Your story really resonated with me. Back 1974 I took random slide photos of my family's farm in Missouri, USA. Things like water pumps (the farm never had running water), the outhouse, old rotting tractors, the barn and sheds, the cow pond I spent so much time at as a kid. Also my parents and grand parents in various settings on the farm. Little did I realize at the time, all of this would soon be gone. I found the box of slides many years later in a move and scanned them. They are now treasures of my past and reminders of the much simpler and wonderous times of my youth.
That's such a wonderful story, that's so special that you've been able to scan those slides and you've now got those memories in a tangible format! That's something I found really profound when I was editing the photos for this video - it was a great feeling knowing I had these snapshots full of nostalgia that I could now look back at anytime I want. It's made me want to go out again and try and shoot some more photos from this location and explore other locations that are significant to my past. Thanks for sharing your experience 🙏🏻😊 I really appreciate it.
To me, that's what art is all about, personal expression that's deeply felt. We don't always need sunsets and sunrises from the top of the world, although they are nice.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting Steve! You're absolutely right, deeply felt personal expression is a huge draw for me when I look at the work of other photographers and I guess i'm glad I'm starting to understand what that looks like for my own photography now 😊.
Thanks Peter, i'm glad you share that view with me! The minute I stopped chasing likes, my relationship with my photos and the things I choose photograph changed for the better! No question!
I'm working on a number of personal photography projects based around significant childhood memories of places and people (and my first RU-vid video too) so I completely connect with your approach here. And don't apologise for being self indulgent, all out photography is taken through an ever evolving prism of our lives and experiences, if it wasn't it may as well be AI generated. Subscribed and looking forward to seeing more of your work and videos.
Thanks so much for watching, commenting, and showing your support buddy! I really appreciate! Your projects sound really great - focussing on what’s significant to you will always lead to really rewarding work in my opinion! I also feel it gives viewers such a great insight into your life and experiences! Would love to see how your projects evolve!
Thanks so much for watching and commenting! It's great to know that you've had a similar experience to me and you've found it rewarding! Refreshing is definitely the right word 👌🏻
Thanks so much for saying that, I think that's definitely what i'm being drawn to. It's sometimes hard to know where to shoot or what to shoot but starting somewhere familiar that you have a connection to is never going to be a bad idea 👌🏻. Thanks for watching!
A small rural community that is part of your history, what an opportunity for creating a Zine about the community. As you mentioned there is nothing that would make for a great photograph but the historical aspect of the area, old farm equipment, old houses and barns, overgrown landscape. Yet it produces wool, meat, and other produce that helps keep the area moving. I found it to be a very interesting program. Keep up the inspiring work!
Thanks so much James, really appreciate you watching and commenting and i'm glad to hear you enjoyed the video! I think you're absolutely right, creating a body of work and a project from this location would be so worthwhile! Watch this space 😊
I liked your photos a lot. Its good that you have taken the time to go back now. I have just returned to the village of my birth after over 50 years and it has changed so much it did not give me the feeling that you had. All the old and interesting places were covered in new builds.
Thanks so much Peter, really glad to hear you enjoyed the photos! I'm sorry to hear your experience wasn't quite as enjoyable - it's always a shame when places get redeveloped and that sense of history and those past memories get lost.
Good video. We have to know the importance of photography, a documentary of life and events. Once I got into photography before my daughter was born, I bought a Pentax Spotmatic F around 1972. Now I have a great set of photos of my daughter growing up, same for my son and wife. Each photo is a slice in time, to be remembered forever. These photos/memories will be passed down or distributed to other family members. I don't think you hare off your rocker, I think we all come to the realization that a quirky pix of a fire hydrant is cute, but anything family related has a lot more weight. Keep it up. As I now say, Photos (stills) are forever (pinned to your walls), and videos get lost on a hard drive.
Thanks so much, really glad you enjoyed the video! I love that you had the foresight to purchase a camera to document your time as a family, those photos will never lose their impact or significance and I guess I view these photos in a similar way. Sure, they may not be portraits or snapshots of the members of my family, but they give me the same feeling when I look at them and that's something i'm so thankful to have discovered.
I've moved around the UK with my work for the last 40+ years. For the last 25 of those years, I've lived in a part of the UK for which I have little, if any, real affection - though living here was useful for my daily commute - as living in London was never going to be an option, financially. I retired recently and have slowly come to terms with the fact that I need to at least document the area in which I live as spending extended periods of time in the parts of the UK I love isn't viable until my wife retires and we can move. A project is on the cards. Great video and keep up the good work.
I completely understand, I guess i'm lucky to live in an area that has a lot of historical significance for me and my family but I appreciate when people relocate that connection can be harder to find, especially in places that feel unfamiliar. As you say, a project is a fantastic way to start building that relationship to a location - i'm sure you'll learn so much about your local area and no doubt you'll find many aspects of it that interest you! Thanks for watching and for leaving such a thoughtful comment, I really appreciate your support 🙏🏻
Thanks so much for watching! So great to hear this video has inspired you! Amazing, I'm sure you'd have a great time documenting it with your camera 👌🏻😊 I really appreciate your comment
This was a beautiful video mate, totally know what you mean when it comes to places like this. For others they may be the most boring in the world, but for you they hold more than greatest of locations ever could! Glad you came up in my home feed!
I really appreciate this mate! Really enjoyed your videos and I’m really glad to hear you’ve found mine! Means a lot that you’ve taken the time to watch and leave such a thoughtful comment! Thanks bud! 🙏🏻
Thanks Chris i needed to see this video. I have been soul searching and trying to find a genre of photography that inspires me. I never thought of revisiting my old places and how those places will look in my photos based on my own personal and emotional viewpoint. I am going to explore that area of photography thanks to your video
Really glad you found this one helpful! I completely understand how you feel, I've been there myself. I think, If I could perhaps offer you a piece of advice, it would be to remove genre from the equation - avoid that limitation and just immerse yourself in a location and just shoot what catches your eye and let your curiosity dictate what you shoot whether that be a landscape vista, a portrait or a bin on the side of the road 😂. You'll find when you look back it'll all still feel like your work and the genre won't be important
Excellent video Chris!!! And is no ramblings. This philosophical subject in Photography apply to all arts and probably is the basic foundation on creativity.
Thanks for watching and for commenting Robert! I totally agree with you, I find the more detailed, intimate shots far more engaging, there's real benefit in not painting the whole picture in a photo - it's nice to leave some things to the viewers imagination
Thanks so much, I really appreciate the support! 😊 Makes me happy to hear that this resonates with you, I think you should definitely make that trip if possible, I'm sure you'd find it really rewarding - it's funny how a camera offers a completely different perspective on these familiar places
It really was, I feel so lucky to have grown up in the countryside! Absolutely, places like this are pretty timeless in North Wales - really helps that feeling of nostalgia 😊. Thanks for watching and commenting bud!
Yeah I agree, it almost feels like the artist becomes separate from the work. For me, learning about the artist, their history, makes me appreciate their work and understand their work so much better. It's great to hear that you have a similar view! Appreciate your comment and thank you for watching 🙏🏻
