Joel Meyerowitz - 'What you put in the frame determines the photograph'

Taking My Time photographer Joel Meyerowitz describes how he searches for ephemeral connections between things around him - then puts them in the frame.
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[@jackthehatphoto]

Whenever I feel disheartened with my photography I watch a video of Joel Meyerowitz. His enthusiasm for this art is like a drug... and I am an addict.

[@cyrilr.477]

Fantastic. Best explanation I ever heard of what photography is, or should be in my taste and opinion. What a teacher.

[@DreKC]

Why are people bagging on Joel so much? He is just expressing his opinion, and telling us his experience using the camera for over 50 years. Some of his most iconic and meaningful images were created using a Leica, along with countless other photographers during the 20th century. The Leica is a standard instrument in his school of photography.

[@pjhunton]

+Andrew Hartnett Because this is youtube and people love to bitch about others be it fact or opinion, they refuse to believe that people can think in a different way to themselves.....unfortunate but true

[@michaels5166]

PhIL H,told 100099999% of the truth for the reason...Because that is what bitch-s do,Bitc-...

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

Because a bunch of nobodies know better than some of the greatest photgraphers in the world.

[@michaels5166]

@@Adrian-wd4rn Exactly,that's why I loved what Phil said too.This is a new age of writing online what they know they damn sure will never say in person.People get to have validation online because outside of the Internet,they are a bevy of whiny,cowardly bit-hes.As soon as you do not agree with the bandwagon mentality and expose them,they start crying..

[@user-dq6gu1hy2y]

WTH is he Talking about. Garbage.. like apophis from Indonesia 😩

[@boatman222345]

Watching this video was for me like breathing pure oxygen. A great photographer thinks more about the sort of image he wants to capture than about the more mundane technical aspects so many of us get trapped by. It is always inspiring to listen to an artist talk about motivation and aspiration and Joel speaks with great insight and clarity.

[@behzathayri7260]

I agree but... Pure oxygen would probably Burn your Lungs since Oxygen is a Flammable gas.

[@imnotkevinbrennan5955]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident." - Joel Meyerowitz

[@richardhutson2474]

Thank you for this. The conversation with Joel has given me an insightful look at my own relationship with photography and the inspiration to do more meaningful work.

[@robertlettau4439]

I enjoy groundbreaking artists, and Joel is one of them. What caught my eye in the search engine was the word ephemeral. The gist of this video is captured in the following lengthy quote, "I wanted the ephemeral connections between unrelated things to vibrate, and if my pictures work, at all, at their best, they are suggesting these tenuous relationships. And that fragility is what's so human about them. And I think it's what's also in the romantic tradition, because it is a form of humanism that says, we're all part of this together. I'm not just a selector of objects." Joel is a street photographer who does not just select objects in a frame. His body of work shows this inter-connectedness of a street scene - since he emphasized shooting in color many years ago.

[@jusren]

Speaking of magnetism! He has a way of keep you dialled in! Another great talk!

[@gearreallydoesntmatter]

He talks about Photography for 5 minutes. A camera brand for 10-20 seconds. Guess what the comment section is all hung up and offended by...

[@GettingNegative]

Camera hype is lame. I totally understand talking about lenses, because that’s where the magic really happens. Same folks who pay $80 for a $20 shirt because it says Nike...

[@akhileshshetty581]

Lovely to find you here.

[@robbe4711]

He is talking about rangefinder cameras and their advantage. I also prefer those type of cameras for that reason.

[@HeyNighT_Art]

It's all just people being an asshole in the community, wanted to shit on his career, imagine trying to compare yourself for dong photography for a year to someone that has over 50 years of career, and act like you know better than him

[@theblackmanarmedwithacamera]

I LOVE LISTENING TO THIS MAN PREACH HIS WORDS OF WISDOM!!!💯🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@georgeprentice844]

Great video. Really helped me think deeper into what makes a great street photograph.

[@orion7741]

an important point to this is that we as photographers need to visualize the "frame" we want even before we put the camera to our eye.... That way we do not loose the rest of the world outside the frame like he is talking about. decide what youre frame is going to be first, and then and only then put the camera up to your eye and refine the frame and make the image......

[@Wineslacker]

One of the reasons I bought the Sony A6000 a few years ago was that it had both a great multi-angle view screen, and also it had an electronic, left side viewfinder. It's small, black, light in weight and an array of excellent interchangeable lenses; all things that are so great about the leica (plus the viewing screen) and it's a fraction of the cost. It's not a full frame camera, but it has good resolution and the ability to shoot frames in both jpeg and raw formats..at the same time. Great street photography tool. Latest model is the A6400, I believe. Meyerowitz is one of the greats.

[@williammiller8134]

This man is part of the reason I like to do photography

[@MichaelVincentMagic]

This is a wonderful description of seeing the deep layers in life, humanism and the contextual stage. So many things going on, unrelated and yet feature on this grand stage of life - where on earth in our Frame do we create the meaning? That's our choice.

[@WeekendMuse]

Inspiring interview. It would have been nice to see some of his photos as he speaks.

[@tanweercaa]

What a marvelous observation, classic.

[@peterjones4935]

Well! You learn something new Every day... can’t wait to try his approach tomorrow and just see what happens!!!

[@lichtloper]

Have been using M6 for a long time. One of the most interesting and useful features of its finder is that one can see what's (just) outside the frame cq what/who is possibly going to enter the frame. When non-chemical, 'analogue' photography became more and more 'unpractical' I sold my M6 (+28, 35, 50 and 90) - with much regret.

[@MaG007]

Wow...that was eye opening. Thanks

[@astonyao2298]

this pun is so underrated 🤣

[@queuerious]

Really insightful in his philosophy or personal awareness: not as a collector of objects, but rather the (im)balance of framed space and relationships between the seen and (out of frame) unseen. He would seem to create a play in images, but the narrative (script) is not enunciated by the contents, and left to the viewer to respond to.

[@markielinhart]

Great advice maestro, thanks‼️

[@bernhardebner3105]

Simply wonderful

[@mrnielsen9485]

This is funny, we learn at architecture school to create in architecture this relation between unrelated people, in the same way as Joel talks about the frame.

[@agylub]

I have always told photographers working for me to keep both eyes open even using DSLRs. It can be and should be done

[@jakesteurrys4225]

Dude is pure genius 🎞📷🖤

[@rayfenio6396]

I find it interesting how easily people are offended when simply listening to someone's opinion about a camera that he has used for decades. When Joel, primarily a street photographer, began using Leica cameras the SlRs were large and the shutters noisy and shutter are still somewhat noisy today. The Olympus OM1 came along and changed that. But in the 60s and 70s they were mostly noisy bricks. I spoke with Joel after a lecture he gave at the Mac Expo in 2007 and I had a Contax rangefinder with me but said I usually used a nikon slr. He said he used Leicas but that the camera was less important than becoming familiar with how it works. Having an opinion should not be reviled. He is simply giving his opinion about why he believes the Leica is the best choice for the street.

[@joeltunnah]

Ray Fenio, he’s not simply giving his opinion. He’s stating as if it’s fact that SLR shooters are fundamentally missing something, which is simply nonsense.

[@porpiniki]

I never should have sold my OM-1. I loved that camera.

[@rayfenio6396]

@@porpiniki MY first sir was an OM-1 which I still have along with a few lenses but mostly use a Nikon D850 now. I agree the OM-1 camera was great.

[@AnantaGaurangadasa]

the point about the rangefinder of course is also that you can see around the frame. the optical viewfinders with an overlay that fuji now does have the same effect, by the way. so you can see what's going on just outside the frame, so you can compose from the edges of the frame inwards. that in itself makes shooting with a rangefinder different.

[@shy-guy5544]

Much food for thought.

[@WMedl]

A very intersting video, thank you! When doing Street Photography I use my little Olympus OM-D EM10 with a tilted screen to have both eyes quasi on the world and the screen to be able to react hopefully appropriatly... And it does obscure my photographing activity to some extent. In Landscape I try to figure out such scenes before and hope that the earth is not quaking...

[@udbi-ro]

Brilliant.

[@pixiedixie3682]

I have seen several videos or you and I have to say .. I love your work , I love you way of Thinking and I love your teaching.

[@Vincent.Morreale]

I could listen to him talk for hours, wich I do. Thank you KZbin.

[@NGH99999]

Fantastic insights here. Thanks for posting this.

[@roy.mclean]

When a microscopist is using a monocular scope, they are taught to keep both eyes open. It allows them to take advantage of a camera obscura while drawing what they observe. Now we just take an image with a camera. Keeping both eyes open minimizes strain in the working eye. Strain affects focus and image on the retina. When focusing a binocular scope you tilt your head to focus the dominant eye in the fixed ocular. Then rotate the other eye back and the dominant eye out to adjust the diopter for the other eye. This provides the sharpest image for both eyes. So I'm used to keeping both eyes open however I usually only do it while shooting a group of animals to see if something more interesting is going on outside the frame. I sometimes do it on landscapes to get a feel for whether I have everything I want in the frame. I think i I'll try to do it more often. I had a friend of mine shooting a cow in a pasture and while patiently waiting for it to turn around another one was staring/posing for her the whole time. I'm left handed, but right eye dominant so it's easier for me.

[@roy.mclean]

Sorry I was trying to make a constructive comment. Did you forget to take your ADD pills today?

[@timppatimo6287]

Leica is alright but that's what i've been doing with my Canon DSLR since i've started street photography - using my left eye to monitor the "world outside the frame". It's a great advice (you don't need to be any maestro of photography to know it though), but that Leica ad is too obvious. For a good rangefinder 100 times cheaper than Leica, search Zorki 4 in good condition with Jupiter lens (Zeiss Sonnar, Hexagon copies).

[@mikaelsacchi]

I use both Finder and DSLR and with a Finder, I have one eye in the finder and eye to anticipate the manual focus because manual focus constraints you sooo much in creativity... My conclusion is to use Leica M9-P for dead people or sleeping people and DSLR for alive situations.

[@4darin5]

Lol wtf? How often are you photographing dead people?

[@miguelangelruiz7293]

5 amazing minutes!!!

[@5acesdown]

I own a reflex camera and forced myself to aim with the left eye which for me is natural for a righty. Now I can have both eyes open when shooting and I can see what is going on around me with my right eye. I don't see a double image between the surounding from my right eye and the lens image from my left eye since my right eye is parcially blocked by the camera body and my extended right thumb. With a rangefinder, if you aim with your right eye and keep your left eye open as Joel Meyerowitz suggest, you will have a double vision of two scenes from each eyes which I think makes it difficult to compose. Also, rangefinders shows the left hand side of what the lens really sees, where a reflex shows exactly what the lens sees including the focal lenght effect.

[@Pazto]

Faux débat. J' ai longtemps utilisé reflex et télémétriques. Quel bonheur l' arrivée de l' écran ! Ne se pose plus la question de savoir avec quel oeil viser puisqu' en tenant celui ci à 30cm, on embrasse la totalité de la scène éventuelle à cadrer. Le "moment décisif" devient tellement plus "prévisible". De fait, depuis que je cadre à l' écran, je ne recadre quasiment plus jamais en post-production...,et mes photos sont bien meilleures.

[@terrywbreedlove]

I hold my iPhone out at arms length. This is a finer camera than the Leica because I have both eyes on the world. ;)

[@tonywalton1052]

+terry breedlove yea, but Joel says, Leica is the "finer instrument" 1:54 and also you "leave things unspoken" when you use an iphone. HHHmm, is that what you want?

[@terrywbreedlove]

Well actually I really look up to him I just thought with today's style of shooting at Arms length it was funny in relationship to what he said. Just joking around nothing serious meant at all.

[@yoshke3205]

:-)

[@MattMatonti]

well done mate

[@clubexperimental]

I'm left eye dominant so this is not necessarily a universal rule.

[@bobbytirlea]

Although it is a marvelous and fascinating teaching he is presenting, and much is to be heeded from it, I will argue that one does not need a 4 or 5 grand +lens rangefinder Leica to have binocular vision with the camera ready before taking the picture. I can do the same thing with my Nikon-FG SLR and NIkon D3500. I know that because I am unfortunately obsessed with depth of field, perspective and distortion that come with wide focal lengths, comparing what sees say my right eye through the lens to what sees my left eye without the lens. Yet this really applies only if one stays at 50 mm. Certainly it is more comfortable if one looks with the right eye through the viewfinder, but it is doable with the left as well.

[@robertbutts9835]

Great photographer

[@emptyboxesandrooms]

unless you're left eyed.

[@drs-Rigo-Reus]

its flawed, must be Leica subsidies.

[@lowrainne4069]

Train your other eye. 😂

[@LichtlopersMuziek]

@@lowrainne4069 No, that's impossible, because it's in one's DNA. What one CAN train is the brain, i.e. develop a kind of prediction of how a certain scene is going to unfold. Thus, myself a left-eyed photographer, I've been using an M6 for many years -with great pleasure. I's unobtrusive and quiet, it triggers one's phantasy, it has great lenses.

[@KubaKaj_]

I'm left eyed and actually one eyed ;-) And I prefer to shoot with top down viewfinder. Yet the context is very imporant and looking around and picking up what to photograph, on what to focus, is more important than going out with a determination to shot one particular thing and return home.

[@philipdotsenko4814]

yeah you are pretty much fucked

[@gilliantrethowan3257]

BRILLLIANT! thanks so much for this marvellous account....

[@julieholland9639]

unfortunately I'm blind in my left eye, however it has not stopped me composing interesting images, I'm not offended in anyway by what he says but if you have never known anything else it does not effect you really. Somehow I also have depth perception in the one eye equal to having two eyes, was born that way

[@joel.ha.]

I'm legally blind in my left eye, although it's still somewhat useable in certain situations. But I don't need two good eyes to shoot interesting photos!

[@eastwoofer]

What model leica is that?

[@FrederickSim]

Not much for left eye dominant like me... still love to shoot with Rangefinder, thanks for the sharing.

[@MikeKleinsteuber]

This is such a great point he's making. The bad news in my case is that I use my left eye in the viewfinder and the camera blocks my right. So Leica, just for me, can you put the viewfinder on the right side ? We could have left and right hand drive Leicas just like our cars !!

[@anodyne57]

Maybe you should trade your left eye for your right.

[@_theyojimbo]

Same. Also my nose and face keep touching all kinds of buttons they shouldn't

[@gc2161]

i cant imagine looking through the viewfinder with one eye and the other looking around you; but what do i know

[@bobbluesky4219]

Very interesting...As for me I am left eyed and don't really feel it affects the pictures I take .In fact I don't know. I just take pictures and from time to time I happen to find some good ones.

[@binder098]

Not that I am privileged in understanding genius, but I feel I was just under a cascade of it.

[@BelfastBiker]

Wow, I guess my m43 is like a Leica then?

[@antcox2006]

This interview was sponsored and brought to you by 'Leica'. The only camera you can use and see out your other eye with.

[@jcnash02]

Any rangefinder works the same way.

[@Aquariuz60]

jcnash02 And many other cameras, including my Fuji X100s. And pretty much any modern DSLR who has the VF raised above the body and the body cut off at the left side. Just tried it on my 5d and A7r and I can clearly see with the other eye. This technique is not restricted to rangefinders or Leica. Not sure if it works on the massive Leica S2 though ;-)

[@arctichare8185]

I really didn't get that.

[@GeoffreyEduard]

So what if you're left eye dominant like me?

[@samham3901]

that's great!!

[@TRAVELWP]

Smart man.

[@peterphoto7732]

I think I get it Joel . After 40 years of photographing.

[@renatogiusti1017]

ok, i might gonna go back to buy fuji x100V mindset instead of fuji XT3 exactly because of the viewfinder position

[@Santillana]

Excelente consejo muchas gracias por compartir!

[@zarmindrow5831]

Modern 360 degree camera enters the chat.

[@TrueBlueSG]

I use my right master eye with the DSLR and my left eye is still able to see the rest of the world.

[@equaliser2265]

Very interesting and enjoyable.

[@vicibox]

Hmmm agree with the photo philosophy, you are trying to make sense of the world and need to be aware of outside the frame. I do have my left eye open with my SLR. But I would never use a Leica, I find the viewfinder completely dead and hate the rangefinder patch in the middle. I inherited a M3 and, after a trial, reduced it to shelf ornament status. My weapon of choice is my Nikon D7100 with 35mm f1.8 G lens which is about the same size and actually lighter. I find a SLR viewfinder alive, I love the way the image changes as i turn the focus dial. You need to be aware of more things than the surroundings, you need to be aware of depth and here the Leica uniquely fails ;-)

[@DannyOKC]

Aside from the cool photography stuff, I just have to commend that boss-ass linen jacket.

[@betterburnout]

I do have a Leica M6. However, my aiming eye is the left one, so I'm fucked.

[@TheSportDiver_]

not necessarily, it's just a matter of practice. I'm left eyed and I focus quite fast and accurately.

[@richard.l5563]

the summary of the "modern" -- how the coastal views arrive at the same place, they began from the same theorem

[@guess777]

what should I do!!! I am a left eye shooter!!! I cannot see the world around when I shoot

[@szityin4345]

3 years later, you get the answer. Just shoot in portrait mode by turning your camera clockwards lol.

[@MastersofPhotography]

For anyone interested in Joel's craft and wishing to learn from the master himself on how to take better photos, check out the trailer for Joel's masterclass here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6CQY5icZ8eZrLM

[@benjihartfield2618]

Fantastic.

[@AustenGoldsmithPhotography]

Now I now why I've. fallen in love with the m3

[@jeff6660]

Or what you leave out. In other words the frame lines of the camera determine the photograph.

[@nastynate838]

all of these expert photographer vloggers need to see this

[@dongee6351]

I don't believe for one moment that you need a special camera to take a good photo. This man is making a simple operation complicated. You have the eye for it or you don't.

[@WMedl]

You missed the point - taking care of what is going on ouside the frame. This is essential for street and action photograohy. Joel only mentioned the Leica as a mean to acchieve that. And show some of your images if they may still come near to those of Joel's...

[@dongee6351]

@@WMedl Sorry for having an opinion and being inferior to Joel.

[@fiscalhairy]

wonderful

[@loumorucci]

I have vision in only one eye. I've owned and shot with Leicas over many years. Do you have any suggestions for those of us who are no longer binocular, in order to gather that sense of continuous connections with that tenuous view you are speaking of?

[@limbotvperu6867]

its funny how we as humasn can develop so much tough into something that is quite uselles when dying its a beautiful art and serves also for the economy but in the end the real photos are the one we have with our own eyes.

[@pietrolonghi2034]

Genius

[@TheIrishfitter]

🐐

[@villagranvicent]

I am left eye dominant, but anyway I find my Leica M8 a pleasure to use.

[@rowibish]

He meant that if your left-eyed a Leica will block your face just like an SLR.

[@drs-Rigo-Reus]

turn SLR 90 degrees and you can look past it with the other eye......

[@gainde1137]

Smartphones now are even better to frame and keep the overview of the situation.

[@quarlo]

Joel really makes it come alive for me. Although, he could probably yammer on about lawnmowers and I'd still take notes.

[@Time_Line_Archive_Project]

How does this work with a photographer like me, who only has one eye? My philosophy on photography is entirely different than Joels. What if what you see IS a camera frame, what if your entire life IS a camera frame, like mine is. I see the world through a constant 50mm lens.

[@tempusrob]

d.t.f.i-aaa "My philosophy on photography is entirely different than Joels." ... As it should be. Nobody's philosophy needs to be taken as a textbook approach to photography. Observe it, absorb it, or maybe just discard it completely if it doesn't mesh with you.

[@MarsViolet]

d.t.f.i-aaa Use a Leica with a 50mm Summicron. You’ll see your 50mm frame lines in the center portion of the viewfinder, plus a great deal of the scene outside the frame lines, so that even with one eye you’ll be able to effectively gauge those “ephemeral connections”.

[@BerenErchamionTheOne]

Mark Alan Thomas And the Leica commercial continues

[@MarsViolet]

Beren Erchamion No need to feel threatened. They’re just cameras.

[@blicke41]

Yeeesss😊

[@chrisjames1924]

Part of the reason why I love the new Fuji cameras. Leica just isn’t really cutting it with their modern lenses and cameras. I even tried a few Zeiss lenses recently and they too were incredibly disappointing. With the Fuji x100 series, Xpro and XE, they’re so good, so intuitive that you can just focus on subject and composition. No messing around and no stress. And if you drop your 50mm f2 in a river like I did last week then you don’t have to cough up 2500k to replace it. Fuji is pure democratic photography; Leica is anachronistic and has somewhat ironically become the antithesis of its brand image and identity. If I knew nothing about photography I’d buy Leica.

[@HeyNighT_Art]

My guys that's not what he ment by saying "what's soo good about the Leica" His point is that you try to be a better photographer with the gear that you already had, not from the gear that you should get

[@diordrama]

joel is awesome

[@donccarlos9794]

I don't agree with Joel Meyerowitz about the viewfinder limitations of SLR cameras. I have alway's kept my left eye open if I want to when looking through an SLR camera, even on the old film SLR's the viewing eyepiece is set just enough to the back left side of the camera (not the middle) allowing the left eye to see the complete area if needed. The SLR camera does not "block the world" And modern DSLR's are the same. Sorry Joel you are wrong on this one. Look again.

[@DustinBKerensky97]

Skip to 1:24 to go straight to the Leica Commercial.

[@BerenErchamionTheOne]

Dustin B Exactly what I thought xD

[@slimnics]

+Xyz why lying sellout puppet?

[@MrDjofrey]

he could have talked about any rangefinder camera but he chose Leica. product placement....

[@douglasdrumond]

If he had chosen any other rangefinder, it would have a brand and still be product placement ;)

[@MrDjofrey]

Douglas Drumond then why not use the term rangefinder instead of a brand? ho wait, because Leica sponsors him

[@Traveljournalist]

genius!

[@karlbratby4349]

Annoying when your a left eye shooter like myself 😢

[@supersingular]

He's a genius.

[@woodedape]

Did you know if you hold you SLR or DSLR in portrait position you can shoot with both eyes open...or if you turn your head sideways far enough, Funny how that works, ha?

[@HeyNighT_Art]

That's not the point that he made dumbass It's not about the gear, it's all about the photography that you made and you learn, funny how alot of people miss took him as he saying "pick a Leica if you want to be a better photographer!"

[@woodedape]

@@HeyNighT_Art It was meant as a silly joke. Sorry that I offended you.

[@HeyNighT_Art]

@@woodedape oh okay, sorry. I seen alot of people mad at him for saying about using Leica and it kinda made me mad for a sec, sorry for it tho

[@SuperAlijoker]

it's ironical that Meyerowitz's video should be out of focus.

[@oscargarcia8204]

every single rangefinder has the vf at the left lmao

[@luzr6613]

Which works great if you're right eye dominant, but is as much use as a DSLRs if you're natively left-eyed.

[@raphaelweb9677]

I'm not sure anyone here is in any position to argue with the guy. And if you insist on doing so, please present your body of work so we may conclude how correct you are.

[@joeltunnah]

So if you don’t like dinner at a restaurant, the chef should ask for your CV? If you don’t think the mayor is doing a good job you should have to run for office and win before complaining? LOL

[@tomkent4656]

You don't say!

[@miroslavhajduk1797]

I'm left eye dominant, you can keep this "universal rule" crap. Also when I'm shooting I care what is in the frame not outside of it, as basically what's in the frame will be on your photo. not all the shite outside of viewfinder...

[@GrumpyStormtrooper]

He has 50 years of photography behind, don't you think he knows what he's saying? You're not forced to do that, it's just an opinion. Chill out

[@luissantos84]

+Miroslav Hajduk same here, its sad many believe they need a Leica

[@villagranvicent]

+Smokey Cat Exactly, years of experience and several books and publications... anybody criticizing Joe's approach to photography is an idiot.

[@VampireWeekendWills]

he's talking about the world outside the lense that creeps in, making the image more ambiguous or suggestive