A couple of Youtube Gems
April 17, 2019
Youtube is no doubt one of the best sources of practical knowledge. I’m guilty of searching for the most mundane instruction videos of how to remove cup rings from polished surfaces (doh!), how to balance radiators etc. And the proof, and comfort, that your not the only one searching for those same ‘life saving’ tasks, is in the viewing figures of the videos where quite often Joe Public has grabbed a camera and shot their own video to share their skill with others. Of course there’s the media hungry ‘Youtube stars’ with millions of viewers making daily videos of their enhanced lifestyles adding to the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) epidemic. But if you search enough about your own specialist interests there are some gems to be found.
With my recent ‘Lets embrace analogue photography’ path to widen my knowledge and skill set I’ve found a couple of channels which manage to avoid a lot of the glitz and glamour and get straight to the point when it comes to sharing knowledge and experiences. The first I came across is ‘Shoot Film like a Boss’. A channel where professional photographer Roger Lowe takes you with him from start to finish covering shooting with film in a variety of cameras and then processing techniques in his home darkroom. As you do, I binge watched an hour or so of his videos and realised that I had learnt more in that time about technique than in some channels with hundreds of thousand of subscribers. I must admit I was first drawn to his channel as it was great to see he’s based in the Isle of Wight and the locations were very familiar, but the more I watched the more I realised the value in his presentation style. No frills, straight to the point honest advice and instruction, happy to admit when some elements don’t go smoothly and to question why exactly. A learning experience for you the viewer as much as him too. Check out the video above, the first I found which made me want to watch more.
After following him on youtube and instagram he posted that the had met up with Peter Elgar another youtuber and to check out his channel too. This is the second Gem. Peter an 82 year old retired local press photographer who in his latest video goes back over some of the adventures he had in the industry working for papers, what cameras and experiences. Searching though his library of videos from the past few years he covers a lot more about techniques and equipment and the cameras he used in the field with examples of his work. Just a pleasure to watch this charming gent. Grab a cuppa and enjoy his latest below.
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