Thank you kindly, Paul. Really means a lot to hear that.

Also I think this is my new favorite video of yours.

Truly. I’m realizing that all of my favorite photographers last names start with an S too. Soth, Schutmaat, Sander, Sternfeld, Steinmetz, Shore, the list is growing. Completely unrelated to what you said but thought I would share. 😂 Appreciate it, Matt!

@@BryanBirks I've legitimately thought the same thing before when pulling books because my shelf goes Schutmaat, Sohier, Soth, Steinmetz, Sultan, all of which have made lasting impacts in different years and periods of my life and photography.

Oh yeah, I just watched your video about Sohier the other day. Very reminiscent of Steinmetz. Thought about getting her book but the price was pretty steep. I’ll have to dive in more thoroughly a day here soon. Sultan is another one I haven’t really given a shot and definitely need to.

@@BryanBirks make the drive and we can look at books all day, brother.

He’s back!

I think his demeanor and the way he speaks definitely helps. He’s so calm and peaceful. His subjects just give in and relax I’m sure. From what I’ve read his direction is pretty minimal as well which would also help in making people feel at ease. Glad you enjoyed it!

The big viewfinder of large/medium format really helps get the photographer’s face away from the camera, and with that people get a lot more at ease…idk why, but I get much more chill from people when I shoot from the hip with the screen on the back of my Fuji than if I’ve got the EVF at my eye. Maybe I’m doing like mark and just hanging out with the subject.😊

Appreciate it, Matthew! 🍻

I have a very strong feeling that my bookshelf will soon be filled with all of his work. In due time.

Definitely agree. I’m already looking back on past work with fresh eyes and not being so hard on the technical aspects.

I think that might be considered a thoughtcrime on KZfaq’s part but I’m not gonna complain about it. 😎

Thank you, Wyatt. Happy to have you here. Hope to see you around in the future 🍻

Yeah I don’t try to fight why I like someone’s work. I just let it happen. He is definitely a storyteller though. The double exposure was…interesting at least. Haha glad you liked it.

Much appreciated!

I’ll have to take a look. Thanks for the recommendation!

Happy to have you here, sir!

I would agree with you for sure. I just think that I have really high standards and I’m trying to match the photography that I look up to…which isn’t possible yet because I’m not where I want to be. But it does help in the sense of progression.

Thanks for watching 🍻

Thank you for watching!

Thank you for the kind words, Alvin. There’s really no point in having a channel if you’re not using it to introduce your audience to new and inspiring things. Happy you enjoyed!

Thank you! Cheers!

Thanks for watching, Tom 🍻

Thank you kindly!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Appreciate it, Paul 🍻

Thank you for watching kind sir!

I think the double exposure would have worked a lot better if his face didn’t get lost in the trees and sky. The top of the shot is just a mess but then again, I thought I was taking two different shots 😂

Appreciate it, John!

Big thumbs up on this comment!

Good to hear. Thanks for watching, sir!

I love unassuming work and work that isn’t in your face. His photos embody that for sure. Too many people these days trying to put so much information in an image that the message is lost. Glad you enjoyed!

Thank you, Håkon!

Thanks! Lumix S1.

I knew you’d be fond of it with that 690 you rock around.

@@BryanBirks Your video has inspired a new idea that Im going to make a video about so thank you lol

Thanks, Manuel. I’ve always been one to show the positives and negatives (no film pun intended). I could probably work something like that into a future video. Anything specific you want to see in terms of editing?

Heck yeah.

Oh yeah. It’s tough. If I had to pick between over critical and under critical I would definitely choose the first option. One at least sets me up for progress while the other leaves me thinking I’m hot shit that never needs to improve.

🖤

I loved that one.

Thanks for the comment, Chad. I have had multiple people tell me to quit being hard on myself. Which I completely understand. But I also think a little self criticism can aid greatly in growth and I think that’s the reason that I’ve been able to learn so much in three years time. I enjoy the process greatly and just because I question my work and speak openly about the things I messed up, big and small, doesn’t mean that I’m not enjoying every second of it. Also, I wanted to be open about my mistakes because from my experience there are 100 people on KZfaq saying they are perfect and never mess up for every one person that says they do. That gets tiring really fast and isn’t the best for new photographers trying to learn. It’s even harder in the age of social media because, unlike art instructors or educators, social media can often be an echo chamber of positivity and that would be a negative towards my growth as a photographer.

@@BryanBirks Yeah, I hear that. My art class critiques was a space for healthy criticism and it definitely helped me. If you look at enough work and shoot enough you just ultimately know if a photo works or not. I work on clinical perfection and mastery in my wildlife photos, but when it comes to film I enjoy the process of just being fast and loose. If I mess up, it's just money, ha ha.

Good to hear!

Thanks for the kind words. Truly. The first images would be from his early LA work while shooting 35mm I believe. The series that came out this was “Angel City West”. The books are pretty pricey. I would definitely recommend “South Central” though. Amazing quality and fantastic work.

Yes you do. Get after it! 👊🏻

Huh?

I definitely err on the side of caution with patting myself on the back or getting ahead of myself in that department. I know my skill level and I have confidence in my work…I just have extremely high standards and want to match the work that I see and look up to. It’s a lofty goal and something I might never reach but it’s something that I need to keep going and shooting. But also my confidence gets a little muddled with social media and KZfaq because I’ve never had the “popular” channel so I perceive my photos to be middling or on par with my channel popularity. Which I know is not the case but it’s just a negative way of thinking that I’m trying to get rid of currently.

@@BryanBirks Yeah, it's the creative's curse, made worse by the almighty algorithm.

Disregard the query, i used the magic of googling lyrics. Lol. Nonetheless, thanks for introducing me to a great song.

While I'm commenting on comments, you should check out the work of Paul D'amato, artist and professor in Chicago. Pretty sure he and Mark Steinmetz were classmates at Yale way back in the day. Paul's work is great and all shot on 4x5.

Just looked at some of Paul's work. Really great stuff. Thanks for the rec and thanks for watching the video!

@@BryanBirks Heck yeah. Sure thing!

Those photos are by Mark Steinmetz and he simply went to the camp and coordinated taking photos. Same thing with the baseball teams, he just asked to take photos. A lot of people like to overcomplicate things because a lot of people learn from people online who overcomplicate things. It’s usually as simple as just asking. But that doesn’t make for a good KZfaq video that’s ten minutes long for ad revenue now does it? Haha

The Shivers!

Size of the film. Specifically 4x5 inches.

Garry Winogrand

Oh I know. I’m not apologizing for messing up. I’m just transparent in letting others know when I didn’t get exactly what I wanted.

Thought about that as well. I’m sure it’ll come around naturally at some point but this day it just wasn’t going to work.