An introduction to ‘The Art of Photography’
posted Friday, January 23, 2015 at 5:26 PM EDT
Today I’d like to introduce to you Ted Forbes, the mastermind behind photography podcast and YouTube channel, The Art of Photography.
To supplement his podcasts, which are excellent in their own right, Forbes also puts out between one and three videos on his YouTube channel every week. Each of these videos fit perfectly into his pre-defined categories, which he consistently rotates through.
Of all the categories, one stands out as the most contributed to and the most impressive. It’s titled ‘Photographers’ and what the name lacks in originality, the content of the videos sets it apart from anything else I’ve come across online.
For each ‘Photographers’ episode, Forbes takes a detailed look into the life of a renowned photographer. Of the 47 videos he has in this particular playlist, he’s covered everyone from Ansel Adams to Vivian Maier, with more and more photographers being added each week.
What sets Forbe’s videos apart from others is his innate ability to contextualize the work of each artist, grasping the intricate facets of their mind and work and break them down into concise and understandable patterns.
In addition to being able to break down the details of each artist, he also takes a multidisciplinary approach to finding each photographers inspiration, showing how classical paintings and even music inspired the photographers we often call legends.
As a heads up, each of Forbe’s videos contains a fair amount of sponsorship time, which is often broken up for the beginning and end of the video. Consider this a disclaimer, as to not be surprised when a 20-mintue video only contains 17-minutes of content. Issues with advertising aside, Forbe’s entire archive of work is well worth watching as time permits.
Below is Forbe’s latest episode for The Art of Photography, which is a detailed look into the life and work of English landscape photographer Michael Kenna.
In the future, expect a steady stream of features from The Art of Photography. We often see the work of some of the greats, but taking the time to look in-depth at their approach and inspiration can further help us develop our own skills and styles.