I’ve been particularly enjoying photography-focused YouTube channels recently. Channels where the protagonists are photographers, amateur or professional, and go on adventures in order to capture great images.
These aren’t channels that necessarily have movie-worthy cinematography (although some do), but those that feature normal people who combine superb photography with great “normal life” story telling. It’s that normal life bit that’s super important – appealing to the part of me that just loves great views and wants to know something about the person or people experiencing them.
Today I’m sharing four such YouTube channels, together with a recent video I particularly enjoyed.
If you know of other channels along these lines, please do pop your recommendations in the comments below so I can go and check them out.
If you prefer your YouTube to be a bit more wholesome and make you feel all hygge, check out three of my channel recommendations in Weekly Blog Episode 59.
Jack Anstey
Jack Anstey lives on the road as a freelance photographer, and uses his YouTube channel to document life around that photography career.
Jack really should get more views than he does, his photography is superb and his storytelling totally draws me in. He’s just started publishing videos of his trip to Iceland, and while I know there is no way I will bring home photos like his from my trip this month, it has made me even more excited for the amazing scenes I know I’m going to see with my own eyes.
He and Sarah, who is an equally excellent photographer, did what looked like the most amazing swim between the tectonic plates and I’ve been trying to persuade LincsGeek to book it for us on our last day before we come home… it just looked, well, epic and I want me some of that. I suspect it’ll stay on my list this time, but that will simply mean I have to go back to Iceland another time.
I’ve met Jack, as it happens. He was an Ordnance Survey GetOutside Champion a couple of years ago and I had a lovely conversation with him about his love of photography in the great outdoors. which really inspired me to enjoy the moment and go a little bit further just to see a particular view and take photos of it.
Thomas Heaton
Thomas Heaton is a landscape photographer who loves the outdoors, including road tripping, hiking and camping.
Thomas’ channel is about landscape photography first and foremost; he talks about how he gets the shot, geeks out on cameras and accessories, and provides tips and tricks for those wanting to improve their images. But part of his life as a landscape photographer means he spends a lot of time in the outdoors, exploring the countryside, showing me great views.
It helps he has a very cool one-man camper to help him get out and take more photos, which has featured a lot in the last year or so.
I like the way Thomas describes what he’s doing and tells his story as a photographer. I especially appreciate how he talks about the trials of getting the shot verses not getting the shot, and encouragers viewers to have fun trying rather than only being worried about the finished result.
Thomas also has an Iceland series… the country really is an outdoors and photography lover’s dream. I honestly can’t wait.
Christian Schaffer
Christian Schaffer is an outdoor adventure and travel photographer who lives fulltime in her van over in the USA.
Her videos are probably more about her daily life than her career photography, but the fact she’s a photographer certainly rubs off on the videos she makes. There’s a lot of van life content, with hiking and other adventures thrown in – I particularly enjoyed the video of her recent hike with friends as it combined those things I mentioned above, great photography with storytelling.
In all honesty I just love her style. She is out there, living the dream in her van (having lived in her car for a while first), paid for by her photography, but shows the honest side to it all in her videos.
As she lives off grid much of the time (when she’s not house sitting), she shows some truly beautiful scenery which certainly makes me want to build out a van of my own and re-read my photography-for-beginners book again.
Cecilia Blomdahl
Cecilia Blomdahl lives on Svalbard, an arctic island close to the North Pole, where she makes a living as a photographer and film maker.
She primarily makes videos about what it’s like to live Longyearebyen, the northernmost town in the world, where there is perpetual light in summer and darkness in winter. Oh, and polar bears.
While the channel isn’t about her photography career, she is surrounded by such beauty. I particularly enjoy the episodes where she takes viewers out onto the water, or up into the mountains, always sharing drone footage of this amazing part of the world.
She provides an utterly fascinating insight into life somewhere quite different to here in England. It’s not a frugal way of life, this isn’t off grid living in that sense, but it is certainly not an easy life. And I love the idea of it – Cecilia makes me want to find a little cabin of my own somewhere nestled in the mountains with sea views.
There are loads of other photography-focused YouTube channels out there, and I’d love to add a handful more to my subscriptions list. Please do send me your suggestions.
Roddie Grant
I like watching James Popsys http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6WYZrzBuNQnz_2F4EqjhDQ
He’s mainly a landscape photographer, and I find his style of delivery entertaining even when the more technical advice about photography goes over my head.
Splodz
Thanks for the tip there Roddie, I’ll check James out 🙂