*LAST CHANCE* "Learning To See", a course built to give you to tools to take your photos from average to awesome is being removed from sale permanently on 31st December 2022. Start seeing (and creating) better photographs today for just $35. *Click here --> **tpe.teachable.com/p/learning-to-see*
Im crying right now! 2 mins into the video, I paused to do the activity of simply observing the room, appreciating light and seeing how opening & closing my curtains/blinds completely changes the shadow. Or seeing how shifting an object changed the shape of the shadow! We take advantage of this but this is fantastic. I don’t just SEE the shadow, I FELT the shadow. This video is priceless, i’m only 3:32secs in.
This is actually how I started photography. Some people admire how "why they didn't see that" and I appreciate them very much. Those little walks looking, and appreciating the mundane things makes my heart so full. I wish people see more than just looking. Well, I am ought to learn more and I'm excited!
This made me think of the work of Yukio Namba. His only subject, as far as I know, is Korakuen Garden in Okayama. The most impressive image is of an island in that garden. It's captured in morning fog and there is a tree with red leaves. The thing is: the tree is that red only a couple of days a year. He had to wait about 20 years to have that fog while the tree coloured red, to be able to make that image.
Watching this video, I realized that photographers see our world more beautiful than other people. I am an amateur photographer and I have noticed many times that I find something that looks wonderful on photograph and maybe hundreds of people who pass by do not notice it.
@@ThePhotographicEye Yes, that's wonderful. I am a bus driver, and even when I drive many times I see a wonderful scene or composition that would look wonderful in a photo, I just want to stop the bus and take photos, but then the passengers would probably lynch me 😊
Photography can be more than just taking beautiful photos (which is ok if that’s what you like). It can also be a way of exploration of the world around us whether it’s strolling down the street, hiking in nature, or hanging around the house. Great suggestions. Thank you.🙏
Thank you Alex. I watched this yesterday and today I sat on the beach at the point where a fast flowing brook joins the sea. The sun was playing on the water as it cascaded over rocks. I took frame after frame using every way I knew. I was there about 2 hours and it was magical. Someone spoke to me and I jumped out of my skin as I was so engrossed. Thank you so much for your inspiration.❤👍 I would never have done this before.
During the pandemic I started photographing objects around the house and it was amazing thinking about how to light these pieces ...I am primarily a portrait and dance photographer...this was so out of my realm but I believe I grew as a image maker. I am now back to printing my images which is prohibitively expensive but it just isnt enough to post on social media for likes.
This past week I started taking photos of shadows and must say I’m pretty entertained by the project. I’m not sure anyone else will be as impressed as I am!
This is basically my photography style. I almost never shoot "grand scenes". I find a comfort in the small thing I walk by everyday. I just had a gallery sell a print of mine, it was of the street outside the gallery after a thunderstorm at night. They loved it because they work during the day and have never seen that street "after hours" I love these videos, and I've pointed out othe photographers to it. Keep these videos coming.
4 years of art school and over $120,000 and this was the single, most valuable lesson I got from my photo classes and some dude is giving it away for free on youtube! I love it. Keep making videos.
My wife's photographic sense was very good. Not all of her pictures were great but often she would see that really cool picture just waiting to be recorded. She did not like the technical side of a camera... but she would see the potential. Sometimes she would prompt me to "take a picture of that."
Learning how to draw is a brilliant way to really see the world around us. I was amazed after completing a drawing course how well I was able to observe everything around me. It was transformative … seeing things that I had never seen before even though they had been right in front of me for ages! Great video … thanks. PS: Can’t wait for my back ordered Fujifilm X100V to arrive at my local camera shop!!
I think there could have been nothing more ordinary and undistinguished than the narrow rain-soaked walk leading up to a dark building that Bill Brandt photographed in 1937. But he managed to create a dark contrasty image, full of mood and a bit of foreboding that has turned out to be one of his most iconic. I think he saw what most people didn't.
@@ThePhotographicEye it’s called “a snicket”, a word that leaves Americans scratching their heads. I think it still exists and is located in Halifax…I’m saying that like I have some idea where Halifax is.
Totally agree! This should be the number one skill in your ‘toolbox’ as a photographer. Another advantage is that you tend to remember certain situations a lot better than taking a photo right away. Thanks for sharing! 😊
Seeing the world fresh everyday again is something I believe I've gotten pretty good at, however... translating it to digital film... all of a sudden I'm all left hands and thumbs 😊
"Youi can observe a lot by just watching." - Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra was as famous for his malaprops as for his hitting; but many, like this one, held hidden gems of wisdom that we can all learn from. P.S. -- thanks for sharing more of your own work in your videos. They show what most of us all know: that you practice what you preach.
Hello from Vancouver BC. Came across your channel and have to say, I like your philosophy towards being an artist in this dugutal realm. I've always looked at photography as a way to express. Laying out snaps and scanning with the naked eye is a must!! Young photographers have rarely felt the excitement of going to the shop to pick up their expressionism so to speak, or text actually. I appreciate your reinforcement and your energy about photography. Took a picture of a fork the other day, glad I found the tine! Paul
What a great video Alex. In the couple of months since I ran across your channel, your instruction and pep talks have become very high on my list favorite channels. You are, until now unbeknownst to you, transforming me from a mere wannabe to rank amateur. I thank you for all of your efforts. With any meteorological luck, in 3-4 months, my vegetable garden will become a target rich environment for still life shots while the subjects are still alive.
Beautifully articulated. We can develop our eye for photography...on everyday things without picking camera...i could suddenly start seeing things in a unique way
Hi Alex Thanks for another great video. I too love this style of photography. I've been photographing the view from my bedroom window for about 2 years now and it never looks the same twice. The individual pictures may not be anything special, but when you put them together you start to get something else entirely.
I missed your video release but this is fantastic. Love to read from photographers who feel reawakened to pick up their cameras. BTW, I lived in beautiful Edinburgh at the end of the 90's to early 00's and hardly took a single photo. Mad!
Another great video, Alex - thank you! Love seeing more of your own work, too. One of the things that excites me the most about photography is the opportunity to make the familiar and the ordinary seem fresh and unusual.
This is exactly how I do it! Just recently really started to look, I now sit somewhere for a minute and really focus on everything.. my media sells very well because of this but I never really knew it was a specialized thing until now .. great video for sure
This is so bizarre! Ive come across William Egglestons name a few times today. It turns out that my husbands friend who is a scientist and music composer has given him a piece to record as a tribute to this photographer! Im a photographer that has been shooting dance for the past few years and I love looking at the work of so many other artists.Thank you for your insights and inspiration. Im glad I found you ...Jan in NYC
very influential , have got bored with my photography, i always do the mundane. Always looking in my local area. I am a street photographer. will now revisit with new eyes. ty so much. I have never planned an image. i know I will see something when out walking. I did and do a personal project once a month. Me last one was taking rubbish (garbage) images, ie photos of rubbish! It worked out well. I give myself a personal project once a month. I am a hobbyist and love birds of prey as my daughter is a falconer. But my real love is urban. regards Mick
I have been enjoying your channel for quite sometime. What I enjoy is the ideas you present - a sort of "wake up and think about your craft!" That, and you don't talk about gear. Thank you.
Whoa, thank you so very much for your inspiring lecture. I just recently unpacked my old photo gear and went out "shooting", I hadn't done any photography in years due to being busy. You know. Again, thank you for motivating and inspiring us slugs. Greetings from Dallas, Texas.
This is what I wanted, a Photographic Eye (no pun intended). I've been struggle with trying to get out of landscape trap for a while now. Unfortunately shooting objects/subject for an abstract meaning is not so easy, but I'm not giving up though. Thank you so much for this video.😁👍
Such a fantastic video. Profound and resonant far beyond photography. I think this is at the heart of a creative and positive interpretation of the world around us. Thank you so much for this - genuinely inspirational and quite possibly the most important photographic advice I've ever had.
I agree! I've noticed that I take a lot of pictures that are similar to some you've shown here, but I dismiss them as boring and promptly delete them. It's nice to see someone who's been doing this longer than I have, photographing ordinary things in an interesting way. Maybe I should quit dismissing mine so quickly. 😊
What a brilliant photography video. Thank you. You've inspired me. (Also, I think, a great lesson in life. We miss so much by not being "present" and in our increasing "busy-ness". Now is the only moment we can actually guarantee. Yet we often miss it in our regret about yesterday and/or our concern for tomorrow.)
Shooting on film has really helped me look for images to capture. I am really slow with the process because I only have so many attempts and each click costs money. It's been a fun learning process!
Brilliant absolutely brilliant. You expressed/explained something I started to experience (my best photo is of few pots and pans on the stove) but till now it was a feeling. It was something unknown and I couldnt “place” it. Thank you so much
Hello ! I have discovered this channel just today,and I need to tell that the content of videos is really to the point,very helpful tips,and made me get back on my photography path,so I wanted say,big thanks ! And cheers from Poland !
Fantastic food for thought! Actually, the pandemic helped me to take another step on that journey (where there is still a long way to go): before that, I mainly used the camera during travels, preferably at places that I had not seen before. I still like it, but the challenge of trying to make my - boring? - place look interesting is really worth it! Your channel is probably the most inspirational I have seen so far on TH-cam, because it goes beyond the obvious. Pun intended ...
The other morning during my drive to work, there were a dozen Geese on a building rooftop. The low morning sun cast their shadow on the wall of the opposite building wall. They were so still I first thought it was a painting. The cell phone was my only choice for camera but it was such a unique odd scene. Always have your eyes up! Really enjoy your videos. They all make me think about improving my photography.
Thanks Alex for the reminder to pay attention as we go through life as photographers. I loved your examples, and this got me to pause today and take a photo at my work with my iPhone (and make my first post to Instagram). Only cellphone edits for now, but it brings back the joy of capturing photographs from my perspective.
Some of my family pictures are macro shots of the trichomes oh my houseplants when I'm watering, the way they glisten in the light, especially my carnivorous plants.
Thanks for this… I am going to TRY to FORCE myself to stop ignoring or filtering out the day to day as I rush about without connecting what I am looking at to what I can see !!
Do you have a favourite 'familiar' object you like to photograph and other people think your weird for doing so? I photograph my feet (in shoes) a lot!
I’ve been photographing my front and backyard through the course of the pandemic as it changes over time trying to find new things in the same spot As for whether people think I’m weird or not that’s a whole other issue and my therapist is doing the best she can lmao
Moss. When I examine it through a loupe I can imagine the micro-forest-ness of it. Get down in there mentally. I have yet to achieve that with a macro shot. One day...
I do not know about weird, but I like to photograph my cats when the light through door or windows is on them. They very dark brown so the shot has a very monochromatic feel to then even in color. The adage 'familiarity breeds contempt' seems to at work. We do not see the mundane or the our local surroundings as inherently interesting. In the case of the mundane we often ignore them altogether. We also forget that what is mundane to each of us may be utterly fascinating to someone else. Or the photo might be bit quirky.
This concept was covered, differently, over 30 years ago in Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM) with reguard to a class of students asked to write about their home town. Some of the students didn't know where to start. So it was suggested to pick a street, for some this was still too big so pick a building.... then pick a single brick and start there. Describe it and see where it leads. It is a case of altering your perspective. The thing is this is the part of the art of photography that can't be taught. Techniques can be taught but you need the eye and imagination to see the possibilities. That it is difficult to teach unless you have the pre-disposition [talent] for it.
It's kind of helpful hearing this one while culling images from earlier today. I stopped to take a photo of some stacked empty cups someone left on a park bench earlier, just thinking "Huh that looks interesting." I haven't gotten to that photo while searching yet, but I get the feeling I'll like it more now.
Sorry for the reference but I remembered when my Chief Scout told us about an exercise described by Baden-Powell in Scouting for Boys where an agent received a very curious training: a basket of stones was showed to him and after a closer observation he was asked to described all the stones that were there. He proposed to do the same exercise and was very interesting and funny. I don´t know how much it really helped me but photograph surely aided me to be more curious and make a better observation of my surrondings. Thank you for another amazing video. Regards from Brazil.
We had similar things in Scouts in South Africa. One was 'sand stories' where you had to try and recreate a scene from the marks left in the sand by foot prints, dragging objects etc.
I just have found your channel and I am very glad I did! The way you speak about photography really resonates with me. And it is really inspiring for me because you deal with the essences of photography instead of its surface. Thank you very much for sharing your experience and knowledge this way!
The comment about don't go with other photographers should be extended to friends, spouse, well, anyone. My wife knows I like to take my time looking for photos. It's really fun if I can take my time. Sometimes I find a great photo, often I don't. I suppose it's like fishing, you have to cast a lot of line to get a good fish.
The one image like that to me that really stuck with me was an image of dirt under a bridge that was under construction. The focus was on the dirt and there was a good bit of bokeh and in the back where construction workers on platforms and stuff with tools. I believe it was in black and white. That one for some reason the contrast of the ground and those little rocks and the sort of framing of the bridge and then sort of the interesting stuff going on in the background yet still not a overly detailed picture was just really amazing to me and I loved it it was in a gallery in a school in Tennessee if anyone might recognize where it was
Very good advice. I myself have good days and bad days. On a good day I manage to get three creative photos in a row. Without thinking, they are simply just there to be had. On a bad day I spend hours and hours staring at a couple of subjects from umpteen different angles. The day after, I delete everything. Maybe it is more important to learn to recognize your mediocre photos than to concentrate on recognizing the really good ones. 😊
I just found your channel and it has quickly become a source of inspiration. I'm from Memphis and know Eggleston slightly. He's crazy like Jerry Lee Lewis. Dangerous to be around. It's hard to escape the gravitational pull around his work. Maybe that's a good thing. I was getting some weird looks yesterday, taking a picture of the cracked paint in the crosswalk in front of the liquor store. lol.
💯correct Alex. I live in Edinburgh and take it all for granted. Would love to take images of Edinburgh but without the postcard tag. I know it's their. This vid has giving me the kick up the a## to find it.
Thanks for sharing... brilliant ideas & advice....a great video that all potential or existing photographers should watch & take note... cheers from Australia 😀
Agree on the motivation to take pictures of the mundane simple things surrounding us but I find these kind of image will mostly fall in the graphic/design type of lines and light/shadow effects. Hardly you can build up a story. This of course if you want to. If chosen to remain in the first category I wrote about then you don't need to move from your desk... Almost...
Thank you for this Video, and the amazing fotographs in it. it is so inspiring. I‘m starting again for the 3. or 4. time since having made that amazing picture with the - even then old -little camera from My mother! I will never forget that Moment when the pictures arrived and that ONE with the vivid colors and deepness of scene sprang at me… ☺️ Now i am reliving that magic when taking My sophisticated modern digital camera with me every day and doing - what i call experimental fotographing - on the way, often in the little Park, taking pictures of the forever changing nature…. Today ist was that Little yellow Transparent Flower…
Thank you very much! I started this way. In between on my journey, i think I got a bit diverted in trying out something new but that's actually quite what everyone else is doing. I'll head back to my way. Thank you 🙂
Its so great to hear some interesting viewpoints. It would be even more great if you just start a series where you can explain some of the photographs of simple daily objects/the places we usually dont look at with photographic eye. You could explain What is the interesting part of any photo? what kind of msg its giving out? why a particular photo intrigued you? etc. Anyway, Thank you for your videos..these videos put a hand on a newbie photographer and tells him/her: its okay, you are growing...see!!
Again a wonderfull and great episode. I noticed that I save far more from your “tutorials” to look again in the future than from Amy other TH-camr. Many thanks Alex.
Hi Alex… à channel like yours, which is talking about creativity and the art of photography itself, is greatly needed. And not using background music gives way more depth to your own voice…
*LAST CHANCE*
"Learning To See", a course built to give you to tools to take your photos from average to awesome is being removed from sale permanently on 31st December 2022.
Start seeing (and creating) better photographs today for just $35.
*Click here --> **tpe.teachable.com/p/learning-to-see*
Im crying right now! 2 mins into the video, I paused to do the activity of simply observing the room, appreciating light and seeing how opening & closing my curtains/blinds completely changes the shadow. Or seeing how shifting an object changed the shape of the shadow! We take advantage of this but this is fantastic. I don’t just SEE the shadow, I FELT the shadow. This video is priceless, i’m only 3:32secs in.
awesome thank you.
This is actually how I started photography. Some people admire how "why they didn't see that" and I appreciate them very much. Those little walks looking, and appreciating the mundane things makes my heart so full. I wish people see more than just looking. Well, I am ought to learn more and I'm excited!
This made me think of the work of Yukio Namba. His only subject, as far as I know, is Korakuen Garden in Okayama. The most impressive image is of an island in that garden. It's captured in morning fog and there is a tree with red leaves. The thing is: the tree is that red only a couple of days a year. He had to wait about 20 years to have that fog while the tree coloured red, to be able to make that image.
That's total dedication isn't it! Thanks for sharing the knowledge
It's a wonderful garden, one I hope to visit some day.
xxx
He should've spray painted the tree.
thats why we love photoshop
Watching this video, I realized that photographers see our world more beautiful than other people.
I am an amateur photographer and I have noticed many times that I find something that looks wonderful on photograph and maybe hundreds of people who pass by do not notice it.
Excellent to hear! Yes, that ability to see something others don't is so special.
@@ThePhotographicEye Yes, that's wonderful. I am a bus driver, and even when I drive many times I see a wonderful scene or composition that would look wonderful in a photo, I just want to stop the bus and take photos, but then the passengers would probably lynch me 😊
I do this every day. I’m always fascinated by angles, light, shadow, and patterns.
Photography can be more than just taking beautiful photos (which is ok if that’s what you like). It can also be a way of exploration of the world around us whether it’s strolling down the street, hiking in nature, or hanging around the house. Great suggestions. Thank you.🙏
I ADORE your conversational style.
Thank you Alex. I watched this yesterday and today I sat on the beach at the point where a fast flowing brook joins the sea. The sun was playing on the water as it cascaded over rocks. I took frame after frame using every way I knew. I was there about 2 hours and it was magical. Someone spoke to me and I jumped out of my skin as I was so engrossed. Thank you so much for your inspiration.❤👍 I would never have done this before.
During the pandemic I started photographing objects around the house and it was amazing thinking about how to light these pieces ...I am primarily a portrait and dance photographer...this was so out of my realm but I believe I grew as a
image maker. I am now back to printing my images which is prohibitively expensive but it just isnt enough to post on social media for likes.
This past week I started taking photos of shadows and must say I’m pretty entertained by the project. I’m not sure anyone else will be as impressed as I am!
This is basically my photography style. I almost never shoot "grand scenes". I find a comfort in the small thing I walk by everyday. I just had a gallery sell a print of mine, it was of the street outside the gallery after a thunderstorm at night. They loved it because they work during the day and have never seen that street "after hours"
I love these videos, and I've pointed out othe photographers to it. Keep these videos coming.
4 years of art school and over $120,000 and this was the single, most valuable lesson I got from my photo classes and some dude is giving it away for free on youtube! I love it. Keep making videos.
My wife's photographic sense was very good. Not all of her pictures were great but often she would see that really cool picture just waiting to be recorded. She did not like the technical side of a camera... but she would see the potential. Sometimes she would prompt me to "take a picture of that."
I call this - The Beauty of Everyday Things. It is everywhere, you just have to look.
Learning how to draw is a brilliant way to really see the world around us. I was amazed after completing a drawing course how well I was able to observe everything around me. It was transformative … seeing things that I had never seen before even though they had been right in front of me for ages! Great video … thanks. PS: Can’t wait for my back ordered Fujifilm X100V to arrive at my local camera shop!!
You really remember what you take the time to draw in a way that you don’t remember photographing it too.
I think there could have been nothing more ordinary and undistinguished than the narrow rain-soaked walk leading up to a dark building that Bill Brandt photographed in 1937. But he managed to create a dark contrasty image, full of mood and a bit of foreboding that has turned out to be one of his most iconic. I think he saw what most people didn't.
Yes, I love that photo - something about a snick, or a wynd - totally forget right now!
@@ThePhotographicEye it’s called “a snicket”, a word that leaves Americans scratching their heads. I think it still exists and is located in Halifax…I’m saying that like I have some idea where Halifax is.
One of the most important videos on TH-cam about photography.
Great advice! Especially the "un-bury your head from your phone part and look around" part!!!
Totally agree! This should be the number one skill in your ‘toolbox’ as a photographer. Another advantage is that you tend to remember certain situations a lot better than taking a photo right away. Thanks for sharing! 😊
Seeing the world fresh everyday again is something I believe I've gotten pretty good at, however... translating it to digital film... all of a sudden I'm all left hands and thumbs 😊
"Youi can observe a lot by just watching." - Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra was as famous for his malaprops as for his hitting; but many, like this one, held hidden gems of wisdom that we can all learn from. P.S. -- thanks for sharing more of your own work in your videos. They show what most of us all know: that you practice what you preach.
Hello from Vancouver BC. Came across your channel and have to say, I like your philosophy towards being an artist in this dugutal realm. I've always looked at photography as a way to express. Laying out snaps and scanning with the naked eye is a must!! Young photographers have rarely felt the excitement of going to the shop to pick up their expressionism so to speak, or text actually. I appreciate your reinforcement and your energy about photography. Took a picture of a fork the other day, glad I found the tine!
Paul
Hi 👋🏻 thanks for watching
What a great video Alex. In the couple of months since I ran across your channel, your instruction and pep talks have become very high on my list favorite channels. You are, until now unbeknownst to you, transforming me from a mere wannabe to rank amateur. I thank you for all of your efforts. With any meteorological luck, in 3-4 months, my vegetable garden will become a target rich environment for still life shots while the subjects are still alive.
Putting mindfulness back into photography.
Beautifully articulated. We can develop our eye for photography...on everyday things without picking camera...i could suddenly start seeing things in a unique way
Thanks for watching
The college experience is a very hard feeling to recreate, but these videos make me feel like I’m a student again, attending lectures in photo school.
One of your best yet, Alex. Your “learning to see”advice is some of the more useful I’ve heard.
I have to keep coming back to this video - it's the one piece of advice that all students of Art (any art) should listen to.
Such humble advice. I always get inspired after your videos
Hi Alex
Thanks for another great video. I too love this style of photography. I've been photographing the view from my bedroom window for about 2 years now and it never looks the same twice. The individual pictures may not be anything special, but when you put them together you start to get something else entirely.
I missed your video release but this is fantastic. Love to read from photographers who feel reawakened to pick up their cameras. BTW, I lived in beautiful Edinburgh at the end of the 90's to early 00's and hardly took a single photo. Mad!
Another great video, Alex - thank you! Love seeing more of your own work, too. One of the things that excites me the most about photography is the opportunity to make the familiar and the ordinary seem fresh and unusual.
This is exactly how I do it! Just recently really started to look, I now sit somewhere for a minute and really focus on everything.. my media sells very well because of this but I never really knew it was a specialized thing until now .. great video for sure
I can’t wait to watch this tutorial. I learn so much from you. Thank you.
Great to hear Char! Thank you so much.
This is knowledge that people pay to learn and your giving it here for free. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks for watching
This is so bizarre! Ive come across William Egglestons name a few times today. It turns out that my husbands friend who is a scientist and music composer has given him a piece to record as a tribute to this photographer! Im a photographer that has been shooting dance for the past few years and I love looking at the work of so many other artists.Thank you for your insights and inspiration. Im glad I found you ...Jan in NYC
Thanks for watching
very influential , have got bored with my photography, i always do the mundane. Always looking in my local area. I am a street photographer. will now revisit with new eyes. ty so much. I have never planned an image. i know I will see something when out walking. I did and do a personal project once a month. Me last one was taking rubbish (garbage) images, ie photos of rubbish! It worked out well. I give myself a personal project once a month. I am a hobbyist and love birds of prey as my daughter is a falconer. But my real love is urban. regards Mick
I have been enjoying your channel for quite sometime. What I enjoy is the ideas you present - a sort of "wake up and think about your craft!" That, and you don't talk about gear. Thank you.
Whoa, thank you so very much for your inspiring lecture. I just recently unpacked my old photo gear and went out "shooting", I hadn't done any photography in years due to being busy. You know.
Again, thank you for motivating and inspiring us slugs.
Greetings from Dallas, Texas.
This is what I wanted, a Photographic Eye (no pun intended). I've been struggle with trying to get out of landscape trap for a while now. Unfortunately shooting objects/subject for an abstract meaning is not so easy, but I'm not giving up though. Thank you so much for this video.😁👍
Thank you for watching
Such a fantastic video. Profound and resonant far beyond photography. I think this is at the heart of a creative and positive interpretation of the world around us. Thank you so much for this - genuinely inspirational and quite possibly the most important photographic advice I've ever had.
Thanks. really helpful. I'm also enjoying seeing more of your work featured in the videos.
Glad you like them Ray!
I agree! I've noticed that I take a lot of pictures that are similar to some you've shown here, but I dismiss them as boring and promptly delete them. It's nice to see someone who's been doing this longer than I have, photographing ordinary things in an interesting way. Maybe I should quit dismissing mine so quickly. 😊
What a brilliant photography video. Thank you. You've inspired me.
(Also, I think, a great lesson in life. We miss so much by not being "present" and in our increasing "busy-ness". Now is the only moment we can actually guarantee. Yet we often miss it in our regret about yesterday and/or our concern for tomorrow.)
Great Comment
@@bonjen1 Thank you 🙏 I appreciate this. 😍
This is exactly what I've been needing! If you want to work on developing a course I love the way you present!
Thank you
Shooting on film has really helped me look for images to capture. I am really slow with the process because I only have so many attempts and each click costs money. It's been a fun learning process!
Slowing down is a whole process in itself.
It gave me enough motivation to not ignore ordinary things. Love from Pakistan.
I don’t remember the last time I liked a video so much. Thanks for this!
Brilliant absolutely brilliant. You expressed/explained something I started to experience (my best photo is of few pots and pans on the stove) but till now it was a feeling. It was something unknown and I couldnt “place” it. Thank you so much
Taking your advice, I’ve taken magnificent photos from my eye view and angels that I’m personally proud of. Thank you for being a superb teacher.
Hello ! I have discovered this channel just today,and I need to tell that the content of videos is really to the point,very helpful tips,and made me get back on my photography path,so I wanted say,big thanks ! And cheers from Poland !
Great video Alex this has given me a lot to think about.
That’s awesome
Fantastic food for thought! Actually, the pandemic helped me to take another step on that journey (where there is still a long way to go): before that, I mainly used the camera during travels, preferably at places that I had not seen before. I still like it, but the challenge of trying to make my - boring? - place look interesting is really worth it! Your channel is probably the most inspirational I have seen so far on TH-cam, because it goes beyond the obvious. Pun intended ...
The other morning during my drive to work, there were a dozen Geese on a building rooftop. The low morning sun cast their shadow on the wall of the opposite building wall. They were so still I first thought it was a painting. The cell phone was my only choice for camera but it was such a unique odd scene. Always have your eyes up! Really enjoy your videos. They all make me think about improving my photography.
Thank you, I dont have work at present and find myself struggling creativly. Just inspired me to take some macros of shells I have upstairs.
Thank you for the inspiration that I've been looking for.
Just enjoyed watching this video.. it's the process I am going through right now.. it's so rewarding ❤️ .. the pictures speak quietly
Yes even a trash (garbage) or rusty junk can be a beautiful subject of photography. There is beauty in everything. 🤩
A geat inspirating and motivating video. Thanks!
Thanks Alex for the reminder to pay attention as we go through life as photographers. I loved your examples, and this got me to pause today and take a photo at my work with my iPhone (and make my first post to Instagram). Only cellphone edits for now, but it brings back the joy of capturing photographs from my perspective.
Glad it was helpful!
Some of my family pictures are macro shots of the trichomes oh my houseplants when I'm watering, the way they glisten in the light, especially my carnivorous plants.
I am very touched by this video, one of the best I have ever seen about this topic. Thanks Alex
You never disappoint us Alex. Thank you so much.
Thanks for this… I am going to TRY to FORCE myself to stop ignoring or filtering out the day to day as I rush about without connecting what I am looking at to what I can see !!
Do you have a favourite 'familiar' object you like to photograph and other people think your weird for doing so?
I photograph my feet (in shoes) a lot!
I’ve been photographing my front and backyard through the course of the pandemic as it changes over time trying to find new things in the same spot
As for whether people think I’m weird or not that’s a whole other issue and my therapist is doing the best she can lmao
Cemeteries. Always changing light and lot's of shadows, especially in winter with lot's of snow. Great places to do black and white photography.
Moss. When I examine it through a loupe I can imagine the micro-forest-ness of it. Get down in there mentally. I have yet to achieve that with a macro shot. One day...
My daughter (away at college) is always delighted when I send her a photo of one of the dogs either doing something it’s not supposed to or pooping. 😂
I do not know about weird, but I like to photograph my cats when the light through door or windows is on them. They very dark brown so the shot has a very monochromatic feel to then even in color.
The adage 'familiarity breeds contempt' seems to at work. We do not see the mundane or the our local surroundings as inherently interesting. In the case of the mundane we often ignore them altogether. We also forget that what is mundane to each of us may be utterly fascinating to someone else. Or the photo might be bit quirky.
Well done Alex, wow made so simple.Better than spending all that time on Instagram,TH-cam, this has been a great lesson
This concept was covered, differently, over 30 years ago in Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM) with reguard to a class of students asked to write about their home town. Some of the students didn't know where to start. So it was suggested to pick a street, for some this was still too big so pick a building.... then pick a single brick and start there. Describe it and see where it leads. It is a case of altering your perspective. The thing is this is the part of the art of photography that can't be taught. Techniques can be taught but you need the eye and imagination to see the possibilities. That it is difficult to teach unless you have the pre-disposition [talent] for it.
It's kind of helpful hearing this one while culling images from earlier today. I stopped to take a photo of some stacked empty cups someone left on a park bench earlier, just thinking "Huh that looks interesting." I haven't gotten to that photo while searching yet, but I get the feeling I'll like it more now.
Thank you. I really needed this.
Sorry for the reference but I remembered when my Chief Scout told us about an exercise described by Baden-Powell in Scouting for Boys where an agent received a very curious training: a basket of stones was showed to him and after a closer observation he was asked to described all the stones that were there. He proposed to do the same exercise and was very interesting and funny. I don´t know how much it really helped me but photograph surely aided me to be more curious and make a better observation of my surrondings. Thank you for another amazing video. Regards from Brazil.
We had similar things in Scouts in South Africa. One was 'sand stories' where you had to try and recreate a scene from the marks left in the sand by foot prints, dragging objects etc.
A good, timely reminder, thanks 👍🏻
Inspiring words
Thanks for the confidence boost
Cheers!
I just have found your channel and I am very glad I did! The way you speak about photography really resonates with me. And it is really inspiring for me because you deal with the essences of photography instead of its surface. Thank you very much for sharing your experience and knowledge this way!
Thank you for watching.
The comment about don't go with other photographers should be extended to friends, spouse, well, anyone. My wife knows I like to take my time looking for photos. It's really fun if I can take my time. Sometimes I find a great photo, often I don't. I suppose it's like fishing, you have to cast a lot of line to get a good fish.
The one image like that to me that really stuck with me was an image of dirt under a bridge that was under construction. The focus was on the dirt and there was a good bit of bokeh and in the back where construction workers on platforms and stuff with tools. I believe it was in black and white. That one for some reason the contrast of the ground and those little rocks and the sort of framing of the bridge and then sort of the interesting stuff going on in the background yet still not a overly detailed picture was just really amazing to me and I loved it it was in a gallery in a school in Tennessee if anyone might recognize where it was
It definitely helps to have little children around. They didn't yet develop this filter.
I absolutely loved this video. I hace seen it three times already.
Thank you for giving me a whole new perspective
This needs to be a master class for sure!!
Very good advice. I myself have good days and bad days. On a good day I manage to get three creative photos in a row. Without thinking, they are simply just there to be had. On a bad day I spend hours and hours staring at a couple of subjects from umpteen different angles. The day after, I delete everything. Maybe it is more important to learn to recognize your mediocre photos than to concentrate on recognizing the really good ones. 😊
I just found your channel and it has quickly become a source of inspiration. I'm from Memphis and know Eggleston slightly. He's crazy like Jerry Lee Lewis. Dangerous to be around. It's hard to escape the gravitational pull around his work. Maybe that's a good thing. I was getting some weird looks yesterday, taking a picture of the cracked paint in the crosswalk in front of the liquor store. lol.
So very true. The “art of observation.”
Very inspiring.... Love it!!!
💯correct Alex. I live in Edinburgh and take it all for granted. Would love to take images of Edinburgh but without the postcard tag. I know it's their. This vid has giving me the kick up the a## to find it.
Great video. It inspired me a lot.
Thanks for sharing... brilliant ideas & advice....a great video that all potential or existing photographers should watch & take note... cheers from Australia 😀
Agree on the motivation to take pictures of the mundane simple things surrounding us but I find these kind of image will mostly fall in the graphic/design type of lines and light/shadow effects. Hardly you can build up a story. This of course if you want to. If chosen to remain in the first category I wrote about then you don't need to move from your desk... Almost...
Thank you for this Video, and the amazing fotographs in it. it is so inspiring. I‘m starting again for the 3. or 4. time since having made that amazing picture with the - even then old -little camera from My mother! I will never forget that Moment when the pictures arrived and that ONE with the vivid colors and deepness of scene sprang at me… ☺️ Now i am reliving that magic when taking My sophisticated modern digital camera with me every day and doing - what i call experimental fotographing - on the way, often in the little Park, taking pictures of the forever changing nature…. Today ist was that Little yellow Transparent Flower…
Love this. Will share ;)
Please do, that would be awesome!
Thank you very much! I started this way. In between on my journey, i think I got a bit diverted in trying out something new but that's actually quite what everyone else is doing. I'll head back to my way. Thank you 🙂
I hope to study on your inspirational course, always learning ❤️
This goes back to what somebody said that you don't have to live in the most exciting place in the world to get a great photo.
Fantastic subject, thanks
Its so great to hear some interesting viewpoints. It would be even more great if you just start a series where you can explain some of the photographs of simple daily objects/the places we usually dont look at with photographic eye.
You could explain What is the interesting part of any photo? what kind of msg its giving out? why a particular photo intrigued you? etc.
Anyway, Thank you for your videos..these videos put a hand on a newbie photographer and tells him/her: its okay, you are growing...see!!
Thank you for your feedback
Excellent and thought provoking, thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Thank you Alex for this video. There is so much to learn, and I greatley enjoy the photo examples you use. I love your personall work too!
Again a wonderfull and great episode. I noticed that I save far more from your “tutorials” to look again in the future than from Amy other TH-camr. Many thanks Alex.
This is a great video, you've tapped into the core of what works in photography.
Wow, thanks! Great to have you here Eugene
Hi Alex… à channel like yours, which is talking about creativity and the art of photography itself, is greatly needed. And not using background music gives way more depth to your own voice…
Great video, thank you