I've been working for around 3 years now on my photography and trying to build up a career with it.  It's been far more difficult than I thought when I first began this journey and as a result of the difficulties and some struggles in my personal life too, I found myself feeling very low and frustrated at the back end of last year.

In that moment it would have been very easy for me to quit and to give up on my dreams.  I had no job, no money and my career as a photographer was nowhere near where I wanted it to be, in reality it was still just a pipe dream.  Thankfully I read two things which really helped put things into perspective for me, helped put my mind at ease and helped me to find my motivation again.

In this podcast I will share those two key moments of reflection and realisation.

Watch the video mentioned in this podcast in FULL here:  https://youtu.be/uxoucrHWP3g

Hope you enjoy.

_________

Website:  www.chrisgouge.co.uk

In this episode I discuss failing college and why it was the best thing to ever happen to me, how I accidentally found my love for photography and how the way I used to define myself as a person was not the kind of person I truly was at all!

We often tell ourselves stories about who we are, what we can and can't do, but as my own story will reveal in this podcast, oftentimes none of that is true at all and we can actually surprise ourselves and do things we never imagined, things we may have thought would be entirely out of character.

The way we identify ourselves isn't necessarily the person we actually are, or the person we could become.  Don't limit yourself, or hold yourself back with stories that may not be true.

_________

In this episode me and my friend Jonny who has just finished a photography degree, debate one of the most influential British photographers, Martin Parr.  He is not just one of the most well known and well respected photographers in Britain, certainly as a street photographer, but also an incredibly shrewd business man.

This is one of the things we discuss in this episode.  He recently caused some controversy when, in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, he began selling face masks with his photos printed on them - like I say he is a shrewd business man.  We discuss our thoughts on that before talking about his work he done with the BBC where he created a series of short idents 'from a series of portraits that represent the rich diversity of communities living in the UK today.'  You can watch all of those on his website:  https://www.martinparr.com/bbc-one-idents/

I then talk about the time I met him at a book signing and slightly offended him by commenting on how quiet it was and then showed off my photography skills by taking a 'selfie' of the two of us which is completely blurry and out of focus.  You can see that photo on my blog post for this episode:  https://www.chrisgouge.co.uk/post/podcast-discussing-martin-parr-photography-s-most-shrewd-businessman

Finally we discuss him as a photographer as a whole and specifically his project 'The Last Resort' a project which focused on the seaside town of New Brighton in the 1980s.

_________

Following on from episode 3 where I discussed appreciating your worth and your impact on the world, no matter how small it may seem... This episode further proves that point.  Despite only getting about 200 views, I received some amazing comments on my previous two YouTube videos from a woman telling me what a positive impact those videos had had on her.

So in this episode I discuss how you only need a small audience to make a big difference and why focusing on pleasing the audience you do have rather than chasing numbers and subscribers will make both you and your audience happier.

Hope you enjoy the episode and don't forget to get in touch to let me know your thoughts, feedback or simply just to say hello.

_________

In this episode me and one of my photographer friends who as just finished a degree in photography debate the importance of gear and equipment.  How much of a difference does a better and more expensive camera REALLY make?  Is it always best to go full frame?  Is it important to always have the latest equipment?  What if you are new to photography and can't afford an expensive camera and lens?  These are the issues we will discuss in this episode.

Me and my friend Jonny have been having a lot of conversations on Zoom lately about photography and discussing our favourite photographers so I will be sharing lots more of these conversations and debates over the next few weeks.  Let me know if there's anything you'd like to hear us discuss.

Also you can see the video of these discussions over on my blog:   www.chrisgouge.co.uk/blog

_________

As a photographer or any creative person trying to fight for attention in a very saturated market, it can be very frustrating and damaging to your morale and motivation when your content is only getting a tiny handful of views, likes or subscribers, while you watch other creatives have huge success with mass audiences and engagement.

If you can relate with that then this podcast episode is for you.  In this episode you will learn to appreciate your worth and your impact as a photographer or person.  No matter how small it may seem, know that you are making a difference.

_________

Subscribe to the Chris Gouge show for discussions on photography as a whole as well as all the things I learn on my journey and attempts to turn my passion into a career.  If you love photography or just share a desire to turn your passion into a career, then this is the podcast for you!

If you had a time machine, would you travel to the future or to the past?

It's a question I debate in this episode.  If you're anything like me your initial answer would probably to travel to the past so you could change something you don't like, something you think has hindered you and set you back in life perhaps.  If you travelled to the future instead however, you would realise how those things in the past have actually served you and that your future is actually much brighter because of those events.

_________

Subscribe to the Chris Gouge show for discussions on photography as a whole as well as all the things I learn on my journey and attempts to turn my passion into a career.  If you love photography or just share a desire to turn your passion into a career, then this is the podcast for you!

Hi, I'm Chris, I love travel, photography, adventures and this is my very first podcast where I aim to share my journey as I chase my goals of becoming a professional travel & landscape photographer and simply living my best life and following my motto of living without regret.

In this first episode I introduce myself and share what has inspired me to start a podcast and what my aims are with it.  I also explain how I've recently got myself out of a rut and improved my mental well-being, happiness and productivity and discuss the importance of developing good habits.

Generally with my podcast I will discuss photography as a whole and share all the important things I learn on my journey trying to turn my passion into a career.

Website:  www.chrisgouge.co.uk

Blog:  www.chrisgouge.co.uk/blog

YouTube:  www.Youtube.com/chrisgouge

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/chris_gouge