Deciding to switch to a long lens

Instead of a book, I use Flickr. I look at member photo streams and also look at what they have favoured on other streams to see how their images have been taken. Flickr has helped me the most in improving my photography. I also look at my past images using my screensaver. When an old image pops up I think about how I would do a redo/improvement of it.

I never thought that I should photograph in any specific way. I can try to photograph something I saw in a picture that inspired me but I would try to use the same approach to see if I could do it. What we, as photographers, should not do is fight human nature, human brain, the way we perceive things. There are rules that are unbreakable. Most of them are quite obvious that most people don't think about and they stem from the obvious: photography is different from the subject. Most things we photographs are 3D while most photographs are 2D. Most photographs are smaller than the object being photographed. A picture of the Grand Canyon will never put the person looking at it in the state of awe like the real thing does. A portrait of a person is a freeze frame photocopy of a person's face. Looking at a person in real life we are getting a real time stream of stimuli that are not only visual, our brain creates a composite of what we are experiencing while looking at a person and photographing that person. Looking at a photograph of that person we are looking at a thing. A mechanical, optical, electronic representation of what was in front of the lens when we pressed that button. I went that way exploring the medium and playing with its limitations and strengths. I am never wanting for a subject to photograph, quite the opposite. I have hundreds of ideas that I want to photograph. And I carry them inside my brain. They don't just sit there but subconsciously evolve or drop out or transform. Sometimes I held back by not having access to something or someone. Right now it's a female model of a specific look and, not related, for another picture a rusted barb wire. Sorry about making this so long but what I would recommend is to plan a picture. Find something that interests you and work on it. Wether it is going to a specific place at different times of the day, weather, season or getting the right props or finding the person with the right look. Then start another one at the same time, and then ten more. This way you are always busy thinking about it and doing something about executing your ideas. You make pictures, you don't take them. Great pictures don't just happen. You make them happen.

Thank you Alex for this video. I have been working on a project for over a year now. At some point I decided to bring only one lens to force me to seek alternative angles by being limited in lens choice. This is a landscape project and the next time I go, it will be day number 33! After getting a lot of the scenic shots, I am now focusing on details and patterns which are as endless as the scenic pix.

This is such an awesome question.... I have found the best way is to think of a project (that interests you) how can you express that Project/idea... by not limited myself to one image but a sequence (maybe over a long period) I can explore.... the project is your own and therefore what I capture is how I want to explain/feel about the idea......it is not as constrained by the genre... eg Landscapes, street.... but by my imagination. Hope this makes sense

That's awareness and observation in action! So glad to hear you're doing that.

Me too! Check out Pete Turner. He's inspiring to me.

He's great - its a shame so much of his work online is only low res

I was also drawn to colour on the weekend. It was a weird feeling as I'm not usually in that headspace, but it just seemed to fit the location and the weather

So often the way - it we look for the photo too hard, it's elusive!

Thanks for watching

Thank you for sharing your story there. I hope it inspires others

Thanks for watching

That's some helpful advice there, thank you for sharing it

Photography is such a great creative outlet. Shooting every day will help build your skill level, especially if you challenge yourself. I’ve had a camera since I was a teen and have loved photos my whole life but I never grasped photography until I bought my first DSLR in 2008. I have not looked back. I am definitely not the best photog and I definitely lack skill but it doesn’t stop me from picking up my camera and shooting whatever may be calling for my attention. My favorite part to photography is experimentation, I am constantly experimenting with different ways to shoot. It is so fun and with playing around, you won’t have expectations, you are free to shoot how you want. I freaking LOVE photography, it has been my saving grace. Enjoy shooting!

That is awesome!

Thank you, happy to hear that

That's great to hear! I'm so pleased you're enjoying the videos

Glad you like them!

My pleasure!

My pleasure!

I love Saul Leiter. Look at Ernst Haas. Another street photographer contemporary using color. Mask On Nurse Marty (Ret)

Thank you, happy Christmas to you all!

Thank you

I'm pleased to hear I'm broadening your horizons in photography. Who has been your favourite discovery so far?

@@ThePhotographicEye It would be so difficult to give just one favorite and I've been watching your channel for so long I know some have escaped my memory. I would say Todd Hido, Ernst Haas, and Joyce Tennison are standouts. Quite honestly the work of Hido and Tennison both haunt me in a good way. Thank you for the content you present, it helps more than you know.

I found a similar thing when I bought a Holga many years ago, with it's lack of any techincal jiggerypokey

Thank you very much!

Thanks for watching

My pleasure!

Thank you so much for watching

Awesome! Thank you! There is a video here from a few months back on Eggleston

Thanks!

Nothing quite like seeing a famous photographer photograph the same place you live to break you out of your ideas!

Thanks so much! Yes, the wasp wanted in on the action!

My pleasure!

Thanks for watching along. Indeed there are moments when you need to photograph certain things, but for most of us, those are few and far between

You are so welcome!

Thanks for watching!

Yes, there's no 'win' in photography - it's a continuous process. Thanks so much for the kind words

Thanks 🙂

😂

Yes, that's interesting that you mentioned the willingness to try things in post when you can do that in a non destructive way. As you said, there it is..

Any time!

I believe if more people had a slightly wider appreciation of photographers, both past and present, it would help them immensely to overcome a lot of barriers

Thanks for the suggestion about the movie. There are loads of names in photography that get lost along the way - especially from the middle formative years (1880-1900) period

Our pleasure!

I have similar issues, though somewhat in reverse - I tend to associate events with 'average' images and then in my mind, those photos take on greater significance

Alas, I'm far too old to be chasing large wasps (who I think live in the wall) Thanks again for watching along!

Alas, I'm far too old to be chasing large wasps (who I think live in the wall) Thanks again for watching along!

@@ThePhotographicEye Your welcome Alex, that's a good one young man. 😂

Much like wasps!

Yes, the art of watching, being aware, of observing is something that often seems to be missing in photography

thanks

Try this page as a starting point: www.artealdia.com/News/A-LOOK-OVER-ARGENTINE-MODERN-PHOTOGRAPHY-ORIGINS#:~:text=Juan%20Bechis%2C%20Horacio%20Coppola%2C%20Jos%C3%A9,Fred%20Schiffer%2C%20Nicol%C3%A1s%20Schonfeld%2C%20Boleslaw and here: time.com/3684209/nine-argentinian-photographers-you-need-to-follow/

@@ThePhotographicEye THANKSSS!!!

Sometimes I find that really easy, and other times it's a struggle. But always worth it

I showed my son this morning and he thought it was hilarious!

Take a little break. Go out without a camera, but take mental pictures. Think about how things could look as a photo in your mind. Then after a week or so just take a few images - don't overthink them. Just shoot. Doesn't matter what the results look like - give yourself a massive pat on the back for taking some photos. Really, more than you think is realistic - big yourself up for just shooting a photo. The dopamine will help you push on

I’d say you aren’t broken, you just don’t like the photos. I feel it isn’t so much about liking what is being shown, it is more about giving examples of what others find create/see or maybe how to open our eyes to see our surrounding in a different light. Maybe figuring out what you dislike will help you gravitate towards what you really enjoy. Really the question is, can you learn from images that do not inspire you? Is there anything you can pull from those images to add to your toolbox?

Years of practice!