Photography has taught how to listen to silence. I discovered that silence is not absence, it's balance. Nothing makes sense without silence. That's what I seek in my photography.
On Silence
in journal
On self doubt
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I used to think I was the only one hearing that voice. The voice inside telling me it's not worth trying, I'm not good enough, it's been done before... until I realized I was not the only one. And that, even though it can be painful, this is the way.
On Film Photography
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Film photography is a topic that stirs passions. In this video, I tell you about my experience with film, what I think about it, and why I shoot mostly digital today.
Photography is all about timing
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In this video, I share a very recent example of being at the right place, at the right moment. That's what photography is about, for the most part.
Editing 6 winter images (iPad and Adobe Lightroom CC)
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In this video, I edit 6 images I made this winter on my iPad using Adobe Lightroom CC.
Wide and fast
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I love my 35mm f/1.4 lens. At that focal length, it's relatively wide while offering a very wide aperture. The images I create with it remind me a bit of the medium format look.
I like it so much, that I wanted to try other fast, but even wider, lenses. And that's what I did!
The one rule I cannot break when I purchase new camera gear
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I like cameras and lenses like any other photographer, but I know that owning a lot of gear only brings problems and makes my job harder. I have a few requirements that a new piece of equipment has to meet before I buy it, but there's one rule I cannot break no matter what.
Nothing will ever beat good timing
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The snow and ice are melting really quick, and they are revealing all kind of scenes. I stumbled upon this one during my morning walk yesterday: an American flag that had been underwater for a while.
phone
“real camera”
I knew there was an image there, so I turned on my compact camera and started to look for the right angle. After just a few seconds, it died. "Battery exhausted". I couldn't believe it.
I knew it was about to die when I left home, and made the terrible mistake of not bringing an extra battery. So I did the only thing I could do: I pull out my iPhone 7 and took a shot.
I immediately loved the result and I wanted to capture it again with a better camera. So I went home, grabbed a new battery, and soon enough I was back at the scene. It had taken me half an hour, but it was too late. Everything that made the image work earlier was just not there anymore: the Sun was higher in the sky and the reflections on the water looked bad; also the wind had picked up creating small waves.
It goes to show that camera gear does matter, but nothing will ever beat good timing: being at the right place, at the right moment.
My morning walk
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In this video, I invite to come along on my morning walk. I'll show you some of my favorite spots where I've made some of my images.
Contact sheets from Michigan City
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I've been taking many more images than I usually do lately. It's been so cold that I need to keep moving to stay warm, so I don't have as much time to think about the composition. I shoot every angle that looks interesting, and go through those shots later from a warm home.
Thing is, I delete a lot of pictures. I felt like it was a waste, so I created a few contact sheets that I share with you in this video.
More info about contact sheets:
Is photography lonely?
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Following up on this week's newsletter, in this video I discuss loneliness when taking photos. Also, a few images I made on that beautiful snowy day.
POV photography in the snow at Notre Dame
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Rachel and I visited the Notre Dame campus on a beautiful and snowy morning. I made some images and recorded a POV video.
Photographing the unseen in St Joseph, Michigan
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This is the video of the day trip to Michigan I talked about in last week's newsletter. I went there trying to capture the cold, and there's no better place to do so around here than Lake Michigan.
Don't fight your gear
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It breaks my heart to see other photographers fighting their gear. Every second they spend adjusting the camera settings to get the perfect exposure, is a second they are not paying attention.
I'm a huge fan of automatic modes (I use either Program or Aperture). I use autofocus, and I don't even know what I have the custom buttons set up to do.
My camera does a pretty good job most of the time, and when it doesn't, it's easy to correct in post.
This gives me the freedom to focus on what really matters: making the image.
Let your camera do its thing, and focus on doing your part. Spend less time changing the settings, and more time moving around.
It was just perfect
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There's a light down the road. I pass by it almost every day, and most times I'll snap a picture of two. I've seen it in all conditions: sunny and clear, stormy and rainy, white and snowy. I thought I'd seen all this place had to offer... until a couple of days ago. It felt like I'd just walked into a movie. It didn't look real. It was so beautiful... just perfect.
Photography makes you feel alive
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This is the video of the snowstorm I was talking about a few days ago. I hope I was able to communicate how excited I was of being out there making images, and I hope that encourages you to do the same.
I also got to make a bunch of images, shown at the end of the video.
Miserable... and alive
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We got yet another snowstorm. While the other ones had come overnight, this one happened during the day so I had the chance to go out and photograph it.
It was brief but very intense, a mix of heavy snow and sleet, and some strong winds. You wouldn't be blamed for calling those conditions miserable.
Yet somehow, I loved it and felt sad when it was over. For over an hour, I got soaked, I was cold, my cameras were taking a beating... all of that made me feel so alive.
That's what photography is for me. A tool of discovery, to experience moments that I would otherwise avoid in exchange for some comfort.
How to use snow to make better images
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With all the snow we're getting here lately, I thought it'd be useful to make a video sharing some of the techniques, tricks, tips... whatever you want to call them, I use when I shoot in the snow.
A day in the snow
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We got some more snow, so I went for a walk around town trying to make the most of it.
The images that exist now
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A couple of days ago, I talked about the images that don't exist yet, and how I usually get excited about the images that I'm about to make. I also talked about the snow we were going to get that day, and in this video, you can see the result. You can see the images that didn't exist, that do now.
It's time to wonder about the next ones.