Hello, my friends. This is the first film in my “post-YouTube” life. My brief relationship with Vimeo is over, but don’t worry, there was never any real commitment and we agreed to see other people. My filmmaking life is still alive but the heartbeat is slow and inconsistent. Such is life when things get busy. I have grand plans. In my head. But these plans are, most likely, something to be pursued later. Until then, we have you and your questions.
1. There was no question. Just me providing advice.
2. 14:00, Is there a birding primer?
3. 16:50, Is there a YouTube primer?
4. 21:15, What is the thought process behind a nondedicated, semi-commercial trip compared to a three-month, dedicated trip?
5. 28:00, Are there small lessons learned from every trip? Things you can apply later?
6. 31:30, Any tips on sequencing color and black and white together?
7. 37:10, How can I improve composition?
8. 38:00, What is the difference between a photo, a picture, and an image?
9. 40:20, We’ve heard a lot about long-term projects. Should I do a project on my city’s downtown?
10. 46:20, What is the difference between working as an uneducated blogger and working as an uneducated photographer?
11. 50:30, What is your fiber paper workflow?
12. 52:45, Isn’t it exhausting to always be on the move?
Comments 18
Thanks i enjoyed that. And thanks for answering my question
Frank
Author
You got it!
thanks, Dan.
Rare form. Loved the opening. Sorry that flag bag just didn’t quite work!
Author
Maybe next time….
Speaking purely as a dreg, here, this was, somehow, both instructive and a lot of fun. Color is still shocking. Grateful for the solid new epithet: toilet bowl expert. Looking forward to dropping it all the time. Also, references to Coen brother’s movies can really pull a video together. I was going to ask a question, but you’ve shamed me into looking it up. Which, darn it, is kinda hard after all, y’know, entering phrases into a search engine, reading, even remembering stuff, whew! but …. okay.
Author
Coen’s make unique work. What more can I say. What we are all after.
I already commented on youtube..but I’m totally 1 of the 8 that still watch you. Lol! Nah, you know more than watch. The blog is more organic to me, though.
Author
You could be lucky number seven.
I understand and respect your view that YouTube can be a major time-waster. While I have no intention of pursuing a career in photography or other creative fields, I believe my time could be better utilized doing something else than mindlessly consuming. Your emphasis on the creative process rather than just gear is something that I find lacking on YouTube. I need to try to visit your website more frequently.
Author
The gear thing is just so tired and lame. This applies across all of my hobbies. It’s all men. Middle aged men.
Toilet bowl scholar, now that is a great line. I know somebody like that, lol.
Author
It’s such a good title for so much of what I see being presented today.
Hi Dan, I’m the cheeky one who squeezed three questions in one 😉 (question 4)
First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer this. I asked the question almost six months ago and kudos to you for keeping track of it. Much appreciated.
All you said resonates, and I’d love to see/read/listen to your road map for building a personal project.
Despite the infinite amount of resources out there, it’s almost impossible to find a step-by-step (chapter-by-chapter) blueprint like the one you mentioned (and believe me, I have been looking!!!)
I know you are a busy man, but if you ever manage to find the time to get that roadmap out, that would be AWESOME. I am sure it will be welcomed by many …certainly, more than just the eight of us still following you 😉
Keep up the good work and if you ever pass by North Wales (UK) give me a shout. It’s always sh*t weather here but I can take you to some good birding spots.
Ciao
Simon
Author
My hope is to bring you this series. When this will happen is the question. Unless something changes with work it most likely won’t happen which makes it even more difficult because I know how many people are in need.
Hi Dan, I’m the cheeky one who squeezed three questions in one 😉 (question 4)
First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer this. I asked the question almost six months ago and kudos to you for keeping track of it. Much appreciated.
All you said resonates, and I’d love to see/read/listen to your road map for building a personal project.
Despite the infinite amount of resources out there, it’s almost impossible to find a step-by-step (chapter-by-chapter) blueprint like the one you mentioned (and believe me, I have been looking!!!)
I know you are a busy man, but if you ever manage to find the time to get that roadmap out, that would be AWESOME. I am sure it will be welcomed by many …certainly, more than just the eight of us still following you 😉
It’s about men – of a certain age – possibly because aside from earning the daily crust, what else can most folks do with the little free time that’s left them? In some societies the answer lies in the pub, or sometimes in becoming a tv show expert by being the best domestic couch potato one can be. Actually admitting to a hobby sounds a bit childish, so the process has to be disguised by adopting cloaks such as art, collecting something, photography, golf; sport is a fine distraction if you live somewhere where it’s an option – I don’t think of going to a gym as sport.
Just this morning I was having a similar conversation with my daughter and her husband who are out here on vacation: I made the point that I felt very fortunate not to have finished school, armed with a box of certificates but with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I got some nice bits of paper, but they had not the slightest relevance to my photographic ambitions. Perhaps that’s not quite correct: I could write reasonable business letters and state my proposals clearly enough, and when it came to the face-to-face, it helped not being saddled with one of those accents only understood within a small neighbourhood. Strangely, it seems that today, the more insular you can be, the more likely you are to capture hearts and minds – or perhaps that’s just in politics… but the point of the discussion really was about the huge difference that having a predilection for something makes, if only because you enter adulthood knowing exactly what you are and don’t have to waste years finding out or, worse, leaving it too late. Without my own single-minded ambition I’d have been left totally adrift. Maybe too many choices is not a good place to be. My two granddaughters had the same good fortune: one for medicine and the other, law.
Whether being obsessive is or is not a good idea depends on many factors. As you suggest, it might render you boring to some others, but the thing is, you don’t really have the time to notice or care very much; you probably find those folks equally uninteresting, thus completing the relationship. Perhaps such concerns arrived with social media, the visible social scores, but outwith that world, why would one care? As you also suggest – or, rather, state: nobody gives a damn about anyone else’s photos. Unless, of course, you are a committed photographer, when you do care very much. I have spent many happy hours online looking at the work of some few favourite photographers. But yeah, every single one of them – and most are now dead and departed – was a friggin’ photographic star. What’s not to admire and enjoy? Which of course, is not the same thing as thinking all stars are equal.
Author
Obsessive is good. Single-mindedly focused on one topic, sure, even that can be a solid use of time. But to only KNOW one thing is a crime.