Critiquing My own Film Photos from Cape Cod

[@TheBigNegative-PhotoChannel]

I'm starting to think we've come to a point where everyone seems to have to justify cliches in their photos. I think just because others find it boring, you shouldn't limit yourself in what you want to photograph. Your pictures cliche or not are wonderful. that's what counts.

[@matthewyarnell]

Agreed. It’s not “what” but “how”.

[@mehowkielan1984]

It's also "why"

[@DarvRamirez]

Very true.

[@mehowkielan1984]

@@DarvRamirez probably the most important for the creator himself

[@michaelyolch79]

This is the most soul nourishing channel on all of KZbin. Sublime.

[@BryanBirks]

Really enjoyed this one and completely agree with your closing sentiments about inspiration. For every one of these types of videos there are hundreds of people talking about cameras and lenses (and that is fine). I think it is just a normal continuation of growth as a photographer. Really looking forward to more of these types of videos, Willem and just go with what feels right when talking about the things that interest you. Your curiosity about things is contagious.

[@WillemVerb]

I appreciate it Bryan! Thanks for the comment

[@BryanBirks]

@@andras_ikladi Great comment. I agree. And I think it is even harder when put under a microscope and broadcasted for the world to see. Yes, anyone who makes a channel asks for that but it doesn't mean that it doesn't play a role in creative development that many other people don't really deal with. Taking into account the opinions of KZbin viewers is not something that photographers normally had to deal with while growing artistically (normally would just have close friends or professional critiques I’m guessing) and it leads to even more ups, downs, and second guessing.

[@Palestinian_holocaust]

Is it expensive to live in cape cod

[@adriengelin2278]

Your pics are amazing, but in my opinion, your photo of cabins in the sunrise are definitely well composed and so much more "life" and tell kinda tell a story

[@Fjalll]

Cool how the pictures got more interesting laid out like that

[@newsomedave]

That was an outstanding video. An insight in a fellow photographers mind and thought process is not only educational but very inspiring

[@bobsykes]

These photos are hardly cliche. Your photography uniquely takes me into the places you shoot, often bringing back old recollections of places I have visited and loved. In the first photo that you highlight with the sandbar, I love the hole in the clouds and the bright spot on the water it illuminates! I am fascinated by light. This video topic/format is great as well, and so teaching. You’ve always been open about your use of full frame and medium format digital cameras for commercial work requiring that fast turn-around. It would be informative and interesting for me to see similar videos illustrating this part of your workflow when shooting in a digital format. Cheers, Willem!

[@WillemVerb]

Thank you very much Bob! I like that idea.

[@vincentprado6676]

Great video 💥

[@donnamhopkins]

By far and away, I find this type of video the most engaging and informative. You are such an approachable teacher and this makes all the difference. Love the way you see the world. And I couldn’t agree more with your philosophy. My creative work means the world to me - and I’m grateful for your insights and inspiration. Your photos are meaningful and thoughtful.

[@hansformat]

Your enthusiasm reminds me of my feelings working with ra-4 in the darkroom when I was younger. Don’t ever lose that.

[@tomdelisle8955]

I will have to rewatch the video to listen more carefully, Watching it the first time, I am distracted and loving seeing photos from a place I hang out almost every weekend. Glad you got a photo of one of the Day's Cottages. (White with green trim) They are sort of iconic on the Outer Cape. Sunset from Truro looking towards Provincetown often has amazing colors. Glad you got to see one. It must be fun to do your own printing of contact sheets.

[@elopewithisabella]

I'm much more interested in more of these kinds of videos rather than gear anyway! Seeing your perspective and getting inspired from your process feels so much more productive than adding another camera to my list and just using what I have

[@rebeccasuur]

I find so much inspiration in your nostalgic way of seeing things. And funny enough I thought I would by a sequence of your flower pictures. They are so normal in a way which makes them so unique in my point of view.

[@rugososphotos3646]

The quality of these videos is crazy, both in terms of ideas presented, and in general content and production, keep it going!

[@TheAppleNow]

This was super dope, strong Bob Ross feel. Great work

[@ZachSaintWard]

I honestly prefer these videos to gear videos. Keep it going - and maybe dig a little deeper into the critique or invite some guest to pull apart their work as well!

[@dianeschuller]

I LOVE this video. This is my kind of 'thing'. I cut out contact sheets too. Sometimes I'll get 'snapshots' printed and move them around like 'cards' to find good sequences before putting together a book or zine. Recently I've also been working on doing sequences for other purposes so it's exciting to see you doing this too. Again, I really appreciated the entire concept of this video. Well done Willem.

[@felixsturmair4854]

I absolutely love that type of video. It's so interesting to understand the thoughts behind every shot but also how one thing led to another.

[@mattripple6016]

Most certainly a recent favorite of yours, Willem. Thanks for sharing.

[@anthonyfernandez4775]

Do more of theses ! Very educational

[@saradsilv305]

I love this idea of videos 😊😊😆 it’s a nice break from the film walks - my favourite part; is when you started to create that sequence of images with the contact sheets at the end 😊😊 I would love to see more videos on your own process with creating contact sheets and what else you can do with them, instead of discarding them after printing - I was never really good at creating contact sheets during university; but seeing this really sparked my interest in trying them out again 😊😊😊

[@louhautdavid6451]

A very interesting exercise. Its something I like to do after taking at least a few photos I find satifying. It helps me going a bit further than isolated pictures going nowhere in particular. For me, the next step is a zine. I made my first one during the lockdow, three years ago. We were allowed to go out for an hour per day, limited to 1 km around the house. Like you, I organized it as a simple walk with little surprises. A simple concept : what did I enjoy in a neighborhood I don't pay much attention to in a normal context, having nothing to do but that. And it changed my approach of photography. I enjoyed your video and I hope to see others like this.

[@daveshannonphotography]

I agree. So much better than gear videos. Taking the shots and then the thought process behind putting them into a story. More please.

[@nickb863]

10:30 this picture feels like home to me (midwest north coast). It's not just the street and the colonial vernacular, but how you're championing the tree, which is a northern white cedar (also known as the tree of life). They can grow and survive in harsh coastal environments, they are incredibly irregular sometimes leaning or curving out of the cliffsides. The shingles and decks of the homes in the background are timber likely of the very same type of tree

[@WillemVerb]

Love to hear that it resonates with you. Thanks for sharing that

[@birkgroven9160]

Really love this Willem. As a cinematographer thinking about the arrangement of my shots relative to the story is a big part of the job. I enjoyed watching you arrange your stills and finding one, of many possible, stories with them

[@dmitrybelyakov]

That's a fun little card game, I've been meaning to start doing it as well, thank you.

[@isaaccedeno1]

really love this style of video and looking forward to more like it

[@MrChannel28]

..another great video from you Villem! Like how you think with real picture and how you lay them out to see how they fit together! It’s so real!

[@jasonbender4321]

I find it so fascinating how you perceive that feeling of summer with your work. Growing up with summers in Arizona, those feelings are so different to my eye. Thank you for sharing your perspective, excellent work Willem! Really dig this new style of video by the way, excited for more!

[@DanieleMeli]

I love this new format! Having the insight of how somebody else read a photo is gold and is a great way to improve ourself! Also the Sequencing part, I really enjoy it a lot! Thank you for sharing Willem!

[@Localtraveler2376]

That photo of the tree is pure cape cod (where I grew up and lived for the first 25 years of my life). We had two of those trees in my front yard. The road and the weathered shingle house can only be from the cape.

[@BoostFutbol]

I loved your reaction to realizing the direction you wanted to go when you were pairing the photos to form a story. Loved the final look too. Great video man!

[@TrevorRosenkilde]

Loved the video as always. That detail shot of the tree is perfect to me. I love everything about it.

[@allendrexel7622]

What a rich video, Willem. I really enjoyed seeing you making your selections and then playing around with sequencing, sharing your observations and insights all the way through. You’ve got some really nice images here. For what it’s worth, my personal favorites are the side of the house at 10:07 (really special) and the flowers with the house in the background at 11:59. Keep up your great work, and thank you for letting us into your creative process!

[@chacecampbell2697]

Soo excited to see more of this format!

[@michaelmurray9939]

Willem, this is the photography video I've been waiting for for 5 years. I love the videos of finding and taking the shots, but self-critique from a knowledgeable, reflective artist is fulfilling for your viewers as well. I also appreciate how welcoming, inclusive, and humble you seem to be. Your channel is a wonderful piece of the photography community mosaic. The way you think and talk about your work is both inspiring and realistic- in your approach and reflection you've transcended technique and attained a sort of film nirvana.

[@RonnyCoste]

Loved the way that you walked through the process of thinking of a sequence out of photos that might have just been random photos that you thought of being beautiful

[@KevinCockerline]

I was actually writing a video script on improving photo skills through review when I came across this. Really enjoyed this video and I think it's cool to hear people walk through what they like/dislike about photos

[@letsgosk8te]

Such relevant quality content. This is refreshing to see on KZbin among the film photography community. This is about the core of photography as an artistic medium which happens to be produced through means of analogue film not for the sake of it. Thank you Willem.

[@joeyjojo8348]

Really enjoyed this video Would love to see more regular videos on how you process your images Keep up the rad work

[@bradleybarnes5423]

Really nice! I love the balance you found in the sequencing process. Keep it up

[@nicktalerico8273]

Great video as always, Willem. Glad to hear you’re ditching the gear videos. Not that there’s anything wrong with them. I just feel that videos like this are more helpful to other creatives that any gear video could be. Looking forward to the next one 🫡

[@holaisaaa]

I really love seeing your process and the trial and error of moving the photos around in a sequence! Really cool to see your flow of work and how your artistic style has changed over time. Wonderful work, and some really gorgeous shots! I really liked the house ones at the start and the end, seems very Willem to me. Cheers from, SF

[@giulianomarialodi3722]

Amazing work! So inspiring to focus on what really matters in photography ❤

[@adamjamescarlton]

Love this style of video. Great sitting and listening to your work flow. Keep them coming mate

[@FREEJOE96]

we need more content like that! thank you :)

[@donnabraybrook7178]

Excellent video! Have been working on sequencing myself lately and this was very helpful. Especially like your suggestion that taking time with the photos this way allows you to "get to know" the image better; hopefully leading to more ideas for future projects. Well done.

[@kathreenmirate389]

I have always been a big fan of yours and you helped me a lot with starting my own film photography journey. I remember I bought your latest book and I was wrong of critiquing it as with ordinary, cliché photos. I am sorry. Looking back at it now, you have so much influence and your content is just so inspiring and I always look forward to your work or videos, including the long weekend gear. You are such an inspiration and keep doing you. I get sad when we don’t get new videos or work for after a week. I love how you are doing for the film community. You are always so humble and don’t ever change.

[@erwnalejo]

Can’t wait to get Willem’s next book with these photos in it!

[@WillemVerb]

These will not be in it haha, but thank you.

[@erwnalejo]

@@WillemVerb maybe the one after that! Amazing work as always Will!

[@velyvely6479]

love this sort of video! as a photography student watching other people's processes is so valuable. I'd love to see your studio flow/organising and storing photos.

[@martialonzo]

Really enjoyed this!! love how you sequence them. I really needa start printing some photos 😅 thank you for the inspo Willem!!

[@WillemVerb]

Dude! Thank you so much!!

[@janmalterohm4047]

This was so great to see! Sequencing is such a complex thing and exercises like this are super interesting:)

[@Jakejackson1980]

I loved this video. Really interesting hearing all your thoughts in relation to your photos. Cant wait for next video

[@bijan_sabet]

Really enjoyed this Willem. Beautiful photographs.

[@WillemVerb]

Thank you Bijan!

[@balintboris5589]

Extremely intresting to get a peak like this into the thought process behind your work. Keep doing these!

[@mikestanavech7858]

I’m so jealous of your color darkroom. I’d love to be able to do that. Nice work.

[@davidlowcher]

I'd say we did pretty damn good that whole week. Can't wait for the next one bro!

[@innazaytsevaphoto]

I love the video! Feels like we travelled together for the shots. I will take my medium format camera tomorrow as well 😍

[@pheeosborn27]

Loved the content in the video. Your photographs are beautiful.

[@charlessterba5665]

i appreciated your final thoughts when wrapping this video up. i also don't find myself excited about gear anymore, let alone posting a one off photo on instagram. analyzing individual images as well as their context with a sequence is much more interesting as a viewer as well. looking forward to more videos like this and hoping to hear more about your process when creating. thanks for the inspiration!

[@Fauxbourg]

Love this style of video as well as the more vlog-themed vids you're doing lately. One thing: I understand the feeling of constantly trying to avoid clichés, I get the same thoughts myself a lot. But I've discovered that it can really mute my creativity when bothering too much about having to make everything look unique every time. You can find interesting angles on clichés all the time, as you have done in many of the photos here, and even if the outcome is just a pretty cliché beauty shot, sometimes thats ok as well. Thanks for the great content Willem.

[@dominicaisabella8308]

I loved this video! It's so cool/inspiring to learn about your thinking process when shooting, critiquing, and sequencing your photos. Looking forward to whatever comes next!

[@willmccleland2383]

Love these videos sequencing is really important skill with photography and its cool to see your take and what you are drawn too or are seeing when looking at your work. we always did this at uni and it was one of the most enjoyable elements of understanding your work

[@orca_noob896]

What an amazing photo of the sunset with the sandbar. So many elements to it beyond it just being a really pretty sunset. I also love the one with the tree, it's really a portrait in its own right. Thanks Willem, you help me feel inspired about life.

[@seanmlemoine]

What a lovely and thoughtful video. I’m currently in the process of waiting for a bunch of darkroom equipment/supplies and I can’t wait to have this physical relationship with my images that I think I’ve always lacked as I started on digital and got kinda stuck on feeling like I needed to constantly post to social media in an effort to stay relevant. I’ve slowed down my process to a crawl, learning to shoot on film and now learning up on darkroom print processes. These videos are really helpful and I can’t wait to see what else you release in the future.

[@CappuccinoLife]

still amazing video and photos, thank you 🖤🎞

[@maartje6937]

absolutely love the photos you took and think these are my favorite kind of videos! as someone quite new to film photography i find it so inspiring and learn so much from you and some of my other favorite photographers just talking about their work, explaining certain decisions they made and what they like or dislike about their photos! thanks so much, looking forward to the next one 🙌

[@calebj5852]

I love seeing a little window into your process! It has inspired me to print some of my work off similar to a contact sheet and try to arrange it in themes like this.

[@alessanfru]

Hey Will I’m really having fun watching this kind of videos! You are a guy with a great passion like all of us! Go straight on this way having fun with the process! Our passion is incredible and can create a feeling that, only you, are able to describe it on your latest videos! Greetings from an Italian American Nostalgic! 🎞️

[@just_eirik]

Completely agree about the gear video point you made at the end! Gear videos are so boring (unless I’m looking for opinion on specific pieces of gear). Videos about art is way more fun!

[@tomdesplechin]

We need more of that!

[@jamesmcnelis9792]

Great video! Enjoyed this

[@WillemVerb]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you

[@AdrianIII]

Yay! Great content. More. More!

[@JR-hn8ux]

Great video and something I want to see more of, your thoughts behinde your photos and get away from gear talk.

[@Frank-Ding]

Random thought came to me: if you keep all of your cutouts from contact sheets over the years in a box, it might be a really fun way to tangibly flip through some beautiful memories as you walk through life. This is making me really want a medium format camera and a personal darkroom 😅

[@tylerpreston95]

Man I really enjoyed this l! Certainly something I’m introducing to myself.

[@ericgotz5368]

Your channel is the best

[@WillemVerb]

You are the best

[@johanverbeeck6809]

I love this video.

[@DesignGuy17]

Excellent video format!

[@ModernVintageFilm]

I have a zoom in feature on my KZbin app. These photos are so sharp!! There is so much texture and detail. It's actually insane. Keep up the great work and stop by anytime.

[@ModernVintageFilm]

9:41 I always love to find the little things. The feather on the back of the car sells it for me. You find great compositions all the time and have detail that will last forever.

[@ettorespongano8021]

great video! keep doing what you love

[@orionhampden-campued301]

Love seeing a photographers process, it doesn't have to be soo instructional all the time. I feel like just quietly watching how someone chooses to position the camera, light, or interact with a subject can offer tons of insight. This is a great post production video that shows us how you work and offers us a possibly different way to handle our own. :)

[@camw1x3y77]

loved this

[@Overnunderrr]

I really enjoyed this !

[@andreaslamoth2927]

love the pics and video! keep up the good work

[@HenryBobeck]

really love this sequencing and discussion content :)

[@HunterSkowronPDX]

Great photos! What was your setup? For these low light sunset photos what are you metering for? The sky? The water?

[@Lena-gb3tl]

I would also be super interested in how you edit pictures, not like tutorial kinda style but like things that you put weight on and things that aren’t that important in editing for you:)

[@shallenfoto]

Well done 🤙🏻

[@Menace601]

Lovely photos. Did you shoot at box speed or overexpose the Portra 400 at all?

[@blackbelt4488]

Great video. What film were you shooting?

[@johannuscornelisdeiman1900]

Geniet erg van je video’s, je hebt een prettige rustgevende stem

[@sammcdaniel1564]

Love this!

[@BrittFuckinDvorak]

Can you make an indepth video on how you make prints? Really interested to see you use the Beseler behind you!

[@nickhubbard3671]

Inspiring!

[@OffSides4k]

Love this sm

[@redsneaks56]

I found this super refreshing and unique in terms of photo content out there. A quick question - why are the proofs a bit more red/ruddy than the prints? I actually liked that tonality of the proofs a lot and wondered if it's something that could carry over into the prints if you wanted it to.

[@WillemVerb]

They were just quickly printed, I didn’t color balance every contact sheet. You can see in the final prints I removed that red cast by fixing the color balance. But yes you could leave the red in or go quite a few directions with it! :)

[@viktorkubanek3649]

I find this process very interesting, it would be nice to have more of these follow up videos breaking down the photos and sequencing them. One thing I miss in this video, though, is you choosing top 3 or 5 of the best photos like in the other video.

[@WillemVerb]

Will do that in the next one :)

[@tyguy8311]

Love this video! Do you scan the film, then compile them and print them out?

[@dominiquedevries1946]

Wow what is your method of digitizing your prints? Looks beautiful

[@AhmerInam]

How about a limited run zine of your recent East Coast photos?

[@WillemVerb]

I've got a lot more photos to take before that happens! Maybe one day :)