I love to write. I love to read. Have been that way since I was a kid. I would much rather read a well-written article than watch pretty much any show, video or online short. But sometimes, priorities change. I’ve decided to give a more concerted try to YouTube – to learn how to create visual media that will be informative and more entertaining. I’ve dabbled in it for several years, but am now stepping up my game.
Continue reading “Changing Priorities”For some odd reason, over the past couple of weeks, several of the landscape photographers I follow have posted videos about their YouTube experiences. Some have been active for years, others for just a couple. But all are reconsidering what the effort to produce content ultimately means to them and whether/how they should continue.
Most have noticed a slowing in the growth of their channel in both views and followers. Some of that appears to be a legitimate change in audience interests. But some of it also seems to be the ever present YouTube algorithm, which chooses how and how often a video is presented for viewing.
I rely on YouTube for my artistic “fix” and also for more mundane activities such as home repairs. So this change is troubling to me. What does it mean?
Continue reading “Is YouTube Dying?”Spoiler alert: I prepared this a few months ago, as you can tell from the images and clips (we are in winter here in Canada). Things have changed a bit in terms of the equipment used since this was prepared but the message is the same. Read on to the end to find out…
One of the things I have always found a bit ironic in photography is that as you become more and more proficient in the craft, you might seek out better equipment typically, and then, also typically, you TURN OFF all of the advanced automatic features of that better equipment and go “full manual”. I’ve never really understood that. Why would anyone do that?
I decided to try a totally different approach with an area of activity that is growing for me: vlogging. Instead of turning everything off, I’ve put together a basic but decent rig and turned ON all of the automatic functions I could find. I’m doing nothing manually. I think it’s working really well so far. Read on to see what I’ve done. I’ve included a few video clips as well for your entertainment.
Do you own a tripod? Do you use it? Is it something that sits in the back of the car rarely seeing the light of day? Do they annoy you? Are they more trouble than they are worth?
I see the full gamut of opinions on tripods, with photographers of all genres either swearing by them or swearing at them. Over the course of 40 years of photography, I’ve used all brands at all price points. I’ve now landed on a collection (yes, more than one) that works for me.
This is a YouTube video piece that I hope will help you make an informed decision about using tripods. Hopefully you’ll find a few points that you hadn’t considered – or even a few points that you had that lead you to a specific decision. Leave me a comment here or there about what works for you.
I recently watched an interesting YouTube clip from landscape photographer Mark Denney. He wasn’t talking about the latest natural wonder he had visited or even his plans to do so. Instead, he talked about his journey from corporate worker to artist. He had a financially lucrative and successful career, but decided in 2019 to give it up and turn to what he loved, landscape photography. He did that with a family of four to support.
His journey has been an interesting one, and it got me thinking about how I arrived at where I am today. I thought that would make a great subject for my new YouTube video, which I have sadly been remiss in producing regularly. But I got it done, and I would love it if you would check it out.
And at the very least, I’ve memorialized my Covid mop of hair for all time. I feel like I’m back in the 70’s, when hair was long on both girls and boys, and unkempt and flowing. Those were the good old days. Now where’s my mini-skirt?
Twice a month, we have the pleasure of listening to amateur and professional photographers talk about their work at our local camera club. It’s typically entertaining, sometimes thought provoking, but truthfully, only rarely compelling.
What do I mean by compelling? For me, that means photography with a clear message, obvious story and emotional reaction. Compelling may show human beings, other lifeforms, places on earth (or not on earth), human activities, the impact of human activities and on and on. But in all cases, there’s has to be something about the work, the way it is presented that is different from what I’ve seen before.
While the familiar can also be compelling – for me, any shots of mountain ranges or oceans, for example – the unfamiliar is another way to get my attention.
In a recent visit, a pro photographer by the name of Dave Sandford definitely got my attention. Along with stunning photographs, Dave told story after story after story and backed it up with undeniable proof. That proof was video. Continue reading “How to Produce Compelling Photography – Shoot Video Too”
Something a bit different for today’s post. Â I gave a short presentation at my local camera club today to answer a question on why photos taken by club members are sometimes blurry. Â You might find some of this information useful. Â Continue reading “Why Are My Photos Blurry?”
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