Insights into Eric Mencher's Award-winning Photography 

Dear Mr Mencher and Mr Kilbee, I felt compelled to write because I just watched you on You Tube / Photographic Eye and I had an epiphany watching it! I am a hobbyist photographer who has spent a vast amount of money on Leica and Nikon systems which I love.BUT I realised, and it’s only taken me ten years until this morning, that I have been far too focused technically on having the best equipment (because tragically I can afford it, if you get my meaning!) rather than composition and I marvelled at your pictures of Guatemala and by the way I think your colour images were every bit as good as your monachrome! I bought all these fast lenses (expensive) and got obsessed with bokeh and foreground separation which is I realise this moring is a stupid rabbit hole! All is not lost though because I now get the camera is just the tool and light, colour and composition is where my attention needs to be.I will not be throwing away my expensive tools but I have a new perspective on them, and my Iphone thanks to you BOTH and I really appreciate the vidos! ATB Robert

Eric is an old friend of mine as well as his wife Kass Mencher! She is also a very talented artist! Please check out her work too!

Thanks so much Alex! You are a great interviewer with such a wonderful way of drawing out answers that I didn’t even know were possible! Your smile, your passion, your knowledge, and your joy are infectious and I can’t thank you enough!

Being a smartphone-shooter, I would love to see the process of his editing as well. Loved his photos.

Love the simplicity of the equipment. Street photography often requires blending in: Instamatic and iPhone is a great choice because they are practically invisible. I'm an intruder or target with something fancier & more expensive. It's also an artistic constraint, like drawing in charcoal or playing a cheap cigar box guitar. Or even B&W. Create the best I can with what I have.

I have not been slapped this hard by a photographer’s work since I discovered Salgado. I have no words. Thank you for making this video, and thanks to Eric for sharing his gift with the world.

Great interview Alex! I clicked on the video because I could think of only one great street photographer who uses an iPhone, and it was my friend Eric! I knew Eric in Philadelphia back in the late ‘80s and ‘90s. At that time I joined a group of photographers who had formed a cooperative photo gallery called Level 3, which included Eric. In my opinion he is one of the greatest street photographers of all time, consistently putting out stunning work every day! I’m so glad to see you bring such great photographers to your audience on RU-vid!

Blown away by the series in Guatemala. Was there for christmas; two weeks were obviously not enough to scratch the surface of these amazing people.

Great interview Alex! I’m glad you featured an iPhone photographer. The minimalist approach with the iPhone (I use the 13 Pro) is great for photography. In fact, I use the iPhone more than my “traditional” cameras.

Excellent and insightful interview. He is a master of seeing and that is what important and not the camera you use.

My first camera (age 12) was also a Kodak Instamatic (134). Simply a box that held 126 format (26mm square) film cassettes with the only "control" being which of the few film choices were available (plus you could mount a flash cube). I got some great images with that--you obviously don't need high-end gear (but some images need way more "IQ" than lesser gear, like a phone, can provide or they just don't work). Such a great point on the importance that all art forms have on each other. Also agreed that digital can often be "sterile" and Instagram just doesn't do justice to most images--they just look so much better larger (and especially printed). For sure follow your heart and don't worry about developing a "style" or what other people think--only you need to be happy with the images you produce (unless of course it's for hire).

Yes, please - more of these kinds of interviews/conversations. ❤️ I’ve been watching your videos for a couple yrs now, & always gain something from them. Thank you for your hard work & personal transparency in your own photographic journey.

One of if not the best photographer interview I have ever seen. Mr. Mencher is so talented. So good in his explanations that he essentially teaches the viewer. This interview will be watched again and again and again. Initially viewed 3/5/2024.

Cartier-Bressan opined that "sharpness is a bourgeois concept." Point well taken, in my opinion. There is a time and place for technical perfection, but it's greatly overrated for street and documentary photography.

Iphone plus snapseed, that's what I thought from the beginning. However he has some very strong images which would look good even if not heavily edited.

I’m so grateful Alex for having a such a great conversation with Eric, showing us that with any camera you can make stunning images.

I love these conversations Alex! Encouraged that the tool is a phone, and a stark reminder that it is the work that makes the photographer, not the tool. Very inspirational to see.

The best example where the photographic vision matter, not the gear. Thanks Alex!

Very inspiring to hear that, to scratch the surface of the familiar in photography, it's definitely encouraging to just go out and photograph whatever seems overly-familiar and everyday. My daughter shot her first roll of film yesterday and were all taken in those sorts of places and was a great example of seeing it differently with great results, so will be just walking out the front door in future instead of looking further afield for interesting photos.

Great interview Alex, Eric's work is nothing less then stunning!

Wow, just wow. This has to be one of the best photography interviews I have seen in a long long time. Love Eric's process and work.

Remarkable photos, really enjoyed this chat with Eric.

Great episode Alex and thank you to Eric. Do I use my smart phone for photography, of course I do, it's with me all of the time. And yes I use cameras and lenses which I feel is a better user experience and delivers much better quality. The smartphone I do use for street very few people notice you!

Eric is one of my greatest inspirations. And he seems like a super humble guy. I've met a lot of rude photographers that weren't half as good as he is, and he always takes his time to respond people on Instagram. It's awesome!

@Alex, Activate your Windows! ;-)

Great interview, great content! I just upgraded to the Galaxy S-23 Ultra strictly for the camera. It is far better than my first professional digital camera, plus 8K video with image stabilization!?!? Eric's pictures are proof that the photographers eye and mind are what makes a photograph good, not the gear. The beauty of cell phone camera quality increasing so much is the camera manufacturers have to stay on their toes. Crop frame sensor cameras are as good, or better than, full frame cameras of just a few years ago. Photographers really do benefit from the increase in technology, and cameras are the same price as they were 20 years ago! Thanks for posting!

Great chat and excellent images from Mr Mencher 👍.

Exactly the I phone or phone camera gives you the freedom of whimsy and spontaneity

This photographer really inspired me to completely ditch my traditional cameras and only use the phone camera. It's simple (as amateur photographer and without assignment): You don't want to carry a larger digital camera as you like simplicity and want to stay almost invisible on the street. Therefore imho only a compact camera (Fuji X100V, Sony RX100, Ricoh GR 3) or a smartphone makes sense. As smartphones are getting better and better you just use them for everyday/street/documentary photography.

Brilliant interview. Such an inspiring watch.

Well thanks Alex for introducing what maybe for me one of the best photographers I had never heard of. Really had a strong emotional feeling about his images both b&w and colour. . ..and from an iphone ... until now one of my pet hates along with instagram. Really does prove that if you have the photographic eye you can produce good work with any camera, Btw my first camera was a Kodak Brownie 127 although I had use of my grandmothers Rajah folding camera from the 1920's. Plenty of light leaks around the edges.

"Instermatic to iphone" what a fantastic line Sir

Wonderful conversation!!

A lot is just luck, says the modest man. A Nobel Prize winner, Louis Pasteur said, “Luck favours the prepared mind.” It's practically impossible to go to Guatemala randomly and then accidentally bump into a procession. It happened to me in Spain, when driving my car and the camera bag was in the back, and I could not stop. Before smartphone times. Even today, operating my smartphone while driving is a no-go.

Beautiful portfolio. Never heard of this photographer before - my limitation. Thank you Alex.

Mr. Mencher has an awareness of himself since his childhood and knew what he wanted to do in life. I had the same awareness of myself but not the passion for photography that I do now. Being raised in a poor family limits the opportunities one has.

Fantastic images and interview.

Watching this again. I'm a terrific fan of both E & K Mencher and the fact that they use the iPhone. You also use your phone a lot and the photos are excellent. Mr Mencher is right; you can concentrate on the image and not the bells and whistles. To this end I have sold 50% of my camera gear and upgraded my Galaxy. I'm too far gone into Android to switch to iPhones now. Thanks for this inspiring interview.

Just a fantastic interview. Discovered Eric’s work about a year ago and have been hoping to find an interview online with him talking about his process. Thank you.

Fantastic images 🎉

I’m gonna go out 0n a limb and say Guatemala is 10% Maya/kiche, 10% Spaniard/European and 80% Ladino (a mix of the first two) an the Indians don’t like us and the Spaniard European don’t accept us, and that 9s the reality of my growing up in Guatemala.

Great interview. Thanks so much for doing this. I hope that you will do more of this!

Great stuff. I think phone photography is the next best thing to being invisible since phones are ubiquitous. They give more freedom than "real"cameras in that they reduce the feeling of self-consciousness for both the photographer and the subject

The Instamatic was the best at the time

It’s the eye not the camera that makes a photographer and thank you for a great interview and your time. iPhone 12 max day light hours and Samsung 9 for darker photos.

Thank you. Lovely insightful interview. Look forward to you covering Vineet Vohra one day soon!

My parents had a pair of instamatics and I remember the film cartridges that were used along with the cube flash. I still have them packed away with a few unused cubes.

I hate my iPhone camera. It’s my instrument of last resort. The lens smears,lights streak and zooming is not possible. Just setting the camera up in the phone slows me down. I love my dedicated camera for its ease of use. I like his photos so I guess he is ahead of me there too!

Mencher's work is so good. I'm an admirer. I use the same iPhone model he does and wonder how much he shoots in RAW on the iPhone.

Nostalgia I think is something in a picture that taps into our subconscious it may be the scene itself or a very small part of the picture. Remember pictures that we take now will be the nostalgia of tomorrow.

Love this man's photographs. Just wonderful.

Great video, I agree. Outside the door there are opportunities, train stations, shops, streets etc Go shooting 📷❤️

I do enjoy these conversations. I feel I am a student listening to a lecture. So interesting, thank you. 😊

I love these interviews. Thank you for the inspiration Alex. Eric's work is amazing. Has he published any books,

Great😍

Thank you so much for this interview Alex! Not only did you introduce me to the amazing work of Alex Mencher, who I now follow. But also to the Snapseed app, which I hadn’t come across. Most importantly, Eric inspired me to take my phone for a photo walk this evening, to try and tell the story of the town I have been staying in for the past 5 weeks. Thank you both!

i have shot so many amazing images in my own yard. so its so very true

Questions to Eric Mencher: a) do you shoot in which resolution with your phone? b) do you shoot in JPEG, RAW or both?

Fantastic discussion. As always, on top of putting out the quality and interesting content on photography. Thank you again!

Excellent video! Thanks!

Thanks Alex for the wonderful interview with Eric. I love his work and find it very inspirational.

it is never about the camera or the tools which we use to create a piece of art.

Incredible photographs. I would shoot with my iPhone more if I just had a grip with a bluetooth shutter trigger. I find the ergonomics frustrating. Thanks for turning us on to this!

Thank you very much for these moments that have the gift of inspiring me. In the end, I think that the relevance is not so much the camera, as what is between its viewfinder and the photographer's neck. Thank you very much!

Such a great interview! Eric’s photos are so inspiring and loved hearing his thoughts behind his artistic process.

This guy is the bollocks. Fab.

This was fantastic Alex. So enjoyable and enlightening. More please.

Live interviews are hard to do well. This one is good. Thanks, it inspired me to dust off my camera. One topic that would interest me to see covered as thoughtfully as you approach things is the right and wrongs around Street Photography. Not the how to, but the should you. Much of what photographers pick up on RU-vid about street photography is more about stalking and less about creating art. In that context, many of the "tips and tricks" taught are illegal in some countries, Germany and Switzerland come to mind. I’ve even seen it suggested that as "street photographers" it’s ok to ignore local laws. The laws are to protect privacy, and I would offer a hardy f*** you to those content providers. If I may add one more topic: examples of good street photography without invading people’s privacy. For example, there’s a German photographer, whose name escapes me, that does some nice work within the constraints.

The square format - good memories: Yashica Mat (124G IIRC), then Rolleiflex, then Hasselblad 503 & SWC. But while these cameras have a square format, I always shot with the notion to crop in post to portrait or landscape, only incidentally to square format. No, the camera does not make your portfolio.

Most enjoyable ,Luv it .Thanks Jeff NYC

I love this, I love the fact that this photographer isn’t a specific camera company die hard. I love that he is a great example of taking images is with a tool and the real photograph is your creativity and the image that is in your mind.

Thanks

Very inspiring! Love to see more interviews with great photographers

Great

I’m in awe. Alex, thank you for this video. Great discussion / interview and possibly the most amazing collection of photographs I’ve ever seen.

Thank you so much for doing these segments. I learn so much from your channel.

Yes the right wing ultra conservative religious 'morality' police are at work. Keep up your fabulous work

Does he use a tripod with iPhone?