The New Photo Blog
I’m a huge YouTube user. I watch everything from badger documentaries to wrestling podcasts.
Lately, I’ve stumbled on the YouTube photography community, and YouTube channels have, in my eyes, taken over the role of photo blogs.
Gear? Lots of that. How-to videos? There are plenty of those. My favorites include discussions of craft, process, and projects. I want to know more about the work, not necessarily about what camera was used (though I do enjoy some gear-related videos) or a step-by-step instructional video. It’s the same stuff I would want to read on a photo blog, but now the good stuff seems to be on YouTube.
With a YouTube channel, we can hear from the artist directly, see their work, and learn about the behind-the-scenes process that often goes into projects. You can also hear from the photographer directly—which is still possible on a blog, but video makes it a little more personal. And thanks to the Almighty Algorithm™, it’s easy to click from one video to the next and easily find other channels.
A few of my favorites include:
- James Popsys – good thoughts on tips, strategy, and composition from a landscape photographer
- Max Kent – film photographer
- One Month Two Cameras – fun look back at the usefulness of “classic” digital gear
- Teo Crawford – another film photographer in Austria who dabbles in digital (video above)
- Tom Calton – more gear-based, especially around smaller budget cameras
- Zeek – the king of using the Canon EOS M for cinema shooting
- Sean Tucker – good philosophy of photography channel
I’m not switching to YouTube any time soon, and this blog isn’t going anywhere. I like writing and reading. But video is a modern, attractive approach to sharing photography insights that bring a little bit extra to the conversation.