Great video, Bryan! Curious how you were discovered by the NYT. Did you reach out or did they find you? Any advice on putting yourself out there to do assignments like these?

Certainly not a lighthearted subject for a story, but you did a good job of capturing the humanity of the people dealing with a difficult situation.

I live in tornado alley and went to photograph damage as soon as they opened the town. After doing this twice, I kind of got a feel for what the editors wanted. I found out from interacting with the editors that there were photos that everybody seemed to take: insulation blown out of walls was one of them. What they wanted were raw emotions: people with a look of devastation as they surveyed their houses. I had a scene of two owners standing on the former foundation of their former house hugging each other and crying. But I missed the shot. Then for another tornado, there was a guy that somehow got picked up by a small tornado and lived to tell about it. News stations were coming from all over the area to talk to him. This happened in my home turf. I was one of them. So I just went up and say hi and let him talk. It just didn't feel right shoving a camera in his face and taking the picture as he talked. He'd had enough of that. A reporter with a big video camera following her walked up to him and said, "I have to get my interview of you." He told her, "YOU JUST DID." And walked away. I never got a picture. I thanked him and wished him well and went on. So I found my old Boy Scout troop helping a farmer pick up the pieces. I took pictures of his cat on the roof of the shed watching them. The owner stood by on the edge of the lawn taking it all in and processing. I just didn't feel like invading his space. None of them were published. I think that you are really sensitive and have just the right touch when you are working on your projects. It's a hard skill to master. So I'm watching and learning.

So awesome to get a breakdown of this man, actually got a big sense of excitement just seeing you on location and knowing what the results looked like and what a big deal it is to be in that scenario. So proud of you and what you've managed to accomplish for yourself, its a huge thing, and getting to be a fly on the wall like this is awesome! Goals haha! Sorry I'm so late to the party with your uploads these days btw life keeps getting in the way lol. Always enjoy them monumentally when the time comes!

I really enjoyed your use of the speedlight with you digital camera on the pictures of the exterior of the hopsital. The layering that occurs with the lit forground, dark middleground and the lit subject in the background is really nice. I know from class that some would critique it and say that the lit forground would draw the eye and atention away from the subject but I myself usually respond to that kind of stuff with a "then look again". I think it makes for a more interesting picture to look at. Nice work! And your 4x5 photos are great as always.

I love this channel! It’s one of the very few, that is about the actual making of art and the artist’s feelings etc. other than just the gear. Great work!!!

Love seeing your career grow and to get a perspective from a photographer who was not going into this for a bump in their career.

Love hearing the details of your emotional experience in doing this assignment and how you push through your own personality traits to try to do something as simple as work with subject of a shoot. It’s amazing how much people shut down or try to control themselves when a shoot is planned vs something spontaneous. They can get so brain locked that it’s almost impossible to just get them to be real.

Hey Bryan, been thinking about your NYT shoot stories. And one thing that keeps coming to mind, is that when you shoot owners of vintage cars, you designate the car as such an icebreaker, so common ground. And how finding some external topic, or object, can ease people in other types of documentary photos 😎 Sorry if stating the obvious, yet I think I’ll try this when approaching strangers.

Your vulnerability and transparency is valued. Thanks.

Video = great. Getting another NYT assignment = awesome. That shirt = FANbloodyTASTIC. I can be shallow, I admit it! 😁

Thank you for that. I'm usually quiet here, but I've been subscribed going on two years now. You got one of my favorite channels. You are, no bullshit, one of the people that inspired me to take the leap into 4x5. Always loved your style, your flow and your straight talk. I was a little worried about the channel the last several months, but after this video, I feel like you're all the way back now. Which is great news because I think you've got more folks to inspire out there. Looking forward to the next one. Peace.

Really great breakdown of your process for this article. Thank you so much for sharing as always! I love that you're sharing the process on this as it is truly the dream.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. It is super nice to hear how things work, and how you approached the assignment. Beautiful pictures as always!

Dealing with “stiffness” in portraits can be a little tricky. Making small talk and being able to get the subject to relax and have a more relaxed expression takes time and a little skill. However, depending in what 4x5 you’re shooting also affects this. Using a 4x5 on a tripod tends to lend to subjects having more wooden expressions, because they’re sitting around watching you work and waiting. Having an assistant can help reduce this; but also choice of camera comes into play. Shooting a speed graphic handheld for example will allow you to get more naturalistic expressions as you can move with your subject. (Though you loose some of the value of movements. And you have to have equipment you can trust.). Another option is to get into a 4x5 reflex camera, like a graflex Series D, or series B. With that, you see what the camera sees up to the moment of exposure, and that allows you to better direct your subject, as well as get more relaxed expressions. With the right back you can also get more shots more quickly. Finally, you have a wider choice of portrait lenses and soft focus lenses in particular; like the wollensak verito/veritar 9”, or ektar portrait 12”. (Though you may need an RB auto graflex to take full advantage of it at portrait distances).

These are important videos that you are making Bryan, happy for you and thank you for sharing the process.

Really dug the video. Your insight on the assignments process is definitely the type of stuff I want to see more of.

Many thanks for sharing this. well done!

I appreciate the candid honesty and presentation of the work. Thank you for sharing. Good luck and hope you get another assignment soon 🙏

More beautiful work from you, Bryan. So happy you’re getting these great opportunities. Oh, and that shirt! 👍

Another great video, Bryan! It's been really inspiring to follow your channel. So refreshing to hear about your successes and failures and what you struggle with as an artist. I have been shooting film (35 and 120) for years, but recently moved into the world of 4x5, in part because of your channel. I had wanted to do it for a long time, but quite frankly I was too afraid. After having been out a few times with my Crown Graphic now, I can say for sure, I am hooked. So thank you for what you do, I can't wait to see what you do in the future. Cheers!

The photos are truly exceptional. Fascinating to hear how everything played out. I would have had at least 20 mental breakdowns along the way.

This was fascinating. Thanks for sharing the story behind the pictures and how it transpired! Great video and photos!

Thank you for your video Bryan! I always appreciate work!

This is so cool! Thank you for sharing your experience! Also - that shirt is fire!

Congrats Bryan, great work!

Brilliant work, Bryan! Congrats on the assignment and thanks for sharing all the information ✌

This is great to see and we’ll deserved. I’ve been speaking to a couple of photo editors here in the U.K. and had great feedback but I’m now in that weird uncertain time where I’m waiting for an assignment in my area that they can use me for. Seems that was the case with you too until the emails came in. Again, sincere congratulations.

Another great video mate .... thank you

Thanks for revealing a bit behind the scenes for what occurs on an assignment. As always, fantastic photos

Well done Bryan, well deserved, your large format portraits are great.,

Amazing job man! The depth of 4x5 is so staggering

'Bryan Birks for The New York Times' - very cool. I've read the article and the photos seem fitting to me. Good work!

I have a Pentax Spot meter that is just like the one Ansel Adams used for his 8X10. It's the one that he recommended in his book: THE NEGATIVE. I've tried using it with my digital camera. But the results are so different from the histogram that I quit using it. But it's spot on for film. That's an interesting conversation about replicating the film look with digital and trying to get them to match up. I haven't really gotten into that. But Martin Evening has done a lot of research on it and written a lot about it in his photoshop books. He has some presets for certain looks if you are like me and need someplace to start. Bryan's a lot further up the learning curve than me.

Super cool, nice job!!

Strong portraits man (not surprising, coming from you). And I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts about the work and the process in making them. Also; can we talk about your strong shirt game in this vid??! 💯

Dude this is rad, these photos are really interesting. I really love the challenge presented in hiding the son, love your initial idea and also love how you moved away from that idea when it wasn't working and were still able to make some good work. Congratulations.

Wow, well done Bryan. You are very talented. Keep up the good work.

CONGRATS 🙌✨ Challenging assignment too.

congratulations and thank you for sharing the process. Kudos to the NYT for supporting photography in that way. I often wonder how they achieve the somewhat saturated and almost glossy look on their site...

The first subject with the wider perspective helps convey more context about her character (you can see her tattoos etc.) and her surroundings. I suppose classic environmental portrait rather than a tighter subject shot is why they chose to publish it as their pick. Great work!

Wpw/ What a treasure trove of information. Thanks!

Super instructive as always, thanks ! Hope you'll get more assignments. Love the intro/outro btw. I have a question on how you hang your 4x5 sheets to dry. I use little wodden clothes pegs, and since the emulsion isn't dry when I hang the film, the pegs put marks on it. Do you have them too and crop'em out or do you use something else ?

Bryan well done friend

Hi Bryan, love your work. I've found good luck using C1 to convert the base characteristics to emulate film. Like you can convert colour spaces so I convert my Nikon z6 to a Phase One colour space and choose the Portrait setting. It's a good jumping off point to emulate film colour more easily. Not exact, and depends what digi camera you're using but wanted to share incase it helps.

Have you looked into getting a Digital back for your 4x5? just to keep the cost of film down?. Great images, very nice calming video as are almost all of your videos!. Thanks for your content.

I think the subject matter combined with the format is responsible for the statues. I doubt they expected a real camera in their face and a 1 second pose for example. Nice BTS, thx.

Thank you for this, did you use a graflex and did you think about using strobe lights when doing jobs for the NY Times?

What lenses do you have for the 4x5? Is it a mono rail or field view. On average how much time do you spend setting up the camera ie. tripod, composing, metering. Sometimes a shot you’re not happy with can be a result of not having a clear understanding of what you want from the shot. Getting frustrated confused and not seeing the pre-visualization in your mind. I believe this builds with experience and confidence in your vision. Down side is becoming formulaic falling back to much on what has worked before. Do you shoot any medium format or 35mm film?

Another really inspiring & interesting video. I really like the look of film but I had the opportunity to get a Pentax 645z digital medium format camera for a very reasonable price. I have been totally impressed. I think you might like it.

I see a Bryan Birks video uploaded, I press play

While we’ve never met, I’m very proud of you…

👍

Why not carry digital at all times and take backup photos? I do that even just on vacation, if it was pain work I expect it would be a lot less stressful knowing for sure you at least got one usable shot. My blood pressure would be sky high waiting to see those 4x5 shots developed...

This was a great exploration through the process and I appreciate it. Hope your ass is no longer sweaty.

Interesting story and congrats for getting into the NY Times!

Dude use digital for commercial. Then you can focus on getting subjects comfortable vs mucking around with the 4 x 5.

😍 *Promo SM*

It's great that they gave you that space to work on the story. NYT typically only gives me a few hours 🫠