The BEST Way to Get BETTER at Photography?

[@williamlasl]

This channel is extremely important because many new photographers’ first contact with what work already exists out there is basically instagram. Then maybe they seek out advice on youtube on how to get better. Neither path really takes them to the photographers discussed on this channel. It tends lead photographers to emulate the current crop of influencers and stop there. Adding to problem is many photo books are out of print or quite expensive. So besides those who don’t care to learn what has come before, I think you have a larger problem of people who never gets the opportunity to learn because they only know what instagram or youtube shows them. Hopefully this channel and others like it will create a path.

[@developingtank]

Thank you. That is the goal here. The whole thing started when I had done several photowalks and no one could answer the simple question “who is your favorite photographer?” Not in terms of having too many options to choose from, but in have no idea who any great photographers were. I really hope a new wave of serious and “pretentious” photography nerds will come to the helm. I want deeper discussions and learning all around. 🫡

[@ricomichel]

You bring a number of amazing, really pertinent thoughts I haven’t read about anywhere else. I will have to watch this video a couple of times again. Pretty outstanding, bravo :)

[@developingtank]

I appreciate it 🫡

[@ericonly]

Really appreciate your channel. It has introduced me to so many photographers. Keep up the good work.

[@developingtank]

Thank you, always good to know that 🙏

[@bradholbrooks]

Adding this video to my Favorites!

[@developingtank]

Thank you 🙏

[@robertgordon6362]

You do such a great job of introducing me to a world of photography that was unknown to me for 60 years. Thank you.

[@developingtank]

Thank you!

[@BarrettBaker_photos]

Though I am an abstract photographer, I am deeply inspired by the photographers that have come before me and I will always be. I see Photography as a way of painting light and so many great photographers have leaned towards abstract so much so that it’s fueled my own creativity. Thank you for this video.

[@developingtank]

Great comment. I appreciate it. Thank you 🙏

[@LordPhilOne]

@0:52 the idea of shooting at the same intersection everyday reminds me of Auggie Wren, the character played by Harvey Keitel in Smoke (1995). Maybe Paul Auster got the idea from a photographer, I wouldn't know. Here's what Auggie replies when his friend, to whom he's showing his photos, says they're all the same : "They’re all the same, but each one is different from every other one. You’ve got your bright mornings; your fog mornings; you’ve got your summer light and your autumn light; you’ve got your week days and your weekends; you’ve got your people in overcoats and galoshes and you’ve got your ;people in t-shirts and shorts. Sometimes same people, sometimes different ones. Sometimes different ones become the same, and the same ones disappear. The earth revolves around the sun and every day the light from the sun hits the earth from a different angle."

[@developingtank]

I believe I have seen this scene before, but never the movie. It really sums up photography as a whole to some extent

[@fellowcitizen]

Thanks!

[@developingtank]

Thank you 🙏

[@johnmuha89]

Couldn't agree more! Learning history is absolutely key. I'd love to hear your opinion about Lee Friedlander.

[@developingtank]

Thank you! I actually bought a book of his months ago and didn’t realize it was a book on all of his books before purchasing, so I’ll be covering him as soon as I can pick up something else from him. Any suggestions?

[@johnmuha89]

@@developingtank​​⁠I think if you want to get a gist of his body of work, then a retrospective is the way to go. It’s just that his books tend to be narrow in the scope of subject matter. But for sure I can give you some recommendations! Any of the series of books ‘The Human Clay’ are great. I think you’d enjoy Street, The Human Clay. I just got Real Estate, loved it!

[@developingtank]

@ that's kind of what I was gathering from the book that I got. The book I have is like a retrospective of the details of every project and there are tons of them, making his work a little difficult to cover visually in the way that I do. I will check out that series. It's a video I've been looking to make for a while, so hopefully I will accomplish that goal soon.

[@illkoncept]

Amazing video as always, man. Going to come back to this one many times I’m sure. Love the strong stance and statements made in the Artistic Language section - very well said 🗣️

[@developingtank]

Thanks man, I appreciate it as always. I think the artistic language is something I’ll be going in on in some upcoming vlogs.

[@ChrisBrogan]

6:00 I love when you go off on everyone. Oh man. How punk rock! Fuck yeah. Just tickling 20K subs. I'll remember that when you hit 100K.

[@developingtank]

Sometimes you gotta have a “hot take”

[@andrewsmithphoto]

So true. People rarely experiment today because it doesn't sell in Instagram.

[@developingtank]

Bums me out

[@andrewsmithphoto]

@@developingtank Me too, especially when you see how generic and consumer driven IG is. I have come to rate ambition and vision over all other photographic and artistic aspects.

[@developingtank]

Are there any specific lesser known modern photographers that you think are achieving this?

[@andrewsmithphoto]

@@developingtank Maroesjka Lavigne, Ian Flanders, Elena Chernyshova, Eriko Koga, Matthew J.J. Thorne and Shinya Arimoto are a few I think fit the bill on some level.

[@developingtank]

Awesome, I’ll look them up 🫡

[@dodahlberg]

Agreed. You have to study what artists have already done. Anyone who tells you otherwise is fooling themselves and their photographs validate that point.

[@developingtank]

🙌🙌🙌

[@zondervonstrek]

@5:50 is pain fully true! I see so many hacks pretending their mid work is great because they have never seen anything good.

[@developingtank]

My bro! 🙌

[@ChrisBrogan]

13:59 yes! I met Henry at a conference. He's nice, but it was a kind of "push play" moment. He just told his stories. I was trying to gush out, knowing a lot of his writing/prose, but he just kept telling cool stories like he was onstage. So I just settled into listening and nodding. Very gracious with his time. (Different than when he was younger, I imagine.) And speaking of wishing I'd documented that... But you know, it's not punk to pose for a selfie with Henry.

[@developingtank]

🫡🫡🫡

[@williamlasl]

Thank you for continuing this series. May I suggest Nan Goldin and Sebastiao Salgado in future videos.

[@developingtank]

Thank you, yes, I will consider both

[@Skyggedansss]

you are just legend ! Can you tell were do you get photo books ?

[@developingtank]

Thank you! Sometimes it’s just Amazon and other times I have to search high and low to find them.

[@stefanberndt3734]

Haha, yes, I know those "geniuses" that think they can walk on water rather than learning to swim! What I find amazing is the consciousness many good photographers have about what they are actually doing. I think this awareness is the one distinction between a „snapper“ and a photographer, or any artist, probably. But still, some people give advice like: „You think too much!“ I heard that 100 times. Sick of it. It's nice to see someone adressing the higher functions of the brain rather than the lower ones! ;-) On another note: You style to embed quotes of the artists themselves is really good, I like that very much. -- Looking forward to your next video!

[@developingtank]

Thanks for this comment. I’m really hoping to build a community of higher thinking individuals here, because I’m so sick of people playing to the lowest common denominator for the sake of reach. I’ll take a small audience who actually want to use their brains of that any day. Happy to hear the quotes are paying off. 🫡

[@TooLooseLeTrek]

Great video filled with much to ponder. In the last segment "Do it for Love" at the start you mentioned a photographer with whom you were not previously familiar. I could not make out his name and closed capture massacred it. Who is that person? Thanks.

[@developingtank]

Thank you. Raghu Rai is his name

[@robeastv]

Went to the library after watching this vid. Borrowed “The Photo Book.” 👊🏽💥

[@developingtank]

Nice! Love to see it

[@declandebarra]

Love the nod to Lynch. I'm still utterly fucked up that he's gone.

[@developingtank]

Me too. Dude inspired me for so long and I’m having a hard time coming to terms with this loss.

[@KahruSuomiPerkele]

The 6000 years of history of china is a little bit of a stretch and very recent belief, since the country changed rulers so many times, and was divided for most of its history. China as a whole like we know today is barely 100 years old.

[@developingtank]

It’s a quote from the photographer. Happy to see that was your takeaway from this video. Very cool.