On filmmaking and photography #1

[@mattdayphoto]

Always appreciate these videos. They always provide great food for thought, but they're also just affirming and comforting for other artists out there. Glad you're having fun making them and bringing your thoughts and these conversations to more people.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks so much Matt!

[@stephen_mcateer]

Hope you're over your tick-borne illness Matt.

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

@@AlecSothKZbin are u a Cultural Marxist, Miss Alec??

[@kartchinski]

My heart skips a beat every time I see there is a new one of your videos.

[@IanTheGeat09]

Great vid. I recently came across family photos from the early 1900's and was struck by how impressive the snapshots were by contemporary standards. My favorite one, though, featured a giant blurry finger in the bottom corner of a nature scene. Some things never change

[@Ruigewaard]

I absolutely love this videos. Thank you

[@peterpcarroll]

These are my favorite videos on KZbin. Thank you!

[@ak4good]

I always feel like I've learned something from your videos I couldn't have learned anywhere else. Thank you for making these!

[@Raevenswood]

After seeing your Magnum class I realized why I've been drawn to your work since seeing some of your prints in person at Pier 24 Photography in SF. You like Wim Wenders and Robby Muller. I happen to really love the "road movies" they did together. Basically everything they did in the German New Cinema genre is pretty awesome. Robby had this special way of framing scenes and the way he followed moving subjects in the frame was masterful. For me it's always where he starts and where he ends the shot that gets me excited and completely reminds me of a meticulously composed large format shot.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

They were an incredible pair

[@antoniacafati5602]

Gracias Alec!

[@timoconnor475]

Alec some of your off-hand comments are gold in the same way directors ‘not trying’ make more magical images. Beginner mind, great reminder. Thanks for constantly sharing,

[@TimDobbs]

I love your work and have recently come across your channel ... I really enjoy listening to your insight about everything photography .. it is so much better to be binge watching your content rather than Netflix, keep up the excellent work .. Thank you

[@jkjackknowles]

Thank you Alec and keep 'em' coming, please!

[@thunderwood]

As a film person who also loves photography, this was a delight to watch. Thank you for your insight. Would also like more background on your “Summer Nights” film. You captured Robert Adam’s spirit in a beautiful way.

[@kodyo1017]

Always excited to see a new video. Thank you.

[@hansen1964]

Always so inspiring and fuld of hope for my mind, when the photo dont appear when im hunting for the picture, thanks a lot

[@giulianomarialodi3722]

Thank you, Alec.

[@jaydrilla1115]

Thanks for this, great video!

[@jacktaylorphotos]

Hi Alec - could you talk about Summer Nights at the Dollar Tree? I loved that work so much. I'm so intrigued to hear what prompted you to do it, but also how you found the experience of approaching that image-making from how you approach stills. It would be great to hear this topic illuminated with your personal experience. Many thanks for the videos.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Good idea. In the coming months I'll have a small new video project out and perhaps I'll talk about this subject in my own work.

[@richardvincil6988]

Thanks for this. Really liked the introduction to the Wender and Tarkovsky photo work. The local library has both books, and i find the book Once just amazing. The text, and the imagery is very compelling (the story of his guide around Ayers Rock!); will try to find a copy for myself. Looking forward to Tarkovsky too. This work you are doing is so very important Alec, i trust your magnum mates are paying attention. Thank you. Thank you.

[@jackshephard2044]

Aw, RIP to Angus Cloud from Euphoria (7:19). He died last year, but he was so photogenic - love how he has a full 2 pages in this book. Thank you for sharing!

[@donyee8970]

Thanks Alec. I really enjoyed this video. I'm mainly a still photographer, but your presentation opens up the possibility of exploring moving pictures. This helps me to bridge the two disciplines.

[@matthewhoult5323]

I love your hat!

[@ВераЗвягинцева-э5т]

It’s strange thing happens. I’ve got a book today “Tarkovsky Films, Polaroids & Writings” but I wished to have “Instant light” for my birthday. And just now I watching this video about cinema and photography. This is a kind of magic. Sometimes I thought about difference photo and video and why photographers can’t do movies or cinematographers aren’t good photographers. Your channel is surprising discovery to me and I really enjoy to introduce of what you interested in.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thank you, I'm curious about that Tarkovsky book, I'll look it up

[@kdst430]

Thanks for sharing this. I recall that a professor of mine once said that the difference of a photograph and a film is like fire vs ice, although technically the foundation of cinema is photography (24fps and so on). Working as an editor at a news outlet, it was until recently they began asking photojournalists to start shooting video and video journalists start shooting photos, so to lower costs etc. Each field provided some basic training to the other. The results were not horrible but not great either, you could easily distinguish a still image from a video-person and vice versa.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Fascinating. I'd love to see examples of this.

[@phiswe]

It's not about the medium but the grammar we're used to for each medium. Take a picture of something static, like a block of concrete. Film the concrete block from a fixed point of view and keep the camera rolling. Then put both frames next to each other. What's the difference?

[@kdst430]

@@phiswe I think I get your point, but in the end do we care about the grammar or the message? Quoting Alec: "differences between still photography and filmmaking", I regarded that the comparison focuses on the storytelling aspects of each medium, where each final piece, (movie, documentary, video art etc.) or photo series (exhibition, book, digital) seem not much comparable. The moving image/film with its editing, sound and rhythm makes a viewer's perception and thought process much different compared to lets say a photo exhibition, where they're able to address it in their own time and sequence if they want. Technically you can pause a film to a particular point of interest and examine/think about the frame but that's not the creator's goal as far as I'm aware.

[@kdst430]

@@AlecSothKZbin Here you go, I managed to find 2 examples from videos done by photographers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWmckqOwis-FhMk, kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpXVpHd7ia2LnMk, the photos seem a bit trickier cause I'm not in the position anymore, but I'll come back if I manage to dig out something

[@zanesaddiction1945]

Recently came across your channel and am blown away. Thank you for the amazing insight. I have learned so much already. Thinking about photographs as groups and their relationship with one another has helped me tremendously. Thank you for your hard work.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks

[@andrea_armbruester]

Thank you, Alec!

[@joegalka3378]

Thanks so much Alec!!

[@hostynphoto]

Inspiring as always. It's hard to find content about photography that is as well thought out and made by such an experienced photographer as yourself. Or at least I haven't found it. Keep up the good work.

[@ellenjanerogers]

Agreed ❤

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thank you both!

[@nedrelow]

Wenders! Loved seeing those photo books.. most influential for me was “The State of Things” hah- the location of the abandoned hotel near the western most point in Europe is a nice and not expensive hotel that is open now

[@neilgenower9950]

As a film and tv stills photographer for many years, your piece here is fascinating. I'm currently working on the last British Tv drama to shoot on film (super 16) and the DOP never ceases to amaze me how technical his lighting is. One can learn so much about framing from watching a cinematographer, despite the frame moving. If you watch Wenders' films, particularly Paris Texas, it's shot in a series of stills and the colour palette reminiscent of Eggleston's work. Thanks for articulating this subject with some wonderful books.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Yes, DOP's make me realize how little I know!

[@error60091]

Super cool video, thanks for putting this out... happy to see the love for Wenders and Tarkovsky, two film heroes for me... the connections (and departures) between film and photography in contemplating the cinematic is something i've been interested in, so this was fun to watch... indeed, there is a certain rawness/in between-ness of the moment, even purity, in a polaroid and the examples you show here demonstrate that.. while some of the biggest impressions left on my own work and my thoughts on the cinematic have been montage and documentary/experimental (thinking of Chris Marker's "La Jetee" both film and book version, Hirokazu Koreeda's "Afterlife" and Abbas Kiarostami's "24frames"), that said, i wonder: can/do collections of images (i.e. photobooks) capture the cinematic (or at the very least, approach it) in ways that a film in the traditional sense can/does?

[@glidej]

I liked your observation about how Wim Wenders felt inspired by Walker Evans, despite his signature style being pretty static. It's be interesting to think about what potentially idiosyncratic things photographers pull from filmmakers. If I look up "lightroom cinematic edit", I'm sure I'll find lots of ways to color grade things into blue/orange, but a filmmaker would probably chuckle at the notion that would even be considered "cinematic". I haven't seen the Wenders film, but given your comments, maybe making it more static than it otherwise would have been is still pretty inspiring.

[@Klausdestroyerofworlds]

Really grateful for these. I was in the Magnum mentorship program with Alessandra and Gregory and was a bit sad when you finished your talk because I wanted to hear so much more. Low and behold these have satisfied that craving

[@KhalikAllah]

Tremendous insight

[@aaronthecameraguy]

Love these videos Alec, also really enjoying your presence on Tik Tok, especially the video about misconceptions in photography with the remarks from past photographers- Duchamp is amazing.

[@robertplautz9722]

this video is not only about a Cat on the Hat. i took my first (serious) 30 second video with the iphoneXR recently, and it was terrible. i tried some techniques that i liked in Michael Snow (basically, fast moves vertically) and they were ridiculous (with a couple of surprising exceptions). so i was thinking about what makes a good film (and versus photo taking, and i am a complete amateur) and this answers a lot of questions i had, especially about teamwork and technology and so much else. thank you. hope to see you Friday at SKWAT

[@childrain3189]

The book of Jennifer Venditti is amazing !

[@phiswe]

I wonder about set photographers working on film sets and the dynamic of creating these "pre-made" images and spheres from the periphery but still being inside of it enough.

[@francodupuy]

Thanks for this!

[@erectopatronum6750]

Fantastic video Alec. Have always thought film and cinematography are essential building blocks for any would-be photographer.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thank you

[@Chickennuggetsoup]

Love this!

[@冬烏-x4v]

thank you

[@AlisdairKitchen]

Hi Alec, would be really interested to hear your thoughts on 'Byways', Roger Deakins' recent monograph - an interesting example of a cinematographer's eye in the stills world. Thanks so much for these videos!

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Oh wow, didn't know about this book. I love his podcast.

[@AlisdairKitchen]

@@AlecSothKZbin Yeah, the podcast is terrific! There’s also a great collection of his stills available online at the Beaford Archive - photographs of farming in Devon…one of his first jobs, I believe. Something to explore while you’re waiting for the book to arrive ;-)

[@dianakorniichenko]

Nice video, Alec. Also the hat ;)

[@nnelgsiggah]

Thank you Alec. Some questions…Do you think that cinema has influenced still photography or still photographers in some or other way? Do you think it has an influence on our visual language or the way we tell stories visually or even aesthetically?

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Without a doubt. It goes both ways. But as strong as this influence is, I sometimes forget how differently these two media function.

[@nnelgsiggah]

@@AlecSothKZbin thank you for taking the time respond. I really appreciate your thoughts and inputs on photography.

[@chrispatmore8944]

You should check out CAMERIMAGE Film Festival in Poland. It is dedicated to cinematography and many of the greats gather there every year.

[@parsaazari8278]

Thanks for all the effort you put into the vids. now that youre talking about cinema i thought you should check out old joy by kelly reichardt if you haven’t already seen it

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Excellent film, yes!

[@tomleiningerphoto]

Wouldn't Raymond Depardon also be a still photographer who has used moving images? I saw Gregory Crewdson speak once and I asked why doesn't just make films? His answer was along the lines of the narrative before and after his single images did not matter as much to him, which is an interesting answer.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Yes, alas I've sadly been able to see next to nothing by Depardon.

[@pitmanra]

Alec, wonderful videos. I would love it if you would share your thoughts on Subject Matter vs. Content. See the KZbin video titled Jerry Saltz on the Contemporary Art World and watch about 5 minutes starting at 24:24 (well, up to 32:12). Saltz is talking about painting. Is it relevant to photography? Thanks.

[@raphaelhug7936]

Thanks for the video. How about Stanley Kubrick as a photographer? What are your thoughts?

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Pretty damn good, but I'll take the films!

[@samfuller-smith1959]

Are you familiar with the book "Walker Evans: Polaroids"? I believe they're all shot on an SX-70 in the last few years of his life. Really wonderful images, a bit more playful and experimental that usual for him (which I love since he was towards the end of his career/life) but also mirror the style we know and love from his previous work. Anyway, worth checking out of you've never seen it!

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Yes - it's interesting how people like Evans and Kertész turned to polaroid late in life.

[@samfuller-smith1959]

@@AlecSothKZbin Indeed. Thanks for the reply and all the videos!

[@willyan9251]

I am a commercial/short film director, also bring my cameras everywhere I go, no matter if it's scouting casting or even on set. But I mainly take series of pictures of a christian family in church. Could I send some of them to you and how? Thank you for these videos, inspired me in a porfound way.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks, but I'm afraid I don't have time to look at work.

[@willyan9251]

That's alright, I'll keep working on it and hope you'll see them some day.

[@karlbailey2113]

Another neat hat! After listening to your podcast on Nearest Truth recently you talked about how it could be problematic calling yourself an artist as a photographer; could you tell me why you think that? Thank you!

[@AlecSothYouTube]

I guess I overstated it. I don't feel strongly one way or the other

[@karlbailey2113]

@@AlecSothKZbinthanks as always Alec, so nice to have engagement with one of my photography heroes! Just bought gathered leaves annotated, it looks great.

[@michelepastele5347]

Hi Alec! Really appreciate these videos. I have an old photography book with photography emulsion formulas. (Tom Arnold had one of these old books years ago.) Anyhoo, I'm not using it and wondered if you would like it. If so, please respond with a P.O. box or professional address. Thanks - Michele

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks, but better suited for someone who works in a darkroom (I haven't in years)

[@michelepastele5347]

@@AlecSothKZbin noted! Thanks!

[@francoisdunord7169]

interesting

[@mattrainwaters5638]

Paris Minnesota--> Paris Texas

[@michelepastele5347]

oops tom arndt

[@saraema557]

i appreciate these videos a lot but could you please not say "ahm" that many times? with all due respect

[@tarek7451]

It’s not distracting for me, at all.