I take photos to try and capture what I feel and think about being alive, to try and document my sensation of being here. With a photo I can look at where I was physically in the world, technically in the control of my tools, aesthetically in my ability to make visible my perception in the moment and as a human being. When I look at what I think are my successful photos I get the sort of pleasure anyone gets from getting something right. When I look at the photos of photographers I admire, I feel I have a long way to go and much to learn. Even when I don’t take many photos or don’t take anything that excites me, I enjoy the sense of awareness of the world and what is happening around me that I feel practicing photography has brought me. In a way, it helps me live with intention…but I haven’t a clue what the purpose is. It’s just a state of mind I value.

What got me into photography was when my mother told me to take a picture with a tiny kodak camera we had. I saw the pictures, and I was hooked on the images I had taken. They were beautiful. It was looking through a window they were that sharp. I'm 56 years old now, and still love taking photographs. Everything looks different through the lens of a camera.

Thank you for sharing this video, your images are beautiful. I got started photographing as a child when my father gave me a Brownie Reflex camera. I loved using that camera and in fact I still have it. My first 35mm camera was a totally manual Fuji with a 50mm f1.4 lens. I carried it everywhere. My father was a Firefighter and I spent a lot of time photographing fires and firefighters at work. I still will occasionally get out and shoot a fire, but now my passion lies in finding and photographing the old and abandoned. Cars and buildings, that have long since been forgotten, and left to decay. I also enjoy travel photography. My goal for the new year is to try to do some street photography. But as long as I have my camera in my hand I am enjoying my hobby no matter what images I shoot. I just hope I can improve my skills and continue to grow as a photographer.

100% under-rated channel. I feel like I'm stealing knowledge from the rafters of photography university. Thank you so much for sharing the know-how, the experience, and the questions that make us all better!

I got my 1st camera at 6 years of age-a Kodak 126 "instamatic" for Christmas 1973. Since that day, photography has been to only constant in my life-people come and go, jobs change and our lives develop, but I will always have a camera within reach. I take pictures to record the world through my eyes, to make statements and to feed the artistic need to create. I have never limited myself to a single subject or genre and am as happy taking land and seascapes as I am portraits or street work. I also used photography as a lifeboat when I had a serious illness and had to change my lifestyle and career, enrolling at university and taking a B.A. and Masters in filmmaking and photography. Photography changed my life as a 6 yr old and saved my life when everything else fell apart.

Really nice pictures! I watched through them two and three times. The "why" question is a road with many forks. But I agree, it's worth the effort to try to understand. That effort shows in your work. As it will for all of us.

wonderful images reminded me so much of my short visit there. but I want to give a special shout of joy to the image of the table taken from your hotel window. magnificent capture. there are so many reason I'm drawn to photography to create art, but I think it all boils down to one primary driving force, the pure deep joy I get when I capture an image that evokes a deep human emotional response. it is a HIGH that pushes me to create more and more and it is such a wonderful thing that I could not live without. thank you for sharing

I consider myself just a mere collector of sceneries, capturer of the moment.

That tree shot turned out to be a masterpiece! Beautiful video again Tatiana!

The intro is magic. Love the reverse waves

That's cool of LUMINAR to sponsor your video... they're a fab photographic tool for fine tuning images!

This was a beautiful video, Tatiana! And what a great soul-searching question too. I think every year, I find a new reason to be a photographer. When I had a digital point and shoot in high school, I wanted to take pictures because I wanted to have a record of everything that I experienced, like proof that I had lived and existed. I watched a video by Leena Norms about being in your 20s, and she said that sometimes it feels like being in your 20s is about collecting data. You want to collect as many experiences as you can because you think it will help shape you as a person and keep up with your peers. And so, I think that one of the main reasons I take pictures is to collect those experiences. It's also a privilege to be able to experience things and travel places, and so I treat every outing, even a trip to the drug store, as something really precious. As cliche as it might sound, being a photographer helps you see the beauty in the simple things. I get excited over things that my friends and family would roll their eyes over. And as I get older, I can see how photography has made me a more conscious, optimistic, and spontaneous. I take things in stride, embracing mistakes, and making the most out of what I'm given. It's humbling and therapeutic. And then as I got into film photography, I started to engage with the online community, which gave me another reason to further lean into photography. And then through channels like yours, I'm able to learn more about art and history, which is another reason to be a photographer because you want to try to emulate all of these great photographers of the past who are such huge inspirations. And so there's this positive feedback loop of being a photographer where the more you grow as a photographer, the more the reasons compound.

Love the intro titles' waves in reverse! Your editing sensibility is lovely.

I started with photography when I started university and to replace skateboarding after I had a chronic knee injury. I work pretty hard as an academic (in my 3rd year as a PhD student atm) and have always needed something to balance that rational way of thinking. Skateboarding was my original medium to view the world in a creative way but that injury left me without it and, to be honest, in a pretty dark place. But coincidentallly, it was a blessing in disguise. Initially I photographed my friends skateboarding and a few years later that resulted in my first zine. But photography has since, about 5 years, completely taken over every part outside of academics. I carry a camera 24/7 (yes, even in the lab or on campus) and shoot whatever mundane thing catches my eye. The simple act of taking photographs has given me balance already, getting physical memories from it or even getting good photos in return is just a very nice benefit. I love it, I live for it. I did an interview with a good friend of mine on this too! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jJx6iaWB2trUoWQ.html

Amazing edition, work, portfolio, comments every chapter is a visual pleasure. Thank for your hard work.

Wonderful video as always! I think I do analogue photography because I love the process. The technicalities, exploring and learning about all this technology that was on the way out when I was born. Keeping it alive and cherishing what once was.

Wonder, beautiful and inspiring video. Your work is so moving. Thank you again for making these videos. I'm heading out tomorrow on an 8+ week roadtrip from the east coast of the US to Alaska through Canada. I hope the inspiration from your work helps me to make a few satisfying images.

I’m glad you were able to spend time with your family in a beautiful place :) My favourites were ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’, ‘A Horse With No Name’ and ‘View From My Hotel Room’.

Another greatly made video Tatiana. It works on so many level - it’s very relaxing and kind of therapeutic. The photographs you took are simply marvelous. I really liked Cape Nowhere. I believe you spoke for a lot of people while stating the reason why you take photographs. For me it’s way of expressing myself and also documenting life, emotion. Thanks again for such a great video, not only photos or beautiful places - finding out great tunes as well.

I love Madeira. My family are from there but I haven’t been since I was a child. My flight there got cancelled a few weeks ago. I am due to go soon with my cameras and I can’t wait to explore. Great content thank you.

whaaa such beautiful recap of the trip. Wonderful photographs! :))

The (( Lonesome )) shot is speechless, I loved how dreamy it is how atmospheric it is, The moment this shot appeared on the screen I directly paused the video and I kept looking into this shot for three minutes, Looking deeply into this shot took me into another state of mind where there is peace, harmony and tranquility Thank You for sharing these beautiful images with us We hope to see more videos like this in the near future…

Hi T. Cracking episode - tied to a big question. I guess what draws me to photography has evolved since I first borrowed the family Yashica rangefinder at about 14. At first, it was curiosity about how photography worked and I hit lots of technical errors, such that my interest in photography went into hibernation, until I bought a Praktica Super TL2 with my second full time wage packet aged 18. It taught me how to control the exposure triangle, liberating me to start concentrating on framing and composition. Five years later I moved to a Canon A1 and this was when I really found myself focussing on specific interests - natural history in the main but horses and landscape also. This in turn, fuelled a need to really get under the skin of photography and I opted for a three year City & Guilds 744 course in General Professional photography. A Mamiya RB67 joined the party and my natural history stuff really benefitted. I felt fully in control, for the first time and I knew I was in for the long haul. It wasn't until I retired at 59 that I seriously considered the 'why do I do this' question. I knew I loved the continual challenge in creating images but wasn't sure why, beyond a tacit awareness that I wanted to extract fragments of what I saw and know that these would outlive me, so maybe the 'why' has to do with an attempt to transcend life. All I can say is that today I'm enthralled by everything from film to digital, pin hole, 35mm, 6x9cm, folders, rangefinders, SLRs and particularly love 'hybrid' imaging - film negs digitised on a Sigma SD Quattro H. I'd like to go back to my cell now please nurse...

A magical place. I had a chance to visit with some friends who were doing an Atlantic crossing, but it didn’t work out. Someday.

Love your work and your insightful thoughts. You always get me to redirect my thinking back to purpose! Keep up the great work!

Really liked the 'View from my hotel room' shot 👍🏻

The intro made me double take, so gorgeous! I started photography as a motivation to hike more, but it quickly shifted into a bigger part of who I am. I feel like it's become a good way of going through memories in a really meditative and honest way. It's easier to come to terms with being an unreliable narrator in life when you're used to spending hours adjusting contrast and tone curves on a photo. It's great to keep track of those memories, and in rare cases enhance them, but I think reflecting on how the meaning of something can shift through time is more interesting. Not to mention how the same thing can be interpreted differently person to person.

Great channel. I think for me its just being curious of many things and an excuse to engage with the world and of course to embrace the simplicity of the joy of seeing!

Maderia is such a beautiful island, I visited for the first time in late April this year and literally just scraped the surface. I will be going back. Just for the record, the frogs in the small pond in Fanal Forest do really sound like goblins at 3am (My daughter had said "Beware of the Fae!" before I left which helped a whole lot...) but the view of the Milky Way is second to none from there. Thanks for what you do on this great channel!

I take photos, not only for my self but also for my kids later on. To show myself and others how's life now and in the future and past! And the main reason is to get out and capture life and get my creative mind doing his job.

i see it the same way as Garry Winogrand “I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed.”

Nicely done Tatiana, both your photographic and video skills just amaze me. Documentary and inner peace is what drives me to photograph, I’m sure there are other reasons too but I can’t think of any others at the moment. 😊

Lovely images. I really like your style and I think your videos have got better over time too as you have a nice relaxed way of presenting them.👍

From one photographer to another. It has been a very long time since I was so inspired by the beauty of photography on film.Thank you. This post has been so well done I was moved by how well you executed your photographs, bringing out that roundness digital images struggle to do convincingly. I will be digging out and dusting off my Mamiya 6x7 and polaroid back, hunting down film and processing sources and hanging up the hasselblad and canon for some time. Your channel is inspirational your work, deep knowledge and love for the photographic art form impressive. Keep up the good work. I will be watching all your productions on you tube. a fan.

Beautiful video. For myself, I enjoy taking photos (digitally in my case) and editing them, but increasingly it's the act of curation that draws me. Individual photos can certainly be potent, but I find it's the grouping of them - and the resulting narratives - that brings me to photography day after day. If nothing it gives me reasons to revisit old photos, to reuse them, to see if I can bring about intentionality even if it was perhaps lacking when I pressed the button.

Beautiful pictures, fantastic work 👏I would suggest the Açores next - the other archipelago of Portugal. Stunning place, no less so than Madeira, guaranteed.

No, I'm not going to Scarborough Fair and I'm not cooking lamb tonight :) :P Why do I shoot pics? I do it purely for my own enjoyment and if someone else likes them, then great!!. My photos are a reminder of what I've done and where I've been. Or, what I've been interested in documenting at that particular time. My astropics are my record of what I see in the sky. Not just for my own enjoyment but also a teaching exercise for anyone interested in what is in the pics. Being an astronomer, I enjoy explaining to others what they're looking at in the pics and I enjoy the act of conveying all the technical info in "bite sized" packets so that people can follow and understand what a fabulous place our particular universe is. So, for myself, my intentions are simple. No grand philosophical treatise or anything too deep and meaningful. No existential commentary on the reasons for being. No passing of judgement. Just take the picture and be happy for it.

Brilliant video … well done. Thanks for sharing your work, feelings and thoughts about your creative journey. The why is foundation before gear and process. Very inspirational … now if only the X100V that I ordered 6 months ago would ever arrive! I’m looking forward to the next opportunity for me to pour myself a cool one, sit back, relax and enjoy another TH adventure! Brava!

This is beyond beautiful :) Great job Hopper :)

Jaw dropping set of photos 👏

I am a photographer because I feel more connected to this particular art medium than anything else.

50k! Congratulations. Well deserved. Great video with very evocative photos. In answer to your question: When everything has already been photographed twice, it's amazing how we can still produce a 'fresh' look at life and the things around us. As someone who has photographed for many, many years (and miss my darkroom) I still get totally absorbed in seeing my world.

Great episode. The “why”. I guess, in part, to leave something of myself behind. A legacy that reflects something of the person I am. That, coupled with a desire to capture images I find appealing and share them with others. There’s also something somewhat selfish in that I desire to receive positive feedback on my work. Images that get positive responses make me feel good about myself. I’m also drawn to the process, and the steps it takes to improve. There are probably many more reasons why, but those are the highlights. ✌️

I photograph for a couple of reasons. Firstly it keeps me curious about everywhere I go. Sometimes I don’t have a camera with me but I still see cool things. Secondly, it’s so I don’t forget. Life changes so rapidly and we have so many connections that I feel my memory suffers abit. Lastly, because of the camera itself, how you interact with it and use it and how you can always do things in a new way.

Fantastic intro to this video. Very, very professional. I love your minimalist images. I take photos to document our time in history, my family life, people and places. I create images these days rather than just take them. I’m a fine art photographer I guess. I ended up documenting other people’s lives, their weddings and as someone who prefers to be invisible I became very visual to all the guests and people I photographed as a pro. It took me way beyond my comfort zone where I had to present a different version of myself to the world. Being a photographer puts you in full view of everyone whether it be on the streets or a paid photographic event. I guess I would describe myself back then as “The Reluctant Extrovert”. Someone who had to be outgoing witty, cool under pressure speaking to dozens of people at once at weddings, but inside I was uncomfortable with it. Now, I put that career to bed because I felt the need to follow my path in photography rather than a paid one. You, me and others here who follow you are all on a similar path, a path of photographic discovery. Above all I love to freeze a moment in time, a split second that can be missed in the blink of an eye. Stills photography is still the most powerful medium in my view. Cartier Bresson’s photo of a boy jumping across a huge puddle as his heel of his shoe is a millisecond away from touching the still water. Priceless image. I also photograph so that one day perhaps a distant relative may come across my prints tucked away in a dusty corner of a loft and see the world before they were born through my eyes so they can connect with my path through my lifetime. This why Vivian Maier’s story is so amazing to me.

I really liked the cow photo in black and white. It was good. But there were a lot of good ones in this video.

Great video and nice music :) I like your style

This was gorgeous

This is so epic!

I guess there’s two main reasons that I’m a (amateur) photographer: 1) I really enjoy the act of creation, I was probably a musician before I was a photographer and the two things tickle the same desire in my soul, albeit in different ways. 2) it forces me to see the ‘beauty’ in the world, plus other elements of the world which ‘beauty’ is probably not the word for… and then after I see these meaningful things, I get to share them with others!

Appreciate this kind of video 🤍so inspiring

Very nice ! 👌🏻

So cool to see and learn about your experience in Madeira. As to why I photograph, I believe photography is my mirror & simultaneously a place to escape, it has played a pivotal role in helping me grow and heal these past 3 to 4 years, so much so that I don’t know what I would’ve done without it. Outside of that, I am realising that I do have things to say or convey through my photographs but those images have largely been unshared, which is ironic but I’ll get there. Thanks again for making thought provoking videos.

I love the videography on this video! and Lonesome is brilliantly executed and named. Why do I do photography? Photography is my muse, it is my meditation. Photography is my permission to disengage with the world in making process and a key to engaging with it in the presentation of the finished piece. Photography has sometimes been the only thing to break through depression and go outside and do something.

Beautiful

I think for me it would be to instill and inspire empathy in the hearts and eyes of people towards the subject I care about

stunning, stunning intro there :-) just "wow"! I really enjoyed the 3 Mamiya images from 9:00 onwards, but was particularly drawn to the Canon A1 shots around 5:00 I think for their simplicity. I'm too old to remember why I became a photographer!! I continue to be one for 2 reasons: firstly I still haven't taken that one "perfect" shot (perhaps I never will?!) and secondly to take my mind away from being ill (I have a blood cancer - partial remission at the mo but it'll come back one day and taking pictures helps me forget about things for a while). Photography really is my "during the meanwhilst"!!

Nice to see your own work!

Amazing video! Those drone shots in the beginning hooked me! I think I make photos (film photos particularly) because I want to keep a record of how the world used to be and I want to do it on an old method of record keeping. I think people that were born in the 90s like me are the bridge between the super modern technological age and the more analog or mechanical age if that makes sense. So, I feel like I have a perspective of the world that could be important as time goes on. I also feel like photography helps me slow down and enjoy the little moments when I'm traveling or hanging out with friends and makes me feel productive even when I'm on a vacation or just relaxing.

"Why I make photos" is a big question! A few thoughts: I need to create something every day, and photography is one of the ways I meet that need. I love to be out in nature. I love the technical side of photography and the many intellectual challenges on so many levels. I'm a visually-oriented person, so images are deeply moving to me. But perhaps the most compelling reason is that I am able to share my work with others, bringing a bit of joy and emotional richness to others. It's an act of giving that is good for everyone. We are living in difficult times and if we all devote a bit of our time and talents to spreading a little love, a little beauty, well, it really makes a difference. Art keeps us together, in every sense.

Thanks Girl.

I love your channel and work. I love photography, it is like a drug that I am always chasing the next image that makes my hart sing. Keep up the good work. John.

Holy cow these intro drone shots

I think I prefer the same photos taken at the same place with your panoramic camera in the previous video, I have more feeling with them, I prefer how they witness the atmosphere, maybe this famous cinematic effect you were talking about ;-) Madeira seems to have great places for sure ! Thx for sharing this video, the intro is magic

I'm surprised how many people have taken up photography to help with mental health issues. It gives them a reason to get out of bed and leave the house. It helps you focus on beautiful and interesting things that you would have normally overlooked and it gives you a sense of achievement or accomplishment. In learning a skill and watch everything come together and improve as time goes on

I photograph because I am a very inward visual person, and I find it enjoyable to express through images. I am also an observer so I enjoy capturing moments in time. My hope is that people find it inspiring, but if not, I still love the images I create and I use that to drive self growth.

Really nice video 👌

I think I’m a photographer because I love telling stories through my lens . Also because it gives me peace and meaning in life .

5:24 Stairway to heaven and wearing a Zeppelin shirt. Nice

very inspiring video

This has a production quality unmatched by even some high end movie studios. Amazing job.

did you travel with the film rolls and if so, I assume no issues when you had to put the film rolls through the airport scanner?

Those three witches in the forest in "MacBeth" -- the forest that comes alive at the end -- what if those witches also were tress? That what your "Lonesome" evoked for me. (The tree in the foreground appears to be dismayed by them.) It's an unusually dramatic photograph. I'd like to be more proficient in photography -- to make a personal document for myself or others, of the remarkable things and events that Life reveals to us. (I shoot digital mostly, but don't like most modern sensors.)

My country is Amazing :)

I photograph because it takes me into worlds and lives I would otherwise never experience. I photograph because photographing allows me to fall in love, over and over and over again. I photograph because I see. I see in design shapes, tones of grey, light, and shadow. I see the emotion in a single leaf, a branch shrouded in fog or a single tear on a person's cheek. I photograph to see what things look like in photographs. I photograph because my soul tells me I must.

I photograph because I can’t not photograph. I don’t mean to be smart, but I really can’t imagine my life without photography. Things photographic occupy too much of my daily thoughts. As I consider the question more, and this isn’t my quote. I photograph things to see how they look in a photograph. Photographing a subject transforms it into something different, it allows us to slow down in our observation of the subject. We can interpret and study for minutes or hours the image of a reality that lasted perhaps only 1/125 of a second.

10:51 - those soft spots mean you need to clean your sensor.

... and on intention, I confess that has been lacking in my process, and something I need to think about.

Beautiful images, a video that deserves all our attention. My only objection is that the words of Eugene Smith and the next frases are too small to be read comfortably, and the effort to do it breaks the mood and concentration.