Creative: The Two Things

Keep sending me links. At least one out of twenty turns out to be valuable. The rest, not so good, but I appreciate the thought. I wrote this post in my head while birding at 10,000 feet. Walking is one of the best ways and times to think, something proven by many of the world’s best intellects. I am not, however, including myself in that list. Not by any means. I want to focus on both the one solid link and the myriad of those I can’t bring myself to click, most of which are related to YouTube photography channels. Allow me to explain.

I am repeatedly asked why I am so down on YouTube photography channels.

This is a daily occurrence. Why Dan, why? This post is a way for me to end this little discussion. There are two main reasons why I am down on YouTube photography, but I need to preface this by saying I’m not down on ALL YouTube photography channels. I’m down on MOST YouTube photography channels. There are a few channels run by those with either experience or vast photographic knowledge. Those who are bent on delivering valuable information. The hosts are either completely consumed by photography itself, or the history of photography, or the history of the photobook, and their personal popularity is steamrolled by their obsession for craft. Their channels have decent followings, but nowhere near the top of the popularity lists, and some have almost no followings at all. Some of their films have view counts in the double digits, and yet sixty seconds into watching these channels, anyone with any real photographic training, knows that they are getting something valid and authentic.

Okay, let’s discuss why I have trouble engaging with most of the links. There are two things I refuse to play along with, the first being phoniness. I can’t stand phony people. And let’s face it, many of the YouTube photography channels are run by performance artists. This is a skill, it really is. Building a phony persona and maintaining it year after year is not an easy thing to do. And when I say “phony,” I mean a personality crafted on things like appearance and style more than anything else. This is hugely important when it comes to metrics. Building huge followings has nothing to do with the work itself, and these folks know that. It also helps when your audience doesn’t know much about photography.

The real tell is when you see these same people outside of their channel and you realized they don’t talk the same, dress the same, or behave the same as they do when they are performing. This isn’t limited to the photography world either. Tech is another HUGE offender. Super successful creatives who flame out due to having to live under the pressure of a phony life. You see them after they have hit rock bottom and they are completely different people. And then you realize you never even knew who they were because they never allowed the truth to enter the equation.

God forbid you do anything to harm your chances of being popular.

Recently, someone sent me a link to a super successful tech review person. Within thirty seconds I turned away because I know his upbeat persona is fake. He looked hollow, burned out, and exhausted but was still trying to keep the facade. And I had seen him on someone else’s channel, in the background, and he was a TOTALLY different guy. Fake. Phony. No thanks. Several years ago, through my duties at Blurb, I met a very successful YouTuber/Vlogger working in the food space. I checked out her channel and was genuinely pleased to meet her. And then I met her. Top three worst encounters I’ve had in my thirteen years at Blurb. She was horrible, and I mean horrible. Her channel, and her online personality were entirely fake. (Celebrities are world class at this as well.)

The second thing I refuse to engage with is folks who are about style over substance, and this has YouTube photography written all over it. Trendy, hipster-ish, and conforming might be words used to describe this. Trendy hats and clothes and sneakers. Trendy equipment, or heavy emphasis on things like what film type someone uses, or the dreaded gear consumed persona perpetuated because they know that many of you will continue to tune in for all the unimportant things. Costume like appearances of street photographers, other looks for landscape people, and others still for urban, abstract snappers. And then you see the work. And it’s the same tired cliches. People on street corner in beam of light, national parks, urban landscapes. I’ve yet to encounter one of these channels and think “Whoa, haven’t seen this before.”

And now comes the real problem. The one good link. That’s all it takes. The one good link. The one good link to a real, working professional with a long-term career, consistency, unique work and a working knowledge of craft, industry, context and history. You land on a link like this and your YouTube days are OVER. But these people are not working to become pseudo-online celebs. They are working on projects and working on their career. Assignments, both personal and professional, book deals, gallery shows, museum shows and collaborations.

The kind of person with a simple, beautiful website. The kind of person with twelve major projects listed, all connected, followed by ten books of their work. A person with a real CV. A person with a collections list. A person who lists their collaborations with those outside their field. A person who makes you feel as if you haven’t even begun your career. Knowing these people exist cancels out the bulk of what you will find on YouTube. But know that I will be the first to admit I am jaded. I have training. I have knowledge of history, and I’ve been lurking around this business since 1988. I can smell bullshit a mile away. I don’t care how cool you are. I need substance.

This past weekend I found myself in Los Alamos.

I was getting something from the van when an older couple walked up behind me. “I need to know about your van,” the man said. I turned to him, noticed his outfit and attire and said “That hat you are wearing is a Class C felony and should come with an immediate jail sentence.” “I tried to tell him,” his wife said. He took my insults in stride and we started to talk, for real. Turns out, despite his “uncoolness” he had lived an incredible life. Being in Los Alamos, I knew he had been connected to the lab at some point, and his story did not disappoint. Was he cool? No. Was he a trendy hipster? No. What was he then? Accomplished. I could have talked with him all day.

They say time speeds up as you get older, and it sure does feel like that is true. Consequently, you must make decisions about how and where you will spend your time, and with whom. As you learn more, and as you begin to understand the varying levels of talent the world has to offer, it becomes easier to “just say no.” The YouTube photography crowd isn’t hurting anyone. They might be postponing the photographic success of millions of prosumers, but I don’t blame the creators. I blame the audience.