Tomorrow (28th September) I'll be giving details via email on my new course which will be exclusively available as part of this years 5DayDeal photography bundle charity event.

Interesting video. I was once told by the instructor of a course I paid for to "not quit my day job." I was a little offended (only at first and because my pride was injured -- ha!) but decided to take what I could learn from the course and go on.

Thank you. I am an engineer by training and have never been of an artistic bent. I started photography over 50 years ago as a young lieutenant in the US Army in Germany. I have been shooting for years and I can proudly say I still am not an artist! It just isn’t in me. I can see how my photos and the photos of others could be better but I cannot now and never could envision that great photo in advance. What I do is try to be technically proficient inline with my training as an engineer and my mindset. When I submit my photos for criticism by accomplished photographers, I am so happy if after a review they say one third of my photos aren’t too bad. That’s because it proves I have made progress!

Breath of fresh air! It can be so deflating to share an image with someone you admire and have them criticize it, as if in some way it fails. I once was silly enough to share a photo of some sheep with a “photographer” while on an unrelated workshop. She said it wasn’t really good because the sheep were walking away from the focal point of the photo, instead of towards it. And what exactly was I supposed to do about that? Today, I picked up a different photo I had printed at our local framer. First time I ever felt it was worth the cost. But, even though the photo might be a good one, I only happened to be in the right place time and thought to point the camera in the right direction. Not sure where that puts me on some imaginary scale of photographic skills. So let’s all just have some fun, may be stop taking ourselves so seriously, which I think is what you might be saying.

If I'm being honest, I got the opposite ideas from your videos and that's what I loved. I tried hanging around in groups to learn more about photography, but this very artsy feeling keeps bubbling up that somehow, the photos I like aren't good enough, aren't technical enough, "don't mean anything." But, your videos always took me back to simplicity, ideas, and it's okay to just shoot what you want to shoot and like it, and that doesn't make it any less artsy.

I click the shutter for the pure anticipation of what it will produce. Sometimes just a snapshot, out of focus and poorly composed, but sometimes something more than that, that moves me to create even more. If I shoot all week and just get one frame that inspires me to continue shooting, then I think I have had a successful week of photography.

I don't know if this can bring you some kind of relief, but I've always thought of landscape photography as my primary interest in photography, and I've never found you to be implying that it would make me somehow less of a photographer. Your videos have always been inspiring to me, and the concepts of being aware of your circumstances, of challenging yourself to find a different perspective on reality, of training your eye to see things you would not normally see, are things that can be useful both while walking in an urban setting or over the top of a mountain, in my opinion.

Also, Mr. Kilbee, I so appreciate your sincerity and desire to inspire and, yet, put people at ease. You're a very good teacher....and photographer.

Alex pure neatness, art for arts sake, a Nikon for gods sake. love the honesty.

Jay Maisel, I think, is a wonderful photographer to highlight here. If I understand correctly, he always took pictures of whatever struck him as interesting, pretty, weird, etc. He never left home w/out his camera. He photographed because he appreciated making images - not to fit in anyone’s expectations or niche or bucket. I tried “discovering “ my niche early in my career - only to finally realize that my niche is anything that trips my trigger - no matter the subject. As Mr Eggleston said [i think it was him], I “photograph life.” Mr Maisel did/does the same. They give me freedom to be myself as an artist - for myself and no one else.

It's so refreshing to hear someone saying that you don't have to aim for Art as if otherwise it wouldn't be even worth the effort to take images at all. For me, photography is more about craft and even if most of the images I take serve mostly as memories for myself (I love going through them years later), I can still want to do the craft as well as I can. What I personally dislike most are people who use "That's art, you don't understand it." as an excuse for not bothering to do the craft properly.

I saw a study where a number of brides were shown an array of wedding photographs ranging from the simply archway shots to the more arty stuff. They rated the images from favourite to least and the clear winner was the simplest shot in the archway. People don’t just look at photographs and all want the same feelings - they may want relatable romantic stuff or nostalgia or hard hitting or just creative . Same with people who take the photos in the first place

Surely, like in most walks of life, we should not be in competition with anyone but our self? Am I better today than yesterday? I will never compete with Ansel Adams, or you come to that, but am I progressing with my photography? Yes!

Nice to hear your views, I have always struggled to get "Art" into my photos, just getting a nice memory or decent view is fine, again I never try & tell a story, it's just a picture for goodness’ sake

I have just paused my Camera Club membership after many years for exactly the points you are making. Once we are technically competent (and any camera or phone makes that bit easy now) the chat about photography drives a search for ever more "Artistic" images. It is easy to get sucked into that drive, and forget that many of us also enjoy taking a good "record shot" of a scene that captures our attention. So much so, that we stop taking everyday photographs.

Thank you for this video. I am one of those people who just want to be proud of a well-done image. A few years ago, I watched your every video for a time and became very discouraged because I wasn't "ART" enough. To be fair, it wasn't just you, it was also my local photo club and some other sources. They all seemed to say that just doing good, clear, images of someone or something I like was inadequate. I actually put away my camera and gave up on photography all together until recently. This video just reinforces my belief that I was right in the first place. Thanks again!

I've thought a lot about this too. I of course want to be a better - to be a great photographer even! In reality I'll probably just be the family photographer who gets the occasional memorable photo at a birthday party or event. But, instead of thinking I'm "just" the family photographer, I'm realizing I can actually make a small number of people really happy with these photos and that makes me really happy too!

One of the best decisions I have ever made about my photography is that I strictly - or as strictly as possible, given that every once in a while people do ask me to take photos for work - that I strictly do it for fun. I have totally stopped obsessing about creating art, specializing in a particular genre, finding a particular style, needing to get this or that shot, or following this or that rule. This doesn't mean that I am not particular about or don't care about the photos I take. Quite the opposite, really. But I follow my intuitions, and let the self-appointed gatekeepers waste their time protecting their ivory towers of arrogance, conformity, and, frankly, often mediocrity.

Landscape and wildlife is my thing. So I appreciate your honesty. I feel the same way about street and portrait photography. I can do it, sometimes will do it, but don't seek it out. Studio stuff is completely outside of my wheelhouse. So I think it makes sense to reflect on these things. Take a step back. We often have to get over ourselves, or step outside ourselves, and see things from a different perspective. I like your channel and your thoughts. Keep up the introspection. You've got a kind heart. I think that's why people appreciate you. It comes through your videos, and your photos. Don't ever stop growing.

Well done Alex, the more of us that confess to just loving taking photos and enjoying what we produce the more it shoots down the art snobs. If we love what we produce then that is perfect, if someone else loves it then it’s a joyful bonus.