The Power of a Photograph with Canon Legend Sam Abell

Join Canon Legend, and National Geographic legend, Sam Abell and me as we discuss how the parts of an image work together to build the power of the final photograph, on this Behind the Shot.
00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Interview with Sam Abell
16:58 - Photo Discussion
43:08 - Speed Round Q & A
47:10 - Sam’s Photographer Pick - Alex Webb
49:51 - Outro
This Episode:
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Connect with Sam:
Website: samabell.com/
Instagram: / samabellteacher
Sam's Photographer Picks
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Sam's Workshops
Nobechi Creative: www.nobechicre...
Santa Fe Workshops : santafeworksho...
Pacific Northwest Art School: pacificnorthwe...
Maine Media Workshops: www.mainemedia...
Los Angelas Center of Photography: lacphoto.org/
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Website: behindtheshot.tv
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#portraitphotography #SamAbell #explorersoflight

[@gc2161]

Sam Abell is a great teacher.

[@BehindTheShot]

Agree 100%. Awesome artist.

[@tomsmith8465]

Great show, Sam Abell is v generous and open to questions. Many thanks

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks for watching Tom!

[@robbiecresswell7996]

As a photographer that started shooting, processing and printed with film, it is refreshing to hear that an image was done in the camera. I still shoot in manual and set everything on the camera.

[@BehindTheShot]

Hey Robbie, I agree. It felt special in a way to hear Sam talk about that. And yes, I’m always manual.

[@nickfanzo]

Sam shoots in P mode lol

[@mylivingview]

Loved this BTS session! I love his philosophy of starting in the back. Head and shoulders above the horizon line. He’s got so much photography wisdom.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks so much for watching, as always. You are so appreciated.

[@inesf04]

I discovered Sam Abell a few years ago and I always watch every video about him I can find. I always learn from him. Fantastic interview I immediately subscribed. Thank you

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks, so glad you enjoyed it.

[@LucianoStabel]

Steve, the way you "read" and describe the image is fantastic. It's always one of my favourite parts of each episode. Of course, we all read images differently, but the way you do it is a class by its own. Regardless of how long I've been doing it (decades), regardless of all my addictions while doing it, you have been teaching me a lot.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thank you so much. I appreciate that, and it means a ton. I put a lot of thought into trying to understand the image itself, it’s creation, story, and intent. So glad someone notices and enjoys it. I have always thought of the show as “interviewing a photograph, to better understand the photographer”.

[@ianf8554]

just found your channel and this episode in particular whilst researching Sam Abell. Loved the episode and its content: very well facilitated and Sam is a very giving contributor - he's also such a humble pro and gentleman.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks for watching, Ian. Yes, Sam is amazing. So kind and humble, and such a good photographer.

[@ahmedb2559]

Thank you !

[@ThomasParis]

Thanks for another great one! My favourite so far, actually. And I can imagine how it must have felt to be congratulated by Sam Abell. Congrats indeed!

[@BehindTheShot]

Hey Thomas. So glad to hear you say that you liked this one. It was so fun to chat with Sam. He blew me away.

[@romiemiller7876]

The tech. work supports the photo's meaning. To paraphrase Frank Lloyd Wright, Form follows content. That's my "top tip", for what it's worth. One of your videos fro me because with a photojournalism/documentary background, I can relate to the subject here. * The four "squares" for a triangle, a composition within a composition. I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch a 50-minute video first thing before breakfast. But when it was over, i seemed like five minutes & was sorry it was over.

[@BehindTheShot]

As always, thanks Romie. Appreciate you watching, and I agree on all points. A frame within a frame, geometric composition elements, and a dash of fun. Sam was great to have on.

[@goldfinch2283]

Really great interview with a fantastic photographer! The picture in this episode is absolutely amazing. Thanks!

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks so much for watching.

[@sookephotographyadventures]

Really interesting interview, Steve. Great story to the image and why he wasn’t supposed to shoot the girl. Amazing that the photo and all his work is straight out of the camera.

[@BehindTheShot]

So first of all, thank you for watching Drake. You know how much I appreciate your time. Secondly, Sam blew me away. I didn’t know much about him before preparing for this show, and the result was such an awesome experience.

[@randyschwager84]

Excellent info! Thanks for this! I learned SO MUCH!

[@keithspangler4814]

I simply. loved this interview! As an old film military photojournalist I quickly related to your words. Thank you for sharing your expertise and work with me.

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks for watching, Keith.

[@gossedejong9248]

Fantastic! I learned a lot...thank you!

[@BehindTheShot]

Thank You!

[@robertmccutchan5450]

Concerning grain in a photograph, I heard it said, and I think it was Paul Caponigro that said it, that if grain is the problem with your photograph, then it probably wasn't a good photograph to begin with. Thanks for these videos! I just subscribed.

[@BehindTheShot]

Hey Robert! Thanks for watching, and subscribing. Many have that phrase, in one form or another. The person I’ve heard say it the most is Rick Sammon. It’s something his dad used to tell him.

[@RandyPollock]

Really enjoyed this one

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks Randy!

[@thescouser8629]

Interesting to listen to the podcast and then view the image later. My.visualisation wasn’t perfect but your description meant that I readily recognised the image. Will use the same approach as I go back through episodes- is there a learning?

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks for watching, and glad the description helped. I don’t understand the last question, could you clarify about learning what?

[@thescouser8629]

@@BehindTheShot Hi Steve. Will be interesting if when I listen to your descriptions of images I learn from your approach and get better at visualising the image.

[@BehindTheShot]

Oh! Makes total sense now, hahaha. That’s a great question. I’d be curious if, after some time, you think so. I know for me that describing the images for the audio crowd has been very enlightening. I look at my own images differently. I find myself seeing details and wondering “Will a viewer see what I see?”. I suppose that with certain genres or images you could over analyze an image, ending up removing mystery or emotion, but that doesn’t fit here. I don’t analyze images I’m viewing for enjoyment, only when I’m studying - for lack of a better phrase.

[@user-gj6wr5zw7p]

Sam is I think a great photographer, but some of his story is not quite true. He did not go into the field alone. I was Sam's editor, and also the author of the story "Hagi"(June 1984 issue) at NatGeo. I created the story, I wrote it, and I got Sam assigned; I introduced Sam to Japan and was in the field with him. It was a total collaboration. N. Taylor Gregg, Sr. Editor

[@rlarsen4562]

I wish the interview featured more of Sam talking

[@BehindTheShot]

Thanks for watching. Sorry it didn’t meet your expectations. This was recorded almost 2 years ago, and back then I had some limits on my podcast hosting space that required me to keep shows shorter - the podcast feeds serve both audio only or video, and video files get large. That meant trying to keep a show moving forward to get all the info covered, and unfortunately had some side effects like not being able to have a guest go to too deep, or a video could end up so large I couldn’t publish it. Those issues no longer exist. That’s not to say you’ll be any happier if or when I interrupt someone to get a conversation back on the track I want the show to be on, but hopefully it at least explains it. ~ Steve

[@Epigrafe-od6dc]

✌