Some days are special, those days we can't miss out on. I've talked about that here on the blog and in the newsletter.
Yesterday, I had a chance to put the theory to the test. It was supposed to be a busy day at home, but the snow waits for no one. The conditions were perfect for photography, so I had to put everything off.
It was worth it.
When we make a good image, we might think we are getting better at this: "I'm a great photographer", we tell ourselves.
When the best image we can come up with isn't any good, we think this is not for us: "I'm a terrible photographer", we convince ourselves.
We are neither that good nor that bad. The truth is always somewhere in between.
We outdoor photographers are at the mercy of the location, the conditions, and the light. Making a good image is easy if we are at the right place at the right moment. If we have nothing going for us, even the most talented photographer might have not been able to create a decent image.
Since most of the time we can't predict what the outside world is going to do, our best chance is to get out as often as we can and try to do our best. Let's use this as a measurement of success instead of "good" vs "bad" images.
I believe that every day is filled with possibilities. That's why I try to make images every single day, no matter where I am or what I am doing. But, not all days are created equal.
I'd been struggling for a few days to create new images. The weather wasn't helping: it was freezing cold, but no rain, no snow, no nothing. Being outside for more than half an hour became an act of bravery, and the rewards were too low.
Patience usually pays off. Yesterday was one of those days that come only every once in a while. It snowed overnight, so we woke up to a winter wonderland. Not only that, but the temperature was actually pleasant (28F / -2C, which at this point in winter is actually pretty warm), no wind, no rain, no snow, and a little bit of mist. Absolutely perfect conditions for photography.
Not too long ago, I'd dwell on where to go to take advantage of this gift. Instead of wasting time on Google Maps trying to find the perfect spot, I just grabbed my camera and headed out. I spent 5 hours in the snow, feeling like a little kid who was playing with the white powder for the first time. And I think I made some beautiful images -just walking around the neighborhood.
The place I spent the most time at was, perhaps not surprisingly, the local golf course. The snow worked as a beautiful white blanket on top of the carefully crafted landscapes, with its rolling hills, little ponds and intentionally spaced trees. So much potential in such a mundane place.
Yes, I do believe in everyday photography - there's always something to be found out there, any day. But some days are special. Those, you can't really miss out on.
After traveling across the country for the last 3 months, and seeing some of the most beautiful landscapes the US has to offer, one could think my photography would suffer by being back in Indiana.
Actually, it's quite the opposite! I'm very excited to be back, as I believe that the images we make in "ordinary" places can be more rewarding and, in many cases, better than the ones made in exotic spots. At least, they are very unique.
As opposed to a national park, photography here is hard. Images aren't obvious, you have to hunt them, and that can take a lot of effort and time. That's what makes them so rewarding, when we finally find them.
In this video, I try to prove this point by showing you some of the images I've made over the years near "home", wherever that was at the time. I'm lucky to have called home very different and beautiful places, all of them with their distinctives landscapes and beauty.
I hope this inspires you to get out wherever you might be at the moment, wherever you might live, and capture that that makes the place unique. What looks ordinary and boring for you can be new and exciting for someone else.
This is the last video from the road trip. It documents the long drive back home, after 3 months on the road. Hairball was kind of falling apart, so that made the trip a bit... interesting. I hope you enjoy it.
Last video from my recent road trip across the US, from beautiful Arches National Park.
In this day and age, sharing your work online is easier than ever. Making meaningful connections is getting harder, though.
Social media has changed the world in many ways, some good, some not so good. Thanks to these platforms, I was able to reach thousands of people, connect with other photographers and artists, and discover so much great art.
I like to use social media. I don’t like when that happens the other way around. I don’t want to spend a second trying to figure out how to beat the algorithm and reach those who followed me because they were interested in what I create.
It’s time to bring the newsletter back. It might sound old-fashion at this point, but I believe it’s the best way we have to really connect with each other. No middlemen involved, humans and non-humans.
One email, once a week, where I’ll share all the work I publish on my Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. So you don’t have to use those platforms to see what I’m up to, and even less, to connect with me. Simply reply to that email and we’ll be talking!
And of course, you can unsubscribe at any time.
If you are interested, please join us:
I like to get out in nature, away from the crowds. Even though I’ve been pretty far from civilization at times, I’m aware that you don’t need to be in a remote place for something bad to happen to you. Anything could happen at any moment, anywhere. If you get hurt and can’t walk, 1 mile becomes 1,000.
In this video, I talk about some of the safety measures I take when I photograph in the great outdoors.
Always keeping in mind that there’s no such thing as a risk-free life and we must embrace some degree risk, this is about minimizing the chances of something happening and increasing the odds of us getting of that situation in one piece.
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to talk with Anshul from Converzionalist about creativity. We talked about what motivates us, what creativity is, fear of failure and many more things. Hope you enjoy our conversation.
Today’s video is from Canyonlands National Park, in Utah. A landscape that is mostly about the colors: the red rocks, the green vegetation, the sunrises and sunsets… how do we photograph all of that in black and white?
As I explore the park, I share some tips and ideas to create good monochrome images in places where color is king.
Update: second part of this mini series is now available. I share a few more tips and ideas, this time from Arches National Park.
I love hearing from people who were inspired by my work or my words. It gives meaning to what I do.
A few years ago, I went through a period of struggle with my photography. It got boring and predictable, and I didn't like what I was making. It all felt the same, my work didn't feel mine, personal, unique, with my own style.
The Bronica changed all of that. It was a very different approach to photography: slower, more intentional and engaging.
And apparently, it's done the same for many people. This camera is a recurring theme in those messages, filled with stories of how it's changed the way they approach photography.
I'm very glad to hear those stories. While I don't usually like to talk about gear -it's just a tool after all-, some cameras can really spark joy and open a whole new way of seeing. The Bronica is definitely one of those cameras.
Some time has passed since the Bronica came to my life and changed my photography forever. I don't use it as often nowadays, but its effect is still profound. This is because it didn't really changed anything, it simply revealed what was already within me. The Bronica was the catalyst that brought the change, not the reason of it.
It's within you, too. Never think that your photography is tied to any camera or lens, or whatever piece of gear. You are an artist because of what you have in you, not because of the tools you use.
I breathe photography, it’s my life. I always have a camera with me, ready to create something at any moment. If photography were to be done only from beautiful and stunning places, I wouldn’t be doing it. I believe photography should be done anywhere, at all times. There’s an image to be made everywhere.
In this video from beautiful Zion, I talk about this approach to photography.
As you know, I don’t have a permanent home. I spend a few months a year in Spain, a few months a year in the USA, and the rest on the road.
The traditional solutions (local hard drives) to manage all the photos and videos I take don’t really work for me, I need something flexible, accessible from anywhere, and safe.
That’s why I use the cloud as my only storage for my photography work. It is more expensive than local hard drives and it takes longer to back everything up, but once it’s done, there’s nothing more convenient and safer than the cloud. It also requires no maintenance at all.
I don’t format the memory cards until everything is backed up in the cloud. In the meanwhile, I copy everything to my iPad so I have at least two copies, just in case something happens to the memory card.
It’s different for video, though. I record everything in 4k, and those files take a lot of space. I think I produce around 2TB of 4k video every year, I wouldn’t be able to afford storing all my raw footage in the cloud.
Up until recently, I was using Google Photos for this. It compresses the video files down to 1080p, but it’s completely free. Or it used to be. Google has changed its mind and the service will be paid after June 1st, 2021. Even compressed, it will become too expensive for my videos really quick.
I’m not sure about what to do just yet. I might have to revert to hard drives for video, or just delete the footage after I’m done with whatever YouTube video they belong to.
I’d love to hear from you and your solutions for photo and video storage.
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to spend a couple nights in beautiful Death Valley National Park. I recorded a photography journal of sorts, and the result is these two videos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.
To remove bad habits, we need to create friction. Do you eat unhealthy snacks every time you pass by the kitchen? Hide them away or, better yet, don't buy them.
To build good habits, we need to remove friction. Want to start running? Try by leaving your running shoes by the door.
The same applies to photography: we should remove as much friction as possible.
Something catches our eye. A possible image, we think. But then we realize about everything we need to do to take the photograph: take our backpack off, get the camera out, mount the lens, filter, extend the tripod, place it on ground, work through the settings... every single step is friction between us and the image. The likelihood of us trying our luck with that scene is very low. We will never know if that image would have worked.
Remove friction: have your camera out and ready, use P or A mode, shoot handheld. Consider using compact cameras. The simpler, the better.
I was wondering this on my way to the beautiful Alabama Hills, in California. Can we learn photograph from someone else?
The technical side of photography, sure: settings, composition rules… but what about the story?
That, we might need to figure out ourselves.
In this video, I share my thoughts on this and some of the images and footage I made in the Eastern Sierras. Please feel free to share your opinion in the comments, here or on YouTube.
My dad is very good at giving unsolicited and brutal feedback. He's got a good eye for negative stuff and is able to find it in almost anything.
"I'm disappointed, I was expecting more"
Those were his words after watching my recent video from Crater Lake. And even though I will never tell him this, I have to agree with him this time: it wasn't my best work by any means.
On one hand, this was due to the conditions: a boring, sunny and clear day. Timing is everything in photography. No matter how many masters of photography you throw at it, if the conditions aren't right, it's not going to work.
On the other hand, it's always possible to create good images. We just need to find what is that shines under the conditions we've got. I did try with the full moon, with some long exposures, with silhouettes. They are not the kind of images one might imagine from a place like Crater Lake, and that might crush other people's expectations.
I've said this dozens of times on this blog and my YouTube channel, but it's worth repeating: you are one click away from your best image ever. What that image is going to be of, you don't know. Stay open and flexible when you visit a location. Have a few images in mind, but if they don't work, be willing to move on and find something else. In many cases, that will be much better than your original idea. It will be, at least, different and original.
Even if that disappoints others.
I don’t usually struggle with motivation when it comes to getting out and making images. I’m generally very excited to take my camera out there and start shooting.
My time in Nevada was different. I was still adjusting to being alone on the road, and with the contested elections all over the news, I got distracted and lost my momentum. I had to push myself, force myself to get out even if I didn’t feel like doing it.
And as you might have expected, it was totally worth it.
Still catching up after my road trip. I never shared the video I made in Northern Washington here, and that’d be a mistake. Washington is probably my favorite state (sorry, Oregon), and the coast and mountains north of Seattle are my favorite part of it. Beauty everywhere.
But there are some other recent videos I never got to share here:
Full Moon over Crater Lake, I couldn’t miss it. I drove over 7 hours to be at Crater Lake in time to witness a breath-taking moonrise.
She left me! No more excuses… My apologies for the clickbait-y title. But it’s true, Rachel had to go home for work, so I’m alone on the road. This just became a 100% photography trip.
A landscape is never done. I revisit some of my favorite spots in the Oregon Coast and I try to convince you why you should revisit landscapes. They are never “done”, and there’s always something new to find and capture.
Where’s the Bronica? I get asked about the Bronica very often.
How to do photography in bad weather (and why you should). Don’t let rain and snow stop you from getting out there, they are the very things that can make your next great image happen. A few tips about how I shoot in bad weather.
Some street photography in Portland. Rachel and I go on a walk on the streets of beautiful Portland with our cameras (Fuji X100T and Sony A7Rii) and try to make the best of a lovely fall evening.
Best thing you can do for your photography right now. It’s very simple, and yet very easy to forget. So easy that I have to keep reminding myself of the key to photography: just get out.
Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) in the woods of Portland. A very useful technique to make minimal and simple images in busy places. Useful even if we don’t like the results, as it will get us started and might be the spark we need to get inspired.
That’s quite a few videos, I guess I’ve been busy lately. And there are many more coming soon. I’ll be sharing them here, but don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. It really does help.
Nothing lasts forever, and this trip wasn’t going to be an exception. I’m back in Indiana after 3 incredible months on the road, a time I spent trying to take it all in as much as I could. I don’t know when I’m going to have the chance to hit the road again, so I gave it all I had.
That means I pretty much put everything else on hold. Among other things, my exercise habits, this blog, and email.
I’m catching up now: I’ve started to exercise again, this post is the first of hopefully many to come here in the blog, and I’ve replied to a few emails that had been patiently waiting for a response for a while. I will be getting back to people on social networks soon, too. If you tried to contact me and I haven’t gotten back to you by the end of this week, please try again.
Being back is bittersweet: it’s great to be with family again, and having a routine makes me feel more energized and healthier. But I miss the road already, all the sunrises and sunsets I saw out west over those stunning landscapes.
As this part of my photography journey ends, the first snowstorms of the season here in the Midwest are already signaling the beginning of the next one. I can’t wait to take my cameras out once the white powder takes over these landscapes.
