A long time ago you did do several videos of you photographing smaller midwest towns, some of my favourite videos of yours.
As a great photographer in the midwest with a great channel, I feel like you have a massive untapped opportunity as there are not that many great midwest based photography channels.
I’m hoping to explore and make many more videos like that. This week will be the first. Like I said in the video, I always have a pang of guilt showing up and then leaving.
But I’m telling myself that I’m telling stories and it’s better to document it now instead of going there and leaving with nothing to show anyone.
That intro got me thinking I accidentally clicked on a Tarkovsky movie. Amazing.
Tarkovsky just rolled over in his grave with that comment 😂
But thank you!
I found out too about Tarkovsky 2 weeks ago ! Amazing movie STALKER
i thought the same!
It totally reminded me of some old boris music videos. ruclips.net/video/_IcYIBcW-Uw/видео.html They've often named Tarkovsky as an influence on their music and videos.
Well said.
you nailed it. always trying to make my subjects look dignified
You definitely do my man!
Man your vulnerability and expression of your ideas and thoughts is just so refreshing and relatable.
Yourself, Willy and Brae are like my holy trinity.
Thanks Bryan!
100%
Appreciate that. Willy and Brae are great RUclipsrs and even better individuals. Love them.
Baraka vibes at the start. Thanks Bryan for raising the bar for me :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
Still looking forward to your book - your portraits are stunning….as good as anything…..by anyone!!
Appreciate that. Hoping that it comes to fruition at some point…we will see.
Talking about "elevating" a person really struck a nerve with me. I completely agree and it seems that modern photography sometimes can be centered on dramatic portraits of people on the street in ways that are a bit dramatic and strange and don't really paint these people in the best light, but do well on social media because they are shocking or strange. It is refreshing to hear discussion on how we can elevate our subjects in our work as Photographers.
The suspense was killing me at the start. I enjoy your complete honesty. It can't be easy putting all of your thoughts out there, but I'm sure it will help you grow as a photographer. The GFX photos looked good. I struggle getting the colours to look in a lot of light on my GFX and even X series Fuji cameras.
I just struggle with getting the soft look of film. It’s either to contrasty or way too soft. But I just need to embrace the digital look and take the pros and cons of it. Affordability and ease is always a plus.
OMG! The intro is so cool! ❤
🖤
Strong work, Bryan. I always appreciate your candor. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure!
I agree with your perspective on making portraits with respect. The portrait at 8:47 is outstanding. I always say that I only want to make photos of people that I’d be happy to show them.
I want to express how awesome it is that you share such an honest experience with us about your photography. I know many can relate to you and your videos are sometimes warm. Keep going buddy and hope we run into each other one day
Thank you, Christopher!
I live in Illinois. The mental struggle to find beauty is so hard for me. Your channel and work inspires me. It feels really rewarding when I get an interesting photo. Always look forward to a new video. Keep up the great work!
Thank you! What part of Illinois? I feel like the closer you get to the Mississippi river the better things get. Southwest Illinois is pretty beautiful.
1. Landscapes in the Midwest are difficult. But can be strikingly beautiful when done well.
2. If you ever want a car buddy/tour guide of Eastern Iowa lmk, I'm working on a similar project.
Ben! Just found your channel - I shoot the midwest every freaking day, and you nailed a lot of it. Great stuff, man!
Thanks for watching!
Great video. Looking forward to more in this series.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Dude I feel this. I live in Wisconsin and it can be very uninspiring at times.
One of the things I enjoy about your photography, as a Brit living in Chicago without a car, is that it shows me a totally different side of the Midwest that I basically never get to experience.
Thanks! Hoping to make many more of these types of videos because I always seem to forget that most people are nowhere near the Midwest.
The best photographers from the Midwest are
1) Gary Irving (Places of Grace, Beneath an Open Sky, Illinois)
2) David Plowden (The Hand of Man on America, Vanishing Point, A Sense of Place)
3) Terry Evans (The Inhabited Prairie, Disarming the Prairie, Prairie: Images of Ground and Sky
These are the Best of the Midwest.📷🌟🌟🌟
I’ve heard of Plowden. I’ll have to look into the others!
So happy to have found your channel Bryan. That opening to this video was just stunning with the soundscape and the whole feel. True Detective v Ripley!
Thank you! Still need to watch Ripley.
@@BryanBirks Think you'd absolutely love it. Follows the path of the Talented Mr Ripley of course but much darker and sparse
The touristboard for het Midwest will probably not use this video for their promotions but, man, this is a fantastic moody video! Thank you very much for all the hard work you put in making this for us.
Appreciate it!
Bryan, I believe you should listen to your anxiety, and not fight it.
I believe that is your nature, trying to tell you that, that is not the way of taking photographs, that belongs to you, and you should try to listen yourself better, and find your way.
We have to fight our anxiety, when duty compells us, when a situation requires us so.
But when pursuing a creative, fun and spontaneous activity, feeling anxious, for a long time, is an alarm we should listen to.
I bet that if you'd find a way to portrait people, without ever being anxious about it, your work will be more meaningful.
I've been following you for quite some time, and I always felt this way, there would be more to add to this thought, but I'll end it here.
I love your work and I wish you all the best.
Love this! I live in Iowa.
Always a treat when a Birks Original pops up in the notifications. Keep at 'em. Damn, I gotta start making videos again...
Get after it!
Can’t wait to see this series develop Bryan. You tend to be quite hard on yourself and I’m the exact same way so my wife says lol. I’ve chosen to not look at it as a bad thing either. You’ll always be humble and that allows for the best learning experience throughout the process. Anyways, I really enjoyed this first episode and was excited to learn more about Gedney’s work so thank you for bringing him up! Cheers brother!🤘📸
I’ve heard the “you’re too hard on yourself” from everyone. But I just have to work that way. If I get compliments and shit I get very lazy like the work is done. But it’s far from done. That’s why Chico was so important to me. They weren’t afraid to hit me where it hurts.
@@BryanBirks I relate to that 100%
Thank you so much for your commitment to keeping it real. (I read the earlier comment telling you to “chill out” and I think your response was polite, but I would have given a different response, lol.) I, along with many others, really appreciate hearing from someone who isn’t afraid to talk about the struggles and challenges they face with their work….as opposed to so many “influencers” who only want to show their “bangers” and how awesome their creative life is. Also, I respect your principled approach to photographing people. I think about the photographer’s work I like the most (like Schutmaat’s for example) and you can feel the respect and dignity he has for his subjects, it literally shows in the work. And that’s what elevates it. Appreciate you, man.
Dude, the “chill out” comment was wild. If he thinks I’m not chill now I can’t imagine what he would say with my old videos talking shit on everyone under the sun. Lmao
Thanks for the kind words. Really appreciate it!
I really enjoyed this video and im looking forward to the next in the series!!!
Really appreciate that. Thank you!
as always, a incredibly well done video, for such channels i am glad they invented the ring, push notifications or whatever they're called. i seriously hope you will release a book with your work one day, i might be one of the first who gets it :)
I seriously hope I release a book one day too! Haha it’s definitely in the works but my goodness it’s a process.
I went on a work trip to rural Nebraska some years ago and loved it, some of my favourite photos were from that trip. I live by sea (in the UK) and I had a moment whilst standing in a corn field with country as far as I could see and realised I was the furthest I've ever been from the coast... Exploring Nebraska was the open spaces, it's the may layered stories that shape the landscape (both nature and human) and it's a visceral sense of time past and and time passing. I think. Great video, and I think I'm going to have a look at those old photos again.
I need to try to look at the places I see everyday as an outsider or tourist like that. I think it would help bring a new perspective.
Bryan, man this is very cool. I feel the same way with what I am attempting with a photo project. The midwest is hard to capture especially without people to drive a narrative. It's hard enough to create compelling, honest, and uplifting images using human subjects. Without the human subject, I am thinking about some archival material from The Center for Land Use Interpretation as a guideline for the midwestern landscape problem.
Doubly cool was your mention of Alec Soth. He had some work in a SLAM show from his Sleeping by the Mississippi series last year. I was particularly drawn to his work there and the idea. Thank you for mentioning him and reminding me of my stored but misplaced thoughts.
Soth is a treasure trove and even if you don’t like his work I think he has compelling thoughts to make you think on photography.
His course is still the only education I’ve paid for with photography. And it increases in value every time I watch it.
Wonderful & insightful video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love your work and authenticity, it always bleeds through
Thank you!
That intro was epic 😮
This comment is epic.
Thank you for all your videos , sometimes I watch them a couple of times.
If you're planning to come a little bit closer to Chicago let us know . I think a lot of people get inspired for your videos and also the recomendations about other photographers that you follow. One more time, Thanks .
Thanks for the comment! I don’t get up to Chicago all that much but I do find myself in central Illinois sometimes. Great landscapes up there.
Let the photos speak for themselves. Let the viewer interpret them the way they choose, i know thats how I prefer to view photos.
For me the only exception is when it's a singular subject where you want to tell a specific or special story.
I agree somewhat. I think some projects benefit from text and background. Other more poetic and ethereal work might not need words. But I also know many people think the opposite. Poetic needs words. Documentary/real world doesn’t. It’s all preference for sure.
my personal experience with digital color has been that the older and higher end the camera is, the better the colors. used a phase one p65 for a few months, now i dont shoot any digital anymore because so far nothing has been able to match it
I’ve seen many people say that.
As always, I appreciate the thoughtfulness expressed in these vids. The work is beautiful. Will be interested to see if you decide that you can incorporate the 50D into your work.
Thanks!
I think it can easily find a place.
Didn’t know about Gedney, thanks.
Welcome! 🍻
The first scene was so powerful and artistic. Looking forward to a movie in the future hey :)
Ha, I don’t know about that!
Interesting, well done.
Many thanks!
Love this and the way you approach and speak about photography. I'm in the middle of planning the relaunch of my show Process Driven. Maybe we could have a conversation?
I’m always down to chat about photography. Just hit me up whenever!
FWIW, as someone shooting with a GFX 100s for the past 4-5 months you will never get the colors to be identical to 4x5 film or any other size film IMO. Like all digital sensors it renders color and light/dynamic range differently than the chemical event of film. Highlights tail off more elegantly with film, the GFX is exponentially sharper per sensor inch and sees into the shadows more. It's just a different thing, and when I make big 40" or even 50" prints (making sure to not clip highlights when shooting), the benefits are obvious. But it's not film, just as film will not be it, no matter what film sims are used in post.
Yeah I probably just need to accept that. I like the work of some digital color photographers but I can’t seem to edit it to my liking just yet.
@@BryanBirks Again, just my opinion, but digital color can look great. It's incredibly vivid/punchy and often more accurate to what the eye sees on location and edit-able. It just doesn't look identical to film. skin tones "feel different" on film. That classic smooth/mellow tone is different. Film looks like film, digital looks like digital. Both are great in their own ways.
Killer video! very well done
Thanks, Kenny!
thought i was in for a death doom bryan birks crossover music video
Maybe one day.
the nikon d850 has a 4x5 crop mode you can shoot in. you can see the crop right in the OVF. just thought i'd pass that info along.
Oooo that would be nice. I don’t see 4x5 crop all that much.
Great! Do you like the mitakon 65 lens? I was wondering about it for the Hasselblad medium format. Beautiful work as always. Thanks
It’s a pretty decent lens! A little soft wide open but still sharp. The out of focus area is nice. But it is a big lens for sure.
@@BryanBirks ok. Good to know. Thanks!
I see a Bryan Birks video uploaded, I press play
HELL YES
Fantastic channel. Makes me want to ditch IG and TikTok and make content specifically for RUclips
TikTok can kick rocks. Will never grace that app.
Great video, a topic I can totally relate to living in Alberta. Are you familiar with George Webber? He has a book Prairie Gothic which would be right up your alley, just focusing on the Canadian Prairies.
I'll check it out. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hello Bryan, I just want to ask you how was your process with those black and white photos on the GFX, because Im shooting film since a long time ago, and looking those push me to think seriously into get some digital MF for more "brief" and "light" works... I assume the photos are raw with minimal adjustments in post (?) or maybe jpg straight out of the camera with Acros or some of the film simulations fuji is known for these days?
Sorry for such a boring technical question.
Greetings from Spain, I love you work
Don’t apologize for technical questions! Most of them were the Acros simulation and then some were Acros with a red filter. The only adjustments I make are minimal ones like highlights, shadows, and contrast.
Nothing crazy. I just try to edit it to get the same look as I get with TMax 100 on large format. I also add a tiny bit of grain.
Doug looks great!
Thanks! Saving the “better portrait” that I took on the first meeting for the book.
Dude the filmmaking is seriously fucking good. If you enjoy that you should pursue it.
I wasted four years of my life in college to get a shit tv and film degree. Didn’t learn a single thing and thought I was going out to Hollywood. So I’ll just stick to RUclips filmmaking now. Haha
You might like the photography of Danny Wilcox Frazier, you know him ? Very midwest, very much into communities and the people in rural areas. His images are quite different from yours, which I think can be a bonus... And thanks for another great video !
Oh I know him. Great work! Thanks for the comment.
Maybe for color with the GFX you can try with Cobalt profiles? It seems works really well
I'll look into them!
I’m glad you don’t feel that all this boring photography is amazing nor is the street photography in New York, if I understood you right. I don’t take street photos I do documentary work. But your portrait of Doug doesn’t document his life like that photographer you mentioned did. What do your portraits mean to you? Why portraits?? I do like your picture of Travis on the tailgate though. It’s getting closer to a documentary image and I like it! I hope this stimulates you to think about your work. I’m not trying to be a downer or mean/harsh. Just my thoughts.
The portraits I showed of Doug aren’t going to be part of the project because the photos I took before were better portraits. I said that in the video. But I figured it would be better to show them than not.
Again, and I said this in a previous comment, I'm not only going to show the best shit and most of the time my shit will be boring and once in a while it might all come together like the Travis portrait. But that doesn't happen often.
I will never understand how you only have 26K followers
I don’t ask questions anymore. I just continue doing my thing. Lol
Get a 80mm F/1.7 for your GFX, it is so sharp. Just autofocus is very bad on the GFX 50s II.
That price shocks me.
@@BryanBirks yes, when you buy a camera, consider lens prices first
I guess my follow up would just be what do your portraits say..? Ya know??
I think they show humility in the person and I think they're authentic portraits that document someone as they are. They aren't produced. There's no fluff. I think they represent the person well. I think they're dignified and respectful.
I'm not the one to ask what they say. I should ask the viewer that and if they feel something, great. If they don't, I probably need to make another portrait.
Wonder if the intro was inspired by Ripley? Lovely cinematic monochrome!
I haven’t seen it yet! Mostly inspired by “The Lighthouse.”
@@BryanBirks Check out 'A field in England' if not seen already!
@@andrewgifford7740will do!
❤
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This video is best watched at 2x speed…otherwise way too slow
That’s…. just …. like your …. opinion, man.
2spooky4me
What's really spooky is the amount of time I put into this video and how little money I'll make on it. Truly frightening.
Dude chill out man. Are you ok?
What point in the video makes you think that I’m not okay? Lmao I’m perfectly fine. Probably the most level headed I’ve been since I started this channel.
@@BryanBirks you seem awful defensive and not ok on so many levels bub
@@grizzlyrunfast Please explain where I am defensive. Is it the part about boring photography? Is it a comment? I honestly don't know. All I'm doing is sharing my process, experience, and opinions just like I've been doing for four years. I'm sure at some point it may be negative in some way, shape, or form. It's not all positive and great all the time and I try to show that. I'm not a super jovial person either so maybe my talking comes across a way that makes it seem like that? I don't know. I'm trying to figure out what you mean. Lol
For me the intro is the exact opposite to other peoples opinion to your intro. The music and too the filmed scenes are for a psycho movie, and has nothing to do with the Midwest. For me the scenes. The musice and scenes seem to me as if, for example, a UFO would fly into the picture at any moment, or as if a murderer or monster could jump out of the cornfield at any moment. Is this the Midwest?
The scenes are dark and negative and so have nothing or very little to do with the Midwest. Surely there are some murderers and rapists out in the Midwest, but only a few. For me it seems, that you only had the idea to do anything else, than you did in the past. Surely you are an artist and have the rights to do what you want, but I would preferr to see you as an artist who does art, not crime movies like "art" videos.
The intro does not fit to you and does not fit to the Midwest. Sorry Brian, that is my opinion to this intro. However, the rest of your video is like Brian's work, that I know and like. BTW Brian, do you like this intro?
I wanted to experiment a bit. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m not about to be the photographer on RUclips who does the same thing like every single other photographer. Lo fi music, coffee b roll, that shot of that barn in the Tetons…sound familiar?
I loved it. That’s why I made it. And if you don’t think it fits me then I would venture to guess it’s because you don’t really know me as a person. And that’s fine because you’re only seeing what I give you online.
Hope you enjoy the next video if you decide to watch. 🍻
You're losing your touch. That was downright tedious. As Archie Bunker would say, "Get to the point, Edith!".
Losing “my touch”. Son, I never had a touch. I’m just some guy making videos and you’re just some guy commenting on it.
I will continue to make the videos exactly how I have been making them regardless of this comment. You can choose to watch or jog on, Timmy.
@@BryanBirks Indeed. We need "creators", both on youtube and in the larger artistic world, to follow their muse. Not the demands of random short attention span comments. The muse, the instinct is the source of unique work. Keep it up.
@Eliguitar1 normally I would have edited it to make it “more accessible” but this time I said fuck it. It’s not going to please everyone but I’m also not on this platform to please everyone. Thanks for the comment!
I found it the complete opposite. This was very pleasing to watch. Work on your TikTok brain, Timothy.