Stories, Inspirations, Photographs - everything in Black & White
My goal is to inspire you to create beautiful and meaningful things in your life and follow your passions.
My passion is Black & White Photography (as well as videos/ movies/ stories).
The world looks just beautiful in monochrome: Abstract, mysterious, timeless. We will go on a journey together and cover inspirational topics, practical (photographic) advices, insights from the masters, travels to fascinating places, etc.
Feel free to comment to the videos and share your thoughts with me. And if you like what I do, please help me to spread the love for visual stories in Black and White. If not, please keep this to yourself ;-) Thanks for your support.
(For more information about me and what I do, please visit my website www.ralfmartini.com)
All are great black and white photographers, but one that wasn't mentioned who is also great in his work that wasn't mentioned Michael Kenna. He as a special fine are landscape style that would fit perfectly with the list you shared
While I appreciate the admiration you have regarding my panoramic images, they are not public domain and you needed to request permission and rights to use them in the promotion of your channel. You in no way contacted me beforehand.
I thought you'd like a little bit of free marketing. I did not took advantage of your images in any kind of way. I just showed great work done by great artists and the copyright is completely theirs/ yours (which I also mentioned).
@@theBWexperience That's not the same as asking for permission for using someone's images. Again, I appreciate the admiration, but you should have asked me first.
A total and complete inspiration - as a naturalist, conservationist, master photographer and human being. I take my hat off and stand in awe .. .. .. .. .. Thank you.
you summed it up so well character and emotion i first saw his work at the Michael hoppen gallery 20 years ago and it was great to have your view on him this was a great reminder
I love learning about Tichy. I truly believe that imperfection and mystery are very useful in creating images with character. Camera technology has made it so easy to create perfection but the result is often clinical. Thanks so much!
Yes, I totally agree. The trend is to have even more megapixels and sharper images. And if somebody uses AI in the editing process, the images will even be more clinical. So I would rather do the opposite and to add a bit of mystery and wonder 😀
My favorite format of all time is the 6x17 format. My favorite 6x17 format photographers (and books) are: 1) Michael Ruetz (Swiss - "Scottish Symphony" New York Graphic Society 1982) 2) Gary Irving (American - "Places of Grace" University of Illinois Press 1999) 3) Josef Koudelka (Czech- "Chaos" Phaidon Press 1999)
@@theBWexperience Fan Ho, John free, Michael kenna, Paul hart , Ian Brabham, Joel tjintjelaar , Sebastian salgado , Jack curran , Matt black just to name a few 😊 two of them are dead now but all on instagram very inspiring 😀
I don’t think any of Claudio’s images are AI generated (though some might be that I don’t know of). I felt (like some others) that some of Keizot’s photos were AI generated but no obvious signs of it so they might not be any. With some photos it’s obvious while with others it’s not. AI is fine but I wish the creator would tell if asked: many people asked keisot if his photos were AI and he never answered.
On his website Claudio Dell‘Osa claims that these are photographs. Before checking that I also thought that he just uses Photoshop/etc. to create that look and not AI. But nowadays nobody really knows for sure 🙈 Nevertheless I thinks it‘s a very creative way to make (mysterious) portraits.
As with any social media platform, you have to use it properly to get some value out of it. I too follow some channels that distract me more that I get value (e.g. NBA channels, etc.). Thanks for your comment 🖤
It‘s funny that you mention him. I have had him on the list and follow him on RU-vid as well. Great stuff. But I hat to make the cut as I already showed 21 photographers in this episode 😀 Thanks for your comment/ recommendation 🖤
I enjoyed this. Just found your channel and subbed. I enjoy the creative use of low contrast in some of the Landscape photography you highlighted. Something I'd like to explore myself.
Thanks for leaving such a nice comment 🖤 You probably mean Noel Bodle, right? I will probably travel to Southern England this summer, so his work is also a source of inspiration to me.
I think every photographer in this video used Photoshop/Lightroom/etc to some degree. That‘s a way they want to express their vision. It seems that this is a general trend in photography. One can like it or not. AI nowadays is so capable that we get suspicious quickly. But again it can also be a nice source of inspiration. I can get a great idea for a photo project (which I want to shoot on film for example) from an AI created image. The thing is, one should not call oneself a photographer when the image is completely created by AI. On the other hand, using AI in Photoshop to remove unwanted subjects is a nice tool. What do you think?
sehr fein ! Einer der wenigen Gründe heute noch auf Film zu fotografieren. Schau dir mal die Arbeiten von Michael von Graffenried und Jens Olof Lasthein an.
Nice video , I just watched the Venice one . My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy this year . I need to decide which cameras to bring . Probably not my 4x5 or Hasselblad as they are too bulky Perhaps I will go holga and m3 !? I think Venice might be a pain in butt in July
Thanks for your comment. Venice is most beautiful before the crowds gather. The best time is very early in the morning (before the sunrise) and until appx 9am. Then you will be mesmerized 😉 Regarding your camera: It depends on the stories you want to tell and the things you want to capture. The Holga is a very special tool. It will not always work in Venice but maybe that could make a difference. The M3 even with the widest lens (50mm) lens could be too narrow in some circumstances. But again, if that is your style than that‘s fine. If I would go to Venice again, I would take a 21mm and a 35mm lens with me as I would like to capture more of its outstanding architecture. Hope that helps.
A beautiful collection of photographs that demonstrate the real measure of art is not sharpness and detail but in telling stories or raising questions. Thanks for sharing
It depends on what stories you want to tell. Salgado had the urge to make the world aware of all the suffering in Africa in order to provike change. And I feel also moved by his landscape/nature images where there is no suffering. But I get your point, we feel more connected to other human beings.
This man is in a class of his own! A truly inspiring photographer who fully understands the human condition. He also uses the medium of BW photography to full effect.
Thank you for this video. My only feedback is that sometimes the music distracts from the content (for example, at 0:30, it's too loud compared to Salgado's voice), but there are times that the music is fine (e.g., at 2:10, Salgado's voice is clear). Thank you for putting together this video. After I got into photography, I bought several Salgado books, his photos tell incredible stories. If I had the money, I would buy the special editions, but those are luxury items. I'm happy with the regular books. You got a new subscriber :)
Thank you so much for your feedback! That‘s very helpful! To me the regular editions of the books are just fine. Or is the print/paper that much better in the special editions?
A copy of his work, in its entirety, should have been sent out with Voyager 1, because it is a true representation of the human race in all its heartbreaking and profound ways. Stunning artist.
Sadly, what I always learn from videos like this is that I'm NOT an artist and I'll NEVER be an artist. And the sooner I accept this, the better off I'll be. It should be enough that once in awhile I get an okay (not great) pic if I'm lucky.
Certainly the risk of watching these kind of videos is that you start comparing yourself to the masters who made thousands of pictures every year for 20/30/40 years and you see just the tip of the iceberg, their 50 best images. So this is not fair. Don‘t be to hard on yourself! Everyone is an artist to some degree. The best thing you can do is doing more of the thing you love doing the most. If you spent more and more time doing that, you do not only feel happier, you also get much better at it and your joy of doing the thing you love doing the most can inspire other people as well. I learned that lesson this year, too. Not all of us can be and will be superstars. We have a different role. But I believe that we should pursue what makes us feel happy and alive, so that we will have a positive impact on others (and that can have a ripple effect). Maybe your work will inspire a future „superstar“. Who knows. But the most important thing is to focus on yourself and what makes you truely happy.
Keep a pocket Canon 310 Elph in your jacket pocket when you go out. Keep lint off it. I have a pile of expensive Fuji X gear, but never take it out for many reasons. My 310 Elph has given me amazing pics, and now with Topaz Photo AI, there goes the sky grain.
@@sclogse1 Having just gotten a Z8, there's no Elphs in my future. 😄One of the lenses I got is the (relatively) cheap 25-50. With that, in a backpack it's weightless, no excuse not to always take it out.
Thanks for this video Ralf. I have his book as well and it is indeed a modern classic in my opinion. I love his work and am very inspired by it. I also enjoyed and am inspired by your Holga aircraft images. Very well done.
Thanks so much for your lovely words! I own Salgado‘s book „Genesis“ and it is much more stunning than the images on the screen, obviously. Glad, that you feel the same about his work.
