Landscape Photography & Mental Health - A struggle worth having
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- There's a mental health crisis across the world and I am an outspoken sufferer who uses photography to ease the trauma of living in my own head.
But it's still not easy. Motivation is the key to everything and my motivation bank is in a perpetual state of being overdrawn. My CZcams channel and all you kind people who watch give me reason to get out and take photos, even if they are not very good, and tell you about my experiences an, in turn you get something back from it - that's why you watch. This video gives you more of an insight in what's going on behind those squinty eyes - watch it if you dare.
I am sure that I am not alone in my feelings and emptions. Not enough people will admit their troubles, even to the best friends or families and by bottling things up, you solve nothing. Many of our mental issues cannot be solved alone but I do not want to advocate some service like Better Help who I would trust about as far as I could throw them (just look up their track record in privacy and discover it was selling customer's personal details and got caught). What I an advocating is talking to people. Being honest and not being alone.
Being alone is hard. Our minds have the ability to inflict great damage upon themselves if left to their own devices. We need distractions and, to me, that's what photography is often. But it's creative and consuming and provides an almost instant gratification (or not as we will see in this video if you bother to watch it all). Photography is good for you - sometimes.
Enough rambling. Watch and understand. Thank you.
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The old boat hiding in the reeds photo is gorgeous.
Thank you.
I agree. Lovely shot
Totally agree. Love it 👍📸
I admire your honesty Andy, as well as your images 🙂
it's OK to not be OK x
Is it? I hate not being OK. OK in itself isn't much to aspire to, but it would be a release from the mental cruelty I am suffering. But, there are many people suffering, many in silence, somehow living with their torment until, one day, they can't. I have been there. It's very unpleasant. We need national conversations about this in broadcast media. We need to shame the authorities into action to help those who feel there's nothing left.
the "it's ok to not be ok" vernacular is a way of saying that we should talk about mental health and should admit when we suffer. it's a catchphrase I suppose.
I've been in some very dark places and were it not for my (now late sadly) father in law finding me one day then I wouldn't''t be here to type this.
talking freely and publicly about one's own mental health should never be taboo, and I have strived in my videos to be open about it (and my physical health too).
by openly telling people "I'm struggling" will hopefully help someone who finds themselves in that situation. realise that they're not alone and talking about their problems will help.
the YT world can sometimes seem full of successful people with millions of followers and everything is rosy when it ain't.
as I said Andy, I admire your honesty and sincerely hope that your message found and touched someone suffering realise that it's not just them with problems.
anyway, nice pictures here and lately on your Instagram. You've inspired me to try some still life with veggies I might find in the kitchen 🙂@@AndyBanner
I typed a lengthy reply to your post Andy but it's disappeared into the ether 😞 ironically it was about being public with our mental health issues, yet YT seemed to have deemed it inappropriate somehow@@AndyBanner
YT can be like that.....
Exactly !
Andrew, we love your channel, and how you explain your image choices and how you see them. Many of us have walked a similar path, it does get easier, keep making images and videos it will help you get out. It is ok to have a sh*t day. They pass. I do think your work is a lot better than you think, it also inspires many like me to create better. Keep inspiring and thank you for you, and what you do. Great photos.
Thanks Wolf. Tomorrow's video begins in similar vein to this one. It's a bad time of year - birthdays of people I desperately love but who think I did something that I didn't and they won't speak to me because they can't possibly question their own decision making. The path wavers: sometimes I am OK (it never gets better than OK) but as family times approach, I descend into purgatory.
I appreciate your support and that of my growing band of subscribers. Thank you to everyone.
Andrew, I totally understand the struggles mental health can leverage on our day to day lives, I have had decades of mental ill health, it is now a global pandemic. So please know you are not EVER alone. I use my photography to decompress and relax.
It comes and goes. Time is supposed to be a healer. It's not. It just helps you forget a little easier.
Thanks for this video and all of your videos.
My pleasure!
Thanks for your brutal honesty and transparency, Andrew. I hope tomorrow is a better day.
Thanks, Peter. Time is supposed to be a healer but I think it depends on how you spend the time. Mostly alone and without distractions to stop me over-thinking, time has been brutal. Lack of Motivation feeds into not going out and it becomes a vicious circle. It's slowly improving but it's been over two years of hell and "slow" barely covers it.
For anyone other than Peter reading this, go an check out his new channel - The Encouragement Factory. czcams.com/video/MNHTz5-Hc8I/video.html
If a bit of madcap humour makes you chuckle, this will make your sides hurt.
The transformation is stunning. You start the video as quite an average, a typical "you and me and everybody and its brother" person. The moment you grab the camera you become the expert, the "way above average", and then there are the results, images that are simply awesome on so many levels. Not only in this video here - I'm pleasantly stunned in pretty much each of your CZcamss - your images have that "it"-thing and more then only a few of them should hang in a gallery. Top work!
Very kind words, Ron. I thank you.
5:09 . well mate ; that one photo was worth getting out of the house for , even if just to give your mind a break . Very few would notice the subject as the photograph it became . Great work!!
Tip for all from an Aussie Bushy : Boots , and a wide brim hat are something I never leave home without . Boots are common sense (to me) but the hat make a great shade for the lens when photographing towards the sun . I was taught ''sun flare is not good photography'' --- today I say is generally not good photography .
Big boots mean I don't need to worry so much about where I wander so my mind is not distracted from the subjects waiting to be noticed
Love that photo!
Thank you, Ian. Yes, boots. I really need to get myself some quality wellies. Otherwise, my hiking boots are my go to, but there are places I simply cant get to without wellies and that's a shame. I have a wide-brimmed hat, but it's more a summer one. As the years take their toll on my luscious locks, I increasingly need to keep my head warm in winter.
Thanks for the positivity on the images. Perhaps I will go back and capture that hiding boat at a different time of day sometime.
@@AndyBanner Be Australian ; gum boots , not wellies down here lol.
haha.
10:56 LOVE IT mate ; totally. What a lessen in photography !
Food for thought : if we thought every photo we made was great/perfect we have no reason to try and improve our skills . "it's better to try and fail than not try at all"
This better thing about your channel is you inspire others like youself (me too) to get out of the house to give the mind a break from it's normal **** . But I really wish I could draw/sketch/paint the subject.
I can't draw for toffee. In fact, I rarely have the creativity to develop ideas from nothing - this is why photography works for me as the idea is staring me in the face, all I have to do is find a way to present it. I have a video about this: photography is a subtractive artform.
There's a lot of post cropping gone into this image as what came out of the camera was afflicted as I thought it would be (and I said as much in the video), but by working the highlights and cropping, it became the image (or at least close) that I envisioned at the time.
@@AndyBanner Nothing wrong with cropping mate . After all , not every subject will fit perfectly on the sensor being used at the time . I used to laugh at the film photographers who claimed we should never need to crop a photo . Some even printed the film sprockets hole to prove the photo wasn't cropped!!
It was good to meet you and I’m glad that you carried on after we left. It’s not easy to bare your soul like that so kudos to you. I hope that you continue to get out and benefit from the therapy that photography can give you.
Cheers, Gary. Great to me yourself, Jamie and Daz too. Hope you give me a shout if you're anywhere local in the future. Maybe have an overpriced coffee at the show next month.
I agree completely that there is a mental health crisis all around us! I can certainly appreciate the difficulty in doing something when it’s the last thing we feel like doing but do it anyways, maybe not perfectly which is simply reality, but pushing through it anyways. I really appreciate your open honesty about mental health as it’s not talked about enough and still remains an illness that’s not shared by so many still today! Adore your photos and my favorite today was the boat with backlit grasses but also really enjoyed the unusual perspective of the boat rope using selective focus (2nd photo I believe). Great video with an important message!
Thank you.
Yes, we all need to be open about how we feel. Whatever stigma may have existed about mental health has largely gone and only uncaring, inhuman humans would seek to rubbish the crisis that surrounds us any more. I doubt that there aren't many people who haven't suffered some kind of trauma that leaves scars that don't heal and living with these wounds is incredibly hard and without help from others, it becomes a chronic and debilitating illness that affects the whole body and can generate physical problems too (in fact it regularly does).
Hi Andrew, It is so refreshing to find people like you, who struggle and are brave enough to talk about it. Your art is lovely , and the way you conduct your video's is heart warming. Just subbed for these reasons alone. Quick tip regarding your sinking tripod, use three old cd's under the feet. 😊. Take care mate.
Yes, the old 3 CD trick. I have seen plenty of people do it. I wonder how they clean/pack these as I would not be wanting plastic discs covered in sand or mud in my camera bag.
Thank you for your kind words. Whether it's brave or dumb, I don't know.
As you know, I admire your talent and your photographic eye, another great video and some fantastic images. Your honesty is admirable and I consider you incredibly brave for discussing your challenges in such an open and honest manner. Inspiring, uplifting, encouraging and empathetic. Thank you!
Thank you, Richard.
I believe I may have said to you on more than one occasion: I think there's a thin line between bravery and stupidity and I am never sure which side I am standing.
Hi Andrew, I really enjoy you videos because they are real and gritty and you tell it how it is for you. I struggle too about going out and if it wasn't for my photography buddie and bestie i would just fester at home and eventually run out of photos to edit lol. I liked the photo of the old boat and I think the 2nd photo with the selective focus works. Take care of yourself. Lorraine
Thanks, Lorraine. I really could use a photo buddy sometimes.
I am glad you like the images. They all worked out quite well on this shoot.
Andy
Some very beautiful pictures. And I experience the same sort of evaluation dilemmas as you do. First the scene (3D!} in front of you, second the scene you compose in the viewfinder, third the result back home on a big screen after a bit of fiddling around. And then we have the same day, the day after, three months later, five years later.
Yeah. Every day's a learning day though.
Cheers, Simon.
Hi Andrew, I admire your bravery, openness and honesty, It's refreshing and inspiring. Photography helps with my MHI's, but it's a work in progress. I wish you the very best tomorrow and everyday thereafter.
I am always on a fence with bravery on one side and foolishness on the other. My problem is mostly family related and it's crucifying.
I wish you well, Mike. Thank you for your support.
@@AndyBanner - You are most welcome Andy. Families are definitely tough and like you the route source of my MHI's. Being more positive, I'm really enjoying your excellent observational & landscape photography. You have certainly inspired me to re-open my eyes. I've just watched your latest video and it's given me an idea for a project / camera club print panel. I look forward to your future content and catching up on your back catalogue. All the very best Mike.
Hi, Andrew.
I don't like seeing you like this.
The photos you showed looked very good to me, especially the black and white ones.
Take care of yourself.
Antoine.
Antoine,
This is how I am most of the time. Forcing myself to go out is hard. It's OK if someone else needs me to help them or i have made a commitment to be somewhere, but leaving the house just for me (or to make a video) is very hard. I really struggle.
Mental health support in this country is virtually non-existent and all the while the Government hammer more nails in the coffin that is our health system. There's a mental health crisis across the world and nobody is doing anything about it. The suicide rate in young and middle-aged males in the UK is off the scale.
The more we talk about this and help one another, the better.
I hope you're well.
Stay safe,
Andy
I think most of us can relate to the mental battle to be bothered. I also think it’s a horrible time of year. Love the boat shot btw.
Next time me and Martin are down your way we will give you a shout.
I try and show most of my images, good or bad, that’s reality
Well done for getting out and definitely worth the effort and some good shots too 👍
Cheers, Steve.
This was really good to watch ❤
Thanks, Jody. Appreciate it. Be careful of that ankle.
I think one of the beautiful things about photography is that we are all capable of finding compositions that someone else wouldn’t spot and, equally as important, wouldn’t shoot even if they had. It’s an individual thing. That’s why camera club judging is so subjective and annoyingly so. As much as I detest AI, maybe its best use could be camera club judging?! 🤔👍📸
I have never subjected myself to a camera club. I doubt I would enter competitions unless they were judged by the group.
So many bland and useless landscape photography channels come out of the UK these days, I enjoyed the chat aspect, which in turn adds authenticity, well done 👍🏽
Thank you. I hope you'll find some of my other videos similarly appealing.
Winter is depressing. The lack of light & Vitamin D. Thank you Andrew for this video. Nice photos ! Spring is on its way ! 🌻
Thanks. It's not just winter - my situation is pretty awful too. Rarely enjoy things these days.
@@AndyBanner I know what you mean. I had years of this sort of depression. Even my hobbies did not interest me anymore. Hold on. We need your videos. 💚
An enjoyable video once again Andrew, firstly the images you produce are always a pleasure to view so thank you for showing them, secondly though your thoughts and commentary about your drive to go out with your camera and the reasons why not too resonate with me, a reflection of my own thoughts, articulated better than I could have achieved, So thank you even more so for sharing your challenges so honestly. Food for thought.
Cheers, Geoff. I hope, in some way, my difficulties are usefully shared.
Wow, I wouldn’t think of shooting an old boat in the reeds with backlight, thank you for sharing, I love it.
thanks
Great video Andrew and something I can relate too. Since having long Covid I have to force myself to get out with the camera. When I am out it does me good and I know it does even if I think I have not come back with anything decent. Great photographs I especially liked the black and white one of the post.
Thanks, Neil. The black and white post was the absolute weakest of the three main shots in colour. It just did not work in any way, shape or form but stripping the colour out of it (which was not a thought I had when shooting it) helped a lot. And the Crop. In its original aspect, it was awful; again not noticed in camera.
Are you still suffering from Long Covid or is this now a legacy mindset problem? I have suffered motivational fatigue for my own work for a long time but it's got much worse in the last two years after a very traumatic incident.
I am just coming into my third year with long Covid. The fatigue varies from day to day it has also taken a mental toll too both because of increased anxiety I have developed and the financial and mental stress of long term illness and not knowing when it will end. I take any win I can get and try to make it a positive. The frustrating thing is I have so many ideas for my photography projects but just being able to get out is the first hurdle. I must admit I did look at a couple of the colour images and think that would work in black and white too. I use silver Efex pro to for my black and white conversions. As you say a great program. I have also started to use a black and white zone system plugin for photoshop which I find great for tweaking the different tone within the image. It uses the Ansel Adams zone system.
Sorry to hear of your long-term issues. As someone who's lived with relatives with chronic conditions, I know that these problems affect entire families too. Not being able to help loved ones is very difficult on top of them being unwell. Anxiety can be debilitating all on its own. I wish you well, Neil.
I might check out that plug-in.
in the mud try putting tripod legs in red solo cups or any disposable cup
Thanks for the idea. I know people sometimes use CDs and such too. I would be against advocating disposable plastics.
Hi Andy, the picture of the boat in the reeds is wonderful, all the shots in this video are good, I find that I have to leave my shots on the memory card for a day or two before looking at them haha, they always seem better or acceptable then. We still need to meet up mate and have a day of photography somewhere if you still want to?
Steve, if you're in these parts, absolutely. Drop me a message on my FB page or email and we'll do something. Thanks so much for your support and for being my first Channel Member too! It's really much appreciated.
Andy, I feel that you beat yourself up about the quality of some of your images. I happen to think that much of your work is a great deal better than you think. In the end though, does it matter whether you create any images whatsoever? I have a friend who goes fishing and he can have a fantastic day without actually catching any fish at all; he relishes being out in the fresh air and relaxing. I think that many photographers could do well to adopt that frame of mind. A day out with the camera is something to be cherished in and of itself. If images are created then that too is to be enjoyed. If no images are created, then so what? Don't forget that even if you wind up with no image that you consider to be worthy, you have still created a vlog that will be watched and enjoyed by quite a lot of people. I am a new subscriber who is having a lot of fun going through your back catalogue, especially as I live in Bury St Edmunds and the Norfolk coast is not too far from me.
Hi, David. Thanks for taking the time to write.
Yes, I do beat myself up over my images. That's fine. To be "satisfied" isn't always enough. Improvement comes from practice and a desire to be more than satisfied.
As for coming back with nothing, that's not really something I want to think about. There's always SOMETHING. The skill is first to find it and then to make something of it. I have to be active, especially mentally. I have spent about 8 hours in the car this weekend driving to and from Birmingham for the Photography show and some of it was painful as when not "distracted", my mind goes to places that really hurt and damage me. I need to find ways of preventing this, but I need to always stop the screaming inside and the only thing that tends to work is distraction.
Maybe let me know if you're heading this way sometime.
Thank you for giving us your time , I was over that way twice last year and it nice to see some of the area through your videos. Once again Thank you
Thanks, Justin.
I am a fan of The Photography Pubcast. Great to see you are mates.
I fully expect Gary to mispronounce my name still :-)
Great video Andrew.
Thanks.