Saratoga Springs surprises with so much water in such a dry desert.
Happy Friday! Here’s another installment of Likes/Dislikes, where I give my totally personal opinion on a trend or issue in photography. I want to do a series on videography soon, so why not preview that by taking a subjective look at video? I have so many still images from recently at Death Valley, so forgive me if I share them instead of videos. So here we go!
LIKE: The ability to shoot video on most cameras today has changed the way we use our cameras. I love being able to just switch modes from still to live action on a whim.
DISLIKE: There is an explosion in photographers switching over to making videos. It’s trendy, which for me is a reason to view it with some skepticism. I realize most photographers shoot video simply because it adds profit, and that’s perfectly fine. But it’s a lousy reason to create something artistic.
Abstract of the reeds reflecting in Saratoga Springs, home of those cute pupfish!
LIKE: When they’re well done, nature videos are quite educational, even inspiring. They’re similar to the best of that series Planet Earth. Videos that feature humans can be eye-opening as well.
DISLIKE: I have a confession. I don’t like most videos I see. I’m not sure of the total reason, but part of it is explained in the next Dislike. For example, nearly all time-lapse videos bore the heck out of me (probably in the minority there). When in school I really enjoyed being exposed to time-lapse for educational purposes. Who doesn’t love seeing exactly how a flower blooms? But most time-lapse goes for the wow as with still photography. And it fails miserably.
Line and pattern: Ibex Dunes, Death Valley N.P.
LIKE: Seeing good interesting action is such a different experience than viewing a still. Good videos are engrossing.
DISLIKE: When you view a still image you are in control of the experience. You can look as long as you want and focus on different parts of the picture at your leisure. Videos on the other hand, control the pace and duration of your viewing. And before you even watch it you’re being told how long it is. When the first thing I experience with imagery is the duration of the experience, the life can be sucked right out of it.
The pan near Saratoga Springs features unusually soft and puffy evaporite deposits.
LIKE: The world is filled with wonderful sounds, and I’ve often lamented the inability to include it in a still image. I want to create those greeting cards that play a short audio segment when you open the card. That would be cool!
DISLIKE: It’s hard to get sound right, even if you have a separate microphone and the gear to monitor and adjust audio. To make things worse, humans seem to be in love with making noise. Our world is now filled to the brim with noise pollution.
I can’t count the times I’ve been inspired to record sound in nature only to have Murphy’s Law strike! I’ll get my microphone out to record some lovely bird call or the wind through tall grass. And just before I press ‘play’ a plane suddenly drones overhead. Recording audio at Yellowstone’s thermal features is near impossible without people talking. You have to go late at night or hike to some off-trail thermal areas.
A desert five-spot blooms near Saratoga Springs.
LIKE: What about creating videos? That can be fun and a nice change of pace. It may even stoke your creativity. There are several different variations, such as time-lapse and slow-motion.
DISLIKE: Although shooting natural-time videos can be very enjoyable, making time-lapse videos is like watching paint dry. You have to sit there with your camera clicking away, automatically taking shot after shot. Boring!
Most time-lapse shooters do something else while the camera is doing its thing. They snooze in their cars, look at their phones, and essentially disconnect with their subjects. And as I mentioned above, I think viewing time-lapses isn’t much better than making them.
LIKE: Moving pictures can tell you more about the subject than a still photo can. For example it’s easy to see exactly how graceful a lynx is as it walks across the snow. A still might hint at that grace, but it’s nothing compared to seeing it in action.
DISLIKE: Videos can be either distracting or boring, often in the same video. Sure you can eliminate distracting elements just as with a still image. But it’s far easier to cut right to the point with a still. A bad still is easy to ignore. A bad video may get good, so you’re tempted to stick with it. You often end up disappointed.
Please add your take on videos in the comments below. Do you like doing them? How about viewing? Why? Have a fantastic weekend of shooting you all!
Sunset colors over the Ibex dunes, Death Valley N.P.
MJF : Enjoy reading all those likes/dislikes with your photos and views. Very interesting!
Thanks a bunch Pete.
This was a great post! My husband has always said that the reason photography is so important to me is that since I am visually limited I can see the photo on the computer for as long as I want and often times I see things in the photo I don’t see at the time I take the photo…even though it is quite interesting to me at t he time I shoot. I’m not interested in doing videos. I do look forward to your upcoming posts!
Thanks Annette! I think you should stick to what you like.
Beauties each one…
Thank you Sally.
I very, very rarely use the video features – only if we see something marvelous in terrible light conditions, like a leopard on the hunt before dawn, when my photographic skills, or rather lack of it, could ruin the chance of capturing it for posterity…
Oh man, Dries you should once in awhile do a video in great light, when you would normally want very much to do a still photo.
I’ll try!
I was shocked to discover you have strong opinions:) I was not so shocked to essentially agree with you. I find there is still something magical for me about catching a split second in time and that’s where I like to spend my energy.
Haha! Not surprised at all you prefer the “intimate capture” over video Lyle.