Is that a Great Kiskadee on the shelf? Awesome

One thing that I fail at time and time again is to “try something different”. When faced with a compelling scene, I tend to photograph in a manner that I know will produce a pleasing photo. Although there is an element of satisfaction, it cannot compare to times when you have gone out of your comfort zone and captured something truly original and memorable. Thanks Alister.

For me how did I improve and keep it going 1 don't make the photography the focus ..embrace the weather 2 get lower 3 go with someone occasionally 4 try new things...don't think good bad 5 My last point would be. I'm a professional photographer as well. And I haven't done the whole KZbin thing because I would lose who I am which is being in nature. I do a few workshops here and there. And I teach photography in community but I don't do photography full-time. And to be honest, I don't want to be a full-time. Photographer chasing clients, invoices stress. That's not stress I want. Thank you for your video and you made some good points

There are many times that I have struggled with photography over the years. In my early days (40+ years ago) it was not knowing what I wanted to photograph, not understanding the whole settings thing (always photographed in auto) and not then understanding what I needed to change when I got the photos back from the printer and they were awful. For me digital cameras have helped me so much to understand settings etc as I can see the image changing in real time as I change settings. I find that really helpful and exciting. I started back on my photography journey just under 2 years ago after a long break from it and after some severe health issues. Perhaps because of the mobility issues I now deal with, I tend to get frustrated at not being able to get to places that I really want to be for creating images. So last year when I was out, not knowing where to point my camera and what I wanted to create, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and started talking to Mother Nature. I know it sounds a bit daft. But I simply asked ‘show me what you would like me to create with you, show me your splendour’. It helped enormously and I do it regularly now - sometimes even out loud and I don’t care who hears me. A beautiful bank of clouds catches the light and I will say out loud ‘we’ll look at you’ in appreciation of its beauty. Like I say, I know it sounds daft but it works for me 😊

Love this video and your honesty with this craft that at times is so sublime and thoroughly enjoyable and at others can feel like a mountain to climb when you’re not flowing inside. Keep trying is the motto for my photography for when it comes together and I create an image I’m really chuffed with, it’s all worthwhile 😊

Feel elated & enlightened. Kudos. 🙏

The more we know, the more we know what we don’t know.

As comment always trust yourself, it’s not always the grand vistas, there is a lot to discover in small vistas either. And also on dull days you can make some great photography. As you say, go out take pictures and stop comparing your work with others, on a certain moment it becomes annoying for yourself.

Is that a Indian Pita on your bookshelf, Alister ?

If it had been easy there would be no idea going to worshops, reading books or watching videos on YT.

A few thoughts from my personal experience. I try to think of problem 2 as a positive thing. The bar changes because we are evolving and getting better at expressing ourselves. Many images I loved and hung proudly on my wall years ago I no longer love. I see their faults far more than I used to. Partly this is because I've grown so much as a photographer since I took those images so, my personal bar for work I'm proud of has risen. Partly this is because I've changed (point 3). I used to be out essentially to *capture* perfect "postcard" images of beautiful locations. These were (usually) technically good captures of beautiful places and so to some extent I succeeded in that. But now I seek simply to *create* beautiful images; images that express me and my relationship with the world around me. The suggestion to try things and to go with what excites you is great advice. Recently I discovered aesthetic pleasure in capturing ICM images of hubcaps. To be honest, as someone who thinks of himself as a landscape/nature photographer, I still feel a "dirty" about liking producing ICM images of hubcaps. One other point I'd add to your list is to remember that, at the end of the day, you are not in control. A great image in always a negotiation with the world around you. You are not the world's dictator.

Another very useful video Alister and it's always encouraging to see that professionals like yourself also struggle at times. I began photography back in the late 70's, and one thing I always keep in mind when I get a bit envious of all the latest gear (which I can't afford!) is the fact that even the most basic gear these days is streets ahead of what was available back then, and I was still able to make pretty decent images with it.

Big difference between the pressure of being a professional who has to deliver versus a hobbyist who can just go with the flow. Your analysis however applies equally to anyone in a funk.

Great video Alister. I would also add that 'purpose' is an issue for me. What is my purpose... why go out and shoot..? Its too easy to find purpose in the social platforms... shooting for likes and comments and get that dopamine hit. But with that comes the problems... you start shooting for others and not for yourself. The platforms want you to post often, regularly and the burn out comes fast... its a battle you won't win and can't win. IG can also throw thousand of amazing images at you, and then you fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others, as you mentioned. Imposter syndrome kicks in and you end up in a very negative space, both creatively and critically. And then there is the A.I. and tools now available that seek to act as a substitute for creativity or actually getting out there.... Anyway, thanks Alister, for putting this out there!

You would not believe the amount of times I forced myself to just go out somewhere, start walking, and have camera in hand. I never come back home disappointed. Never.

I think your 5 techniques are sound advice. But I'm glad you didn't call them 'easy' in the title of this video (even though you did in the description.) I say that from the perspective of an avid amateur and not a pro. I am very glad I am not a pro because I don't think I'd make a dime but more so because I want to do photography because I love it not because I have to. So not being a pro is a blessing for me. But the curse of the amateur is time. And techniques 1,2 and 5 require time. They are the right things for improvement and enjoyment but they aren't always easy. I would say for most amateurs time is the thing.

Point 4 - comparisons with others. Why? I'm sorry, but I just don't 'get' this behaviour. I enjoy looking at images - but for their own sake only. I do 'compare', but not with 'images' - I compare the photo I take with the scene I am engaging with. To me this is all that matters: answering one question 'Does the image honour the subject?' That is the basis for 'comparing' - not with some wonk on Safari in Botswana or tooling around Iceland or the Faroes when I'm engrossed in a few square cm of a forest-floor. It's not about someone else; it's not about 'Me'; it's about a noteworthy moment in time and space that would still be there had the camera never been invented and had I never existed.

You’re right, landscape photography is hard

It was such a treat to listen to you techniques/solutions and not once in your wisdom was there any mention of technique (e.g. ISO, aperature, shutter speed) . As usual, you reverse the equation in affirming that our gear is not the driving force in our creativity but WE are!!! Thank you Allister, Bill

It's another five triggers to open to or creativity. Thanks man. Beautiful layers in this picture.

It's always good to just get out and try.Getting a great image is just a added bonus! 😎

Great video Alistair... I will take you up on the advice to get out there - enjoy the outdoors and keep my expectations in check. A question for you... what gap of time do you allow from shooting to processing? I am wondering if we could compare our shooting now to the film days when we had a period of time before seeing the results... does that change how we view ourselves and our photography? I don't know the answer - but I have experimented with delaying downloading my images for a week or more and it has helped me appreciate both my photography and the experience. Thank you for all you do!

This was a great video! Thank you

My biggest struggle is "to go out there and explore"

One thing (for me) is that dawn comes so early in the morning.

I couldn't agree more, recently in a different area of photography, while practicing my commercial photography, I found myself struggling with a particular subject that I had pictured in my head but, was not able to materialize, I then took a break, changed the object to photograph and perspective and voila! I was able to get my head back in the game and took what I consider my best commercial picture just yet. I believe the concepts you explain are applicable to many areas not only in photography but life as well. Sometimes one tends to idealized scenes or concepts and when we are in the moment we just realize it is not what we imagine, but by changing perspective, point of focus or just relaxing would allow us to refocus and "see" differently and come to more pleasing results.

Spot on! It's ok to not find an image. Relax and repeat. They will come.😀

"Just F8 and be there", the rest will come. :) I never come home sad or let down after spending time outdoors. No matter what I'm bringing home on the memory card.

👍🏿

Is it just me, or do others struggle sometimes with their photography?

Strange... Recently I've come across a book about photography written in 1970s, and the author said the rule of thirds was a creepy, old-fashioned idea. I wonder why it was exhumated in the digital age. Maybe due to the fact at some point photography has become a hobby for masses, with some 'artists' having completely no idea what they want to see on their photographs...?

exactly when I capture an image the composition is an unconscious process of what "feels" right never an active use of "rules" of composition as they usually don't work. Later when reviewing my images I may be able to say, "oh this one fits the rule of thirds or what not" but I alway compose by "gut feeling" what feels right in the moment

Great advice as always. Thank you! It's always the experienced photographers who have mastered the rules who tell people the rules are too much of a thoughtless template \ recipes and should be broken. It seems like the experience with the rules helps you thoughtfully bend or abandon them. Not sure who motivated you to put the big timer on the screen, but I'm not sure it helps the majority of the audience's experience... the video player already has a timer built in.

Wow, you're speaking my language! I came in expecting more drivel, with the hope of a nugget of information, but came out with affirmation of my own process. I believe we can get too bogged down in technicalities., so I put together my own video about a single rule of composition: one that I have subscribed to for 30 years.

When I started my hobby of photography, back in the '80s, it was primarily to take pictures of trains and the railroad scene. I didn't know about composition or rules of composition, I just took pictures that interested me. Of course, as I look back, perhaps it helped that trains move along tracks, hence instant leading lines even though I didn't what a leading line was. And trains climb mountains, hence diagonals, go around curves, and so 'automatically' conform to many of the rules of composition. But not all railroad photography involves trains moving along the tracks, as there are stations, yards and other aspects of the railroad environment. But the important point is that compared to the photography I do now, primarily landscape photography, when I look at my best railroad images I am much, much more likely to feel the emotion I felt when I was trackside than I am when I look at my best contemporary landscape photography. So without any conscious thought of composition or the rules thereof, I was better able to express myself, to capture the emotions of the moment, than I am now as a more experienced, aka indoctrinated, photographer.

I couldnt agree more Alister. Be an agent of chaos in a world filled with rules!

In my youth, it was called "The theory of the intersection of thirds". Nobody bothered about it though, this was the 1970s when I was in my twenties.

Not sure I agree. I feel people should learn the rules first and then experiment with breaking the rules

Well said, Alister. Well said! There is nothing creative about following the rules. Creativity is all about creating in a way that nobody else does. The result may turn out good, or it may turn out bad, either way it is creative.

Thanks Alister, could not agree more!

Observing and reacting is what you have taught me - Thank You!

In a one on one Workshop with Simon Baxter he said, that in woodland he would put aside all rules of composition and instead try to include, what he deems important to the composition and to exclude, what he finds distracting or not useful. Following this rule, combined with favorable light brings Up complex, genuine images, that really contain every aspect of what I found beautiful about the scene. It's been a game-changer for my woodland photography.

I think most everyone agrees these days that "rules" always was a terrible misnomer for teaching elements of an artistic activity that involves creative expression and not just hard and fast technical components that have to fall in place exactly in order to be successful. At the same time, I found it useful, when learning photography, to understand how the language and thoughts about composition evolved, and what things work or don't, while listening to various opinions as to why. I was also immediately aware that "breaking" the rules was perfectly acceptable and didn't feel a "society" pressure at all. It's subjective art after all, not law in this case. While I certainly agree with your critiques of what makes images work beyond just these elements, I think all those "rules" have some valid reasons/history that play into the process. More historical understanding helps augment our critical thinking don't you think?. Upon re-reading this, I guess I had a knee-jerk reaction to your more harsh opinions on this one Alister!! I love how you always challenge us to be more creative, truly.

As I always say. This channel is greatly underrated. 99% of the landscape channels should watch and learn form you. I always wandered HOW you come out with these amazing comps and now I know. mind-blowing info. thank you very much

So, if I go to school and they teach me composition, I didn't learn composition?

It seems to me that people are getting hung up on compositional rules, not because they're wrong or bad, but because theyre taking the word "rule" literally. It's never occured to me that these items have to be checked off for an image to be good. To me, they're suggestions. A compilation of things that people who study art have noticed that aesthetically pleasing images contain. Compositional rules might have come from a well intentioned effort to try to quantify and make the artisitic process more accessable to people who struggle with creativity. I struggle, I'll often realise as I'm taking a photograph that there's something missing or not quite right, but as a lot of people do, I know what I don't like, but not sure of what I do like. Having compositional suggestions to work through to improve an image is helpful. Having said that, my pet hate is a girl in a bikini standing on train tracks going nowhere. It's such a literal interpretation of leading lines and I guess you could also claim juxtaposition, but the only question raised in mind is how did the photographer convince the poor unfortunate creature to do this? Anyway, suggestions, not rules. 😊

Thank you ever so much for this one, Alister. Kind regards from Scotland. I have just been to Torridon. The upside: I didn't see any midges. The downside: I didn't see anything else neither. Teribbly cold and drizzling all day, unfortunately. After this weekend I will give Glen Affric a try and hope it will be hiking weather. Cheers, Martin

I have the day off, camera is in the car.....nothing to hold me back. Thanks for the inspiration to go find something cool! (or not, as long as I am outdoors feeling day to day activities slip away)

Hi Alister, I agree with you that the rules were just a guide and not to be followed all the time. Photography (art) is about expressing how you see the scene and the creativity from that expression. I do enjoy and follow your content. Take care from Texas!

I did all of that and took time to compose the scene. Now, I point and shoot. I automatically lock on to what looks and feels right for what I am trying to capture. No thought about rule of thirds or anything else. My eyes 'lead' my brain. It works for me. Cheers, Rich