Finding our way as a photographer
Have you ever sat down and thought, “What kind of photographer am I?”
Well, early last year, I did just that and spent the last year exploring what I really enjoyed and sometimes, what I didn’t, to find out. Turns out, I really enjoy street photography as well as nature/flowing water photography. I spent a great deal of time walking the downtown area of Chattanooga TN looking for interesting photos of life as it is now. I also learned what kind of cameras I enjoy using as well, since I am getting older and having trouble seeing up close now, I have learned that the mirrorless camera with it’s EVF makes my life a lot easier while out shooting and that the dslr, while a very capable machine, isnt as easy for me to use, therefore less likely to go out with…
I have migrated pretty much to my trusty Fuji XT3 for most of my photography as of late and have added in a Nikon Z6 as well, I still have the D810 and it works just fine, but it is not as easy to use so I only get it out for certain things now a days. I still like the D810 for portrait shoots as well as wildlife photos as it has an amazing sensor and captures incredible detail. So for now, that is still a camera in my arsenal. For most of my “run n gun” stuff thought, it will be the XT3 / Z6 moving forward.
Expect my YouTube channel to be more of my exploits and as time goes on, it should slowly start to show the specialization that I am finding my way into with my photography. I hope you enjoy this trip as much as I do and will join my for it.
Until next time, get your camera out and go take a picture with it!
We went to the Smokies for some photography.
Last weekend we went to the Great Smokey Mountain National Forest to meet up with a friend and to do some photography. We try to do it on the weekend of the color peak, but so far we have never hit it right. Lol. This year we tried something a little different and went to Morristown to a camera shop that is there. After perusing Camera Castle for a while, we did a little street photography on Main Street in Morristown. We met some really nice people there and generally had a great time. The second day involved a lengthy hike to a small waterfall called Henwallow Falls that provided gorgeous vistas through the trees as well as some interesting nature with the flora and fauna. The evenings were spent editing the days photos and we even did a YouTube live stream from the cabin! If you get the opportunity to do something like this, I highly reckon you go, it is totally worth it. The link to the video below is just a taste of the fun we had…
Is YouTube good for your photography?
I have been thinking about this a good bit and I have concluded that YouTube is a double edged knife of sorts. On the one hand it is good for research and legitimate tutorials if you can wade through the product “reviews” and clickbaited op-ed pieces.
When I look at a video on YouTube now, I am analysing it for all sorts of things and not just the face value. Things like;
Is the tip valid or just something to garner views?
Does the tip or skill bring something to my table that I will actually use?
Is the video also entertaining?
Does the video have photos embedded that show how to use the information or resultant images that display how the information will help me?
Is the video a thinly veiled product advertisement or endorsement meant to lead me to affiliate links for purchase?
Am I being “sold” on something I dont need?
These are just the ones I came up with off the top of my head while writing this blog post. Some of those are touchy for me too since I also have a channel of my own.
With my own channel, I have ads enabled on certain videos and some content I do not because I dont want that content influenced by the drive to get views. I want those videos to be an outlet of sorts for our engagement on a sort of personal level. This allows me to connect with my viewers and from what I can tell, it seems to work for me.
I am also an anomaly in that I do not need the ad revenue to sustain my lifestyle. This frees me from needing ad revenue to finance my hobby so I am free to make the content I want instead of click based content. The problem is, I find myself making content to garner clicks all the time… I try to consciously not do this, but the lure is so strong that it happens sometimes anyway. So why do I want to make those videos that are just for the view count? I feel it has to do with the channel analytics page. This page shows you, in almost real time, the results of your efforts. It seems like a fancy video game at times and the natural desire to win drives you to increase the numbers. The algorithm is written to provoke us to make content like that so you guys will watch it. We are being played from both sides so they can sell ads.
I like the little stream of money that is coming from these videos though, so I just have to find balance somehow. What’s a guy to do?
What do y’all think?
Check out my channel on YouTube if you are done shooting for the day.. lol
David Saylors