Video summary
The video explores how Hasselblad Masters competitions can offer valuable lessons for photographers who simply enjoy taking pictures, rather than just serving as a platform for judging winners. The speaker argues that while art is inherently subjective and competition results often reflect the specific tastes of a few judges, analyzing the winning entries reveals consistent themes that have evolved over the last twenty-five years. Instead of focusing on why a photo won, the discussion shifts to what we can learn from these images, specifically noting a shift toward a quieter, more laid-back approach in recent years. This evolution suggests that even in busy environments, successful compositions often rely on simplicity and calmness rather than chaos or excessive technical manipulation.
One key takeaway highlighted is the power of composition through vertical lines, which create a sense of stability and calm even amidst cluttered scenes. The speaker uses examples like a forest with many trees to demonstrate how upright lines prevent an image from feeling chaotic, whereas horizontal lines can introduce movement or instability. Another crucial lesson involves sequencing images into a cohesive set rather than posting random shots; this is illustrated by photographs of coral reefs where a small, recurring element, such as a specific fish or cat, acts as an anchor to tie the series together. Similarly, street photography sequences are praised for their consistent flavor and approach, showing that photographers can intentionally create sets of images that flow logically from one another without relying on complex processing or dramatic angles.
Beyond technical composition, the video emphasizes the importance of observation and the ability to see beyond the obvious to find unique perspectives in mundane subjects. The speaker points out how early morning mist can transform a chaotic market scene into something ethereal by using natural light sources effectively, turning potential distractions into atmospheric elements. This mindset extends to finding unexpected beauty in ordinary things, such as photographing cows in a way that evokes the feeling of a landscape or capturing old cinemas with a documentary style that feels solid and authentic. The core message is that these masters do not rely on difficult techniques or "dark room gymnastics" but instead possess the creative leap to find interesting patterns and stories in everyday life, encouraging viewers to act on their own observations rather than just admiring them from afar.
Ultimately, the video concludes that inspiration can be found by looking back at historical winners from competitions like the House of Black Masters, observing how their work has changed while maintaining a gentle, evocative quality. The speaker encourages photographers to embrace this evolution and find their own natural style without feeling ashamed to draw inspiration from others' work. Whether it is through the quiet portraits of twins or the atmospheric shots of early morning dwellers, the common thread is a respectful and thoughtful engagement with the subject matter. By studying these examples, everyday photographers can learn to slow down, notice small details that tie their images together, and capture moments that feel painted and meaningful rather than just technically correct.
Read the full video transcript
Here you go. Look at this. Say books
called uh learning about taking
photographs cost 60 of your English p.
Now before I ever started thinking about
entering competitions or any of that
kind of malarkey, I I just I took
photographs for the love of it, you
know, sort of for this and little toy
cameras and stuff. And it was great cuz
it was just it was me taking a picture
and I show it to mom and dad or my
friends. Hey, that looks pretty cool.
But obviously over time the idea of
competitions
gets into our heads in some way or
another and you have like two approaches
here. There's you know there's there's
the local camera club which I feel in my
experiences have it's it's like dogma.
There's there's people who have a
certain way like this is what
constitutes a good photograph and here's
what doesn't. Uh and and the issue I
take with that is that usually it's it's
based off of two or three people's
opinion. Then we have international
competitions. So something like the
house of black masters, right? So that's
been going on since 2001. So every few
years and they've just released the
winners. Now every time a competition
releases the winners, there's
there's discussion about why did this
picture win, what's so good about this,
etc., etc., etc. And I feel that that is
part of the issue with competitions in
general.
Art is going to be subjective. People
are not going to universally like the
thing that is is presented and then
awarded a winner. So I thought what we
do today is we can look at the winners
from the house masters not from a point
of view of why did they win but more
what can we learn from these what can we
take from this because I think that is a
that's the true benefit of competitions
in general yes they can be a yard stick
and yes a winner can say hey I've won
this but to us everybody else the the
millions of other people who enjoy
taking photographs. What is the benefit?
So we start off thinking about, you
know, the the the categories that they
have in the house of that master. But
this year they've had art, they have
architecture,
there's landscape,
there's project 21,
there's portrait photography,
there's street photography,
wildlife,
and those are the categories that
they've given as as women. The first
thing that sort of jumps to my mind when
I look at all these photographs and it's
always going to be I I think a a taste
there seems to be themes that run
throughout any photographic competition
year on year and and what I've
discovered if you look at the house
black masters cuz you can go on to the
website and they have I think going back
to 2008 you see a progression see a
change in how photography I feel
certainly at this kind of this level.
This this competition level, which is a
very different thing to to us just
taking normal photographs, has evolved.
And what I'm noticing from looking at
the pictures, the winners from this
year, is they all have a a very quiet,
very uh laidback approach. There's
nothing in here. Even the landscape by
Rowan, right? Look at these trees.
They're white trees. It is really really
busy. There's like so many photo there's
so many trees b. But they're doing
something.
Ran's doing something in the photographs
that I think counters all of that. So,
it's a good Yeah. Here's here's here's
your first lesson. There's lots of trees
here and it could be an exceptionally
busy environment, but look at the way
that it is composed.
Look at the way that the lines and the
trees, they for the most part all go
straight up and down. There's no
sideways. There's no crazy angles. So
even though there's lots of lots of
trees in there,
it gives us a calm feel because those
lines
are upright. In composition, in
photography,
if you have lots of vertical lines,
think about it like a tree. That tree is
not going to fall over. If the tree has
fallen over and it's horizontal, it's
also not going anywhere. Anywhere in
between those lines start giving
movement and feeling. Look at the one of
the photograph where there is a
vanishing point, the central vanishing
point. That photograph has a lot more
oomph to it than the other two.
That brings us onto the second section
because obviously, you know, these are
not just single photographs. They are
three images and they need to hold
together. People, you know, asked about
like sequencing and how do you put
images together and and make them just
hold as a cohesive unit to make them
something that people could spend time
looking at. And if you have three crazy
different photographs, then it becomes
it just becomes visually uh very
energetic to look at is probably the
best way of of putting that. So what
happens is if I look at the photographs
that Alfred Man has taken, they're like
coral reefs. There's again there's a
busyiness to each each of them because
you know coral naturally it's it's all
over the place. It's colorful. It's
bright. It's vivid.
But in each of these photographs, there
is a little anchor.
There's a little
suggestion, a little a little seasoning,
a little spice, a little cat that comes
in that says, "Hello, I'm holding all of
this together." And it's the cat mewing.
I'll get rid of him in a second.
[laughter] It's the little fish. See, he
knew I was talking about fish. He's come
in. He wants to get some fish. Give me a
second. I was going to get rid of him
just as a by the by. So this is this is
this is uh Po. Say hello Po. Right. So
he's he's 18 years old now. Um yeah,
he's he's a TP cat. Those of you who are
part of the TP tribe will have noticed
him walking back and forth in front of
the camera during our talks. Anyway,
let's get him out and we'll get back.
All right. So where? Yes, we're looking
at Alfred's photographs of the of the
coral reefs with the the fish. And yeah,
it's that little
spice, as I was saying, that little
seasoning, the the the garnish, if you
will, right, that I think holds them
together as a as a group of photographs.
It's just a little
unique
signifier in each one that takes it from
just being a picture of some coral,
which obviously is nice enough in and of
itself, and it makes it feel I I said
look at this and and I'm reminded of
those those landscapes, you know, the
the vertical straight down landscapes
with a little thing in there just I
think also, you know, just goes to show
the the I don't want to start leaning
into ideas about like fragility and what
have you because this is not about
whether or not these photographs are
worthy winners. This is about what we
can take from from this. That's funny.
So, I mentioned the TP tribe earlier. We
get together every Wednesday and we have
a chat about our photographs and we look
at new photography, get interviews and
what have you. If you're interested in
seeing what we're all about, there's a
7-day free trial in the link below. But
last night we were talking about a a
photograph of
some noodle vendors I think in Bangkok
or my some somewhere like that. And
there was a lot going on in the picture.
It was early morning and it's and I
think it's one of those photographs
where you go there is there's scope here
to create something awesome. And we were
just talking about elements within the
frame that aren't contributing to the
image that feel like they're just, you
know, they're intrusive that if we were
aware of them when we took them, we
could take a step forward or we could
move something to to mitigate all that
kind of stuff. And I looked at these
photographs by and I hope I'm
pronouncing
uh correctly. Hi Bulma. I can do the
Bulma part [laughter] from from from
Holland. I look at these photographs of
these, you know, these market vendors,
the coffee sellers and and it's exactly
what I think I was, you know, I was just
driving out here. These photographs,
they have an ethereal quality to them.
Look at the early morning misty and so
all of that. That's lovely. Just it it
just it it
throws beautiful pieces of atmosphere
all over the photograph. But it also
does something else that is, you know, I
think a takeaway because these pictures
are early in the morning, because these
people are the only source of light,
what have you, that makes them stand
out. It makes what could be quite a
chaotic environment later on in the day.
If you look at the the one in front of a
church or a town hall, whatever it is,
as there's a market going on, that when
it's got daylight in it, it's got people
in it, that becomes extremely busy. and
it and I and then the photographs just
it just doesn't happen.
There's something else going on here
with these photographs that I feel is
also worthwhile taking as a lesson.
Then you look at some of these things
and or some of these photographs, not
things, photographs and you say, I could
have done this. You know, I see this all
the time. And in retrospect, yes, we see
these things all the time.
But we've also blanked them out. We're
not really paying attention to what
could do. And I think here is you
looking at these street photographs,
this morning ritual, this sequence. Once
again, the photographs hold together.
They feel because they have the same
flavor. They have the same approach.
They're not random things, right? So you
can look at them. You can look at his
body work and they just they're they
solid.
So is walking along, maybe he did get up
early, maybe, you know, saw something on
his and and idly went, "Do you know
what? That actually looks pretty cool."
And he went off and he photographed
them. I fall into this trap a lot. I'm
sure you do in certain ways. Look at me
as jakuz. I point the finger of
accusation in your direction, which is
not pretty nice, but we've all been
there. We see things, we go, "Ah, yeah,
that would look kind of cool." We just
never bother. We never bother taking the
photograph. And then then you see
something and you go, "Well, I could
have," you know, at least that that's
the takeaway, the main takeaway, I
think, from these kind of photographs
and also the pictures of the uh the
what do you call what's the word I'm
looking for here?
Cinemas. That's it. They're so rare that
I've
cinemas that Kevin's photographed him.
Look at them
as a photograph.
And I'm going to tread on some coals
here. I'm going to tread carefully. Put
my flame proof suit on
as like a photograph
from a technical standpoint and all that
kind of stuff. It's It's not that hard.
It's not difficult. I mean, we could get
it. But what is what is the thing here?
The thing that I'm sort of taking away
from all of this, and it ties in with,
you know, looking at those coffee
sellers and what have you, is that
we don't take these pictures,
or at least a lot of people don't. Now,
that's fine because you're not required
to go off and take photographs of, you
know, of old movie houses in places like
that. You know, this feels like it's out
in the wilds of says the Canadian
prairies, which I'd imagine in my head,
you know, small places,
but we still need to act. We need to act
on this is what I'm coming back to. We
need to act on I've seen this thing. I
find it kind of interesting and I'm
going to photograph now. The the the
same as looking at the trees, but
there's a pattern. Same with the fish,
the same with, you know, the street
photography and the other works that
have been up on the screen. This
set of images, they are straight down
the line. So when I talk about straight
down the line, I mean it's like there's
no fancy angles, there's no fancy
processing, there's no there's none of
this kind of like, you know, like let's
let's call it dark room gymnastics,
photographic gymnastics, right? So we're
not getting ourselves into a pretzel.
Kevin sees the scene and he goes bof
that's the it is a record a document of
this building. Now once again in in and
of itself that's not unusual. We see
this quite a lot. You know a lot of
people do this kind of that sort of poof
straight onto a building what have you.
Kevin travels around and he photographs
all these places and he photographs them
in a similar fashion so they hold
together as a set. Now obviously we
don't know what these are being compared
against or what have you. If you look at
this
especially the first two like movie land
and mystic that horizon is on the same
plane. It's little things within the
frame that make them flow from one to
the other.
Right? It's you can we can bring this
into our photography if we are thinking
about having our photographs as a set.
You can see this is like the kind of the
theme for today. It's a set of images,
set of things that work together. Then
we need to be mindful that we could put
things it might be as simple as and I've
seen this like in you know I've talked
about this with Nick Carver's work and
other people that there are little hints
there's little I won't call them Easter
eggs but there's something that just
ties all of the photos together in the
sequence and and and and it's up to us I
think as photographers to find the one
that works for us what feels natural.
draw, you know, try it out. It's there
in your work. It's hiding it. Strangely
enough for me, there was a uh there's a
set of images here that uh that I these
these are probably my I like I like the
the coffee uh you know, the early
morning dwellers thing. I like I love
those. Uh and I'm also I'm not a street
photographer. I love But there's an
atmosphere about them. They feel like
painted. They feel they feel evocative.
And then you have
these these cows.
Uda Uda has photographed these cows
and I I love these.
Absolutely love it. This is a landscape
of cows.
Should be landscape, right? But this is
a landscape of cows. This is I think a
wonderful
example of looking at something in this
case count [snorts] and totally going
away from
what what is expected it it's it's
observation it's awareness how does this
look where's that creative leap that we
can take because
you know I know it's kind like the these
these people in these these you know
these awards and what have
They are, you know, the photographers
who are irrespective of where what you
think about competition. I don't think
there's any photographs here that you
look at and you go that's terrible like
why did that? Which is can't be said for
every competition.
But they they they have that ability to
see beyond the obvious part. the obvious
part, the technical part, as I said,
like none of these photographs,
actually, none of them. I may sound like
I was being a bit hard on on Kevin with
his cinemas, but none of these are
technically
difficult and require trxy processes
like, you know, all sorts of things,
right? Uh, and somebody's going to come
into the into the comments and say,
"Hey, like macro pictures of fish and
stuff." Of course, it's difficult. I
think you kind of know what I mean,
right?
At least I hope you do.
It's that leap.
It's looking at those cows and going
reminds me of landscape. Now I've seen
as you may have seen, you know,
photographs of the backs of horses and
things, you know, but and humans, you
know, the the landscape of the body and
whatnot.
But again, it's one thing to have it in
our heads and it is another thing to
actually do it. This is also aimed at
me, right?
I um I'm I'm I'm not always great at uh
at
following my own advice, but I think
this this goes naturally. I think we're
friends here. We're friends honestly.
And so I encourage you, you know, when
you look at
photographs, you know, portrait work,
the
iridescent fish, the other worldly
things are these these very again quiet,
calm photographs, these portraits by
Lana,
you know, twins.
Again, the word I keep coming back to is
gentle. It's always gentle. the lighting
that's there that's there's something in
all of these pictures I I can't put my
finger on it
and if I go back and I look through the
previous work of you know winners in the
house black awards cuz as I said this is
just an interesting exercise to see all
of the the the work that's won over the
past what is it like 18 well it says
2001 so 25 years this quarter god it's
not quarter of my life. It's half of my
life,
right? See the evolution of what's
changing. And this is I think this is a
wonderful place to find inspiration for
ourselves cuz it's one thing I think to
look at current work, but everybody's
looking at current work. go back and not
into the annals of history with your
pens and that kind of stuff, but going
back through the masters and finding
things done that I I love that cuz
there's no shame I think in looking at
somebody's work and going that inspires
me to do my own thing like that.
I hope you enjoyed this. Thanks ever so
much. Go check out the TP tribe. Be
awesome to have you here. I'll see you
again soon. Bye.