Shootin’ Street & Work Life Balance.

In This Week’s Newsletter

  • Nick Page & I tried street photography in Birmingham. It did not go well.
  • I got triggered by an audience member’s work/life balance question at The Photography Show.
  • 20% Off my Landscape Photography books. Blog readers only.
  • Video of the week.

Shootin’ Street with Nick Page. 
How Hard Can It Be?

Last weekend, Nick Page and I took it upon ourselves to try our hand at street photography in Birmingham… with an instant film camera.

I thought this would make for a refreshing change on my channel and that it would be interesting to see how 2 landscape photographers would fare on the mean streets of Birmingham with such limiting gear.

Needless to say, the photography wasn’t the best.. 

Nick and I both struggled to get to grips with exposure. It seemed that almost all our shots were grossly over exposed.

If only we had more time to practice. However I had placed a couple of restrictions on our shoot:

  1. We only had 5 shots each.
  2. We only had 1 hour.

These restraints, in all honesty, were for the benefit of the YouTube video and it worked!

The video is highly entertaining, with the ever jovial American, Nick Page, adding some contrast to my britishness. 

After our shoot was up, we chose our 3 best images and took to The Photography Show to ask the public which images they liked best.

This video was a bit of an experiment for my channel and I thoroughly enjoyed making it (this is clearly visible on camera). I hope the video is well received as I would love to do more collaborative work in 2024.

Actually, if you have any suggestions for collaborations you would like to see, please send me an email.


20% Off Both of My Books

For the next 7 days (Until March 27th 2024), you can get 20% off the price of my physical landscape photography books with this code: THANKS20

Thank you for being a reader of this blog.


I Was Asked About Work/Life Balance. Not Good.

After filming my video with Nick, it was time for me to take the stage at The Photography Show. 

Thankfully, I was not alone. 

This would be my second collaboration of the day; this time with Sean Tucker. 

Sean and I took part in a 1 hour Q&A session, all about being a YouTuber.

We were amazed to see such a jam-packed room, with crowds spilling out into the main hall.

The session was a blur, but I did receive one question which I struggled to answer and that I wish I had more time to reflect on. Thank you to the audience member who asked:

“Do you have a healthy work/life balance as a Youtuber”?

The answer that came from my mouth, without any thought, triggered me.

“I do NOT have a healthy balance”.

I went on to explain that I struggle to switch off. I do not delegate anything and sometimes, I am so dependent on the weather conditions, I often fail to build up a backlog of YouTube videos. This is NEVER a good thing and often results in last minute, ill-thought-out videos. 

I knew that my work/life balance needed addressing, but this weekend’s Q&A made me realise that I have been aware of this problem for many years and have failed to act.

So, what am I going to do about it?

Here are some thoughts, which I can apply to a system and then develop that system into a habitual routine (in other words, plan my calendar better and have more discipline):

  • Always have a minimum of 2 videos in the can at any time.
     
  • Have clearly defined ‘shooting days’, usually in the form of a 2 to 10-day trip.
    I am at my happiest after a productive trip away. Spending 7 days on the road, dedicated to film making, means that when I get home, I am free to spend days/weeks with family and friends as I have many videos in the can. My only tasks are office based for just a few hours per day.
     
  • When in the office, be disciplined with my working hours. Ideally, 8am – 3pm, 3 days per week. 
    (This doesn’t sound like a lot of work hours, but remember, I will be away at least once per month on a ‘content creating trip’).
     
  • Prioritise my most important tasks each day, complete them before noon and don’t be afraid of saying ‘no’ to more things.
     
  • Have dedicated video/photo planning days, perhaps in new and inspirational environments to get the creative juices flowing.
    (One of the hardest parts of being a YouTuber is coming up with new and exciting video ideas on a consistent basis. This results in procrastination and rushed last minute content).
     
  • Automate Instagram. Dedicate a block of time each month to creating and scheduling posts/reels or look in to hiring a Social Media Manager, to do FB & IG for me.
     
  • Keep my office tidy.

The list above is nothing more than me spewing ideas onto a page, but the process of doing so helps me identify problems in my work life. 

The key thing here is blindingly obvious; I need to have content in the can to feel relaxed and happy, and I need to dedicate time specifically to generating ideas. With good ideas comes motivation and action. 

If I get this right, there’s no reason why I couldn’t end up with 20 videos ready to go. 

With that much freedom, I could do some incredible, elaborative & adventurous projects that require time and planning. With a bunch of content already shot, time and planning should be easy.


Video of the Week

Alex’s video popped up on my feed and I thought “I recognise this guy from Gavin Hardcastle’s videos”. So, I gave it a watch.

Although the title of the video might suggest that it is some sort of “How to hack Instagram” nonsense, it is not. 

This video is thoughtful, well made and incredibly helpful to anybody who is trying to “make it” as a photographer by using social media.

I won’t give away the key message, but it is not that you need to post reels to Instagram every day, thankfully.


Thank you for reading this week’s newsletter.

Remember, if you would like to see a particular collaboration with another photographer/YouTuber, please email with your suggestion.