Why You Should Take an Online Photography Class With Photographer Nicole Young

Nicole Young, an amateur photographer recently back in the U.S. after living in Taiwan for three and a half years, joins this episode to discuss her experiences with street photography abroad and her newfound passion for underwater photography. We also dive into my decision to purchase the Ricoh GR3, exploring how using a crop sensor camera instead of a full-frame can lead to more candid, spontaneous shots.

Of course, as the title suggests, we chat about an online photography class we both took with YouTuber Pierre Lambert, where we learned a ton and forged new friendships. Whether you’re intrigued by Taiwan’s vibrant streets, the world beneath the waves, or the benefits of a compact camera system, this conversation is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

Transcript

00:00:00:11 - 00:00:13:03

Yeah, even though I have the smaller full frame, the compact, full frame from Sony, if I put on any lens that's not small, it's like game over. Like you said, you're, you're bruising the scene. I guess I'm going to start using this, bruising the scene. 

00:00:13:05 - 00:00:19:05

I have no idea what the word means. I just heard it once and I'm like, Oh, that's what I'm doing. I'm bruising all my scenes. Yeah, Yeah. 

00:00:19:07 - 00:00:21:03

I mean, it's it definitely makes sense. 

00:00:24:03 - 00:00:45:17

Welcome to the Big Photo Hunt podcast, a show where we talk with aspiring and professional photographers to help us all grow and improve our photography together. I'm your host, Ken Deckinger. If you're one of our community members and you'd like to be a guest on the show, please visit big photo hunt.com for more information. 

00:00:55:15 - 00:01:33:03

When I was first thinking of creating the big photo hunt, the main reason I wanted to do it was because I have felt that the best way for me as an amateur or hobbyist photographer to improve my skills, to expand my experiences and ultimately to grow my photography is to be with other amateur photographers who are in the same boat as me. My thinking was if I could create a community similar to what's in the world for professional photographers, but focused on bringing aspiring and amateur photographers together so we can all get to know and support each other, we could leverage that to grow. 

00:01:33:11 - 00:02:05:11

And that's also one of the main goals of this podcast, to have conversations with photographers just like you because all of our experiences are different. Talking about them leads to growth. So today I'm excited because my guest, Nicole Young, fits that bill perfectly. She's an amateur photographer, and as you'll hear, she's literally in the same boat as you and I. Nicole, welcome to the show. 

00:02:05:18 - 00:02:07:18

Hey, Ken. I'm excited to be here. 

00:02:07:20 - 00:02:13:07

Yay. I'm really excited to have you. But first, did you like what did with that whole boat reference? 

00:02:13:10 - 00:02:19:02

I did. I mean, listen, I prefer to be in the water than on the boat, but I'll take it. 

00:02:19:04 - 00:02:54:04

Well, let's just give our listeners a little bit of background on you before we get going. Nicole recently moved back to the US after spending six years living in Taipei, Taiwan, where she was able to grow her street photography while sharing images of Taiwanese culture. And while she was in Taiwan, she also found herself merging two passions photography and scuba diving. She became a dive master, which essentially means she's at the top of the scuba diving world. And then she started exploring underwater photography, discovering a genre that to me is super intriguing and also completely unfamiliar. 

00:02:54:06 - 00:03:05:23

So again, Nicole, welcome. I want to talk about how we met. And as a side note, I got a new camera that I'm still trying to get my head around, so I want to talk about that. But first, I think we should start with your story. 

00:03:05:25 - 00:03:38:08

Yeah, well, as only three and a half years in Taipei, so I just got back to the US after three and a half years solid in Asia, so I hadn't come back even for a vacation or business or anything. So it was definitely an interesting move. I guess you could say the photography class in a roundabout way that we took together with Pierre brought me back to the States. Who knew? But yeah, so I am an advertiser by profession. 

00:03:38:10 - 00:04:12:29

I've been in advertising for about 20 plus years with like the Madison Avenue agencies and prior to moving to Taiwan, I've kind of just done that my whole life. So I've been around creative, I've been around photography, I've been around film, print, digital, you name it. And I took photography in like high school and college, like in the 90s kind of when we were still using the darkroom. But coming on a digital so hadn't really picked up a camera until I moved to Asia. I had gone on some trips in 2018 and 2019 and was like, Oh, let's upgrade to the new iPhone. 

00:04:13:03 - 00:05:01:12

And then was like, God, I really enjoy taking pictures. So yeah, I was like, Screw it, I'm gonna buy a camera. I bought an Sony 6100, think it was for my first camera because I'm like, Oh, don't need a full frame. I don't even know if I'll use this. And quickly, a few months later, boom, diving into photo classes. Forgot how much I absolutely love just a camera. The feel of it not having that iPhone there is just something different about it. And now I'm upgraded to the Sony seven series full frame and rocking and out and like you said, wound up taking some scuba diving lessons after years of wanting to and then, of course, needed an underwater housing and lighting and I mean, it's just been a circus show ever since of fun. 

00:05:01:14 - 00:05:04:05

Did you buy all that, The housing and the lighting and everything? 

00:05:04:07 - 00:05:34:24

I did. So I had gotten this full frame camera and then I started scuba diving and I was like, oh, I'll just toss that like, crop sensor into water housing and, you know, 1000 bucks if it gets ruined. Like, I'm not going to like super cry about it because the housing, as you know, is like anywhere between like a thousand, $1,500 to like ten for like an amateur setup that's not even like pro. So I bought some housing, loved it. 

00:05:34:28 - 00:06:14:03

So when I got back to the States, I was like, okay, I don't need two cameras. I got rid of the the crop sensor and now I'm full into taking my full frame underwater. I try not to use lighting underwater. I'm not shooting for Nat Geo and I don't have a problem with anyone else cheating with lighting. I just think it's. Rude. The fish don't like listen, don't want to light. I don't need the paparazzi in my face. I'm trying to sleep at night. So. Or even in the daytime. So I try to steer away from using lighting and do my stuff in post, which I know I would be getting better shots underwater, like if I'm using the right lighting. 

00:06:14:05 - 00:06:49:08

But I don't know, like said, I'm not getting paid for it. So until that time comes, the fish are free from me at least. But yeah, and then the street photography is what really kind of drew me in. Like you said, that's how I started off. It was really a way for me to not only get out and get moving and kind of exploring the area that was moving to and living in, but also talking with locals. It really gave me a kind of chance to one practice my Chinese, which still is subpar to horrible and just kind of get out with the people. 

00:06:49:10 - 00:06:58:28

And that, I have to say, is still my absolute favorite thing to do with my camera is just take it out and shoot away and grab smiles. 

00:06:59:00 - 00:07:05:08

You know, I have to say, I. I respect your concern about the fish's feelings. 

00:07:06:19 - 00:07:25:27

No, everyone laughs at me. They're like, just get the strobes. And I'm like, Never. I was like, until that geo starts paying me, like, I'm kind of cool with it. Like, I also have a two shot rule for anything under the water. Like if I don't get it in two shots, like it's just not meant to be my shot. Like I'm like a snap and go. 

00:07:25:29 - 00:07:54:14

For our listeners who are not familiar with scuba diving, you lose light immediately at like 15ft. You start losing like reds. And then when you go down, you start losing more and more colors and it goes like orange, yellow, green, and eventually to blues, which is the only thing that's left. And that's why when you see deep water photos, it's just blue. And so it's not that fish shouldn't be respected. Mean respect fish. But yeah, interesting because I would be down there with a strobe. I would want those colors back. 

00:07:54:22 - 00:08:28:16

Listen, I'm like, every time I tell this to like any of my fellow divers or conservation friends or photographer, they just laugh at me. But I'm like, listen, I'm like, especially on night dives, I'm just like, I don't even like using my flashlight under there, like my torch. Um, yeah. Don't know. It's like, save the eyes. Maybe it's because I have like, had glasses since, like, the third grade, like a little nerd, but just feel like shining a light in someone's eyes is so rude. So. Yeah, and I'm diving deep. I mean, my dives here have been 65 to 100ft. 

00:08:28:18 - 00:08:41:27

So mean I'm losing tons of light. As soon as I descend in, I'm kind of just going with it. Every once in a while, I'll, like, kind of shimmy into someone that does have lights and, like, kind of use their lights. 

00:08:42:00 - 00:09:02:22

I want to dig deeper into something you said about how an online class kind of brought you to where you are today. And for our listeners, Nicole and I met we took an online class with a YouTuber named Pierre Lambert, and he's pretty popular. So if you don't know him, look him up. You'll see him on YouTube and. 

00:09:02:25 - 00:09:04:10

Let's give a shout out here. 

00:09:04:14 - 00:09:36:00

He was awesome. And he offers this class that is something. It's called something like 30 days to perfect photography or 30 days to great photography or something. I don't remember exactly, but it's along those lines. And for me personally, whenever I see something like that, I steer away anyone that can offer a solution in 30 days or can solve your problems in in 24 hours to me is just completely unattractive. But I had been watching Piers videos online for a while and there was something about him that just made me trust him. 

00:09:36:02 - 00:10:04:07

And I signed up for this class and I've taken a couple classes online before, most of them, to actually stop them in the middle because they're just self-important or they're really not qualified to be teaching what they're teaching. This was completely different. And for our listeners, we have nothing to do with Pierre other than we took his class. But I would recommend this to anybody who is trying to get that initial foundation for their photography. Would you feel the same way? 

00:10:04:09 - 00:10:35:18

Yeah, I mean, listen, when I first got my my crop sensor, I had taken this class. I was living in LA at the time and it was so boring. It was like three days long. I just bounced, like, think it was the second day at lunch. I was like, I'm not learning anything. And that was kind of it. So I started just asking friends and then kind of just tinkering around and taking photos and they were all right, you know, definitely not my best. And then I saw Piers Class do and was like, Screw it, I'm just going to take this guy's class and feel the same. 

00:10:35:21 - 00:11:13:20

Like one of the things that I loved about his class I didn't know until we got in there is so it's the 30 day method think it's called and the first week think it was the first week or a week and a half. He gives you like short bite size assignments, what I call bite size, like ten minute assignments. And to me, like everyone has ten minutes in their day like I. Don't necessarily have three hours to learn photography. I have a job. And so I was like so pleasantly surprised when we got into the class. I don't I'm a vegan, but like, if you were a steak eater, it was like, boom, You're like biting into the filet, like, right away, like, and you're just getting the meat. 

00:11:13:24 - 00:11:40:16

That's the best way for me to learn is like, get in there, do it. And I loved his fundamentals mean love. The fact that he didn't let us touch our cameras for that first week and a half. We had to use our iPhones and really get the fundamentals. But yeah, I mean, one of the reasons I took it was he just didn't seem like a douche bag. And there's so many influencers that do sorry influences that come across that way, but get your shit together so that we don't think that don't know what to tell you. 

00:11:40:29 - 00:12:05:19

That's I felt the same way. I was like, Look, this guy seems honest. Sounds like we're making a commercial for here. We're not. We have no affiliation with him whatsoever. The course was awesome because he he was it was very practical. It was like, look, here's how you learn about direct light and indirect light. Take your hand and you do this. And I'm like, Oh, I've been trying to figure that out for ten years. I got it now. Thank you. 

00:12:05:21 - 00:12:09:03

It's the best money I've spent and we got to meet. So bonus. 

00:12:09:06 - 00:12:21:04

I couldn't agree more. You said that that online class brought you back to the United States from Taiwan. What about that class? Brought you back to the United States? Because I took that class and I have not changed countries. 

00:12:22:18 - 00:12:55:29

Yeah. So it was around the same time that I was out taking a lot of street photography. And then I started diving. I mean, I knew instantly I loved it and it was something that was going to be in my life. Probably from the third dive, I was like, Damn, like, why have I waited so long? The scuba diving photography kind of merged. I got really into conservation. I went to Indonesia for ten weeks. This year. I took a conservation class, got my dive master. And really in the nonprofits and the NGOs are located in the US. 

00:12:56:01 - 00:13:44:05

And I was like, Well, damn, I'm an American citizen. Like, what am I doing in Taiwan? I love Taiwan. I love the Taiwanese people's amazing experience, but my family lives in Florida, so I'm like, boom, here I am. So I am now guiding here doing conservation work and also, of course, still working in advertising. Um, I guess marketing. Guess my title is head of Marketing at a tech startup, so I'm doing Guess more marketing now instead of advertising, but semantics. But yeah, so I mean, I kind of feel like had I not taken the photography class and then taking the scuba diving class and then realized quickly that like I loved doing the underwater photography, but for me it was like capturing what's going on there in a sense that for me, I could share with my friends. 

00:13:44:07 - 00:14:04:18

I mean, there's a ton of professionals out there and they're doing an amazing job. But think when you know someone that's going down and seeing the trash in the water or seeing fish caught in nets and you get that from like someone on your personal kind of list, that is a greater impact. And yeah, so I kind of just jumped and did it. 

00:14:04:21 - 00:14:11:24

What are three things that you immediately recognized coming back to the States from being in Taiwan that surprised you? 

00:14:12:00 - 00:14:44:15

How huge everything is in the US? I mean, people just downsize right now. I'm like, everything is just huge. Mean I stayed at my aunt's house the first like two weeks. I was home and she's single and she lives in this huge house. Now, granted, she takes care of my cousin's kids and so she bought a bigger house in retirement for my cousin's children. So, I mean, there's like eight of them at any given time at her house. So it was like I was walking in the house. I was like, Damn, I'm getting my steps in and I haven't even left the house. 

00:14:44:17 - 00:15:17:12

Whereas in Taiwan I'm like, Oh my God, I'm going to watch Netflix in VR. Just so don't feel like I'm in, you know, 150 square foot of condo. I forgot like how much lawn there is, how much space people have in their homes. Like even just, you know, going up and down stairs at the house was like, wow. So that was my first thing I noticed. Secondly, I noticed on not such a positive note is how dirty we are as a country. Taiwan, like you, are hard pressed to find a cigarette butt, let alone a piece of litter anywhere in the country. 

00:15:17:14 - 00:15:49:18

And they don't have garbage cans all over. They recycle, they compost, and people take their trash. Like if you're eating lunch in the park, you take that home and you compost what you need to and you recycle it. When I got to Taiwan, I was like, Holy shit. Like. I could lick off the Metra the subway floor like mean was just like. And I still am like the day that I left when I was in the airport. I'm just like, this is insanely clean. Like I'm just not used to this. And I think for me, that was the second thing I noticed right away. 

00:15:49:20 - 00:16:26:04

Like, we have so much crap just floating around in excess. So that's that was a little bit of a bummer. But hey, opportunities to clean up and be better with that. And then thirdly, mean you know that we're opinionated is that Americans were known for that. I mean we're known all over the world for that. Whether you love us or you hate us. But being back, it's like everyone's telling your your opinion and I'm kind of for it. I don't know how long that's going to last. Like if in a couple of years I'm like, Damn, got to get back to Taiwan where like, just the Chinese language by nature is like, do you or don't you want coffee? Yes or no? Yes. 

00:16:26:06 - 00:16:56:28

You want coffee or no? It's not like, Oh my God, Ken, do you want coffee or not? And then like in America, it's like, wow, just had a latte. Like three hours again. And if I get one right now, I might not sleep and maybe I'll have one. And I don't really need your opinion if I'm asking you for coffee and like, it's like, Yeah, yeah. Which means, like, yes or no, Like, you want coffee. So, like, my by nature, the Asian languages are like, don't give room for interpretation, which I think is amazing for so many things. But I actually did miss it a lot more. 

00:16:57:00 - 00:17:07:29

The expression and obviously moving to Florida, the weather. Say what you will about Florida. I know you're down in Miami a lot. Like I absolutely forgot how gorgeous the weather is here. 

00:17:08:04 - 00:17:15:02

I try to be in Miami if I can, at least once a month in the wintertime from December to say April. 

00:17:15:04 - 00:17:28:25

Yeah. I mean, listen, I highly recommend Taipei as a major city that everyone should visit, but it is like Seattle on steroids. It rains, I think like 12% more than Seattle. So it's gray and rainy like six months out of the year. 

00:17:28:27 - 00:17:41:18

Speaking of Taipei, how did that inspire your photography, being in that environment eventually mean? I know it's a foreign environment, but eventually, you know, you've been there three and a half years, so eventually it became pretty home. 

00:17:41:20 - 00:18:12:10

I mean, still consider it'll always be a second home for me. No, no matter mean I still have my residency there. I plan on going back. For me the street photography there is just a whole nother ball game. Think unless you're really in like a Miami or a Chicago or New York, you're not kind of getting that nitty gritty though. Like that street vendor, like the randomness, like the eclectic ness of everything in in Asia, especially Taipei. It's so compact that you are on top of that every day. 

00:18:12:12 - 00:18:46:27

Obviously, it's a country known for its street food. So just going out with your camera and shooting street vendors, it's like you could do that for the rest of your life and not capture everything there is. So think that was kind of like one of the cooler things I like. I'm actually, to be very honest, struggling a little bit with my photography outside above water photography since I moved back because, um, people here, when you're out with snapping around with your camera and I'm sure you get it there like, like, you know, on my face, like, what are you doing mean, like, have, like, this little stitch guy, like, on my camera. 

00:18:46:29 - 00:18:59:18

And I don't even, like, need to communicate with people in Taiwan. And they see this and they're like, oh, my God, yeah, I'll totally smile for your camera. So Stitch is not going over as well in the US. So there's that. Um. 

00:18:59:26 - 00:19:02:17

And by stitch you mean like Lilo and Stitch? 

00:19:02:19 - 00:19:05:01

Yeah, Lilo and Stitch, the Disney you have. 

00:19:05:12 - 00:19:09:26

So you have a stitch mounted on top of your camera. It looks like it's in your hot shoe there. 

00:19:09:28 - 00:19:43:11

Yeah, it's in the hot shoe. I have a panda and a little dog. So mean. Don't know. Mean. Maybe I should get a Biden and a Trump one of these and just go out there and to see what that entails. Like maybe I go out once with a Trump hot shoe head and the next day with a Biden hot shoe head don't mean feel like at least would get some pictures of anyone with that. Like people would want to get in. I could capture both sides of America right now. Listen, I'm an amateur or a enthusiast. Like think what do they call us? Like enthusiasts, enthusiasts, photographers. 

00:19:43:13 - 00:20:06:14

I spoke to this guy named Neil once, who at the time was the marketing like in charge of I don't know if he was a CMO or vice president of marketing for Sony cameras. And the word he used with me was Prosumer because I was pitching him on something. We had a mutual friend and I was in touch with him and was like was pitching him on some kind of sponsorship or something. And he's like, We're really interested in the prosumer market. 

00:20:06:16 - 00:20:42:02

The Prosumer is a cool segment. I worked with Home Depot and Lowe's and some of kind of like the home renovations, and they also use that prosumer term for like people that renovate their stuff because you are a professional, like you're doing all this stuff yourself, so you want professional grade equipment, but also you're scrambling around looking at YouTube videos and taking Pierre Lamberts class and hooking up with friends like yourself. Ken And like, how the hell like. Do I do this on my camera or how do I capture that and think that prosumer is it's such a marketing term, but it does capture. 

00:20:42:04 - 00:21:20:20

And so I'm having a lot harder time capturing people, which is what I like to capture most when I'm out. Think it's so crazy in the US that like the minute someone has a camera here, there's a lot of people that have a bad taste in your mouth. Whereas in Taiwan or in Indonesia or Thailand or Vietnam or anywhere I've been, even China. Like when you bring your camera out, it's like a sign of like community. Like, I want to capture your smile because think you're beautiful. I think this is beautiful. Like, I think you farming or you working off the land is like to me something beautiful because it's outside of my experience, of my background. 

00:21:20:22 - 00:21:37:12

Even in London, when I'm there, they really are more receptive to the camera and just saying like, Hey, can I grab your picture? I love this. Like you're, you know, skateboarding around. Think you can get those shots a little bit easier? Don't know what your experience. I know you're a pretty international traveler. 

00:21:37:18 - 00:22:10:02

My experience is that every country is different but that a lot of countries. Well, as you know, we've talked about my travels to Cuba and work I've done in Cuba and I have found with the Cuban people, they love to be photographed. That's been really enjoyable. And there's other countries I've been to where people haven't been so warm to the camera. It's not a lack of warmth because they don't trust you or they're worried about what you're going to do with the photo there. It's a lack of warmth because of ideological or religious beliefs in a lot of cases. 

00:22:10:04 - 00:22:10:19

Sure. 

00:22:10:21 - 00:22:11:06

Absolutely. 

00:22:11:08 - 00:22:25:14

And kind of have to respect that because it is a belief, whereas I do feel here in the States that a lot of times it is like a distrust. It's like a what are you going to do with that picture? Where am I going to show up? Why are you taking my picture? 

00:22:25:18 - 00:22:26:26

Yeah, definitely. 

00:22:26:28 - 00:22:44:18

And that's the difference I see in a lot of the countries that I've been to versus America. I wonder, did you notice any difference in how people received your photography when you switch from the aps-c to the full frame camera? Obviously the Sony full frame cameras are a lot bigger. 

00:22:44:26 - 00:23:17:17

Yeah. So I have the A7, which is Sony's first kind of full frame compact, and I got that particular camera exactly For this reason, I didn't want to be out there again like the paparazzi of the streets or the paparazzi of the marine life. So that was a biggie for me. And I think that has helped me. And I have like, what do I have on there now? And I usually have like a 35 or 55, like 1.4 or 1.8. The smaller prime lens is on there instead of I have some G.M. 

00:23:17:19 - 00:23:49:12

lenses, but I find myself rarely using them for that exact reason. That huge camera think it's scary mean you feel like I'm I don't look my best or you know like as humans were like oh wow. But I haven't found that personally. But that's the exact reason I went with like the Sony full frame compact. Whereas I think if I came with them with like a super master lens and like a giant full frame camera, they would be like, Dude, like, I am not being in your free marketing. Like, are you paying me for this? Or like, I don't trust you or like to your. 

00:23:49:14 - 00:23:50:06

Point, it's. 

00:23:50:08 - 00:23:59:19

Interesting that you talk about the aps-c versus the full frame in the context you do, because I just got this camera right here. This is a Ricoh GR three. 

00:23:59:26 - 00:24:01:09

And I saw you. 

00:24:01:11 - 00:24:04:21

Were using it. I was excited to see if you get out and talk about it. 

00:24:04:23 - 00:24:45:24

Yeah, I'm still figuring it out, but I got it for the same reason that you spoke about, which is this idea of scaring people or being out there with this big camera. Because I love street photography. You could put me into a city and just let me go and five hours later, don't know or care where I am, but I have gotten just photos and experiences and met people. What I find and there's a term for this, it's called bruising the scene. I just learned this term where if you are taking photos that are either candid or you're trying to not, you're not part of the scene, so you want to take a photo in its reality, you want to take a photo in the moment. 

00:24:45:26 - 00:25:04:22

And when you go in there with this, I have an a74 right now and I'll maybe I'll go in if I'm running around the street with like my 2470 people notice you or somehow you impact the frame and next thing you know, the picture that you really wanted is not the picture that you're going to get. So, no, absolutely not. 

00:25:04:24 - 00:25:15:20

And I will say, like my for that reason that I want to know all about this camera because you just held it up in your hand and it's like it's so small. It's like absurdly small. 

00:25:15:22 - 00:25:17:11

It's incredibly small. 

00:25:17:13 - 00:25:25:26

And it's like one of those 1990s, like, don't even know those purple or teal cameras that like, we got that like the first SIM cards in them. 

00:25:25:28 - 00:25:58:01

That's the best part about it. I wanted to do street photography without getting in people's faces, without people seeing me and was having trouble. Because whenever I'm out there with my a74 and one of my big lenses, everyone notices me and they start acting weird and it just changes the entire photo. So I got this to try it out and it's basically like four inches long by like 2.5in high, maybe like three quarters of an inch wide. And it's an aps-c camera that shoots way over its weight. 

00:25:58:03 - 00:26:16:24

I mean, it just it does really, really well. I've had it for three days. Yesterday I was in a Starbucks and I was waiting for my coffee. I was waiting to order my coffee. And I'm like, Let's see if this thing really works. And body works don't mean like, does it take great photos? I'm like, Let's just see if I could pull it out in the middle of Starbucks and just put it in people's faces. 

00:26:18:29 - 00:26:19:14

And I. 

00:26:19:16 - 00:26:40:07

Did. And I've pulled it out and I was getting shots of everybody was getting shots of the woman at the cash register. I was getting shots at the barista. I was getting shots of the woman in the cash visitor talking to a customer. I was getting shots of customers. It was amazing. And then the woman behind the counter, she saw me, the cash register. She saw me. She looked up and she's. And I'm like, smile. And I'm like. 

00:26:41:17 - 00:26:42:02

I could. 

00:26:42:04 - 00:26:44:00

Never do that with my Sony A7. 

00:26:44:02 - 00:26:45:11

For No, no. 

00:26:45:15 - 00:27:11:13

No one took me seriously. First of all, they thought I had a toy. And then when they didn't and they really even recognized that I was there, they barely even noticed me. So it was amazing. So my point is, if you're looking for a camera to get into the scene and take street photography, it's got an equivalent of a 28 millimeter lens. This thing is amazing. I'm still the verdict, still out if want it, like keep it full time or not mean bought it but maybe I'd sell it on eBay. 

00:27:11:15 - 00:27:12:14

I mean it looks like. 

00:27:12:21 - 00:27:15:20

Like not that much larger than a GoPro. 

00:27:15:22 - 00:27:47:08

It's not. And you slip it in your pocket because also took a look at the X100 by Fuji, you know that you can't get until like the year 2087 anyway. But I didn't like it as much. I rented it to see if I liked it and it wasn't the same thing. It's bigger. It's still a camera. People know it's a camera. This thing, no one takes you seriously. The image quality is amazing. It is unbelievable. And it's got these presets on the camera. So if you want, you could just like dial it in and then transfer to your phone. 

00:27:47:10 - 00:28:00:19

It's pretty cool. I asked the question about if you notice a difference between the Aps-c and the full frame sensor and how people behaved specifically because I bought this camera knowing that every time I pull my camera out, people behave differently. 

00:28:00:27 - 00:28:13:18

Yeah. Even though I have the smaller full frame, the compact, full frame from Sony, if I put on any lens that's not small, it's like game over. Like you said, you're bruising the scene. I guess I'm going to start using this, bruising the scene. 

00:28:13:20 - 00:28:19:01

I have no idea what the word means. I just heard it once and I'm like, Oh, that's what I'm doing. I'm bruising all my scenes. 

00:28:19:03 - 00:28:19:27

Yeah, Yeah. I mean. 

00:28:19:29 - 00:28:21:18

It's it definitely makes sense. 

00:28:21:26 - 00:28:50:28

There is this celebrity photographer named Greg Williams. His approach is to insert himself into the scene because he wants the reaction of the person he's photographing, the celebrity he's photographing. So if you get a chance, look for Greg Williams. It's all black and white, and he has literally shot almost every celebrity out there. Like think it's literally like there was an article I read that said that he has shot 90% of celebrities and that's awesome. 

00:28:51:00 - 00:28:52:12

And I love black and white. So yeah. 

00:28:52:14 - 00:29:31:26

So I'll definitely look him up. That's awesome. But think that's what the glory of the camera is to me is like in the shot out of the shot. I think this the street photography and more than any other genre like especially in 2023 when I mean we don't know if the world's going to end tomorrow if there's going to be an alien invasion. That's like the latest thing on the news going around like mean don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But I know when I have that camera and I'm out there shooting and I'm getting people smiling or just walking or in their everyday setting or, you know, the construction workers like to me, like that's real day life and think that's the absolute most beautiful thing. 

00:29:32:09 - 00:29:42:23

Far for me personally, far more beautiful than any landscape, any building, any any manmade anything. Is that human in all of our rawness? 

00:29:42:27 - 00:30:17:13

I agree. And I always say that the real value of those photos comes out ten, 20, 30 years from now. When you look back, the photos I took at Starbucks yesterday while I was trying to learn how to use my little three here. I mean, 30 years from now, they're going to be classics, right? Like I saw a video recently about a Dunkin Donuts in Boston in like 1989. Holy shit. I mean, I can't believe it looked like we were cavemen sitting in a counter drinking coffee and mugs, black coffee, smoking cigarettes and having a donut for breakfast. 

00:30:17:15 - 00:30:37:10

And the photos and the videos that were documenting that were amazing. And I don't know if when they took that, they were thinking, wow, 30 or 40 years from now, this is going to be gold because it's gold. And so I'm hoping that these photos that you take and that I take and all these street photographers take today are gold. 40 years from now, when you look back and you're. 

00:30:37:12 - 00:30:38:05

Like, think like. 

00:30:38:07 - 00:31:12:06

Vivian Mayer, like her first. Like when look at her photos. Like I'm like, wow, that's like so cool. And it does capture the time period for me to go to your point, think you said 20 or 30 or 40 fold. I get that kind of as soon as I take the picture because usually I've had a conversation with that person and when I'm out traveling or even in my local environment, I might notice something or talk to someone that like the cashier at like the bookstore that I might have not ever talked to before. And now I'm talking to them because I'm snapping their picture and I'm kind of getting that instant of like, Wow, Like I really freaking love humans. 

00:31:12:11 - 00:31:22:24

Do you think these photos become like a language in a sense? If you think about, for example, today's generation of kids, they communicate with photos. 

00:31:23:00 - 00:31:55:09

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's that's a really awesome question. Yeah. Mean 100% think authentic communication. That's a whole nother conversation, but definitely a language of communication. My parents passed away like ten, 12 years ago now, and I'm kind of collecting photos from my last group of aunts that are here because I love photos. They know I'm into photos. No one wants to house the family photos and I'm like, I'll take them all like, and I'm such a minimalist except for like these billions of boxes of photos. 

00:31:55:11 - 00:32:30:26

And when I look at them, I think you see that language. Like I see my grandmother and my mom and both my grandparents and my mom talking. It's like they're gone. But I can hear them just by looking at the picture and think that, yeah, think that people snapping on whatever social platform they're using and, you know, whatever filter or doggy ears, you know, crazy filter that they're using, I think that is a form of language. And I think that's just going to continue. I mean, think it's always been there and I think the game has been stepped up with, you know, the iPhone and the pocket phone. 

00:32:30:28 - 00:32:45:21

I agree. I think people are communicating with photos as much as anything else. I'm wondering if you have any resources that you might suggest or any tips you might suggest to people looking to learn more about either underwater photography or street photography. 

00:32:46:08 - 00:33:21:00

For street photography, honestly, hit up. I'm not even going to like like we said, I feel like we're an advertisement for Pier, but really think find someone that you can trust or you feel that you connect with. You're going to learn the fundamentals like we did with Pier. Like the first week we learned all about indirect direct light and a billion other things on our phones, whether they were Android or iPhone and think those fundamentals are important. So get out and just take a class mean take a bite size one. Don't dive in and sign up for some six month bootcamp because like anything else, you're going to get bored from it or frustrated. 

00:33:21:02 - 00:33:55:27

Try to do bite size, try to spend 10 or 15 minutes shooting a day instead of an hour. We all have 15 minutes a day to do something. So I would definitely highly recommend that. Like I think once you have those fundamentals, whether you learn them on your iPhone or a full frame or crop sensor or whatever camera you're learning them on, those are instrumental and they can't be taken away from your photo game. And just by the camera that you want, like just go out and get it. There is something dramatically different about holding a camera versus holding your phone that gets you into the mindset. 

00:33:56:12 - 00:34:09:21

Underwater photography don't go out. You don't have to spend $1 billion. Like I said, start with a GoPro. I mean, a couple hundred bucks, get a used one. You could do a ton with that. Just get out and do it mean and have fun with it. 

00:34:09:23 - 00:34:26:06

I agree with everything you just said, especially the part about Pier. And again, we have nothing to do with Pier and I don't necessarily believe in all these influencers selling courses online. No, no. Mean this is different. I highly recommend taking pictures. 

00:34:26:08 - 00:34:26:23

Of course, it's not. 

00:34:26:25 - 00:34:55:22

A douche bag. It's not expensive. And you learn the fundamentals in the first week. By the time you're hitting that third week of his, you are really taking some amazing I mean, I noticed in 30 days just how dramatic my game had changed. And I'm like you, when anyone sells me anything that's 30 days, I'm like, bullshit bullshit. And maybe that's the American in us. Like, we're like, bullshit, I don't believe you. Scam artist pyramid scheme. Like, we're so jaded at this point. But no, he's a real deal. And he's such a cool cat. 

00:34:55:24 - 00:35:06:08

He's. He's cool. Do you think he'll like this marketing or advertising slogan? We're coming up. I mean, it sounds like we could just advertise for him. Pierre Lambert. He's not a douche bag. 

00:35:06:27 - 00:35:11:03

I mean, honestly, think really that's all you need, right? 

00:35:12:08 - 00:35:14:04

It's all I need. It's all I needed. 

00:35:14:24 - 00:35:15:15

I mean. 

00:35:15:17 - 00:35:47:10

Yeah, No, he's great. I think. Just do it mean. I know everyone says that. It's same thing about working out or getting into a new hobby or doing, you know, taking a new language. Don't go crazy and like, dive in and, you know, get 28 bucks and take a like that silly course that I took in LA. That was like eight hours for three days, like. I can't even sit still for eight hours, let alone talk about a freaking camera and photography that I'm just learning for eight hours like one. I love photography, but eight hours bores the shit out of me. 

00:35:47:12 - 00:36:17:25

I'm not staying anywhere focused to be in a class like that. So my recommendation is bite size, everything like 15 minutes snap around, whether it's your cat, your dog. I dreamed the pandemic is when I got my camera, so I ended up getting a hummingbird feeder because I had like nothing living in my house, not even a plant besides myself. So I'm like, What am I going to shoot? So I bought this hummingbird feeder so that I could like rope in these hummingbirds, and I started naming them. 

00:36:17:27 - 00:36:22:21

And in our next episode, Nicole will introduce us to her hummingbird friends. 

00:36:22:28 - 00:36:34:07

His name is Fred, and I gave him to my neighbor, but no mean captured Fred taking a leak in the air and all kinds of fun things during the pandemic. So thank you, Fred. 

00:36:34:09 - 00:36:46:04

Hummingbirds are great to photograph. I've photographed them before. If you can get that shutter speed right. You know, their wings don't know how fast they move a second, but if you get that. All right, those photos are awesome. 

00:36:46:06 - 00:36:55:08

They're a great subject when you're just learning because you really do have to mess around with that shutter speed and think it's a great learning. They were they were a great learning tool. 

00:36:55:27 - 00:36:59:07

All right. I've got three questions that ask everybody on the podcast. 

00:36:59:09 - 00:37:01:06

Well, shoot two of them. 

00:37:01:08 - 00:37:15:24

You've already answered and we already know. But I'm going to ask you anyway because they give me an excuse to ask the third question, which is my absolute favorite question. Okay. Question number one is, what is your favorite genre to shoot and why? 

00:37:16:01 - 00:37:23:15

Yeah, street photography, just for all the reasons I said, it's it connects us to humans and it makes us realize that we're more alike than different. 

00:37:24:03 - 00:37:26:23

Number two, what camera system do you use? 

00:37:26:29 - 00:37:52:02

So right now I'm on the Sony seven C and mostly using prime lenses and I'm also using prime lenses under the water. It's not something that most underwater photographers do. But I find for me, because I just do the one and two shoot and go, I don't have to worry about zooming in, zooming out and doing all that stuff. I set it up and boom, awesome. 

00:37:52:09 - 00:38:08:26

And number three, on a scale of 1 to 10, how often do you get that burning itch? Again? For our listeners, this is not to be confused with a burning itch, just that burning itch to just get out there and go take photos every day. 

00:38:08:28 - 00:38:33:26

I mean, even when it's raining and crappy out, I'm taking photos, whether it's on my iPhone or my GoPro or the Sony full frame. There's not a day that goes past that. I don't get my my camera is the one. I'm super OCD. You guys listeners have probably already gathered that. So my place is very tidy and neat and everything is in its place except for my camera is always out. 

00:38:34:06 - 00:38:38:27

All right, Nicole, where can people find you online? Social media, all that good stuff. 

00:38:38:29 - 00:39:12:23

Yeah, I'm at Nikki two, Nicole and Iki, the number two. And I see on all my social media handles. And if you guys have questions about photography, scuba diving or you're in Florida and want to shoot around or go scuba diving, look me up, I'm super willing to take anyone out. And or if you just have questions and think that's the beauty of what you're trying to do with this podcast is get people involved and think all of us amateurs are prosumers our enthusiasts or whatever you want to call us. 

00:39:12:25 - 00:39:25:07

We're just excited about it and we're like, Hell yeah, we'll give you like whatever you need to get and think. That's like also the beauty of having a camera is you're automatically in a community that you weren't in before you bought it. 

00:39:25:09 - 00:39:27:24

Nicole Young You're awesome. Thank you very much. 

00:39:28:05 - 00:39:29:19

Yeah, Thanks, Ken. 

00:39:30:26 - 00:39:45:19

Thank you so much for joining me for today's episode. Our next show will feature more valuable stories from our community members. If you'd like to audition to be a guest, please visit Big Photo Hunt for more information. Thanks again for listening today.