this is how you usually see me
just walking around with my camera in hand
maybe a backpack
but that's it, nothing else
the reality, though, is very different
this is what it looks like in the field most of the times
because most of the times, I bring along my video camera and my tripod
to record myself out there taking pictures, to document my work
I've been making videos like this for years
so much that it's part of my workflow now
and this is just one thing I do to share the behind the scenes
I also upload my contact sheets to patreon
I share stories on Instagram
and every once in a while, I post something on my blog
all of this takes time and a lot of effort
especially to carry the second camera and the tripod everywhere I go
it's a bit painful
but I believe that documenting my work
sharing the way I work
has for the most part made me a better photographer
it's also led to connections with some incredible people
and of course, it's helped me spread the word about my photography
documenting my work is the second best thing I've done for my photography
besides picking up a camera in the first place
in this video, we'll talk about why I think that photographers
should consider sharing their process in some way
by the way, if you were wondering how I filmed my video camera recording me
well, it was using this compact camera right here
if you're wondering how I recorded this compact
camera recording the video camera that was recording me
well, it was using this 360 camera
now, if you're wondering how I recorded the 360 camera
recording the compact camera
recording the video camera
that was recording me
well, it gets too complicated from here
so let's go back to the video
documenting my work has made me a
better photographer because it exposes my process to others
believe me, there is nothing like being watched or feel like you are being watched
to make you try your best
at least for me
as I said many times, one of the biggest struggles of what I do
is not having a boss, a customer, or a specific goal
because that means that I can give up whenever I want
no one is going to yell at me, or complain about it
however, if I commit to making a couple of videos a week
I have to take risks, I can't play it safe all the time
knowing that other people
sometimes thousands of you
will be watching what I do and listening to what I say
pushes me to go farther, to be better, to think more
having all of you watching me work also means that I get a lot of feedback
about my images, tips about to how to handle difficult conditions
or simply just supportive comments
and I appreciate all of that because it's extremely helpful for me
something that would not happen if I were to keep my work and my process to myself
I have no background in arts
I never studied photography in any way
I'm self-taught
mostly using the experiences of other photographers to learn
experiences that they shared online, somewhere
to know what I could expect out here
to understand myself and what I want to do with my art even better
this applies not only to photography, but to hiking,
cooking outdoors, how to go on road trips, camping and whatnot
there's so much information out there
my photography wouldn't be anywhere close to what it is today without all of that
my hope is to give back if just a little bit
maybe not so much with tips about what to do or what not to do
but maybe sparking a little bit of inspiration
so you grab your camera and go out take some pictures
the best emails and the best messages I get is when someone reaches out to me
saying that because they saw a video of mine they felt inspired to go outside
to try to do something with their photography
that is an incredible feeling that I get when that happens
even if you think that you don't have anything to share
that you don't have anything useful to share with others, you do
now, let's talk about the story behind the image and why it's so important
it's always been important, but more important today than ever
photography has changed quite a bit in the last few decades
today, taking a photograph is really easy, anyone can do it
almost everyone has a camera in their pocket
and we can take as many pictures as we want
it is hard to comprehend how different this world is compared to just 30-40 years ago
there are no barriers in photography anymore
the result is that there's amazing photography being made every day
and it's incredible to watch
but the consequence is that the noise is also up
it's very, very loud out there
and it's probably harder than ever to get noticed as a photographer
if you think this is bad, just wait
because AI is already here and it's only getting better
the noise is about to increase tenfold
but in this ever-evolving world of ours, you might have noticed other trends
like film has had a comeback recently
digicams, plastic cameras, Polaroids, you name it
there's some very thirsty audience for those things out there
because they stand out from the crowd
I can tell you from experience because a lot of people started to follow me
to follow my journey
not just because of my images but because...
mainly because I shot with a medium format film camera
I know, because a lot of them left when I switched to digital
even though the images were pretty similar or even better than the ones that I was making before
the truth can be painful to some, it definitely was to me, but it needs to be told
unless you are the very best at what you do, very few will care about your art
and by the way, that is totally okay
that might be all you want and need from your photography
to have some fun, and a handful of people who really enjoy your images
if you can find that, you'd be very lucky actually
now, if you want to make a living with this
if you want to make it your main thing and not just something on the side
then, I do believe that there is no other option today but to share how you make your art
in as many details as possible, as often as possible
a photograph doesn't need a story, but it can tell one
but as important as that story, if not more
is the story behind the photograph, how it was made
a few years ago, I did a tour of a few art galleries around here
trying to get one to sell my photographs
I got nothing, but I learned a few things
first, is that many galleries just won't even accept photography
I was surprised about that
the ones that did, usually only took film work
you know why?
because when someone goes to a gallery, they don't just walk to the wall
look for the photograph they like the most
and buy it
no, no
they talk to the expert, the person there in the gallery
they listen to them and the stories they have to tell about the pieces they carry
they hear stories about the artists
how long it took them to make them
the processes they used
the inspiration behind their art
the more interesting those stories...
the story behind the piece, the more unique it sounds, the better
that way the owner of the piece feels a deeper connection to the art
much more than an anonymous framed picture bought at Ikea
that's why film photography does relatively well today
even when the actual quality of the art is similar to the digital counterpart, or worse
because the story behind the work is just better
the struggle matters
the risk, the effort, the likely failures
we humans simply appreciate something much more when we know it was hard to make
the final result is, many times, secondary
for example, I got to Spain from the US just a few days ago
and in 2023, that's not remarkable
it would have been 500 years ago because... how did I do it so fast?
but no one is going to talk about my trip overseas... unless I made it hard
if I told you I swam here
everyone would be talking about me
especially if I had photographs and videos to prove it
so how we get there matters a lot
sometimes even more than getting there in the first place
going back to photography, AI is about to change everything again
in a few years, we'll look back at the differences between film and digital photography
and we'll laugh, because this is going to be a complete change in the way we think of art
what a piece of art means
AI will be able to create art at a pace and a quality not achievable for humans
but there's one thing AI will never, ever have
that we human photographers do have
that's the story of how we made it
and there is no better way to share that story than documenting your work
ideally on video, but it can also be done with contact sheets
newsletters, podcasts, blog posts, you choose
like it or hate it, I think that this is the reality of photography today
if you want to make it
and you don't need to make it
photography for most people should be just something fun to do
but if you want to make money with this, if you want to make a name for yourself
you are going to need to go to the places where most people are not willing to go
and that's it, I just wanted to convince you to start sharing your behind the scenes
your process, your work in the field
and if you do, please share it in the comments down below
if you have a channel, a blog, whatever
I'm interested, the people watching this video will be interested
because we all want to learn from you, from your successes and your failures
so yeah, please go ahead and share your channel or your website in the comments
that's all!
as you can see, I'm back in Spain
it's going to be exciting
plenty of new photographs and plenty of new videos coming from here very soon
for now, thank you so much for watching
see you in the next one!