Thanks Richard for saying that and of course for your generous support of my podcast on Patreon - it really has meant a lot my friend!
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Hey Jackson - great to see you here my friend! Thanks for your help in getting the transcripts done for my podcast a couple of years ago!
Great one!
- Don’t obsess about gear. Gear doesn’t make good photos - a good photographer does.
- Focus more on education and broadly seeking out help from people you respect.
- Don’t replicate others. We often hear “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” but most people leave off the most important part of that quote, which is imitation is: “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” There’s also an excellent article from @Guy_Tal on Repetition Suppression in Issue 158 of Lenswork magazine that lays out the case for NOT copying other people. I really recommend this article!
- Spend time asking yourself why you make images and what you want to say with them.
Cheers!
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I have only recently discovered your work and have instantly become a huge fan. Thank you for hosting this “AMA”.
My question to you, what are your views on attending a workshop versus a mentoring program to assist in your growth as a photographer? I have found most workshops to be expensive vacations and not coming away with a next time. I look forward to your response.
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Hi Mozzam, thank you so much for your kind words, I do appreciate it a lot!
Well I need to tread on thin ice here because so many wonderful photographers depend a great deal on workshops to make a living and to be able to just “make it” as a photographer these days, which I suppose is a sad thing and really we can go off on that topic for like 2 hours… I digress!
I personally would place a MUCH higher value on a mentoring program or a workshop focused on growing artistically, creatively, and personally than a destination-based workshop. Just last night my friend sent me a link to a really awesome looking workshop in an amazing location that I probably will never get to visit in my lifetime and I am tempted to go just because the logistics of planning such a trip is not something I personally think I could pull off…
I think it all comes down to what you want from a paid experience. There’s certainly nothing wrong with paying someone to take care of all the details of going to a location to get some photographs, but by and large I personally find this to be a pretty transactional and sterile way to engage in photography. Most of the destinations being offered up by people are places you can easily research in a day on your own and just go see for yourself. It’s actually kind of wild to me that people are able to sell workshops in places you can just find on google maps in 10 seconds… oh dang I digress again.
I know there are photographers out there that place more value on the experience of learning to be a better creator, such as the ones offered by David and Jennifer or by folks like Guy Tal… and those would be the ones I would recommend others check out. Naturally, there’s appeal in taking a workshop from someone just based on the absolutely mind-blowing location and challenging logistics they will figure out for you like helicopters and what not… so that’s “worth” looking at too, of course…
Lastly, and I know this wasn’t your question, but I have to say it - I think its important for us to collectively think about what role workshops play in contributing to the destruction of certain photography locations, the impact on greenhouse gas emission (one single international flight has more carbon impact than a full year’s worth of normal human activity), and whether or not taking a workshop makes you a better photographer. I say all of this fully knowing I am teaching at Out of Oregon in a few weeks… so I guess I’m a bit of a hypocrite. I think finding ways to limit this though is important!
One last, last thing… I have seen a few “big name” photographers with incredible portfolios garner mass appeal and attention… but what most folks fail to know about them is that their work was all taken on a workshop where the instructor told them where to point the camera, what settings to use, etc. I personally think at some point you need to “graduate” from that sort of way of making images if you hope to find any personal satisfaction from your work… although maybe those people do, I just can’t see how. I embrace personal failure and see the challenges of making new, unique, and personal work to be one of the main things that keeps me engaged in the practice of making photographs. That’s ME though! I am personally blown away by the idea that someone can be highly respected in this field if the majority of their work was created on a workshop where the leader did most of the work and even helped to edit the photograph. Sure, workshops are a fantastic way to learn and grow… but at some point it seems like you gotta kinda go out and create work on your own, no? If that offends you, I’m sorry but its just how I feel about the subject.
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Hey Matt, longtime listener of your podcast here and appreciate the awesome dialog you host on that format. I’ve had this burning question for quite some time now: what are your favorite beers?
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Bravo. Well Said. And it isn’t just “Big Name” photographers… It’s workshop participants who go get some nice images, but won’t acknowledge that their role in the process was bringing their camera and setting it where they were told to. More important than anything to me is “truth in advertising”. If you’re learning, that’s great, but at least be honest enough to say how the image was created. Don’t pass it off as you did all this amazing planning and implemented some great technical tools and skills and came up an image when you didn’t. That really bugs me.
Thanks for sharing your candid thoughts.
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Thank you kindly Matt for a sincere and logical response. I do respect that workshops are a huge income earner for photographers and they definitely spend the time creating a world class experience for the attendees.I know its not easy planning a program like this. Putting everything together is time consuming and lots of headaches. I know first hand from planning my own vacations.
I totally agree with you on the mentoring program. I am currently enrolled in one and find it most beneficial. One of the things I have discovered is the role my emotions play in taking a photograph. I have seen the results in my compositions. A mentoring program is truly rewarding.
You are so correct in this statement:
I believe as a workshop attendee this is what I am looking for. I am here to become a better photographer by learning from my mistakes.
Thank you for addressing the environment. I am all for leaving our iconic photography locations for future generations as we have seen them. I do believe if you give respect you will get it back. We need to respect the locations we visit.
I could not agree with you more, Jennifer and David are fantastic. I’ll be attending my 3rd workshop with them in Colorado. Hopefully I get to attend one with you.
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With the rise in AI tools able to create ‘amazing’ art with ease from a text prompt, do you think this will actually devalue the ‘wow’ art that many photographers are making their success on and, perhaps, lead to a focus on storytelling about the real world through photography?
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Hey Matt! First of all, thanks for the mention earlier in the thread and for having me on the podcast!
It’s been hard to think of a question to ask you, because I already know a lot about you via your articles, podcast, and online chats.
Of your many impressive qualities, my favorite is your strong sense of ethics and how you put them into action. I think we agree on most things, but generally I don’t have the courage to say them like you do (someday I hope to have a chat with you around a campfire from a psychologists chair). Further more, not only are you vocal, but you put your money where your mouth is with big efforts like Nature First or the NLPA contest!
I was wondering if you could expound more on how ethics became so important to you, how you muster the courage to act on them even when unpopular or unprofitable, and if you had/have any particular ethical role models or inspirations (could be outdoors, art, psychology/social sciences, or anything else).
(I love the Jon Stewart quote you posted by the way)
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Haha now we’re talking!
My favorite beers are:
- Avery Reverend - 10% Belgian Quad
- Pretty much any really good barrel-aged Stout
- Great Notion - Banana Breakfast of Leisure
- Pretty much any really good Oktoberfest
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Phew. I’m glad someone else sees it and sees it for what it is. As you mention, that truth in advertising, or lack thereof, is rather infuriating for me just in general. When you see it, it really does grate on you… ugh! =)
Don’t get me wrong though, I think you can learn a lot this way, but let’s get real here - you’re not some amazing artist by having someone else do the work for you… it’s wild for me to see folks presenting those images as some sort of artistic genius or incredible achievement, but I guess there must be some feeling of pride or else they wouldn’t do it… can’t really wrap my head around it to be honest.
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Hey Tim!
I love your question on AI because I think this is such an interesting emerging topic with a lot of aspects to consider.
To answer your first question:
I am not sure really. I think what I’ve seen for the most part so far is that the same folks who were super into those “wow” hyper-realistic images are the same folks peddling AI images as their artistic creations (which to me is also kind of funny). More to your positive spin on this I think it could lead to more people enjoying actual photographs as opposed to digital art… but its important to keep in mind that all AI work is just amalgamated from existing creations of photographs and digital artwork, so really there’s nothing “original” about creating that work, in fact, many places are now “banning” AI images because the copyright concerns that exist with them.
This is going to sound mean, but I think another potential positive thing that AI could usher in is the decrease in impact on nature from folks that are mostly interested in photography as a means to show off where they have been, to use nature as a commodity and vehicle of personal glorification and a way to feed their ego (or pocket book)… aka most of what we see on Instagram… those folks may now just use AI to make these images which I see as a mostly positive benefit.
I hope that makes sense… great question!
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the AMA and your great podcast. I live far from mountains and the first few times in the Rockies was almost overwhelming. I have learned that just because it’s a great view doesn’t always translate to a great photo. Any suggestions for approaching mountain photography? I’m much more comfortable with small scenes, streams and forests that I usually photograph. I find wide angle close to foreground subjects with mountain in the background too formulaic. I do enjoy 100-400mm lens but sometimes lose depth in the images
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Hey Brent - you are more than welcome - I am a huge fan of your photography and you as a human being. 
I really appreciate you saying all that about me - I am glad at least a few people see those qualities about me as positive as opposed to me just being a grumpy outspoken dude with outlandish opinions, lol.
This is such a great question…
For me it boils down to leadership. For whatever reason, I have always embodied the ideals of leadership in my day-to-day life and the way I conduct myself, stand up for things I believe in, etc.
When I was 7 years old (1st grade) we were talking about life and where it comes from and a bunch of kids said that babies come from God or a stork or whatever else… and my bold opinionated 7-year-old self decided to heck with all that, I’m bringing to school a book that shows you that’s all b.s. so I brought this science book to school that goes into detail about how human life is formed in the uterus, etc… of course they called my parents and it wasn’t all positive, but I felt like I had to share that what was being said was actually not how it works.
I was the captain of the baseball team in high school… I was a resident hall assistant in college… I’ve almost always held leadership positions… because it’s just part of who I am to put myself out there and stand up for things I believe in.
I wish I could say that I have a long list of role models in this regard, but probably the person that comes to mind is my step-dad.
When grew up he was an Eagle Scout with the boy scouts and he was very knowledgeable about the outdoors and taught me a ton. When I was growing up he wanted me to have the same experience as him so he got me set-up in Cub Scouts and he wanted to be a leader to share his knowledge and enthusiasm of the outdoors with other kids. Unfortunately, he didn’t let him because he told them he was an atheist and they apparently only let god-fearing Christians become scout leaders… that was an eye-opening experience for me to see him sacrifice part of his identify and his desire to connect me with an organization that meant a lot to him as a child… to standing up for what he believed in (freedom of / from religion)… those kind of moments have been seminal for me.
Ethics is often a confused subject for a lot of people and I think it gets a bad rap in general.
Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.
Many people tend to equate ethics with their feelings. But being ethical is clearly not a matter of following one’s feelings. A person following his or her feelings may recoil from doing what is right. In fact, feelings frequently deviate from what is ethical.
Nor should one identify ethics with religion. Most religions, of course, advocate high ethical standards. Yet if ethics were confined to religion, then ethics would apply only to religious people.
But ethics applies as much to the behavior of the atheist as to that of the devout religious person. Religion can set high ethical standards and can provide intense motivations for ethical behavior. Ethics, however, cannot be confined to religion nor is it the same as religion.
Being ethical is also not the same as following the law. The law often incorporates ethical standards to which most citizens subscribe. But laws, like feelings, can deviate from what is ethical. Our own pre-Civil War slavery laws and the old apartheid laws of present-day South Africa are grotesquely obvious examples of laws that deviate from what is ethical.
Finally, being ethical is not the same as doing “whatever society accepts.” In any society, most people accept standards that are, in fact, ethical. But standards of behavior in society can deviate from what is ethical. An entire society can become ethically corrupt. Nazi Germany is a good example of a morally corrupt society.
Ethics refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.
Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one’s ethical standards. As mentioned above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly examine one’s standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded.
Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.
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Hi Bryan, thanks for your great questions.
I’m still learning that lesson every day LOL! My early photography was very much based on what you describe here and it took a long time for me to realize that just because I think the view is amazing and that the photo looks cool because of it, it doesn’t make it “good.”
As with most other nature photography I think its important to think about what the photograph is actually about. Mountain photography can seem so simple and formulaic as you suggest (and I agree), but really good mountain photography needs to instill more than just a pretty view. This can mean lots of things - conveying an experience, showcasing incredible light or a moment that is quite fleeting, focusing in on the ephemeral and rare qualities a particular scene might have going for it, etc.
I think its important too to try to combine other elements that compliment the mountain not only in shape (different shapes) but also in color or form. This might mean to find an aqua lake and pair it with a mountain-side lit red by sunset. It could mean pair the mountain with beautiful aspen trees… for me, I just look for striking images that speak to my soul as a person who loves the Colorado mountains. I know that sounds simple but its true.
To avoid the whole formulaic thing you are talking about, and parenthetically I think much of landscape photography, especially grand scenic work (like a lot of my own work), relies too heavily on formulaic combinations and amazing conditions. It doesn’t usually say much about the photographer. So - my advice would be to try to put some of yourself into the work. One way I do this is by using geology and biology to enhance my images… by including objects that interest me in those sciences… hope that helps… let me know if not!
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Hi Matt. It’s amazing to see you juggling all your various projects. Thanks for sharing some incite into how you do this in the comments above. I decided to go full time with Landscape photography this year. I’m currently offering prints, a book and online lessons from my website. I haven’t tried giving any workshops yet. Between all the various social media platforms and my website I’m finding that things can be a bit overwhelming. I was wondering if you could share any advice regarding the areas you think I should prioritize. Ultimately my goal is to setup a system that allows me to spend more time creating images. I guess that’s the dream for all of us 
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Hey Andre, thank you for commenting and for your kind words, really appreciate that!
If I were to give you an answer to this question that was specific I think it would not be fair to you!
It greatly depends on so many variables - what do you enjoy, what are you good at, what are your strengths and weaknesses, etc.
First I would list out all of the ways you want to monetize your work and then I would recommend doing a SWOT analysis for each idea… and pick the ones that seem best suited to your strengths… and then create a marketing plan for each idea.
It also greatly depends on your market, where you live, etc. I have no idea what the market for photography, photography education, or prints are in Barbados for example.
Does that help?
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OK. That makes sense. Thanks for the confirmation.
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Thank you for the thorough response, Matt. I’ll listen to the podcast episode you recommend. It is a horrible commentary on our society that discourse about NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY can turn into extreme nastiness and even harassment (the latter being why I toned back my opinions online).
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Hi Matt,
Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this! I’ve enjoyed reading your responses to all the questions! I really love your photography, but especially the stories behind the shots, the effort it took you to get there. My question is : What photographs give you the most satisfaction or happiness: the ones that you’ve methodically planned out or something that was found, an unexpected scene either on the way to your destination or at the destination?
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