Unlocking Emotional Depth Through Photography with Sean Kim

WEBVTT
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Go to a local library, borrow a bunch of books and read them.
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And even if it doesn't make any sense to you right at the moment, just consume it.
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Do what you want to do with your camera.
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And then over time, once things start to click, you'll have more question about those things.
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Go back to the book and read it again, and it will make sense 100% and you will master whatever you need to master and you don't even have to worry about it.
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Hey, welcome to the Beginner Photography Podcast.
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I'm your host, Raymond Hatfield, and here each week I interview one of the world's most interesting photographers to learn what it really takes to capture beautiful images so that you can start to do the same.
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In today's rewind episode, we are chatting with community member Sean Kim, about using a camera to process your emotions and discover life's meaning.
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But first, the Beginner Photography Podcast brought to you by Clouds Spot.
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With Clouds spot, you can sell your photos through prints, products, and of course digitals.
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So grab your free forever account today over@deliverphotos.com and only upgrade when you are ready.
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So today's guest, Sean is a member of the Beginner Photography podcast community and he's one whose images are, as incredible as his journey, honestly, but as active as he's been in the group, he's a pretty private dude in his personal life.
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And today I learned so much about him.
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Everything that I learned, I would say, gave me context to his work.
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It's fascinating to see somebody's work for so long and then have just a simple conversation with them and you realize how much life influences you and your creativity.
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I mean, we all live unique lives.
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We all struggle, we all have wins.
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We're all really good at something.
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All of that goes into our work, and I'm so excited to share this interview with community members, Sean Kim, with you, and I hope that it causes you to, pause, and both take photography less seriously and more seriously at the same time.
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I really hope that makes sense.
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And if you're not a part of the Beginner Photography podcast community, we would love to have you.
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Come join more than 6,000 listeners of the podcast and photographers just like yourself, who are looking to learn and grow their photo skills by heading over to beginner photo pod.com/group now.
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With that, let's go ahead and get on into today's interview with Sean Kim.
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So really, since this is just kind of easy, I just wanted to know a little bit more about you as far as who you are, where you're from and what it is that you do.
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My name is Sean.
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I am originally from South Korea.
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I moved here in 98 and went to school here and we began to own a business, uh, cleaners business back in 2002, 2003, somewhere there.
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And, I just picked up my camera maybe about three years ago.
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Tell me how that happened because you've been in the group for a few years.
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Since, since the beginning of 2018, right?
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Yes.
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And then since then, you've just been gracing us with your, your amazing and incredible photos that everybody enjoys looking at.
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So what was it that got you started?
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You know, you said that you just kind of picked up a camera one day, but it doesn't just happen like that.
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Tell me, what were your earliest influences in photography that kind of made you or made you feel compelled to, to pick up that camera?
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So it's kind of a long and sad story behind it.
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So back in, I think like, end of my high school year, I just bought a just point and shoot camera just to shoot.
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Nothing about composition, nothing about color, none of that existed during the time.
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So just very close up shots of my friends hanging out.
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Drinking and things that nature.
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and I recently looked at all the album, the photos that I took in the past.
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And it's literally a closeup shot of them doing, a foolish things.
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And it looked great, but during the time you can tell that I had no sense of composition or I could care less with those things.
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And then over time, I just stopped taking photos and, I went on a two weeks journey doing a road trip from LA to New York, on a tour bus, Korean tour bus, and I bought a, it was a very good smartphone camera, Nokia Lumia nine 20, I think that's the name of it.
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And
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I just began to take more photos.
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Sadly, if I was into photography, then I would come up with a lot more photos than what I had.
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And during the, during the trip, I met, somebody, met a girl and, she had a camera.
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Canon Rebel, which is what she gave me, uh, towards our, our end of our relationship.
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And I began to take photos with that.
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The reason why she gave me that camera is because she realized I had a very good eye.
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so whenever we go on a trip.
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People will come up to me and ask me to take photos of them.
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So I would not end up getting any photos of myself, but of others.
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But I didn't think none of that, until I said, you know what, I'm gonna just go buy a decent camera, which was Fuji X E3 that was, End of 2017, I think.
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And then the camera was too tiny for me, so I exchanged it to XT two, and that's when I joined, Beginner Photography podcast.
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And ever since then, I consume all knowledge of photography, books, podcast, YouTube videos, you name it.
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I, I was just consuming everything and then.
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Everything started to click.
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I was like, okay, this is why this composition work.
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Cause of the color leading line, S line, whatever.
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so yeah.
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So those early days, let's step back for a moment and talk about those, right?
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You got these photos of your friends.
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in high school, uh, you took a big trip, which made you, invest in a better camera system, essentially, which was, which was a cell phone at the time.
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And then you started, taking photography more seriously once you got that Rebel Series camera.
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Just, taking more photos and kind of understanding a little bit more about how photography works.
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So then when you got the story.
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I get the timeline right, you bought, say, the X T2, right, at the, say, the beginning of 2018 or the very end of 2017?
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Yeah, something like
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that.
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Okay.
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And then, right away, like, your first photos in the Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook group are like, photos from the top of a mountain, just like looking out these beautiful vistas.
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So tell me where this relationship of nature came for you as far as photography goes, because most people get a camera and they're like, well, I'm going to shoot my daily life.
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I'm going to photograph my kids and all these sorts of things.
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And you're like, no, no, no, we're going to the top of the mountain.
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So, during the relationship I had with my ex girlfriend, we went through Sequoia, Grand Canyon, just a bunch of places together, and we just take lots of photos.
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And I think, I think I always liked hiking.
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I always hiked.
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I always went to, not like far away, but locally.
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I would go look for places to hike.
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But I wouldn't never take photos until I met my ex.
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And then after we broke up, that's all I did.
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I went on a hike because you know, you're so happy about breaking up.
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You had to hike.
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You went the opposite way.
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Most people are sad after they break up, but okay.
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I was, yeah, I was, it was very sad moment.
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So, so I went on a journey of hiking, especially like at nighttime'cause you know how like when you go through a very sad stage in your life, you kind of feel dead inside.
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So what end up happening is by, at night, it spooks you, you realize there is actually mount lions, there are coyotes with, you know, animals out there.
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Thanks.
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Uh, yeah, snakes, not, it doesn't really intimidate that much, but I would, I would say bigger, bigger animal would.
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So it kind of made me feel alive being out there.
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Yeah.
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And then this was during a time of me having some battle going on within my own faith too.
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So, yeah, this was a camera camera in a sense, photography in a sense, kind of, helped me.
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It was a gift.
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It was a gift.
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Also, talk to me more about that, because there's a lot of people who can go out and they can take a photo, but I really feel like you're somebody who, you know, if we look at some of your earliest photos to where you are today, I see the consistency throughout your body of work that I've seen, but also I don't think that many people are going to come home and maybe study their photos, see what they like, see what they don't like, and then go back out readjust and then shoot for better photos where I really feel like you've done that.
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So when you say the photography has helped you tell me in a sense, what areas of photography were you trying to progress through that helped you kind of get through the stage?
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Hmm.
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Great question.
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so I'm pretty sure you have a background image on your computer, right?
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I do.
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It's the, uh, it's the standard Apple.
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actually I don't know what mountain it is, but it's beautiful.
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And it's no, no, no, it's not.
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It's um, it's like orange and it's, it's beautiful.
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It's just beautiful.
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It's a landscape photo.
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So yeah, I don't know what mountain it is, but I love
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it.
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So,
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earlier during the time when, I don't know exactly when, but I remember looking for a specific image for my background photo, but I did this throughout my owning, my own desktop that I made, I couldn't find a photo that I really like, but there are a lot of good photos.
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I couldn't really figure out why I didn't like certain images.
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I couldn't.
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Right now I, maybe I could, but my background image was always just blank, blue screen.
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That's it.
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Cause I didn't like none of the images.
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It's just very distracting images.
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But now I could figure out why those photos were distracting and it's interesting cause you can take a lot of good, beautiful photos, but it's just a beautiful photo It doesn't speak to you.
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It's just, it just is.
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And I think, just throughout my journey in photography, finding the beauty of what's there sort of was a key for my own journey.
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I guess.
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What's beautiful within my stage of sadness?
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What's beautiful within this like, ugly, chaotic scene that I have right in front of me?
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figuring those things out was a positive way for me to find, you can say, the true beauty of, of my journey, I guess?
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Yeah.
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I was pretty aggressively seeking out for those things.
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So I think that's why I was really going out like literally every night to take images.
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Yeah.
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So what were some of those things in the beginning that once you finally decided to, I don't know, up your game, if that's the right term, by getting that XTT to and going out and shooting, what were some of those earliest things that you realized?
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Oh my gosh, I've been doing, X wrong about photography all this time.
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And I enjoy this part much more.
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I don't think I've ever had that moment.
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Oh, really?
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No, I don't think so.
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It just the camera is so pretty.
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We're talking about Fuji cameras here.
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I'm right there with you.
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I get it.
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I was, I was just searching for a camera.
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I was looking at Nikon, Canon, didn't really think about Sony at all.
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Cause I didn't, I didn't think Sony existed during the time.
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But I looked at Fuji camera.
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I was like, wow, that is, that is cute.
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That is way too cute.
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So retro.
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So I had to buy it.
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I think phrased my question totally wrong there.
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I suppose from the, technical side of like actually shooting, you know, there's a lot of mistakes that we make early on when we're taking photos.
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Like, as you said earlier, when you were photographing your friends in high school, there was no focus on composition or lighting or nothing.
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You look at that photo and you can tell like, Oh, this is what I did.
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this is why this image doesn't work.
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But today, when you go out, you have more of an eye, you're looking for something specific.
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Where do you think that change happened?
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realized some of the photos that I took was boring.
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How so?
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just doesn't make sense.
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Like you look at the photo, you're like, okay, it's a photo.
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But then you have a photo that says, wow, that tells like million stories.
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Look at their expression.
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Like those things started to click.
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And then you, once those things started to click, you started to seek out for those things more and more.
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Like some of people's expression, knowing their body languages, learning their body languages as you're, you're photographing them, And, standing at the right location, composition, so that, that brings up more story and their face expression more.
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so those kind of things, I think, it just began to start gradually, happen.
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so, Let's continue to talk about humans here, because, when I think about you in the group, I think of landscape images, right?
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And then it kind of, or at least top of mountains.
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And then it sort of transitioned into beautiful beach vistas.
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Right.
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We don't see too many mountaintops anymore, unfortunately.
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But we do see, occasionally photos of people, people who you meet on the street.
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And there for a while, I think you said that you were shooting with a rebel and like a 50 mil lens just to go out and just like, and just shoot.
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And a lot of those photos that you were posting Photos of just people on the street and when I went back and did a little research within the group You had won photo of the month contest back in April of 2018 So pretty much like right after you got started in the group and the photo that you had was of this The skater on yes.
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Yes This woman, it was a silhouette, a beautiful sunset, and in the background was the Santa Monica Pier.
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Yes.
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And you had said that you took the photo without her knowledge, but then afterwards, you showed the photo to her, and then you guys became great friends.
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And then, looking at that, Have you ever had any, I guess talk to me about your relationship with photographing people and interacting with them versus I think the kind of traditional street photography style of just being totally hidden and not wanting to be seen and I'm just going to do my own thing here.
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Did that question make sense?
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Yeah.
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Yes.
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So generally speaking, I don't really go up to them and I tell them I took a photo of them.
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but I do take a lot of majority of my photos at the beach are all candidates.
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but if I knew I caught like something, I go gently tap their shoulder, excuse me.
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Could I show you what I just took?
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They're like, sure.
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California people are pretty loose.
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So once I showed it to them, majority of times they're very impressed.
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I can tell you a short story of what happened last week.
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I took a photo of this couple holding a torch.
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I don't know if you've seen that photo.
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and I showed them the image.
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They loved it.
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But they haven't seen the final image.
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So I processed it over the week and I said, I think I sent it over to them on Monday.
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And the gentleman, I guess he's some type of marketing director up in Seattle.
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And they're just vacationing here.
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And we just been going back and forth about, him wanting a huge metal printer, this house.
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And
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he also wants it for his mom and his dad.
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And I guess they have a club for that type of meeting torch type of meeting.
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And the clubs want to buy the metal prints.
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Wow.
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So those kinds of experiences I had, it is a little bit different than traditional, like street photography type, because what I'm trying to do right now here is, you know, I never know if I'm going to continue to stay here in California or not, but mountains, there are mountains everywhere.
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Unless I go to not in
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Indiana.
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Don't
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come to Indiana.
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There's no mountains here.
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It's very flat.
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It's boring.
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Yeah.
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So I'm trying to document as much of beach scene as, as much as I can.
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So I can have those photos to myself.
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And I'm actually hoping to make a, potentially a photo book for, for myself or I could make, several more and then try to sell those books, but just have it documentation, for my journey, I guess.
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Yeah, I see.
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So that was, That was the decision that you made as far as why you're going to stop getting up at four in the morning and go
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hiking.
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Oh, I
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want to go hiking.
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I want to go hiking.
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I want to go to the mountains.
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I want to breathe the fresh air.
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I don't want to breathe the salt air.
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But knowing the fact that I have such easy access, it's only like five minute drive to the beach.
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Yeah.
00:18:04.757 --> 00:18:09.600
Why would I spend two hours of driving and then go hiking and come back?
00:18:09.610 --> 00:18:16.257
And I only come with maybe like one, maybe two or never, or not at all.
00:18:17.086 --> 00:18:19.326
But yes, images.
00:18:19.656 --> 00:18:24.906
But if I go to the beach, I know I will, even if I don't get any images.
00:18:25.307 --> 00:18:26.497
Hey, I saved gas.
00:18:28.696 --> 00:18:32.963
So we're looking at this as a bit of a, a time, save as well as, uh, in
00:18:32.963 --> 00:18:33.798
a way, in
00:18:33.798 --> 00:18:34.076
a
00:18:34.076 --> 00:18:34.354
way.
00:18:34.354 --> 00:18:34.574
Yeah.
00:18:35.084 --> 00:18:35.263
Yeah.
00:18:35.303 --> 00:18:41.604
And I really liked You know, the funny thing is my dad really hates my photos that I take at the beach.
00:18:41.913 --> 00:18:42.344
What?
00:18:42.394 --> 00:18:42.923
Why?
00:18:43.003 --> 00:18:43.384
Yeah.
00:18:43.384 --> 00:18:43.604
Yeah.
00:18:43.604 --> 00:18:44.253
He said it.
00:18:44.770 --> 00:18:47.080
he doesn't understand why people are so small.
00:18:47.090 --> 00:18:48.350
They're in the corner.
00:18:48.451 --> 00:18:50.161
it makes him sad.
00:18:50.471 --> 00:18:53.580
I said, dad, maybe, maybe I am sad.
00:18:54.250 --> 00:18:54.681
No.
00:18:54.921 --> 00:18:56.151
Have you ever thought of that?
00:18:56.490 --> 00:18:58.350
And he goes, no, Oh, that's too much.
00:19:00.030 --> 00:19:01.030
But it's, it's good.
00:19:01.090 --> 00:19:08.100
I really like his heavy criticism because it helps me to think because some people think like that, um,
00:19:08.691 --> 00:19:09.961
yeah, yeah.
00:19:09.961 --> 00:19:10.901
That's really interesting.
00:19:10.951 --> 00:19:23.280
when I look at your photos, I don't, obviously, you know, I see the tiny people and like this beautiful landscape, but what I see is just like how big earth is and like, look at how beautiful this is.
00:19:23.290 --> 00:19:25.201
Like there's so much, we are so small.
00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:29.290
in this world that I don't want to say that we're insignificant.
00:19:29.290 --> 00:19:34.941
We're not insignificant, but like sometimes, people can get in our heads of like, we are, we can do this, we are powerful.
00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:38.840
But then really, if you just take a moment and look at how big this earth is.
00:19:39.266 --> 00:19:44.705
And this is just like a tiny rock in our solar system, you know, like that feels very empowering to me.
00:19:44.715 --> 00:19:48.235
And it's really interesting to hear your dad's take is, is on the opposite spectrum there.
00:19:48.546 --> 00:20:03.542
so interesting thing is, I don't know how the listener is going to take this, my perspective, but it is my perspective is on my first post on Instagram, I did mention that I want to start to take images that has.
00:20:04.593 --> 00:20:11.153
huge surroundings, sky, landscape, and tiny people.
00:20:12.603 --> 00:20:26.699
The reason why I wanted to do that is because, when we focus ourselves, the surrounding seems very small, but when we focus on something bigger, our problem seems to be small.
00:20:27.375 --> 00:20:40.816
Our depression or whatever seems, like you said, insignificant because my focus currently is in a way that I, I do want to glorify God as a, I'm a Christian.
00:20:41.475 --> 00:20:51.608
and I want to show that through the, through my images, how small humans are and how great our God is in that sense.
00:20:52.028 --> 00:21:01.588
So that I want to put that in a perspective, in a image to show, comfort in a, what my dad said, your photo looks very sad.
00:21:02.973 --> 00:21:04.543
So I said, you're right.
00:21:04.844 --> 00:21:05.563
That's my point.
00:21:06.644 --> 00:21:07.723
Oh, interesting.
00:21:08.743 --> 00:21:09.713
Try to bring comfort.
00:21:09.874 --> 00:21:11.540
So talk to me a little bit more about that.
00:21:11.540 --> 00:21:14.980
Cause I feel like I kind of understand it, but I want to hear it from you.
00:21:15.010 --> 00:21:18.391
you said that you wanted to put comfort in images that look sad.
00:21:19.336 --> 00:21:25.175
There is a discomfort when you put a certain, subject in a corner of the photo.
00:21:25.749 --> 00:21:27.699
You don't feel comforted in a sense.
00:21:28.388 --> 00:21:44.521
if they're right in the center of the image that speaks volume and it's very, it seems balanced, but when you put subjects in a corner, it doesn't seem balanced, but yet trying to find that balance with the huge surrounding.
00:21:44.521 --> 00:21:45.566
It's a challenge.
00:21:45.566 --> 00:21:46.609
Um, and I
00:21:46.609 --> 00:21:47.653
think that's what
00:21:47.846 --> 00:21:49.297
I think that's what I'm trying to do.
00:21:49.537 --> 00:22:05.283
And if you look at like my, most of my Instagram images that I have, there is a subject who's silhouette looking toward a light, looking toward the plane that's far away, flying, you know, away from the surfer or whatever.
00:22:05.854 --> 00:22:13.239
so there is always a leading mind from the subject to the light.
00:22:13.668 --> 00:22:14.098
Mm hmm.
00:22:14.558 --> 00:22:16.608
So darkness to the light.
00:22:17.288 --> 00:22:18.759
Darkness to a hope.
00:22:19.048 --> 00:22:21.308
So in that light to a, yeah, in that sense.
00:22:21.398 --> 00:22:22.108
Ah.
00:22:22.278 --> 00:22:24.368
And I think like this image, can you see it?
00:22:24.368 --> 00:22:25.638
Yes, I can see it, yes.
00:22:26.898 --> 00:22:32.148
So it's like little three, four surfers, but there's a huge ray going off.
00:22:32.528 --> 00:22:33.209
Yeah.
00:22:34.038 --> 00:22:34.398
So,
00:22:34.449 --> 00:22:35.199
something like that.
00:22:36.479 --> 00:22:43.922
So I would love to know more about your, um, relationship with light because, I think, are you pretty exclusively natural light?
00:22:44.556 --> 00:23:12.497
Yes, unless I get hired by, um, it's really weird to say that hired, but hired by people who wants me to take a photo of their, wedding or, engagement shoot or, I don't really have a lot of experience of getting hired to do an event shoot, but I do have a lot of experience doing, event shoot at the church, which I volunteer.
00:23:12.797 --> 00:23:13.257
Oh yes.
00:23:13.386 --> 00:23:15.047
And there's lots of stage lighting there as well.
00:23:15.466 --> 00:23:19.936
Yes, but I don't, with that, I don't really take my own flash.
00:23:20.226 --> 00:23:20.736
Sure, sure.
00:23:21.007 --> 00:23:21.307
Gotcha.
00:23:21.307 --> 00:23:21.476
But, but
00:23:21.476 --> 00:23:27.236
for these like, for the past Genshin Ida that I covered about, what was it, four weeks ago?
00:23:27.537 --> 00:23:27.836
Uh huh.
00:23:27.966 --> 00:23:34.976
I did take my off camera flash with those, the, you call, not strobe, what do you call it?
00:23:35.037 --> 00:23:35.767
The speed light?
00:23:35.916 --> 00:23:36.356
Octobox?
00:23:36.416 --> 00:23:36.866
Stand?
00:23:36.916 --> 00:23:37.517
Oh, yes.
00:23:37.517 --> 00:23:37.649
Yes.
00:23:37.649 --> 00:23:37.781
Okay.
00:23:38.271 --> 00:23:39.501
Yes, I took that with it.
00:23:39.642 --> 00:23:46.041
I talked to the pastor because uh, Quinceañera's, her grandpa is the pastor of the church.
00:23:46.041 --> 00:23:47.571
I
00:23:47.571 --> 00:23:49.291
said, could I use this here?
00:23:49.461 --> 00:23:51.831
He goes, Oh, do whatever, do whatever you need.
00:23:51.932 --> 00:23:53.041
I was like, right on.
00:23:53.041 --> 00:23:53.759
Yeah.
00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:58.241
And, and I took a bunch of photos there, with the off camera flash.
00:23:58.321 --> 00:24:00.051
no one had any issues.
00:24:00.442 --> 00:24:02.902
I'll literally put the strobe right next to them.
00:24:02.951 --> 00:24:04.951
Of course you won't see that in the, in a photo.
00:24:06.111 --> 00:24:07.461
The images came out great.
00:24:07.501 --> 00:24:25.632
the amazing thing with that is, I delivered six photo albums to, to them and the daughter, you know, their customer here at the cleaners, daughter came in and she brought in a bunch of dry cleaning and she's like, I love my photo album.
00:24:25.731 --> 00:24:26.692
I sleep with it.
00:24:27.932 --> 00:24:28.642
That's wonderful.
00:24:29.001 --> 00:24:31.021
I was like, Oh, right on, right on.
00:24:31.571 --> 00:24:35.892
So in that event, I did use the off camera flash a lot.
00:24:36.451 --> 00:24:38.051
And thanks to your course.
00:24:38.481 --> 00:24:44.061
Um, that actually your, your course was the beginning of figuring out how to use flash.
00:24:44.922 --> 00:24:48.432
Um, it took me a while to start looking at watching those videos.
00:24:48.451 --> 00:24:52.311
Cause I wasn't really interested in, flash photography.
00:24:52.961 --> 00:25:01.459
But I do remember how you said that you're, you're gonna put a course if anybody want to, pitch in to, to be a tester.
00:25:01.788 --> 00:25:02.108
Yeah.
00:25:02.168 --> 00:25:02.908
Yeah at the time.
00:25:02.908 --> 00:25:04.568
Yeah, you were a beta tester for sure.
00:25:05.068 --> 00:25:06.969
But I didn't, I didn't test.
00:25:09.078 --> 00:25:10.398
You signed up but you didn't test.
00:25:10.398 --> 00:25:10.608
Yeah.
00:25:10.898 --> 00:25:11.158
Yeah.
00:25:11.588 --> 00:25:11.838
But you
00:25:11.838 --> 00:25:15.729
finally, you finally took control and you went through the course and it helped you out, you said?
00:25:15.898 --> 00:25:16.678
Oh big time.
00:25:16.858 --> 00:25:17.068
Big time.
00:25:17.078 --> 00:25:17.479
Oh wonderful.
00:25:17.479 --> 00:25:32.705
Because if I, If I had just my own set of knowledge and start doing a search on how to do photography course or the off camera flash or on camera flash course, I think I would be lost in how to do a correct search.
00:25:32.945 --> 00:25:39.405
But you gave so much knowledge within that videos, within those videos.
00:25:39.975 --> 00:25:47.385
It helped me to figure out, okay, since I'm lacking here, I need to more do more search here and figure out how they're doing it.
00:25:48.981 --> 00:25:50.672
I don't know where to start, kind of thing.
00:25:50.701 --> 00:25:51.231
Right,
00:25:51.442 --> 00:25:51.861
right.
00:25:51.912 --> 00:25:55.031
I mean, it's kind of like photography, where it seems simple.
00:25:55.061 --> 00:25:56.432
How do I take pictures?
00:25:56.461 --> 00:26:00.892
But then once you start Googling it, you realize, I actually have no idea what I'm talking about here.
00:26:00.902 --> 00:26:06.711
Like, I'm so not well versed in this world, that once you start to get a little knowledge, it starts to make a lot more sense.
00:26:06.721 --> 00:26:07.652
So, I'm good.
00:26:07.662 --> 00:26:07.692
Yes.
00:26:07.701 --> 00:26:09.721
I'm, I'm, I'm very glad that that, uh.
00:26:11.162 --> 00:26:17.516
But I do want to talk about, once again, your relationship with light when it comes to natural light and silhouettes.
00:26:17.546 --> 00:26:19.655
Because, I feel like you master them.
00:26:19.705 --> 00:26:22.066
I feel like you really truly master silhouettes.
00:26:22.066 --> 00:26:23.536
You do a fantastic job.
00:26:24.066 --> 00:26:29.526
Obviously it's real nice to have a very strong backlight with, uh, with the sun, come sunset time.
00:26:29.796 --> 00:26:36.271
But even when I was looking some of your earliest, you know, mountainscape photos, you always focused.
00:26:37.551 --> 00:26:45.571
And whether that be very early in the morning and lots of, atmosphere and we can see different layers of, mountain ranges, I suppose we could see.
00:26:46.231 --> 00:26:50.111
You always, I felt like had a very strong understanding of, of light.
00:26:50.578 --> 00:26:52.038
Can you talk to me a little bit more about that?
00:26:52.038 --> 00:26:57.556
Like, was there a time when you realized the importance of light or was it just more organic than that?
00:26:58.491 --> 00:26:59.611
I think it was organic.
00:26:59.991 --> 00:27:19.009
because even now I'm trying to figure out, I think trying to figure out how all these things work technically, I don't think I have that understanding, but seeing the scenery itself and knowing how it's going to work, I just follow through what's what's there.
00:27:19.368 --> 00:27:19.568
I
00:27:19.628 --> 00:27:20.759
think that's, that's how it is.
00:27:20.788 --> 00:27:25.959
I mean, even with the silhouette at the beach, I can't control the beach.
00:27:26.158 --> 00:27:30.558
I can't control people to stay here, stand there, then it doesn't, it's not natural.
00:27:31.048 --> 00:27:36.769
I think my eye just began to develop what's good and what's bad image, yeah.
00:27:36.769 --> 00:27:40.378
So over time it's just exercising my own vision.
00:27:40.999 --> 00:27:50.949
And then putting that into practice and that, you know, a lot of times, let's say I took like 50 photos, during the sunset time I'll go home, chances are I'll have like.
00:27:51.388 --> 00:27:58.895
One image for sure, sometimes none, but then I try to figure out, okay, why did this not work?
00:27:59.576 --> 00:28:01.895
was it lack of composition?
00:28:02.536 --> 00:28:04.296
Is this too much distraction?
00:28:04.306 --> 00:28:06.066
Is the person too small?
00:28:06.385 --> 00:28:07.995
It's all those things I try to figure out.
00:28:08.046 --> 00:28:11.115
And you know, you're, you're cropping things like here and there.
00:28:11.415 --> 00:28:16.086
And of course, thanks to the medium format camera, you can crop it as much as you can.
00:28:16.346 --> 00:28:16.776
Yes.
00:28:16.826 --> 00:28:18.145
So there's a benefit of that.
00:28:18.286 --> 00:28:24.199
Sometimes even though I thought it was a bad image, by cropping much, it's like, okay, that works.
00:28:25.269 --> 00:28:26.178
So that kind of helps.
00:28:26.574 --> 00:28:27.233
Interesting.
00:28:27.283 --> 00:28:28.594
How often would you say that?
00:28:29.423 --> 00:28:33.013
How close is the image that you get in camera versus the image that you deliver?
00:28:33.993 --> 00:28:34.384
What do you mean?
00:28:35.063 --> 00:28:37.933
Like when, you know, you talked about cropping there a lot.
00:28:38.183 --> 00:28:47.163
How close is the image, like when you're finished with an image and you're like ready to post it on Instagram or in the Facebook group, how close is that image to the actual image that you captured?
00:28:47.193 --> 00:28:47.813
Oh, I guess.
00:28:47.913 --> 00:28:48.053
Oh,
00:28:48.243 --> 00:28:50.523
so it's, it's pretty, it's pretty rare that I crop.
00:28:52.013 --> 00:28:54.094
But there are times that I do crop quite a bit.
00:28:54.384 --> 00:28:59.999
But it's, I would say about, 90 percent of times, it's what it is.
00:29:00.578 --> 00:29:00.999
Yeah,
00:29:01.278 --> 00:29:01.428
yeah.
00:29:01.479 --> 00:29:08.528
Only difference is maybe like it's a square crop, or 4x5, or, 4x3, 3x4.
00:29:09.278 --> 00:29:14.432
What about, um, like the actual editing of your images as far as like, exposure, all these things?
00:29:15.026 --> 00:29:16.395
Talk to me a little bit about your editing workflow.
00:29:17.178 --> 00:29:26.459
lot of times it works completely as how it is just by converting to black and white and then controlling the highlights and shadows a little bit here and there.
00:29:26.951 --> 00:29:36.426
That's the finish, but sometimes by adding a little bit masking, it helps to bring out the light more.
00:29:37.223 --> 00:29:49.864
So for instance, if I'm taking photo of a sunlight in the background, chances are the strip of the beach, the water in the ocean, it's kind of darker.
00:29:50.463 --> 00:30:08.144
So what I do is I'll mask the ocean and then bring up the highlight a little bit to, bring more life to a silhouette person in the background or the, the one in the front, because otherwise the person is kind of blend in with the ocean itself.
00:30:08.144 --> 00:30:10.443
So you can't really see the person itself.
00:30:11.013 --> 00:30:13.303
So those kinds of things I have just here and there.
00:30:14.350 --> 00:30:14.540
Yeah.
00:30:14.540 --> 00:30:17.880
You don't want, if somebody is already small, you don't want them blending into the ocean for sure.
00:30:17.895 --> 00:30:19.392
Yeah.
00:30:19.442 --> 00:30:21.021
I want to know what you're struggling with right now.
00:30:21.061 --> 00:30:25.471
Like what's something in photography that, that you struggle with on a daily basis to go out and shoot?
00:30:26.182 --> 00:30:27.192
I'm kind of bored out.
00:30:28.221 --> 00:30:28.682
Really?
00:30:28.751 --> 00:30:31.791
You're, you're feeling, you're feeling kind of, kind of bored with photography.
00:30:32.311 --> 00:30:33.061
No, no, no.
00:30:33.142 --> 00:30:36.251
I'm kind of feel bored with this, taking photos of small people.
00:30:36.801 --> 00:30:37.711
Oh, I see.
00:30:37.831 --> 00:30:46.821
cause kind of it's, I'm going to similar location over and over and and trying to figure out those things.
00:30:46.861 --> 00:30:50.081
And if they're not there, I can't really take a photo of people.
00:30:50.701 --> 00:30:55.301
So I'm trying to figure out, okay, what may be more interesting for me.
00:30:55.811 --> 00:31:01.481
And then not move on from what I'm doing, but add on to what I'm doing.
00:31:01.821 --> 00:31:14.527
So I'm trying to figure that balance, maybe going back to like taking more landscape, but even though in landscape, I mean, I get props for people who do landscape for living.
00:31:14.976 --> 00:31:17.096
Man, landscape photography gets so boring.
00:31:17.773 --> 00:31:18.243
How so?
00:31:18.303 --> 00:31:37.289
I mean I mean, you can enjoy the beauty of the mountain scenery, the beach scenery, the pier, everything, but at the same time, when you do things over and over and over, it just gets boring I'm sorry to say, but even the beautiful scenery gets boring.
00:31:37.529 --> 00:31:42.819
You would rather just capture with your eyes than pulling out your cameras to take a photo of it and then edit it.
00:31:43.379 --> 00:31:49.819
Because I think what happens is as a photographer, you get so saturated with so many beautiful photos.
00:31:50.433 --> 00:31:57.624
So I think, I think for me, I need to keep finding something new for me to photograph, otherwise I'll get bored out of it.
00:31:58.763 --> 00:31:59.653
And what do you think that is?
00:32:00.729 --> 00:32:01.269
I don't know.
00:32:03.374 --> 00:32:04.094
You still gotta figure it out.
00:32:04.094 --> 00:32:04.624
You haven't yet.
00:32:04.923 --> 00:32:11.210
So obviously, like this past year, you did a lot of photographing things like, protests, with a lot more people in them.
00:32:11.529 --> 00:32:11.779
Right.
00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:16.176
Did this give you some sort of boost in excitement when it came to, to photographing?
00:32:17.163 --> 00:32:20.793
In the beginning it did, but towards the end, not so.
00:32:21.074 --> 00:32:29.019
I really did enjoy taking photos of people, um, being very vibrant in their environment.
00:32:29.818 --> 00:32:34.818
And you know, you, I mean, you'd be taking, you'd be taking your camera right onto their face.
00:32:34.878 --> 00:32:36.808
They're so focused on what they're doing.
00:32:37.128 --> 00:32:39.438
They can care less if you're taking photos or whatever.
00:32:39.989 --> 00:32:46.203
So that kind of gave me a little bit more understanding of, okay, what, what journalists would do.
00:32:46.903 --> 00:32:52.653
But at the same time, I can definitely tell that even those type of photography, you can get bored out of
00:32:52.653 --> 00:32:53.773
it.
00:32:54.053 --> 00:32:56.553
because I, I don't know how many protests I've been to.
00:32:56.553 --> 00:32:58.533
I've been to so many of them, just
00:32:58.533 --> 00:32:58.923
in the past
00:32:58.923 --> 00:32:59.243
year.
00:32:59.753 --> 00:33:00.183
Oh yeah.
00:33:00.203 --> 00:33:02.644
I mean, I drove all the way up to, Sacramento.
00:33:03.114 --> 00:33:03.743
Oh, really?
00:33:04.033 --> 00:33:05.094
Take one event.
00:33:05.703 --> 00:33:07.384
and that was, that was crazy.
00:33:07.733 --> 00:33:09.283
That one was real crazy.
00:33:09.824 --> 00:33:13.003
but if you tell me to do that now, I probably wouldn't do it.
00:33:14.423 --> 00:33:16.364
You mean just photograph a type of protest?
00:33:17.153 --> 00:33:17.483
Yeah.
00:33:17.604 --> 00:33:23.739
I mean, if you tell me there is a huge protest going on in Sacramento, and then would you go?
00:33:23.749 --> 00:33:25.398
If you ask me that, I'll say no.
00:33:26.009 --> 00:33:26.509
Right.
00:33:26.509 --> 00:33:27.145
Do you
00:33:27.145 --> 00:33:28.420
think that's because you're
00:33:28.420 --> 00:33:29.058
bored of it?
00:33:29.108 --> 00:33:30.378
Or because I think so.
00:33:30.848 --> 00:33:31.438
I think so.
00:33:31.438 --> 00:33:34.729
I'm kind of, I'm kind of okay with that, um, journey.
00:33:35.019 --> 00:33:36.358
But hey, you never know.
00:33:36.358 --> 00:33:41.158
If something happened again, I may pick up my camera and start shooting, for that, protest or whatever.
00:33:41.678 --> 00:33:41.868
Yeah.
00:33:41.868 --> 00:33:42.868
That's like a seven hour drive
00:33:42.868 --> 00:33:43.338
for you, right?
00:33:43.338 --> 00:33:43.398
Right.
00:33:44.598 --> 00:33:46.499
Yeah, like more than seven hours.
00:33:46.499 --> 00:33:46.798
Yeah.
00:33:47.058 --> 00:33:47.328
Oh my
00:33:47.328 --> 00:33:47.638
gosh.
00:33:49.132 --> 00:33:50.031
Was it worth it though?
00:33:50.061 --> 00:33:50.856
Going to that event?
00:33:51.826 --> 00:33:52.696
Oh, yeah, that was a huge.
00:33:52.757 --> 00:33:54.037
That was a crazy experience.
00:33:54.076 --> 00:33:55.096
That was a great experience.
00:33:55.096 --> 00:33:59.676
There's 13, 000 people just piled up together.
00:34:00.553 --> 00:34:02.243
And everybody was so passionate.
00:34:02.920 --> 00:34:11.777
I want to ask because I just remembered, towards the beginning of last year, you had mentioned that you were thinking about making a book of what 2020 was to you.
00:34:11.787 --> 00:34:12.367
how's that going?
00:34:12.961 --> 00:34:22.581
so that may happen maybe like 10, 20 years when you, maybe when your grandpa, I hope that I am not a grandpa in the next 10 years.
00:34:22.662 --> 00:34:23.572
Oh my gosh.
00:34:23.572 --> 00:34:26.052
20 years, 20 years, maybe 30 years.
00:34:26.052 --> 00:34:28.211
I'm not in a rush to make the book.
00:34:28.642 --> 00:34:41.612
but I think even just having one made and, uh, maybe, uh, I'll give it to a library or whatever, and then they can have a short documentation of what happened in 2020.
00:34:42.869 --> 00:34:43.429
I got to ask
00:34:43.429 --> 00:34:44.268
why, I got to ask
00:34:44.308 --> 00:34:45.168
why, why wait so
00:34:45.168 --> 00:34:45.438
long?
00:34:46.422 --> 00:34:46.891
Hmm.
00:34:47.862 --> 00:34:48.541
Good question.
00:34:48.951 --> 00:34:55.461
Oh, well, I think one of the main reason is maybe because, there's so many photos that was taken last year.
00:34:56.021 --> 00:34:57.311
And there's nothing unique to it.
00:34:57.742 --> 00:34:58.132
Uniqueness.
00:34:58.211 --> 00:34:59.871
You mean in general or by you?
00:35:00.751 --> 00:35:02.076
Uh, by in general, generally.
00:35:02.777 --> 00:35:07.206
So it's the 2020, protest photography was so saturated.
00:35:07.846 --> 00:35:13.536
even if I make a photo now, I think people will care less about what the book says.
00:35:13.567 --> 00:35:23.177
However, if the photo was presented, maybe 20, 30 years down the road, people may see it and be like, Oh, I do remember that.
00:35:23.757 --> 00:35:32.987
It will kind of give a different perspective It'll bring them bad memories, maybe good memories I'm, pretty sure bad memories.
00:35:33.496 --> 00:35:37.556
Yeah, and I think it will just bring back a lot of, a lot of memories to people.
00:35:37.606 --> 00:35:41.786
So that's why I think I would like to create the book, 20, 30 years later.
00:35:42.177 --> 00:35:48.503
Cause it will give a very different perspective from very different people's beliefs.
00:35:50.376 --> 00:35:53.237
What is it that inspires you to go out and take photos?
00:35:53.297 --> 00:35:54.067
Why do you keep doing it?
00:35:55.019 --> 00:35:55.800
Great question.
00:35:56.445 --> 00:36:06.614
So this, this is another spiritual journey for me, is that, finding beauty in chaos that brings real joy within me.
00:36:06.614 --> 00:36:08.931
Because the chaotic world.
00:36:08.931 --> 00:36:19.581
I do say, I will say, in a hopeless world, um, God finds beauty in his people.
00:36:19.891 --> 00:36:21.311
I believe that wholeheartedly.
00:36:21.911 --> 00:36:24.750
And whenever I feel down, that's my hope.
00:36:25.587 --> 00:36:29.797
And I see that within the photos, even those things are chaotic.
00:36:30.438 --> 00:36:32.938
I can find beauty within those chaos.
00:36:33.617 --> 00:36:35.748
And I do believe that's how God sees me.
00:36:36.427 --> 00:36:36.768
yeah.
00:36:36.887 --> 00:36:42.447
So that brings a different perspective and different, Purpose in my life
00:36:43.797 --> 00:36:47.097
So it's all about trying to find find the beauty that's in chaos,
00:36:47.518 --> 00:36:47.858
right?
00:36:49.038 --> 00:36:49.998
Because i'm chaos.
00:36:50.387 --> 00:36:55.648
I'm the one who chaos is in chaos Trying to find light in that
00:36:56.208 --> 00:37:00.237
I was gonna say maybe you should shoot more weddings because they're always very chaotic and you can always create
00:37:00.398 --> 00:37:03.837
beauty there Hey, man, I tell you I cover one wedding.
00:37:03.878 --> 00:37:08.478
Oh, man that the man that they had I was just like can I go now?
00:37:09.875 --> 00:37:11.485
And I can't believe you guys do that.
00:37:11.775 --> 00:37:12.644
That's your career.
00:37:12.695 --> 00:37:16.094
That's your bread and butter.
00:37:16.404 --> 00:37:17.784
Maybe you just got a bad wedding.
00:37:17.815 --> 00:37:18.324
I don't know.
00:37:19.360 --> 00:37:20.949
Well, it wasn't it wasn't bad.
00:37:20.989 --> 00:37:23.509
It was just a demand that they had.
00:37:23.610 --> 00:37:23.940
Right.
00:37:23.989 --> 00:37:31.550
And I can't imagine because and there are the there are people that I, I can't imagine for the people that you don't know.
00:37:31.940 --> 00:37:33.369
No, that's easier.
00:37:33.619 --> 00:37:34.519
That makes it easier.
00:37:35.900 --> 00:37:45.190
Listen, for me, if it's somebody who I don't know, you can kind of, and I was talking with Heather Lawton about this the other day, it's like you can kind of become a different person.
00:37:45.670 --> 00:37:55.684
You can be that person who at least for me I'm pretty easygoing, you know, whatever happens happens, but at a wedding, you kind of looked at as the professional and you have to take charge.
00:37:55.985 --> 00:38:04.050
And you can be that person who is like, we're going to do this, you can be that, you can be helpful to them by, by providing direction and do all these things.
00:38:04.340 --> 00:38:08.630
Like I had a wedding a few years ago where, I had, this couple was not the right couple for me.
00:38:09.141 --> 00:38:11.610
They were not the right couple for me, but, they.
00:38:12.235 --> 00:38:14.574
don't remember how they found me, but they were like, no, we don't.
00:38:14.574 --> 00:38:23.094
We're like, when I've interested in engagement photos and engagement session is where I learn more about the couple, how they interact with each other and how I can provide something for them.
00:38:23.175 --> 00:38:23.494
Right.
00:38:23.514 --> 00:38:25.175
But they didn't want the engagement session.
00:38:25.175 --> 00:38:25.835
Okay, that's fine.
00:38:25.835 --> 00:38:27.284
They just wanted the wedding day coverage.
00:38:27.574 --> 00:38:35.644
And then I sent out a questionnaire a month before wedding that's like, Hey, give me some more details here, just to confirm where it is and what time you want me to show up or whatever.
00:38:35.644 --> 00:38:36.764
They never filled it out.
00:38:37.094 --> 00:38:40.855
Despite me trying to like, Hey, what time do you want me there at your wedding?
00:38:40.855 --> 00:38:42.085
Like you got me there for eight hours.
00:38:42.094 --> 00:38:43.324
Like what time do you want me to show up?
00:38:43.744 --> 00:38:45.224
And I never got a response.
00:38:45.244 --> 00:38:57.085
So the day before the wedding, I had to be like, Hey, so I guess I'll be there like 10 AM because, I don't know, like when you're getting ready and stuff, so I show up at 10 AM and, sure enough, she was like, Oh, you're here early.
00:38:57.574 --> 00:39:03.835
And I was like, well, well, of course I am, you know, and for some reason, everybody's in a very bad mood and I could never figure out why.
00:39:04.414 --> 00:39:20.525
but by the time that my coverage was going to end was right when the ceremony was about to start and I was like look I like I tried, you know I really tried to to get an answer out of you and I didn't get anything and that's kind of one of those situations Where you know if that would happen with?
00:39:21.306 --> 00:39:25.525
Somebody who I knew who I was comfortable with I'd be like look, it's fine.
00:39:25.576 --> 00:39:26.835
Like I'll be here It's okay.
00:39:26.835 --> 00:39:35.815
Like I'm already here, you know with the camera anyway, I might as well photograph but because this was somebody who clearly didn't value I guess what it was that I was doing Sure.
00:39:35.905 --> 00:39:39.045
it was much easier to say like, Hey, look, I tried all these times.
00:39:39.266 --> 00:39:40.996
I now have to make a decision.
00:39:41.016 --> 00:39:48.016
And that is, if you want me to, like, I'll stay for the end of the ceremony, you hired me to shoot your wedding, but I'm not going to stay any longer than that.
00:39:48.045 --> 00:39:49.735
Unless you request for me to do that.
00:39:49.875 --> 00:39:53.445
And in which case I'm going to send you an invoice after the fact, but that's on you.
00:39:53.666 --> 00:40:00.105
and for me, it's a whole lot easier to do that with people who I don't know than people who, who I am comfortable with.
00:40:00.135 --> 00:40:02.485
So I would much rather photograph people who I don't know.
00:40:02.485 --> 00:40:05.976
So I think that if, maybe if you were to try to do something like that, it would be.
00:40:06.536 --> 00:40:07.235
I can
00:40:07.235 --> 00:40:10.215
definitely see, I can definitely see fun in it.
00:40:11.661 --> 00:40:14.271
because you know, you're going every day,
00:40:14.271 --> 00:40:14.740
there's cake
00:40:15.791 --> 00:40:25.134
you're going into environment where it's like very vibrant, happy moments, you know, parents, parents crying, daughter crying, capturing that moment.
00:40:25.204 --> 00:40:29.235
And you have it, you were having that in your, your file and delivering it.
00:40:29.704 --> 00:40:38.534
I mean, they may see it and see it beautiful, but at the same time, if they see those photos down the road, it will have greater meaning to them.
00:40:38.545 --> 00:40:42.684
So I can definitely see the benefit of a shooting wedding.
00:40:43.784 --> 00:40:45.304
So do you want to try it
00:40:45.304 --> 00:40:45.625
again?
00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:48.190
Yeah, I mean,
00:40:48.190 --> 00:40:51.449
if people want to hire me, that's the next step.
00:40:51.469 --> 00:40:51.840
That's all.
00:40:51.889 --> 00:40:53.179
That's a whole nother interview.
00:40:53.179 --> 00:40:54.710
That's a whole nother discussion right there.
00:40:55.190 --> 00:40:55.509
Yeah.
00:40:56.012 --> 00:40:59.420
So I guess, you know, we're kind of coming into the, uh, end of our time here.
00:40:59.750 --> 00:41:04.029
I got one last question for you and that is, what is it that you love so much about photography?
00:41:04.029 --> 00:41:09.190
I know that I asked you, what inspires you and you said, finding, beauty in the chaos.
00:41:09.230 --> 00:41:13.440
But when it comes to the technical side of photography, what is it that you love?
00:41:14.097 --> 00:41:14.277
My
00:41:14.277 --> 00:41:14.728
camera.
00:41:16.478 --> 00:41:18.257
Just looking at it and how beautiful it is?
00:41:18.387 --> 00:41:20.208
Oh, this thing is huge.
00:41:20.447 --> 00:41:21.197
Look at how big it is.
00:41:21.307 --> 00:41:22.788
It's like a, it's like a VHS tape.
00:41:22.918 --> 00:41:23.327
It's giant.
00:41:23.327 --> 00:41:24.248
A beast.
00:41:24.708 --> 00:41:27.228
But you know, I love this camera.
00:41:27.507 --> 00:41:27.757
Uh huh.
00:41:28.384 --> 00:41:30.195
And I, I love looking at that camera.
00:41:30.954 --> 00:41:31.875
And I love holding it.
00:41:32.487 --> 00:41:36.827
And of course, I'd love, you want to hear the sound of the click?
00:41:37.208 --> 00:41:41.688
Oh, I don't, I don't want to because it's gonna make me go out and buy one right now.
00:41:44.858 --> 00:41:45.737
It sounds like film.
00:41:45.827 --> 00:41:46.487
It sounds like film.
00:41:46.487 --> 00:41:47.197
Yeah, exactly.
00:41:47.237 --> 00:41:47.717
Exactly.
00:41:49.668 --> 00:41:52.898
I mean, sure people say cameras don't really matter.
00:41:52.978 --> 00:41:53.788
I love my camera.
00:41:54.360 --> 00:41:58.170
I've had it for about over a year and I still love my camera.
00:41:58.521 --> 00:42:00.704
Yeah, that's a good feeling, isn't it?
00:42:01.400 --> 00:42:01.960
Oh, yeah.
00:42:02.170 --> 00:42:02.460
Yeah.
00:42:02.690 --> 00:42:02.929
Oh, yeah.
00:42:03.900 --> 00:42:08.630
That's something that doesn't get talked about enough, you know, a lot of people are like, I love capturing the beauty or whatever.
00:42:08.920 --> 00:42:11.480
And you and me are like, have you seen this thing?
00:42:11.579 --> 00:42:12.529
Like, it's beautiful.
00:42:12.529 --> 00:42:13.420
It's fun to hold.
00:42:13.420 --> 00:42:14.090
It's great to hold.
00:42:14.550 --> 00:42:15.259
I love to hear that.
00:42:15.769 --> 00:42:17.130
Well, Sean, I guess I was wrong.
00:42:17.139 --> 00:42:18.360
I do have one last question for you.
00:42:18.360 --> 00:42:25.009
Do you have any advice for anybody who is just getting started in photography who's kind of hoping to find their way?
00:42:26.056 --> 00:42:29.195
Go to a local library borrow a bunch of books and read them.
00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:34.940
And even if it doesn't make any sense to you right at the moment, just consume it.
00:42:35.179 --> 00:42:39.110
And once you begin to consume, and don't even bother.
00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:43.318
Like for me, don't even bother going out to practice what you learn.
00:42:43.699 --> 00:42:44.599
Just consume it.
00:42:44.969 --> 00:42:46.748
Do what you want to do with your camera.
00:42:47.494 --> 00:43:07.463
And then over time things will start to clicking and once things start to click You'll have more question about those things Go back to the book and read it again, and it will make a sense 100 and you will master whatever you need to master and you don't even have to worry about it.
00:43:07.614 --> 00:43:10.748
So Free education or the library.
00:43:10.748 --> 00:43:16.048
I probably read every single book that's in my local library and I told them they need to update their books.
00:43:16.239 --> 00:43:18.938
It's bad.
00:43:19.079 --> 00:43:19.808
It's really bad.
00:43:19.909 --> 00:43:21.219
It's like from the nineties.
00:43:21.219 --> 00:43:26.679
Uh, you recently did an interview with this gentleman.
00:43:27.413 --> 00:43:28.204
Not recently.
00:43:28.753 --> 00:43:29.793
his name is Owen?
00:43:30.193 --> 00:43:30.574
Owen?
00:43:30.813 --> 00:43:31.443
Chris Owens?
00:43:32.034 --> 00:43:32.554
Yes.
00:43:32.744 --> 00:43:36.193
He wrote a book called, People Photos?
00:43:36.193 --> 00:43:36.494
Pictures.
00:43:36.954 --> 00:43:38.034
People Pictures.
00:43:38.034 --> 00:43:38.603
People Pictures.
00:43:38.603 --> 00:43:39.463
That was a good book.
00:43:39.853 --> 00:43:40.264
Yes.
00:43:40.313 --> 00:43:47.384
Cause he doesn't really go into, absolute detail about technical aspect, but how to engage.
00:43:47.998 --> 00:43:59.547
And that was really great because every time I feel like I'm going up to a stranger or somebody that I'm going to take, take photographs, sometimes I feel like I'm just barking, not talking.
00:44:00.418 --> 00:44:08.478
And he gave a very great perspective on how to engage and how to be more intimate with the person who's in front of you.
00:44:09.047 --> 00:44:11.157
So that really, helped me big time.
00:44:12.012 --> 00:44:14.152
And I think, I think that book should be read by, like,
00:44:14.632 --> 00:44:15.192
everybody.
00:44:15.563 --> 00:44:16.023
Yeah.
00:44:16.422 --> 00:44:16.773
Yeah.
00:44:17.152 --> 00:44:17.643
I bought it.
00:44:17.652 --> 00:44:18.442
I got a copy.
00:44:19.163 --> 00:44:21.063
Wait, is it Authentic Portraits?
00:44:21.742 --> 00:44:22.322
No, I think
00:44:22.322 --> 00:44:24.097
it's called People, People Picture, People Photo.
00:44:24.097 --> 00:44:24.532
Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:44:24.532 --> 00:44:24.952
Oh, People
00:44:24.952 --> 00:44:25.382
Pictures.
00:44:25.462 --> 00:44:25.882
There it is.
00:44:26.003 --> 00:44:26.393
I do have it.
00:44:26.882 --> 00:44:32.612
And I think you can, you can, buy, actually you can get the free ebook right now, I think.
00:44:32.972 --> 00:44:35.052
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, on his website, perhaps.
00:44:35.083 --> 00:44:36.422
You can definitely grab something from him.
00:44:36.802 --> 00:44:38.442
And I mean, he is a wonderful resource.
00:44:38.543 --> 00:44:39.753
I had the pleasure of meeting him.
00:44:39.802 --> 00:44:40.983
Yeah, at Imaging.
00:44:41.382 --> 00:44:44.733
And he is just like, and if anybody follows him on Instagram.
00:44:45.123 --> 00:44:46.143
Do you follow him on Instagram?
00:44:46.688 --> 00:44:47.418
No, I don't.
00:44:47.467 --> 00:44:48.527
I didn't know he had Instagram.
00:44:48.837 --> 00:44:49.557
Oh my gosh.
00:44:49.587 --> 00:44:52.567
He is like every single day rides his bike up a mountain.
00:44:52.567 --> 00:44:56.297
He lives in Santa Barbara and I think he goes on like a 20 mile bike ride every single day.
00:44:56.327 --> 00:44:57.427
And I'm like, how do you do this?
00:44:57.427 --> 00:44:58.097
This is insane.
00:44:58.398 --> 00:45:02.148
But yeah, I mean, a wonderful guy, great educator, and obviously very knowledgeable.
00:45:02.148 --> 00:45:03.268
So that's awesome to hear.
00:45:03.987 --> 00:45:10.157
Well, before I let you go, Sean, can you let listeners know obviously where they can find you and see more of your work?
00:45:10.157 --> 00:45:11.717
There's a funny story behind that.
00:45:12.038 --> 00:45:13.268
'cause I don't have a business card.
00:45:13.777 --> 00:45:13.867
Mm-Hmm.
00:45:14.108 --> 00:45:16.737
Um, I don't have a photography website.
00:45:17.648 --> 00:45:21.067
So some customers come in at the cleaners.
00:45:21.067 --> 00:45:23.978
They'll say, well, how can my friends find you?
00:45:23.978 --> 00:45:26.887
Or, how can somebody find you to the do the photo?
00:45:27.557 --> 00:45:30.947
This is what I tell them, I have to find you first.
00:45:31.795 --> 00:45:32.034
Okay.
00:45:32.034 --> 00:45:32.724
Tell me about that.
00:45:32.724 --> 00:45:34.434
That's how you, you can't just, you can't just leave it at that.
00:45:34.434 --> 00:45:36.324
Tell, tell, tell me the reasoning behind this.
00:45:36.324 --> 00:45:36.925
Tell me what you mean.
00:45:37.784 --> 00:45:40.054
That means they have to be a customer at the cleaners.
00:45:40.255 --> 00:45:47.175
They have to come in and then they have to tell me what's going on and see if I can Because a lot of time people will ask you.
00:45:47.175 --> 00:45:49.005
Hey, can you cover for this photo?
00:45:49.054 --> 00:45:51.215
Can you do a portrait for me?
00:45:51.775 --> 00:45:55.974
And generally of those who are hiring me are people I already
00:45:55.974 --> 00:45:57.264
know
00:45:57.364 --> 00:46:04.295
So I guess it's because I, I'm not really seeking out to become a professional photographer yet.
00:46:04.884 --> 00:46:08.025
I'm just doing these for recreation
00:46:08.625 --> 00:46:08.804
in a
00:46:08.804 --> 00:46:14.025
sense, but maybe one day I may make it as a full on professional work.
00:46:14.672 --> 00:46:19.157
But only thing that I have that is available on internet, it's Instagram.
00:46:19.958 --> 00:46:20.907
Sean Kim style.
00:46:21.577 --> 00:46:22.197
There we go.
00:46:22.438 --> 00:46:22.817
Perfect.
00:46:23.608 --> 00:46:26.914
I'm going to link to that obviously in the shadows of this as well.
00:46:27.465 --> 00:46:32.675
Sean, man, thank you so much for coming on and sharing everything that you did as far as your journey into photography.
00:46:33.047 --> 00:46:37.538
After all these years, I had a great time chatting with you today, finally getting you in front of the camera.
00:46:38.047 --> 00:46:40.788
And I look forward to seeing what you come up with in the future.
00:46:40.788 --> 00:46:48.655
And you know what, was gonna say what you can discover that is no longer boring to you, but, that's a pretty poorly phrased question.
00:46:48.865 --> 00:46:52.226
So I hope that you find something here in the future that is very interesting for you.
00:46:52.625 --> 00:46:54.532
And, whatever it is, I look forward to seeing it.
00:46:55.690 --> 00:46:55.989
All right.
00:46:55.989 --> 00:47:04.869
Today's action item being the one thing that if you implement it, it will make a difference and move the needle forward in your photography is this.
00:47:05.583 --> 00:47:10.682
I want you to just review your old photos to see how far you've come.
00:47:11.389 --> 00:47:16.969
If you've been shooting for more than like four or five months, I think you're gonna be surprised at how much you've grown.
00:47:17.750 --> 00:47:24.110
Now, it may not be, night and day, but I challenge you to sit down and see where your images have changed.
00:47:24.757 --> 00:47:26.166
See where you've made progress.
00:47:27.061 --> 00:47:37.521
I know how easy it is to feel like you're stuck in the weeds and that you're not seeing any progress with your work, but being able to stop and look at older photos.
00:47:38.090 --> 00:47:50.490
And then objectively, see how far you've come can really help you to not only stay motivated, but also to be more creatively challenged in your work as well, because you'll just want to continue to grow.
00:47:51.244 --> 00:47:52.804
It's a super powerful exercise.
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I encourage you to do it.
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Again, even if you've only been shooting for like 3, 4, 5 months.
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Try to note down those things that have, have changed, that you've made progress in in your photography.
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If you've been doing this for a year or two or more, do the same thing.
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It is a super powerful challenge.
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All right, that is it for today.
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Until next week, remember, the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you'll be tomorrow.
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Talk soon.