The Open Shutter Photography Podcast

Welcome to part 1 of a 2 part double feature with a literal "Grand Master" of Photography - Paul Hoelen!

There were two big topics that I wanted to ask Paul about, each one warranting it's own dedicated episode... And when Paul agreed to talk about both I couldn't pass up such a great opportunity!

So this episode is dedicated to mental health in the arts, and how photography can be used to affect positive change in peoples lives - something Paul has 20 years of first hand experience of with his involvement with the incredible Men With Heart project.

Check out the Men With Heart project at menwithheart.com.au while you listen along to the episode.

Part 2 of this double-feature is coming up in a couple of days in episode 16, where we talk about the power of photography in conservation.

Many thanks to Paul who is an absolute legend. He gives us so much to think about in this episode and I'm sure you'll agree.

MenWithHeart.com.au - Find out more and view the image gallery of the wonderful Men With Heart project.

Talking Landscape Photography - Subscribe to Paul's YouTube channel and tune in Live on 28th October 2020 to the panel discussion on mental health in photography and the arts.

TheLightCollective.com.au - Check out Paul's collaborative group The Light Collective to see images from their thought provoking galleries and books highlighting the conservational issues affecting Australias landscapes.

• What does it mean to be a grand master of photography in Australia and New Zealand?
• How competitions can play a role in your career
• Diversifying your skillset and what you can offer as a photographer
• Where do photography trends originate?
• Men with heart - a 20 year photographic project that might have never seen the light of day
• Promoting healthy masculinity in Australia
• Owning your issues, talking and exploring how to become better men
• The level and depth of intimacy over 20 years and bringing it to the world in a touring exhibition, to support and inspire the wider community
• Curating and distilling 20-25,000 photos down to 45
• Dissolving stereotypes and flipping the script on vulnerability
• The effects the Men With Heart body of work has on women
• The power a photo has to shift your perception of yourself and the perception of people around you
• What happens when photographers and creative artists let their guard down online and share their struggles
• How we use photography as a positive outlet for our mental wellbeing

This week we are joined by the wonderfully talented and prolific landscape photographer Nick Page!

You're probably very familiar with Nick's photoraphy on Instagram, his YouTube channel, tutorials, courses and workshops, and from his popular podcast "The Landscape Photography Podcast".

I've been following Nick online for quite a few years and one of the things that always amazed me about what he does is how prolific he has been with his work, pumping out portfolio-level images seemingly at will. This is one of the topics I wanted to dig into with Nick in our chat, along with a lot more that I know you'll get a lot of value from.

Subscribe and listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all your favourite podcast-listening apps.

The Landscape Photography Podcast – Subscribe to Nick's popular photography podcast here

NickPagePhotography.com – Check out Nick's courses, tutorials, and workshops

F4RoadTrip.com – Invest in the epic new photography course jointly created by Nick Page, Thomas Heaton, Gavin Hardcastle and Adam Gibbs

Follow Nick on Instagram | YouTube | Facebook

• The changing landscape of the Pacific North West following recent bushfires
• Nick's journey into photography
• Where did Nick's love of landscape photography evolve from?
• Where does "photography burnout" come from?
• How to avoid burning out
• How to capitalise on your inspiration for maximum output
• Putting yourself in inspirational situations
• Chasing conditions VS locations
• How Nick fully engages with the landscape when on a photo shoot
• How to set yourself up for success when on a shoot
• A typical year in the life of Nick Page
• A not-so-typical year in the life (2020!) – What can a landscape photographer do when they're not taking landscape photos?
• Creating a natural progression into a photography career you love
• What does the future look life for Nick's career?
• The real-world disconnect you feel as an online content creator, and the importance of remembering you never know the impact your work may be making on people

Today I'm joined by the incredibly talented landscape photographer Joshua Snow to talk about colour and light, and how to go the extra mile to use these elements to create truly unique landscapes.

I discovered Joshua on Instagram quite recently and his images and photographic style became an instant favourite of mine. Josh is a master of the epic landscape and during our conversation I came to learn just how he creates such unique images that really stand out in a genre of photography that is extremely difficult to be original in.

Listen now to hear the full interview!

Color Science In Landscape Photography - Register for Josh's Live webinar - Live this Friday 9th October 2020, at 5PM MST in the US.

Joshua Snow on Instagram - Follow Josh on Instagram to catch his latest inspirational landscape images

JSnowPhotography.com - Visit Josh's main website to see his full portfolio and learn more about his workshops and online classes.

• How to use colour to evoke emotion in a landscape
• Using colour and light as compositional elements to open up endless possibilities
• The difference between "leading lines" and "lead-in's"
• Using colour to push or pull you into a scene
• Josh's fast journey to becoming a pro
• How to balance work vs passion when you're "doing what you love" as a job
• Bridging the gap between photography and digital art
• Where does josh draw his creative inspiration from?
• Can processing go too far?
• Why (and when) lots of colour can be a bad thing!
• Why "everything coming naturally" might not always lead to the best results
• How to jump-start some new creativity
• Why making it hard for yourself can be a goldmine for producing unique shots
• How to put your own spin on locations that have been shot to death

I'm delighted to welcome the one and only Joshua Cripps onto the podcast for episode 12, to hear his thoughts on how being a "technically minded" person can actually be an advantage rather than a disadvantage for photographers who want to be more creative.

Joshua is a world renowned wilderness landscape photographer whose work has been published by National Geographic, NASA, Nikon, CNN and more.

Many people think it's some kind of disadvantage to be more of a "technical person" than a "creative person" when it comes to photography, but Joshua is a perfect example of why that is not true - he left the field of Aerospace engineering to follow his photography goals! You don't get much more technical than that.

In our interview Joshua tells us how you can use your technical side to improve your creativity, not have it hold your creativity back.

Joshua's FREE Landscape Photography Webinar - Watch Joshua's free webinar to learn how to build a simple framework that will allow you, no matter where you live, who you are, or what kind of camera you have, to instantly start taking photos you love. Photos that tell the stories you want to tell.

JoshuaCripps.com - Joshua's website is a treasure chest of helpful and insightful articles, videos, courses, and more that will help you become a better photographer.

Follow Joshua on the socials:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

• Why having a technical background can help you be a more creative person
• How to improve your creativity
• The 4 step process for flexing your creative muscles
• How to open your mind to what's in front of you
• How to use your technical mind to "solve the problem" of bad photos
• The 4 things every great photo must have
• Whar does being a "creative person" actually mean?
• How to discover the story you want to tell of every scene
• The golden rule of landscape photography
• How to solve the problem of "bad light"

Listen to the full interview now to hear Alex's insights on the art of the intimate landscape.

Alex Noriega's Image Editing Tutorials - Learn Alex's transformational processing techniques with his collections of image editing tutorials.

@NoriegaPhotography on Instagram - Follow Alex on Instagram and be inspired by his incredible portfolio of intimate landscapes

Photography Workshops with Alex - Learn from Alex in person (VERY limited places available at time of writing!)

• How to take landscape photographs that are less predictable and convey something more extraordinary
• Why Alex hardly ever includes the sky in his photos
• How to make popular landscape locations more anonymous by creating a sense of mystery
• Why intimate landscapes are less reliant on weather conditions
• What to include in an intimate landscape where so much focus is on excluding elements
• Why even the most epic sky can make landscape scenes seem more ordinary
• What details to focus on within a wider scene
• What it's been like to live nomadically for the past year in a mobile home

My guest for episode 10 is a photographer, author, and educator whose podcast appearances around a decade ago helped get me through many a commute back in the day. So I'm delighted to welcome Nicole Young - AKA Nicolesy to the Open Shutter Photography Podcast to discuss creativity and to give you a big dose of inspiration to find some new creative catalysts for your photography.

Subscribe now and listen to the full episode, and check out the links below to see more from Nicole!

Nicolesy on Instagram - Follow Nicolesy on Instagram here to stay up to date with her latest images and stories.

Nicolesyblog.com - Visit Nicolesy's website to check out her blog and store, to find out more about Nicoles educational books, eBooks, and video courses, as well as her many presets packages, and texture packs, for Lightroom, Photoshop, On1, Luminar and more!

Nicole S. Young on YouTube - Subscribe to Nicolesy's YouTube channel for Lightroom, Photoshop, and On1 Video tutorials.

Nicolesy on Stocksy - View Nicolesy's stock portfolio on the Stocksy website we talked about during the episode.

• How to get over a slump by setting a creative challenge for yourself
• Using inspiration boards on Pinterest for discovering new sparks of interest
• Ideas for getting started with tabletop photography
• Why tabletop photography is a great way to learn about light on a larger scale
• The crossover between photography and other creative interests
• Finding a "new reason" to work on and improve your photography
• How creating a stock portfolio was a great problem solving exercise

In this episode I'm chatting with the amazingly talented landscape photographer Isabella Tabacchi, aka @isabellandscapes on instagram.

Isabella's distinctive landscape photography style borders on the dreamlike, but without losing any sense of realism at the same time - it's something I find really difficult to describe so if you're not familiar with Isabellas work then I highly recommend you follow her instagram page.

Coming up, I'm asking Isabella about her creative process and how she developed such a style, as well as to get her insights into what it's like being on the judging panel for the prestigious Epson Pano Awards for the past three years, and if she has any tips for photographers wanting their entries to stand out from the crowd.

IsabellaTabacchi.com - See Isabellas portfolio and find out about her online classes and in-person workshops, and sign up for her email newsletter.

Follow @isabellandscapes on Instagram to see her latest images and stories.

• How to find success shooting in any weather
• Where does Isabellas inspiration come from?
• One thing you must do if you want to see constant improvement in your photography
• Where do new creative ideas come from?
• How Isabellas style continues to grow and evolve
• What it's like to judge thousands of entries in the Epson Pano Awards
• Advice to photographers wanting to make their photos stand out from the noise to a competition judge
• How to stay productive when you can't travel
• How to find new or alternative landscape locations off the beaten track

Luminosity Masking Panel for Photoshop - Designed and developed by Steve Arnold to make luminosity masking quicker, easier, and more effective. Podcast listeners receive a 45% discount!

I came up with a bunch of titles for this weeks episode with Scottish outdoor photographer Kim Grant. Titles about creating videos for YouTube, about doing something unique, about showcasing the beauty in your own local landscapes, about capturing the attention of tourism boards to work with, and so on...

But there was one overarching theme to what Kim shared in our chat... One main lesson that no matter what your specific field of interest is, or whether you want to "go pro" or not, if you take this lesson to heart then you should never find yourself low on inspiration or losing your passion for photography.

Subscribe to the podcast and listen to the full interview now to hear how Kim has done it, and how the side-effect was a career in photography.

Kim's YouTube Channel - Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel

Kim Grant Photography on Instagram & Facebook

KimGrantPhotography.co.uk - Visit Kim's website to see her photo galleries, workshops, and more.

• How to use photography to showcase, educate, and inform about your local area
• How creating video blogs (with a twist) led to a career in photography
• How Kim comes across naturally on video even though she's still camera shy
• Why is it still painful to watch other people watching your own videos? (Something Kim and I have in common!)
• How to get your work noticed by tourism boards
• What's involved in creating video guides for tourism
• Why Kim doesn't pay much attention to video stats (and what she focuses on instead)
• Why you should create content for the right reasons and what happens when you don't
• Why making the jump from hobbyist to professional did NOT destroy her passion for photography (in fact it was the opposite!)

Luminosity Masking Panel for Photoshop - Designed and developed by Steve Arnold to make luminosity masking quicker, easier, and more effective. Podcast listeners receive a 45% discount!

In this weeks episode I'm joined by Icelandic professional photographer Óli Haukur, who co-founded one of Icelands most popular photo tour companies EnRoute in 2012, has an incredible image portfolio, and thanks to his thought provoking YouTube videos was one of the first names on the list of potential guests when I decided to start this podcast!

Óli shares many inspirational thoughts and insights over the course of our conversation, which I can't wait to share with you now. Hit Play to hear the full interview!

olih.is - Visit Óli's website for tour info & more

OliHPhotography on YouTube - Subscribe to Óli's YouTube channel

Follow Óli on Instagram and Facebook

Luminosity Masking Panel for Photoshop - Designed and developed by Steve Arnold to make luminosity masking quicker, easier, and more effective. Podcast listeners receive a 45% discount!

• How living in Iceland affected Óli's growth as a photographer
• How challenging locations and conditions can train your creative eye faster
• Does the effort you put into capturing a photo affect the quality or value of the photo?
• Who are you shooting for?
• Work ethis - why nobody gets good by accident
• Does having a "style" help or hurt you as a photographer?
• Why there is only 1 real type of failure in photography
• Why growth isn't found in the "money shots"
• How to go beyond the money shots to find more unique images
• When should landscape photographers tell the "truth" in their work?
• Why it's dangerous to rely on external factors for motivation and inspiration

Our guest in this episode is world-renowned film maker and photographer Michael Shainblum. I invited Michael on to the podcast to ask him all about his stunning NYC time-lapse video, and how he captured the essence of the city so effectively in it.

Over the course of our conversation Michael shared some great insights into his technical and creative process and offered tips and advice for anyone wanting to try time-lapse photography for themselves.

MastersOfVisuals.com – The ultimate time-lapse photography masterclass, by Michael Shainblum

ShainblumPhoto.com – Visit Michaels website for articles, videos, tutorials, workshops and more

• Michael's main goal when creating time-laspe videos
• How Michael captured the feeling of the city in his NYC time-lapse
• How the entire video was built around one scene and Michael created a progression to build towards it
• What it was like trying to film all around NYC and 1 World Trade
• The #1 most important thing every new piece must have before Michael puts it out into the world
• What kind of motion works best for time-lapse
• What kind of scenes work best
• How time-lapse allows you to see things you weren't noticing in person
• What equipment do you need to get started with time-lapse
• What should you focus on when creating time-lapse videos for the first time
• The most important thing to get right in your time-lapse videos
• Tips for getting started with sunset/sunrise time-lapse transitions without needing extra gear