Real Time vs. Storytime

Alec Soth discusses different photographic approaches to the sequential presentation of time. Books referenced:⁣
Real Time by Eve Sonneman⁣
Laboratory of Forms by Jan Groover⁣
Time Passes by Robert Adams⁣
The Present by Paul Graham⁣
Sequences by Duane Michaels⁣
The Pond by John Gossage⁣
A Shimmer of Possibility by Paul Graham⁣
⁣
If you are looking for more, Magnum Photos is offering a 20% discount throughout February for my online course on Photographic Storytelling. Use the discount code START-LEARNING at checkout.
www.magnumphotos.com/learn/co...

[@_buttertigers]

It's unbelievable that stuff like this is now available on the internet. You're one of my idols and I appreciate you taking time to make these.

[@Camerasnaps]

Try CAMERA too

[@ethanlowe1845]

You're a brilliant teacher, Its an honour to learn even through KZbin.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

That's so nice to hear. Thanks Ethan

[@mrlambru]

This is an index, for whoever finds it useful: 3:10 - Eve Sonneman, Real Time 10:36 - Jan Groover, Laboratory of Forms 12:04 - Robert Adams, Time Passes 17:35 - Guido Guidi, Fiume 24:19 - Paul Graham, The Present 28:36 - Duane Michals, Sequences 30:09 - Joh Gossage, The Pond 35:20 - Paul Graham, A Shimmer of Possibility Amazing video Alec, so instructive. Thank you so much! I resonate with this theme, and find these works so powerful

[@mattdayphoto]

Thoroughly enjoying these. Thanks for taking the time. ❤️

[@JamieMPhoto]

KZbin is such a difficult place to try to put out content like this, but for someone with a more prominent place in your field, it helps carve out an audience for this -- beyond the how-tos and reviews a lot of people have to resort to not to be completely ignored. I hope you continue to do these talks and help prove these kinds of deeper dives have a place in the online discourse. In the meantime, I am eating this up and am hungry for more. Thank you!

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thank you Jamie

[@nataliebennett2486]

Just put together a photo book and thought about this video a lot while I was doing it. When I first started editing I only ever took one photo from a sequence that had been shot close together, but there are several spreads in this book where I include two from a sequence, and used that to bring the viewer into the space a little bit. Really helpful.

[@dadbod444]

I keep rewatching this video. Your thoughts and observations are so beautiful. Thank you for the art you share with us.

[@BryanBirks]

You’re a legend. Making me want to slow way down and evaluate everything. Not just in photography either.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks Bryan

[@aminfarah1403]

I enjoyed all your little lectures so much and would love to see more!

[@andrewsmithphoto]

I have a lot or respect for Alex doing these videos and trying to help/educate people in these difficult times. I learned more from this video than any "qualified" art teacher I have ever encountered.

[@bideac1]

Thank you, very luring and hypnotizing, educational and inspirational. And yet sometimes I can’t help myself and think that with your amazing knowledge and calming asmr voice you probably would be able to narrate streetview on google maps or random iPhone photo album. No bad pictures in this world, just “difficult” or “personal”.

[@thesamuelkim]

These photo book discussions reveal so much about photography as a singular medium. Listening to you while being in cultural theory course in uni informs so much about looking at visual art. Thank you Alec, such a legend.

[@digeratadesign]

Everything I now know about sequencing I learned from Alec.

[@susanfisher4551]

I just took your Storytelling course on the Magnum Photo website. I loved every minute of watching you work. Thanks so much for all that you do.

[@paulbaker1846]

Time Passes is the title of the second section of ‘To the Lighthouse’ by Virginia Woolf. Fitting. I’d not seen Adams’ book before. Brilliant lecture, thanks.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks. Adams quotes Woolf in the book too.

[@paulbaker1846]

@@AlecSothKZbin I’m just looking into this more, apparently To the Lighthouse was Adams’ favorite novel. He said “I wish I had time to commit large parts of it to memory.” I’m not surprised, it is a transformative piece of writing.

[@boarini2003]

First I saw your Eggleston video, and now these. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this wonderful format. Truly a pleasure to get this sort of content related to photography.

[@sgiovinco]

These discussions seem personal yet casual, making them effective as a KZbin video.

[@Cosyboit]

Alec I appreciate these talks. For the younger audiences, we get to know other photographers that aren’t in the public eye, and how their work that inspires you . As someone who hasn’t taken a photography history class like you, this helps me learn so much more. Thank you Alec!

[@daisukehirabayashi]

Flickering time vs narrative time. Subtle but so profound. It was my first time to see most of the books you presented and learned a lot. Just began your online course on Photographic Storytelling on Tuesday and it's a soothing meditative experience to learn. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on photographing spaces and buildings, both exterior and interior, which I very much enjoy in your books.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thank you Daisuke

[@lorenzocatena6377]

I loved you magnum course. Personally it was a life changing experience! So full of lessons and inspirational. So much value! P.s. you can see that the two photos of the man with the cat are different because the cars on the bridge behind him are moving and are placed in different positions.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Embarrassed I miss this! But glad you got something out of the course nonetheless

[@lorenzocatena6377]

@@AlecSothKZbin don’t worry, glad to be helpful! Thanks to you for making it and also to continue to sharing your knowledge with us, priceless!

[@shamsandhu]

The most soothing voice in Art! You’re a born educator...please keep the lessons coming.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Aw, thanks Sham.

[@keving1480]

This might be my first comment in 15+ years on KZbin. I’m thoroughly enjoying these videos and hoping there are many more to come.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks Kevin. I'm a KZbin virgin as well.

[@geju4450]

Cant believe this is free. Thank you, Alec!

[@glenmorriscohen5442]

What an outstanding lesson. Alec you have such a wonderful generosity of spirit and knowledge. Thank you for creating these !!

[@harrytalay301]

Incredible to have your perspectives on other photographers' works available. Some of these concepts echo those in Scott McCloud's book 'Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art'. While it is obviously a very different medium, comic book artists utilise similar techniques, with 'flickering' moments integrated into a larger narrative context. Thank you for sharing.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

I'm a huge fan of Understanding Comics. I think the section where he talks about the simplified circle face vs. nearly photographic faces is particularly useful for photographers.

[@harrytalay301]

@@AlecSothKZbin I’ve never read it from a photography perspective but I think I’ll have to go back to it now. That is interesting... it reminds me of the concept in your ‘Pictures and Words’ of how much we want the viewer to use their imagination and how much we want to explicitly show. Would love to hear your thoughts on that section. Thank you for your time and reply!

[@Rockstarport]

I could listen to your voice for hours, very soothing. I loved your LBM Podcasts! Please keep these videos coming.

[@bykennyk]

Wow, this is amazing that you're providing these for free here!! Really love hearing what you have to say!

[@clementfauquet8419]

It's like going to a weekly book editing class. Thanks Alec! Opening new worlds of photography.

[@richardmaidment]

I felt completely the same when I first saw the Paul Graham ‘man walking cat’ series 36:16 trying to compare the two portraits and if they were actually different. For me, you can just make out a car travelling from right to left on the bridge in the background giving that flicker of time between the images. Thank you so much for doing these videos Alec, you are always so inspiring and thought-provoking in your work and teaching.

[@major_organ]

After a nice morning walk, I'm sitting down and listening intently. Your video on Eggleston brought a much needed nuance to his work that was truly inspiring to me! Thank you for this!

[@slicedmittens5296]

so grateful to be able to listen to you, thank you

[@diegosartorio4853]

Love to hear your interpretations and your stream of consciousness about the narrative/time sequencing. Your videos are very worth the attention of us that keeps learning the art of photography. Thanks!

[@garonkiesel1646]

Thank you for a wonderful video. Diptychs as similar yet slightly different moments in time are fascinating in the photo book medium. I purchased Hajime Kimura's book Path In Between just over a year ago and I haven't been able to put it down. Every time I read it I discover something knew and yet, I'm left with more questions when finished.

[@kekmountain2882]

Also - there's a need for this exact type of content, there's a void you are filling.

[@ClaireBernstein]

This is a fascinating and extremely enlightening video. Thank you so much Alec for taking the time to do this! What a wonderful collection of books you have.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

I'm very lucky, thanks for watching Claire

[@borderlands6606]

Jem Southam is another photographer who uses time in his work. In his case, rockfalls as coastal erosion exposes countless millennia to public view. On the topic of bad 1970s printing, I confess a fondness for those blocked in blacks and chalky whites of old photobooks. Thinking of my ancient Tony Ray-Jones' "A Day Off", which has been thumbed almost to a relic by repeated viewing.

[@rosem7606]

I love your subtle way of showing what books can be. Thank you so much, much appreciate that you invest your valuable time to help us improving our way of seeing, taking photos and telling stories in books !

[@jacobwall5878]

So stoked we get another one of these. Thank you!

[@kekmountain2882]

I came to know you through the Magnum video of your work with a loop of George Bush audio quotes... I must have watched that 25 times. Your work is some of my absolute favorite and I'm so glad to see you more present in the youtube space, your voice and perspective are SO needed and appreciated ❤

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thank you Jane

[@manuelvieira243]

Hi Alec, can’t thank you enough for taking the time to share your knowledge in such a clear, didactic and generous way. I hope these lessons are in some way an enriching experiencing for you going forward. Many many thanks

[@cinesthesia7]

This is such a gift. Thank you, Alec.

[@Leicapat]

Thank you Alec. You are a wonderfull teacher. I started watching your Magnum course and it's pure joy and bliss. Have a nice day.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thank you!

[@jackgalmitz]

Adams uses the tide to show the changes that time produces. The photograph book is quite beautiful.

[@sovietsofia]

These are such a treasure. Thank you, Alec.

[@louhautdavid6451]

Thanks a lot for sharing these thoughts. This is one of the first videos I've seen on this channel and I'm definitively grabbed. To me, it opens up the possibilities of narration, but also redistributes the cards of the beautiful and the ugly. This is not about straight esthetics, but about the feeling and the mind. I think I will learn a lot here!

[@cnavato1]

Thank you for taking the time to do these Alec - fabulous to get your perspective on the work of other masters....

[@nnelgsiggah]

I’m enjoying your talks tremendously so thank you Alec. It’s so interesting to how photographic devices are used with such great effect. It is certainly something to think about.

[@krullenbos94]

Keep on rambling Alec! Much appreciated these talks!

[@Angelo.Partemi]

These are amazing. Thank you for taking the time and sharing them.

[@33India6]

Thanks so much for these Alec!!! I enjoyed your blog tremendously and was sad to see it end! So I hope you will not end these when lecturing becomes doable again!

[@bluevali888]

it's so great that you've decided to do this! thank you! :)

[@MrYerbaMate1]

I'm enjoying your class on Magnum Learn and these videos immensely. Your teaching has filled my free moments these past few weeks. I appreciate this content immensely. Thanks for your work.

[@Mickey-bo6cv]

These series are amazing! Thank you so much. I’ve learned a lot! :D

[@danielemilazzo432]

This has been by far the best lesson on photography I’ve ever had. The ideas and explaination are invaluable. Thank you so much, all the way from Australia.

[@brettwood737]

I learned a lot through this video. Don't underestimate yourself, you're a good teacher. Thanks for making time to educate us.

[@BuzzBoxs]

Loving these. Opening my eyes to different ways to approach sequencing.

[@timaswan]

These are fascinating and I really appreciate that you're doing them. So interesting to see how you make connections, especially with all of the "difficult" images, and how understanding builds as you move through a series of photos. Thank you for these.

[@migmclaughlin975]

Really exceptional content here. Very much appreciate your delivery style and overall presentation, makes it very comfortable and easy to understand. This and your talk about The Democratic Forest have made me start to consider the intention behind my photos and also just the contrast of photos as art and photos as production. I hope you continue to put out more of these.

[@giovanaschluternunes8281]

I so deeply appreciate this.

[@mattsteindl]

Thank you for these videos, really been enjoying learning/listening.

[@davem3513]

Great inspirational video! I just had a new idea to try out with my street photography, thank you! Really exciting :)

[@TheCampbellseth]

This has opened a whole new world of photographic possibility for me. Incredible and insightful. Loving diving into these books and ideas along side you. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and resource.

[@MrDealmeidaesilva]

thank you very much for the time spent doing these and sharing it

[@jpmatth]

definitely read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics for more on the expression of time through a series of images. that little gap between frames is a whole other artistic medium in itself. it makes time elastic and brings it under the artist's control in ways that a single image can''t.

[@pifranc]

Thank you for this video, you're helping me think and the help is much needed and very appreciated. I'm hoping you can make more of these videos.

[@glennsines956]

Love these videos, very cathartic. Please keep putting them out.

[@KAMALKamal-pq1vh]

Thank you so much for your time and for sharing all these books.

[@aaronrferguson]

Alec, this was really great. Thank you so much for yet another really interesting video. You have a gift for teaching!

[@richardvincil6988]

Thanks so much for this video and your time using this format. Your differentiation between a time 'flicker' and narrative answered questions i had about sequencing. It doesn't look like i'm alone in thinking that you're a very engaging teacher. Lots to think about here.

[@RR-bd4bm]

This is fantastic Alec, really appreciate your way of presentation and the careful analysis you put into this. Keep them coming!

[@phiswe]

Great stuff. It's all about the space and silence in between. The way photographers have dealt with temporal and spatial sequencing to convey a time passing shows the difficulty and impossibility of catching the ethereal and the ephemeral in a single photograph (without depending too much on metaphor).

[@phiswe]

Of course, it's the medium's very nature to "catch the ephemeral" and fix it permanently. But to _express_ it is something else.

[@murraynash2424]

I really appreciate this series. Fascinating and inspiring. Thank you

[@michaelkartes]

Another great one, Alec. Thank you!

[@inesazeitona]

These talks have been super motivating ! Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge and for making these times a little better! ✨

[@andreshernandez]

Amazing Alec, Love your course as well!! thank you for sharing your knowledge !!

[@whoatemybrain6641]

you are the teacher I needed. looking forward to the talks yet to come! thank you so much!

[@robertbonella1806]

Thanks again for doing these Alec. Really great and so refreshing. Good inspiration as well.

[@henrybeckmeyer8393]

Another fascinating talk. Thank you for doing this! It’s always amazing to see how important sequencing is, and to see how it’s used.

[@IanLivesey]

Loving these -- soon as I finish one I seem to head back to my bookshelf and absorb again the books of Alec.

[@juliend4260]

Thanks for another amazing video Alec! I really enjoying this!

[@cwengelking]

Love the way you teach Alec. Not just explaining or interpreting what’s readily apparent, but also bringing out the nuances in ways that enhance understanding and appreciation of photography. Would love to see you ramble about poetic time. And highly recommend your Magnum course, well worth it imho.

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks Craig

[@philcrean]

Thanks again! Another interesting ramble... Given me food for thought on narrative and sequencing. Would love to see/hear more on sequencing...

[@anthonyfen-chong5557]

This is exactly what I've been looking for, for quite some time now. So good

[@aubreywade8548]

You showed me some new ways of looking at the world today, and of being in it too. At a time when I'm thinking about which direction to take my own photographic practice in, these spaces for reflection and thought you're creating are a joy. Thank you!

[@AlecSothYouTube]

That's great to hear

[@pablomejia8631]

Thank you Alec!

[@luleetaa]

Thank you Alec, these are wonderful

[@MurrayLivingston]

Thanks so much for putting these together. Essential viewing for all photographers, in my opinion. About 6mins in you pause before using the word glimpses and I thought (if you hadn’t already seen it) that Georges didi-Hubermans lecture by the same title, ‘glimpses’, would interest you. It’s also on KZbin. Hope you’re well Alec, have a good one!

[@AlecSothYouTube]

Thanks Murray

[@superdiscount100]

Really enjoyed this. Thanks for bringing this whole area to my attention and these great artists. Think you should definitely keep going with these I find them very relaxing and also fascinating.

[@mp3remix171]

this is an amazing resource, thank you for sharing and being an inspiration!

[@AndreaCamiolo]

Thank you so much for the great content you are bringing to this channel 🙏🏻♥️

[@omarsalas81]

Great video Alec, I hope to enjoy much more of these videos.

[@robertplautz9722]

Greetings, Sensei! here is my take on lawnmowing man (might not be unique but it is what i see personally) here is one person working the land but not for food production he seems a worker hired for the job to earn his daily bread. that (italicized) meanwhile is grown and packaged and distributed and sold within the agroindustrial chain. the man is pushing a machine but he is also pushed and fed by what we might call The Machine. he will also drive a machine to the market as you describe (if it is his, as you say, but). all of his individual effort has aesthetic ends ("beautification"), but is not for his (forecasted) nourishment nor that of others. we note also that his work is not linked directly with mass production and consumption but ultimately linked with these via ta dum! monetary exchange at the market's cash register. a powerful narrative indeed! btw think your hands at end is an interesting use of space&simultaneous time and the screen in toto reminded me too of photograph 2 of Evidence (handprint, ID card, ruler) which you describe using K Albers in "Gap the Mind" vid. VERY very interesting!

[@whenyoudieyoudie8101]

Thanks a lot for sharing this. Very inspiring, especially the part about Robert Adams!

[@prozoriugrudima]

So great, thank you.

[@JeffSmudde]

Thanks for your insight on these kinds of sequences. Ive always been an awful editor of my own work, as many photographers can relate! Ive worked on this by curating other artists’ work and seeing how i can relate it to my own work. this absolutely gives me some thoughts on what to do moving forward with future curated work and my own editing. Looking forward to the next video!

[@LewisCooley]

Thank you Alec, these make my nights.

[@TiredThomas]

Loving the videos! Thank you

[@embrooks3gmail]

This is the kind of artistic/intellectual conversation (albeit one sided) I crave, but most forms of social media are unable to provide. Thanks again for the videos.

[@mayrabajana4596]

Thank you for this! What I was looking for and you just gifted us all.

[@bdyanez23]

Loving how conversational and intimate these videos are! Really allows us a glimpse into how you both approach and are inspired by photography. I can find “the history of photography” anywhere!!