I enjoy your blog a lot but your kind of photography is completely different than mine so I normally do not feel comfortable commenting.
In your photography you are completely in charge. You control the lighting and the positioning of your subjects. Your subjects are there because they want to be.
My photography is capturing the lives of those I care about. Lighting is often poor, I have no control over positioning, and my subjects can get annoyed if I take too many pictures or shoot too much video.
Things like low light capability, ability to crop, and location tracking matter a lot more to my style of photography than to yours.
With this kind of difference in perspective I feel it is better just to read and learn from you because my comments would talking past the points you are making.
I could very easily blab endlessly about your work. But it would start an unfortunate trend. I resonate very strongly with what you're doing. Truth told, when it comes to photography I'm very much a part-timer who picked up his dad's late-1930s vintage Zeiss Ikon folding camera in 1966 and looked for subjects that would speak to his heart while walking endlessly on the beach and recovering his marbles, after a rough ride toward a Stanford MA, a three-month paralysis, and some ill-advised '60s-style personal experimentation from which I thankfully and happily fully recovered.
Like you, I was an athlete (runner for 45 years, youth swimmer in the late 1940s). I've practiced yoga meditation as a life dharma daily since 1966. A deep interest has been practical spirituality - answering for myself, through daily experience, the Great Question that the sages of the East have asked since ancient times: what is it that people want? The answer they arrived at, by looking very objectively at the world, was "happiness, and freedom from suffering." (Even the murder imagines, however deludedly, that his act will bring him those boons.)
The tools of happiness are body, heart, will, mind, and soul. As a writer and seeker, I'm deeply interested in people who are demonstrating, in the arts, athletics, business, the arts, and life, how we can use our human tools expansively - gaining health, love, inner strength, wisdom, and joy. People who claim there are no values in the arts are deluded - contractive art by any sane measure is a betrayal of the universal human longing for freedom.
All of which demonstrates why you should NEVER send out a call for more blog comments, lest you be overrun by chronic wordslingers such as myself.
The further point being that I'm very happy to find stories of people who share how they are living their lives in ways that are clearly giving them happiness. Not an easy happiness - it never is easy - but in the struggle to do right. And VSL does that for me. It's like watching a good movie; all good movies are expansive, e.g., What Women Want, where Mel Gibson falls in the bathtub with a hair dryer and wakes up able to hear what women are thinking and morphs from a heartless womanizer into a sympathetic and supportive friend. By expanding his awareness he becomes admirable.
Same for your small victories and your dedication to helping good people do good things - or just helping people generally, and showing us the rewards, and what it takes in terms of concentration, energy, and determination. We cheer for you!
I'm reminded of another photographer, Nancy Brown, who shot for Revlon and other beauty companies, as well as lifestyle stock. She was amazingly generous about sharing her secrets - she won my heart by showing me through her books how to take photos of people that showed the goodness in them. Same for Jakub Ostrowski whose 500px simple portrait photos are marvelously revealing of his subjects' good side.
Anyway, kudos and thanks. Now you better tell me to shut up and go away.
I read them all but am not so good about telling you I appreciate the time you take to write the blog. I do very much like to read about the day to day background stuff it takes to be a professional photographer. The equipment articles are interesting and I can appreciate your evolving equipment needs but it causes me some grief because I start to question the gear I am using. I started thinking that I should consider Sony over my Fuji but them you surprised me and headed over to the Panasonic/Olympus camps so I was saved for awhile. Thanks for that because the Fuji really fits my needs completely. Carry on.
Well yes, cannot comment much on your swimming and/or video posts. But those about portraiture and/or cameras for still photography are great. I'm not doing this professionally, but I think I still learned a lot from you Kirk - so thanks!
Trolling for trolls? LOL You run a great blog, and I'm consistently amazed at your energy and perspicacity. In a world of hype and speculation, you are grounded in the reality of the marketplace. Keep up the good work!
This blog is so integrated into my routine i opened it up and it reminded me i forgot to make my morning coffee. So i will do that and hope you will post something meanwhile ;)
You have saved me a lot of money and headaches in my Camera buying decisions and the way i handle clients. But your best posts for me is the more personal and more Philosophical in style.
I'm still here and still reading! Sometimes life gets in the way of making comments, sorry! But I still enjoy reading your thoughts on photography mixed with a dash of the real world. So much more readable than a pure gear obsessed site...almost like a novel in instalments perhaps!? Which reminds me, your novel is in the pile of "books to read"...I will read it, promise!!!! So thanks....and keep on writing. And a final comment about video. I'm an amateur who's interested in knowing more but I don't claim to always understand the technical bits of some of your writing....room for a book perhaps?
I always enjoy reading your writing and visit almost every day. You have certainly helped me on the technical side as well as inspired me creatively. Your generosity with your time and effort is very much appreciated.
A little about what I do as I think you're probably curious about your readers.. I shoot fashion videos set to music in locations in London. You've encouraged me to think more about what's in front of the camera than what's in it.
I know you have talked about editing video.. just wanted to add that I think editing is as creative as getting the right look on set.
Finally .. Thank You! for keeping us informed and entertained.
What runbei said, minus the spirituality. My comments have become so frequent and insubstantial that they’re like dandruff. Who needs more of that? In truth, they’re a way of saying “Hi, Kirk...thanks for that. How about you give us some more?” Readers can be a needy bunch.
I have followed you since you threatened to stop the blog, years ago and Michael Johnston lamented about it. I read you every day, if you post. I even grumble if you don't post, saying "Some client is taking up way too much of his time." I had a small studio in Vermont for 20 years, starting small and doing a lot of portraits, both commissioned and not, so I love following your work. I have never caught the video bug, but if I still worked I would be doing it too.
Because of you I gave all of my Canon gear to my photographer daughter (she called her sister when it came and asked if I was dying) and went to Micro 4/3. Never looked back as my back no longer aches and the pictures are fine. Could have been Fuji, Sony, or any other smaller type. You have pretty much shown that good pictures come from good photographers and good technique.
If you would like I am sure we would all comment more. Keep it up.
Kirk: Have been reading, enjoying and benefitting for years. Occasionally post. I know nothing about and have very little interest in video. Frankly, my eyes cross when I read your technical discussions about it. I still skim them, though, thinking I ought to learn a bit because I work a lot in Africa and video documentation would come in handy sometimes. Anyway...Love your discussions of portrait techniques, philosophical musings and equipment reviews, especially with regard to stills photography. By the way, is the GH5 a major upgrade over the G85 for stills?
I read your blog just about every day. I agree with what most of the people are saying. Even the spirituality stuff, which I notice you sidle up to every now and then (when you are not working).
How about something on run-and-gun flash work (the Strobist approach?), with a single off-camera flash? Maybe with an assistant moving the flash forward and back. Profoto A-1? Plus some alternative to a flash stand? Using Alien Bees is cumbersome, even when I need them for groups.
And, yes, I am moving toward the spirituality stuff...
I'm still reading and enjoying your blog posts but ever since you switched to m43 from Sony, I am not as interest-invested in your content. I'm a Sony user, hoping to switch from Alpha-mount to E-mount next year. Your adventures in lighting, your MacGyvering on location and your astute dealings with clients are very educational and a joy to read about but I don't feel knowledgeable enough to comment on them.
I read almost every post. Your blog is the first in my "photography" bookmarks folder, so is the first when I open them all in tabs for my daily reading. Now give yourself a pat on the back and get back to work!
I'm not a pro photographer, can't afford to change to 4/3, don't do video, don't swim, don't have a dog. Why do I read every single post? Because there are very few bloggers who write as well, and none who do theatrical photography so superbly. Your prose is a treat, and the Zach theater posts are sublime.
Sometimes the blogger will engage his or her readers by asking them questions, or asking for their feedback on an issue, or conducting mini-polls.... just a thought.
I agree with the other commenter - lots more Sony photographers than micro 4/3, and I think people more into video are a younger generation less prone to blog commenting.
Kirk, you have posted numerous times about swimming and the pool, plus a few outstanding portraits of swimmers outside the pool. Would you be able to do a piece - or give some advice - to someone who's never done portraits IN the pool but is now asked to figure out how to do it, with which material, etc.? Thank you ever so much for considering. Best, Joachim
37 comments:
Sorry! Still reading!
And I still love that escalator photo.
Here! Here's a hug.
Channeling Jean-Paul Sartre?
no comment.
Your video windows display normally, but can't be played with any of my browsers.
Anonymous, it's all working here. You can just click the Vimeo link and see it on their site....
This blog is fantastic and I've benefited immensely from your generous posts. Thanks!
I always enjoy reading this blog, but rarely (never?) comment. I'm sorry about that.
This blog is great. Thank you for the ongoing narrative of your thoughts and observations.
The Man can track you if you leave comments...
When one's comments are taken the wrong way you stop leaving them.
Always read the blog, just not much into video. There's been a lot of video discussion lately.
I enjoy your blog a lot but your kind of photography is completely different than mine so I normally do not feel comfortable commenting.
In your photography you are completely in charge. You control the lighting and the positioning of your subjects. Your subjects are there because they want to be.
My photography is capturing the lives of those I care about. Lighting is often poor, I have no control over positioning, and my subjects can get annoyed if I take too many pictures or shoot too much video.
Things like low light capability, ability to crop, and location tracking matter a lot more to my style of photography than to yours.
With this kind of difference in perspective I feel it is better just to read and learn from you because my comments would talking past the points you are making.
"And if they asked me, I could write a book..."
I could very easily blab endlessly about your work. But it would start an unfortunate trend. I resonate very strongly with what you're doing. Truth told, when it comes to photography I'm very much a part-timer who picked up his dad's late-1930s vintage Zeiss Ikon folding camera in 1966 and looked for subjects that would speak to his heart while walking endlessly on the beach and recovering his marbles, after a rough ride toward a Stanford MA, a three-month paralysis, and some ill-advised '60s-style personal experimentation from which I thankfully and happily fully recovered.
Like you, I was an athlete (runner for 45 years, youth swimmer in the late 1940s). I've practiced yoga meditation as a life dharma daily since 1966. A deep interest has been practical spirituality - answering for myself, through daily experience, the Great Question that the sages of the East have asked since ancient times: what is it that people want? The answer they arrived at, by looking very objectively at the world, was "happiness, and freedom from suffering." (Even the murder imagines, however deludedly, that his act will bring him those boons.)
The tools of happiness are body, heart, will, mind, and soul. As a writer and seeker, I'm deeply interested in people who are demonstrating, in the arts, athletics, business, the arts, and life, how we can use our human tools expansively - gaining health, love, inner strength, wisdom, and joy. People who claim there are no values in the arts are deluded - contractive art by any sane measure is a betrayal of the universal human longing for freedom.
All of which demonstrates why you should NEVER send out a call for more blog comments, lest you be overrun by chronic wordslingers such as myself.
The further point being that I'm very happy to find stories of people who share how they are living their lives in ways that are clearly giving them happiness. Not an easy happiness - it never is easy - but in the struggle to do right. And VSL does that for me. It's like watching a good movie; all good movies are expansive, e.g., What Women Want, where Mel Gibson falls in the bathtub with a hair dryer and wakes up able to hear what women are thinking and morphs from a heartless womanizer into a sympathetic and supportive friend. By expanding his awareness he becomes admirable.
Same for your small victories and your dedication to helping good people do good things - or just helping people generally, and showing us the rewards, and what it takes in terms of concentration, energy, and determination. We cheer for you!
I'm reminded of another photographer, Nancy Brown, who shot for Revlon and other beauty companies, as well as lifestyle stock. She was amazingly generous about sharing her secrets - she won my heart by showing me through her books how to take photos of people that showed the goodness in them. Same for Jakub Ostrowski whose 500px simple portrait photos are marvelously revealing of his subjects' good side.
Anyway, kudos and thanks. Now you better tell me to shut up and go away.
I read them all but am not so good about telling you I appreciate the time you take to write the blog. I do very much like to read about the day to day background stuff it takes to be a professional photographer. The equipment articles are interesting and I can appreciate your evolving equipment needs but it causes me some grief because I start to question the gear I am using. I started thinking that I should consider Sony over my Fuji but them you surprised me and headed over to the Panasonic/Olympus camps so I was saved for awhile. Thanks for that because the Fuji really fits my needs completely. Carry on.
Well yes, cannot comment much on your swimming and/or video posts. But those about portraiture and/or cameras for still photography are great. I'm not doing this professionally, but I think I still learned a lot from you Kirk - so thanks!
Trolling for trolls? LOL
You run a great blog, and I'm consistently amazed at your energy and perspicacity.
In a world of hype and speculation, you are grounded in the reality of the marketplace.
Keep up the good work!
This blog is so integrated into my routine i opened it up and it reminded me i forgot to make my morning coffee. So i will do that and hope you will post something meanwhile ;)
You have saved me a lot of money and headaches in my Camera buying decisions and the way i handle clients. But your best posts for me is the more personal and more Philosophical in style.
Thanks
I'm still here and still reading!
Sometimes life gets in the way of making comments, sorry! But I still enjoy reading your thoughts on photography mixed with a dash of the real world. So much more readable than a pure gear obsessed site...almost like a novel in instalments perhaps!? Which reminds me, your novel is in the pile of "books to read"...I will read it, promise!!!!
So thanks....and keep on writing.
And a final comment about video. I'm an amateur who's interested in knowing more but I don't claim to always understand the technical bits of some of your writing....room for a book perhaps?
I always enjoy reading your writing and visit almost every day. You have certainly helped me on the technical side as well as inspired me creatively. Your generosity with your time and effort is very much appreciated.
A little about what I do as I think you're probably curious about your readers.. I shoot fashion videos set to music in locations in London. You've encouraged me to think more about what's in front of the camera than what's in it.
I know you have talked about editing video.. just wanted to add that I think editing is as creative as getting the right look on set.
Finally .. Thank You! for keeping us informed and entertained.
What runbei said, minus the spirituality. My comments have become so frequent and insubstantial that they’re like dandruff. Who needs more of that? In truth, they’re a way of saying “Hi, Kirk...thanks for that. How about you give us some more?” Readers can be a needy bunch.
Hi Kirk
Don't often comment as not sure I can add any value.
However, I love your "European" photos like this and the girl on the Spanish steps.
Please appreciate we may not comment - but I r one get immense pleasure from your blog - and actually learn quite a bit
Many thanks
Michael
Enjoy your blog Kirk but I'm with Anonymous and prefer to just read and learn and suck it up if I disagree.
Michael.
Kirk,
I very much appreciate the time and effort you put into your writing. Your sharing has helped and educated me. :-)
Question:
With the performance of your GH5s, do you still see a place for the upcoming Sony RX10 IV?
Cheers,
Jim
I have followed you since you threatened to stop the blog, years ago and Michael Johnston lamented about it. I read you every day, if you post. I even grumble if you don't post, saying "Some client is taking up way too much of his time." I had a small studio in Vermont for 20 years, starting small and doing a lot of portraits, both commissioned and not, so I love following your work. I have never caught the video bug, but if I still worked I would be doing it too.
Because of you I gave all of my Canon gear to my photographer daughter (she called her sister when it came and asked if I was dying) and went to Micro 4/3. Never looked back as my back no longer aches and the pictures are fine. Could have been Fuji, Sony, or any other smaller type. You have pretty much shown that good pictures come from good photographers and good technique.
If you would like I am sure we would all comment more. Keep it up.
Making a living is hard. All the more reason I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this blog.
Please keep writing..... and taking photos! Plus video, of course
I sometimes feel unappreciated too:
I am a swimming pool engineer.
We have a client who insists she has lost an expensive gold ring in one of our swimming pools.
Three times I have shut the pumps and filters down and checked all the strainers - to no avail, a time consuming job.
The dirty looks I got told me I was not believed... I think she thinks I am off to the pawnbrokers after work.
Anyway, I digress.
I really enjoy your blog as it encompasses my hobby ( photography) and my work ( swimming pools)
I may not comment much but I read you avidly.
Please continue.
Ian, from the UK.
Kirk: Have been reading, enjoying and benefitting for years. Occasionally post. I know nothing about and have very little interest in video. Frankly, my eyes cross when I read your technical discussions about it. I still skim them, though, thinking I ought to learn a bit because I work a lot in Africa and video documentation would come in handy sometimes. Anyway...Love your discussions of portrait techniques, philosophical musings and equipment reviews, especially with regard to stills photography. By the way, is the GH5 a major upgrade over the G85 for stills?
I read your blog just about every day. I agree with what most of the people are saying. Even the spirituality stuff, which I notice you sidle up to every now and then (when you are not working).
How about something on run-and-gun flash work (the Strobist approach?), with a single off-camera flash? Maybe with an assistant moving the flash forward and back. Profoto A-1? Plus some alternative to a flash stand? Using Alien Bees is cumbersome, even when I need them for groups.
And, yes, I am moving toward the spirituality stuff...
bill
14 words and 30 replies......hmmmmm
I'm still reading and enjoying your blog posts but ever since you switched to m43 from Sony, I am not as interest-invested in your content. I'm a Sony user, hoping to switch from Alpha-mount to E-mount next year. Your adventures in lighting, your MacGyvering on location and your astute dealings with clients are very educational and a joy to read about but I don't feel knowledgeable enough to comment on them.
I read almost every post. Your blog is the first in my "photography" bookmarks folder, so is the first when I open them all in tabs for my daily reading. Now give yourself a pat on the back and get back to work!
I'm not a pro photographer, can't afford to change to 4/3, don't do video, don't swim, don't have a dog. Why do I read every single post? Because there are very few bloggers who write as well, and none who do theatrical photography so superbly. Your prose is a treat, and the Zach theater posts are sublime.
Sometimes the blogger will engage his or her readers by asking them questions, or asking for their feedback on an issue, or conducting mini-polls.... just a thought.
Arg
I agree with the other commenter - lots more Sony photographers than micro 4/3, and I think people more into video are a younger generation less prone to blog commenting.
Kirk, you have posted numerous times about swimming and the pool, plus a few outstanding portraits of swimmers outside the pool. Would you be able to do a piece - or give some advice - to someone who's never done portraits IN the pool but is now asked to figure out how to do it, with which material, etc.? Thank you ever so much for considering. Best, Joachim
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