Exercise Your Eye to See Photos No One Else Can

[@ThePhotographicEye]

If you want to be part of a small group of photographers all inspiring each other to become better, then the next Focus and Frame Cohort might be just the ticket for you. No egos, no gatekeeping, just a team in your corner helping you on your journey through photography. Next intake is open and the cohort starts w/c 12th August Click here for more info: www.thephotographiceye.info/focus-frame-cohort

[@ramadaxl]

I've said it many times...but I'll say it again. 'Photography is the art of seeing what others do not'.

[@skoidat]

Lets get you back to bed, grandpa.

[@ramadaxl]

@@skoidat Spoken like a little boy !

[@skoidat]

@@ramadaxl okay, grandpa. Make sure you take your pills with water.

[@Wanggg-3]

​@@skoidatexcuse me, could I ask why you said that? did he say it wrong or something?

[@ГеоргийПискарев-н3п]

@@Wanggg-3 Hallucination also means seeing what others do not. No offense to anybody.

[@Sven-R]

I once heard about this awareness topic when going through the world. Our brain is conditioned not to bring it to our attention for things which it already knows. Best example is being a tourist. When you are new in a city, you notice a lot more, because everything is new. But when you are at the same place, the brain already knows the places, so in order to save energy it will only notify us, when there is something to care about, a potential danger or something which is different to what we saw before. That makes it so difficult to reactivate our awareness for places we know about. Ah yes, and we all are probably terrible with our own hometowns. A lot of tourists probablyknow more about it and have visited more of the special places than we do 😉

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Yep, I lived in Edinburgh right next to the castle for years. Barely noticed it after a few months

[@elliebrooks3611]

I don’t leave comments often, I have been listening to you for about a year. I bought a camera, and photoshop, and was so intimidated by the idea of learning photoshop that I haven’t started! But I’m getting over it, and I’m learning from you. This is the reason I started, to be creative.

[@mudswallow5074]

I broke my ankle in 5 places several weeks ago, and have been bedridden. It is so frustrating to watch beautiful light from the window move across the room and not be able to do anything about it. Your video inspired me to take photos from where I am. They're not good photographs, but seeing what is there from where I am planted has been wonderful exercise. I have planned some photos to take when I can move independently again.

[@brucesaille8081]

Thank you so much Alex for showcasing some of my work. Sometimes it's also about selecting the right atmosphere and then looking for something that works with it. You are right in the fact that I excercise that photographic muscle a lot, by constantly looking for images and observing the mundane. Even when I'm driving or I'm a passenger I'm constatantly looking and if I can stop great, otherwise I will make a mental note and come back later.

[@razvanalexandruduta]

Awesome work, Bruce! It reminds me of Steve McCurry's color choice.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

My pleasure Bruce. It's great photography which really appeals to me.

[@malteplath]

I was really impressed! Beautiful "available light" and a great sense for composition. And: liminal spaces. Looking forward to more of your work.

[@Anon54387]

@@ThePhotographicEye The reflections in downtown areas are really neat during rain, and one can duck under the awnings and entryway roofs to keep one's camera lens from getting water drops on it.

[@elestudiodebuenavista628]

I also do the same, when I’m taking a taxi, or I go out and my dad drives, my vision naturally goes outside the window, observing what could be a potential photograph, unfortunately, I can just stop and take them because I don’t drive. “One day” I keep saying…

[@patford9943]

Thanks Alex. You’ve shown me that I have lost focus seeing photographs everywhere. I’ve been wanting to go somewhere pretty or exotic to take pictures but now I’m sitting seeing photos of the way light is falling on the plants in the back yard. When looking through the Picdrop gallery I noticed that images with a caption held my interest longer because it was easier to see the story the photographer was telling.

[@tomhofmann5277]

Hi Alex, I’ve been following you for sometime now, and You Are The best! What I mean is that if I want to learn technique, photoshop, whatever, I can pick and chose to my heart’s content, but if I want to know more about PHOTOGRAPHY… you stand head and shoulders above rhe rest. And your delivery is a sheer pleasure. I think my brain hears ‘howzit, howzit’ and neurons start salivating. Looking forward for more and thank you thank you thank you! All the best from Buenos Aires, Argentina

[@artursandwich1974]

Rain on my windshield was actually the first image I took when I first bought a digital camera. I was sitting in the car, giddy with excitement to take my new camera for a spin and it was pouring outside. I loved the effect of focusing through the watered window on an object some 20 yards away, but also of when a trickling droplet became the focus, while the object in the distance got a nice blur. I was so feeling myself the artist when I looked at the images on the computer screen later.

[@seaeagles6025]

Hi Alex, I regularly shoot cityscapes and tall buildings, but this time instead of photographing the whole building I did a close up. And it was great to see the building from another angle. Thanks Alex 😊

[@elram2649]

I really enjoy Todd Hido's work, including his portraits - they're ethereal. I'm always looking to replicate his work and making it my own. 🙂

[@denisroy81]

To me this was a refreshing refresher video. Many years ago I read a magazine article about practising with your eyes when you did not have a camera with you. Have been taking cerebral practice images since whenever I don't have my camera. Seeing potential compositions is easier when using eye exercises.

[@VictorReynolds]

You’re preaching to the choir Alex! I’ve used the same awareness at the office, at church, wherever. Thanks for the encouraging reminder!

[@ThePhotographicEye]

My pleasure Victor

[@fajamman265]

Sometimes, I forget their great channel like yours full of worthy content to consume. I thank you for it

[@crumesd]

I’m an amateur, and I must say this was valuable information; greatly appreciated. I’m very ocd and methodical. I’ve been slowly allowing myself to look beyond the surface, to try to invent a perception beyond the norm

[@charlesk323]

Excellent perspective. One question I have is, how does a good street photographer take advantage of "awareness" since things move so quickly?

[@alanburton7426]

My thinking is to see the potential in a scene and explore it for compositions - maybe take a few test shots. That way I'm prepared when something does happen.

[@tedbrown7908]

I do a lot of bird photography and birds can move very fast. I look for that movement and try to anticipate those movements. A high shutter speed freezes that action. Street photography is all about securing that historical moment of time and action.

[@DennisFreeland]

Practice, practice, practice.. and patience

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Joel Meyerowtiz talks about standing still and letting the scene ebb and flow around you till you get a feel for the patterns

[@jpdj2715]

Look at the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson. His process is in two phases. First he finds a composition, like urban landscape, and both in selection of the view as well as in choosing the viewpoint and frame, he seems to have some empty space in there at moments no humans or animals are in the frame. Now the second phase is to wait for the decisive moment when an animate object passing by fills the void in a pleasing way. The camera/lens probably already focused at that point. Also - viewpoint and perspective - the camera/lens's angle to the frame is chosen in a way that the animate object will be depicted in the right - his preferred - proportions. What he can see at the moment of framing is phase one, what he has to imagine is how phase two lifts the image to levels higher. Look at the work of Fan Ho and his beautiful use of chiaroscuro. You can walk those streets and shoot those people, but need to imagine what it will look like when the sun is at an angle that casts a desirable shade over the subject. And you may need imagination in post when you have to decide to make the shadows lighter or darker. If you are a landscape photographer, you may be in a rugged terrain and now see a solitary tree that could be the main actor in your images. In your brain, in your thinking, regard the tree in a 3D way and rotate yourself around it so you imagine how its features come out in the photo and how the tree gets a place in the composition with the background. Compare it to playing sports where you need to run to a new position in order to prevent a score against you and at the same time decide where the ball/shuttle/thing should go in an attempt to score your point. Extrapolating and predicting speed, direction and a field of players is what you would do in sports, all the time. To become great at sports, people go through years of training, coaching, personal training and coaching, matches, promotions and degradations, and so on. For a master sportsman add those hours up and you'll easily get into the 10000 ballpark. The sportsperson, over time, with training, can deal with increasing speeds and complexities. They put the hours in to train their brain. The biggest challenge in becoming excellent at something is your "self". And maybe a few "loved" ones. For "street" photography, to train the brain, you may need only 10,000 images, not hours. It doesn't work to set the camera to continuos repeat and wait until you added 10,000 shutter clicks. You "have to" imagine first, point, shoot, and evaluate. At a minute each, 10,000 shots become 10,000 minutes and that's 166 hours. So you can easily do this in one year. In the process you will learn how 3D worlds will look in 2D pictures.

[@pedrobartolomei7707]

Thanks to your video I just spent one hour making pictures of the little fan over my desktop with the window as a background… it felt goooooood!

[@iaincphotography6051]

I think it helps if you're not stuck in a single genre, everything is game in photography, so look and shoot. My self and a couple of friends started "Maxism". Using your phone and taking shots in T K Max, some amazing results mostly abstract in nature.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Maxism - awesome! I've got a few somewhere

[@albertolema8583]

Great advice and reminder! Loved the corridor example! Thanks and keep it up !😊

[@CosmicOwlChild]

New here. This is inspirational. Thank you 11min video felt like 5 mins past lol

[@garonkiesel1646]

Your "Corridor" images remind me of the wonderful Uta Barth. She found a way to give meaning to the unseen spaces we all overlook everyday.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Those are lovely! Thanks for the suggestion

[@minesaver]

This is a good video. I enjoy going out and finding compositions. Sometimes, if I find something special that I want to photograph again, I note the degrees I'm viewing from to aid in planning a second visit. For instance, I recently visited a viewpoint of a local mountain. Using my compass, standing from my shooting location I noted the mountain peak is at about 100*NE. Knowing the angle I'm viewing from, I can pick a time and date that coincides with a sunrise or set, or moonrise. The options are endless and that's what is so exciting about photography.

[@_g_r_u_m_p]

Thx Alex! I have a suggestion for a video topic. Can you give an artistic take on photo editing? Not a ‘how to’ or ‘what software’ but maybe creative ways to use typical edits.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks for the suggestions

[@shirleymorse402]

Love your content- feels like you talking to that part of my brain that needs to jump into action - but then I get stuck 🤔

[@mapsreview1507]

I understand your point and appreciate it when I am always looking for something to photograph. Shooting anything meaningful and meaningless can be done with a digital camera where the image does not cost anything. When you are a film photographer you can't afford to waste an image on just anything. It takes me a lot of thinking and planning and being creative in my head to use my film camera. I need to be careful about wasting money on images that are just nothing. What do you think?

[@TomikoPL]

I 've just taken a look into that picdrop gallery and I'm stunned by all those jawdropping, fantastic photos. And I'm not going to upload any of my pics there. Not this league.

[@malteplath]

"not this league" is a sad thing to say. If you look at Todd Hido's pictures, they may be considered "amateurish snaps", because of rain, fogged up car windows etc. the focus seems all over the place. Don't show them to your family because they won't get it. That sort of stuff. Yet, we photographically inclined people, we can connect with his vision, at least appreciate it even if it's not "our cup of tea". So, do upload some images and don't be apologetic!

[@ThePhotographicEye]

@tomikoPL thanks for watching. See what @malteplath wrote - upload images, don't worry if you think they're 'not up to snuff'

[@waynethorn7218]

Great video Alex and great photos 👍

[@ericlahra8373]

Another excellent educational video from you Alex. Thank you for sharing.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks Eric

[@stephenmartland-buck9590]

I've been thinking this for years! The perfect shot isn't there, but something else might be. If you give up = no shots taken. If you keep pushing = you might find a bit of magic.

[@murphybegood]

Brilliant video! thanks so much

[@mariemclaughlan5404]

Thank you so much very informative.

[@Revi200x]

Would it be a chance that you will attend the West Wales photography show this year you will really be nice to meet you in person ?,Grate video btw i sow injoy listening to you while I'm editting photos 🤗🤗🤗

[@LesMcLuckieLandscapePhoto]

Love this Chanel I just uploaded Border cutlery image forgot to add my name ...keep up the good work!

[@VinceSPonki]

Thank you! All is very actual!....

[@ChrisHunt4497]

Great video Alex. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@irshadazeez4764]

Cool content. Does this apply to videography as well? Any differences?

[@MatsLindfors]

A great vlogg. Thank you! The use of eye is most important in photography. Not the camera gear.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Very true!

[@liamoshea1000]

I've been following you now for quite some time. You are one of a very few photographers whose posts I love. Giving great photo examples is only one of things you do so well. A lot of the times I write down the names of the photographers. However, I know there are many I've missed. Please don't think me lazy, (well maybe) but I was wondering if you had a list of these photographers that you'd be willing to share. If not or you don't have the time I understand. I'll back through all your videos and did them out. Thanks for the exceptional work.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks for watching. I'll try and make a list of the photographers for you

[@liamoshea1000]

Fantastic. Thanks.​@@ThePhotographicEye

[@triplewinlin5576]

This way of looking at the world around me is normal to me. And yes, I have photographed images seen through raindrops, mist, etc. on my windshield lol

[@bernym4047]

Recently, I walked into my kitchen. It was night time and the only light came from the stove overhead LED strip light. At the side of the stove on the counter top was a roll of paper kitchen towel with part of a sheet unfurled. The stove light was shining through the translucent paper and casting a shadow on the rest of the roll. I grabbed my camera and got a beautiful, simple, monochrome composition. A lightbulb moment. Coincidentally, I recently bought one of Todd's books. Beautiful!

[@RogerBays]

Love the milk bottle image in the uploads and wondering if it is okay to comment on other people's images using the comment tab, or is that reserved for authors of the work. Asking because to write a comment it asks for author, and unclear if it means author of work or author of comment. Thanks in advance.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

You can leave comments on others work

[@nguyenhongquang3816]

❤

[@donaldgibson1642]

lol...Love the timer

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Seen it employed in other channels and figured it was a good thing to have here

[@markgoostree6334]

I wish I knew how many photographs I have made inside of my home.... or walking around my yard.... or across my yard and just a bit down the street. And then I look at them and ask "why"?"... why did I bother to take this photo? That is why most of them are now in delete world. I do (often) see photos as I am out but I am driving and cannot stop for the shot. That is bothersome and disappointing at the same time.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Sometimes why can be as smiple as just because you can. Mallory when asked why he wanted to climb Everest - "Because it is there"

[@nigelwest3430]

3:54 ......... P51 Mustang at the American Airforce museum at Duxford ?

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Actually, you're 100% correct! :D Yes, I have a season pass and often go there with my son.

[@nigelwest3430]

@@ThePhotographicEye I'm a regular as well

[@philliphickox4023]

"That'll make a great photograph" is something I often think to myself. Driving or walking I look.

[@Emilaria]

I do that every day. It's frustrating a lot of the time because you're not able to stop and take a picture. Most of the time it's not even possible to always carry the camera wherever you go.

[@philliphickox4023]

@@Emilaria I try to take my camera with me, and the times that I didn't I missed some great opportunities. One thing I do Is make a mental note and a plan to head back at another time.

[@whatisiswhatable]

I think you would like my photography!

[@DamianDispara]

You have activated my ADD! Time to make some great photos 🫡📸

[@Emilaria]

I have a topic of discussion. Who decides if or when street photography is a violation of privacy? Do you ask their permission to take their picture? Do you credit them in the description? I'm not a street photography lover, but I can see the appeal and appreciate the photos. I just wonder where the line is drawn between art and borderline voyeurism.

[@L.Spencer]

I think the photographer's conscience plays a role in that. I know some street photographers (mostly fellow students) that always ask people if they can take their photo, others kind of sneakily take a photo. I tend to mostly just openly take photos and offer to send it to the person if they notice and are interested. If they were upset, I'd offer to delete it, probably. I don't want trouble, but I do want the photo. Besides the photographer's conscience, the subject comes into play if they notice and say something. Also, it may depend on the laws of where the photo is taken. I have wondered how street photographers can make money off of a photo if they don't have a model release, even if it was taken in public.

[@ladymary22]

Observation is vitamins for cognitive brain health

[@nikaberzina2478]

There is also mastery of making chocolate from sht.

[@ГеоргийПискарев-н3п]

When a picture turns into a conundrum for a person that sees it... How many people will have desire, time and ability to plunge into photographer´s mind trying to descifrate his/her intention? This kind of photography is somewhat elitist to my mind, art for art's sake. Pardon me everybody!

[@Wanggg-3]

@@ГеоргийПискарев-н3п I agree with you.(●'◡'●).Let us have fun doing the art thing.

[@romab]

Just in case. Your video extremely over-sharpened

[@SheepWaveMeByeBye]

The shape of a towel is only interesting for people that really like towels.

[@jmaniak1]

A good photographer knows how to avoid shadows. A great photographer knows how to incorporate them.

[@normg2242]

I have the opposite problem - all day long, wherever I go, I constantly stumble onto scenes that really talk to me. But when I try to catch them on my camera, they immediately die...

[@subgivtara]

Youve got 2 round eyes with, cameras have 1 sensor with a flatter lens

[@thescouser8629]

Went for a walk with some older guys in the mountains. Half way through one of the group said that I saw the world different to him. Subsequently he explained that I saw compositions, leading lines, light situation s etc and commented on them. He didn’t do that. My wife confirmed this by saying that I was obsessive about looking for a photograph. After a while it’s just what you do.

[@subgivtara]

I assumed this is normal lol

[@jresin_photo]

The first lesson I got when getting back into photography was to imagen I always had a camera in my hand and see the world through the imaginary lens. It was a great lesson and when it became a habbit I was amazed about how interesting even the most boring places could be and now A LOT of years later I started a project, photographing the boring and mundane. Being an introvert with a wild imagination kind of helps to i think :D Great video, greetings from Sweden!

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thanks for watching. Really appreciate it

[@beverlychesnutfoster829]

Alex, I want to let you know how instrumental you have been in my photographic journey. Your conversations never cease to teach and inspire me! Thank you!

[@paulbenson3441]

Hi Alex, so so good to see your latest video. I had such a marvellous photography experience last week. I stopped walking past trees and grasses and shrubs that I have walked many times before. I stopped, and looked and then got down on my knees and looked again, and saw something I hadn't seen before; a perspective I hadn't see before. Getting down to the ground, getting grubby but seeing the world in a different way and I captured images that were very new to me. It was like walking past a treasure trove and not seeing; but getting down to the ground there it was, and it had been there all the time, I just hadn't seen it. At 70 when you get down low, the question is 'will I be able to get up again?' It's funny, but when you find a pearl of great value you are so entranced by the moment, everything else fades away. Today, I was out in Derbyshire again and on some high ground. The clouds were amazing and added drama to already beautiful country. A came down the hill, stopped a few yards in front of me. The skylight popped open and a hand came out clutching a smart phone. Click, withdraw hand, close skylight and they were off again. Is that going to be the demise of photography? It bothered me and I smarted some. Then I looked at me trouser legs and they were smeared with mud and grass and I had a smudge mark on the edge of the camera. I had become immersed in my photography and I felt an integral part of it; I was mucky but it felt good and I had a memory card packed with my images. I have at last discovered my photography, and I have made it mine and it is wonderful. Your photographs of part open doors and light and shadows makes me think of the Danish painter Hammershoi. There is a Michael Palin video here on KZbin (and BBC IPlayer) about Hammershoi and I found it very watchable; in fact I've watched it four times so far; I think you might enjoy it, Alex.

[@Raist3db]

One exercise I tend to do every 2-3 years, that I recommend, is to lock myself in the bathroom for 1-2 hours, and see what photos I can take there. How to make ordinary objects interesting, or to find lines and compositions that are hidden for some good abstracts or a different angle on some common day object I see there. The shorter version of this exercise is to simply bring your camera and try to do a couple of shots, while "nature calls." ;-)

[@toine1915]

Hi, Alex. This is what was still missing in my photography. Looking without seeing. I have been working on this for a few years now and it is indeed going much better. Take your time and look around very carefully, especially look back and see what opportunities you have already missed. Thank you, friend, for this educational video. As you can see, you are never too old to learn. I have been photographing for almost 40 years now and have never thought about this. I went out to photograph a specific object and focused only on that goal. But on the way to that goal, there were so many more options to take beautiful photos. Nice to hear this from you. Kind regards from the Netherlands, Antoine.

[@eugeniedenardis8956]

It's one thing to be a talented photographer but another to be a gifted teacher.I am so glad you are both. Thank you for your generosity.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you saying that :D

[@simonpayne7994]

I have uploaded a few "Quads". They could possibly comprise a completely new genre of photographic art. I do not know. Anyway, anybody wanting to see them will find them under the filename Quad*.jpg . Producing a Quad is a nice occupation for a rainy Sunday afternoon. My experience tells me that you need 6 pictures to assemble 1 Quad. And even then the 4th may not fit in well with the other 3 choices. So, more often or not, you may have to do a special search just for that last 4th picture.

[@johnmehalick]

Observing and Awareness. After watching your video Exercise Your Eye to See Photos No One Else Can. I uploaded a JEPG from my 35mm lens no edits just a snapshot. Coffee cup mouse and a finger nail clipper. I trimmed my nails made a cup of coffee and sat down to catchup on a few videos. Thanks for the exercise I try to keep on my travels.

[@bernardbonnici6887]

Your videos are getting more and more interesting and inspiring. Thanks.

[@ThomasBrauer]

An excellent outline of learning to see. Thanks for this!

[@MrV2u]

One of the best videos on the topic. Well explained with all the examples. Great job my friend.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Much appreciated!

[@mrdev9843]

I like that you don't talk about gear. 👍

[@Slimjim2898]

I've always done this. But I could never put it into words and hearing you speak about it sounds so familiar... wow I did things out of instinct and think to myself why am I so weird... I understand now that to some degree I'm actually SEEING 😮

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Glad I could be of help

[@kevinhanley3023]

I have made the “Thru the windscreen” landscapes fore the same reason, I did not make it a genre. I didn’t know you could.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Now you know :D

[@ledesclos5321]

Thank you Alex. You are so right. Awareness is an awakening. You teach. I learn. Also like your hair without the center part.

[@ThePhotographicEye]

lol, that's the way my hair parts naturally (center). Thanks for watching

[@Jacknicleson007]

What I do is listen to music somehow it gets me into the flow state and I get ideas for photos. I imagine and visualise the pose, the location atleast an idea of a location,the lighting and the effects I'm not very good at spontaneously shooting what I'm good at is imagining something and bringing it to life

[@ThePhotographicEye]

Yes, music is great for conjouring up mental images

[@cgescape]

hey photographic eye, can you make a video which explains overexposed streetlights, when we merge those exposure stacked into LRC HDR, how to avoid that halo burnt effect which we get in those lights..