You may profess to "hate" YouTube, and videos in general, but I think there's a ton of great stuff there for photographers. You just have to get picky.

 Bitch about videos all you want but you're missing some good stuff about photography when you turn your nose up to specific YouTube channels. I thought today I'd talk about one photographer whose content always interests me both as a hobbyist photographer (I am) but also as someone who has earned the vast majority of my income for the last 38 years as a full time, working photographer (also me). He's not a "walkie-talkie" video maker and he talks pretty fast but I find him to be one of the more interesting working photographers on the web. With credentials!

I'm talking about a guy named Justin Mott who lives and works in Hanoi, Vietnam. He works for lots of major companies, international in scope, and he also does a fair amount of work, editorially, for prestigious outlets like The New York Times. (Don't like the New York Times? Go read something else).

Here is a link to a video he posted on his channel today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=248KwNdCRoc

His video walks the audience through the nuts and bolts of his recent assignment for the New York Times. It's about old and new coffee culture in Vietnam (coffee, a subject close to my heart) and Justin walks you through every step of the two day project with loads of really good images coupled with great observations about how to work with complete strangers, new locations and the pressures of hitting deadlines while still delivering exactly what the client wants. 

There's none of the pompous, "I am the world's greatest expert in..... blah, blah photography." There's no oppressive hubris. Just really interesting nuts and bolts. He starts by explaining how he was contacted, how he discussed the project with a photo editor at the Times. How he bid the job. How he selected his gear for the assignment (don't whine too much, he's a Leica shooter --- both M and SL). How he works. Why he does these kinds of assignments with no lighting gear. And even a step-by-step explanation of the post-shooting logistics for editing, labeling and delivering the work. 

The thing that caught my interest in watching the video and listening to his work strategies is just how quickly he works, from shot to shot, how largely invisible he is even though he is a larger caucasian man in a sea of Vietnamese natives. And how he can make himself fit in to this different environment without drawing much attention, and how his professional attitude provides a template for him to get work done. I think it boils down to a mindset, and experience. 

There is no swarm of assistants endlessly circling around him. No stylists, no art directors, etc. In this particular editorial/visual description he's very much a one man band. While many bloggers and YouTubers pontificate about what they think photography is all about Justin is actually hands-on with the reality of commercial work. And editorial work. Where the YouTube people who make thinly disguised advertorials for camera makers as their only job constantly suggest the need for the fastest AF cameras, the largest resolution sensors, the need for for long fast zooms and short, even faster zooms Justin shows a more realistic approach. Using single focal length M lenses adapted to an SL (mirrorless) camera and working with a much smaller selection of focal lengths than any of the wannabe "influencers" would have you believe is possible. It's a reality versus fantasy antidote. 

Justin is scruffy and talks pretty fast but his work is good and what he's saying about "how he works" is equally good. Valuable. Even to someone with decades of experience. He's also working in a different culture and on the other side of the world but still is able to attract the clients he needs in order to be successful. Both aesthetically and financially.

Some of his videos are more gear oriented and he is an unapologetic Leica user. But the video I've linked to shows a job that could have been done with any good camera system. In the hands of a real pro. His reasons for using the Leica stuff aren't dealbreakers to enjoying the heart of the video. 

I'm going to share a few more of my favorite channels so my video- reticent readers are exposed to the stuff I look at. And, just to let you know, I am not a big fan of "My name is Bob and I have a video camera strapped to my chest and I'm going to film myself walking through some urban streets annoying all the people around me and then bragging about how great my mostly mediocre images are because I shoot with: Sony, Fuji, Leica, Nikon or any other "fill in the blank" camera system."

My favorite videos are about working artists (Paul Reid), working commercial photographers (Justin Mott) and people who are making a living selling their prints and talking about HOW they shoot instead of WHAT KIND OF GEAR THEY SHOOT WITH (Mostly James Popsys). 

I know, I know, you love to read print and you hate video. If that's the case just read this twice and ignore the link. No one will know....

typing fast is a blessing. written on the flat keyboard that came packaged with my iMacPro computer. 

Time elapsed: 45 minutes; including proof-reading. Advice to other bloggers: drink more coffee so you can think and type faster...