Chris is one of the most accomplished and talented photographers in today's day and age, known for everything from extraordinary aerial landscape photography, to surf photography, to epic storytelling in the nature and adventure space. He's authored multiple books, has directed and produced sensational films, and has a business acumen that has made him a household name in the world of outdoor photography.
In this episode we talk about so many things in the photography world, but go deeper into the psyche of photographers with topics like goal-setting and why it's important to "make your own quotes" in the work you produce.
And it goes without saying his advice to photographers (and videographers) at all levels on the storytelling element of photography is par excellence.
You can find more on Chris Burkard at www.ChrisBurkard.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Court (00:00):
My guest today is Chris Burkhardt.
Chris is one of the mostaccomplished and talented
photographers in today's day andage, known for everything from
extraordinary aerial landscapephotography to surf photography,
to epic storytelling and Ireally do mean epic in the
nature and adventure space.
He's authored multiple books,has directed and produced
sensational films and has abusiness acumen that has made
(00:23):
him truly a household name inthe world of outdoor photography
.
In this episode we talk aboutso many things in the
photographic world, but we alsogo deeper into the psyche of
photographers with topics likegoal setting and why it's
important to make your ownquotes I'm doing that in air
quotes to enhance the work youproduce.
And he goes without saying thathis advice to photographers and
(00:44):
videographers at all levels onthe storytelling element is par
excellence.
So join me today to welcomeesteemed photographer Chris
Burkhardt.
Chris (00:54):
Stoked to be here Court.
Thank you so much for having me.
Court (00:58):
You're a man of many talents, I am a man of many
questions and so to cover allthe talents, as many as possible
, in this next bit I'm justgoing to straight up launch into
it.
So the first question I have iskind of a little bit of an
easier one.
But you are known so much foraerial photography.
I'm wondering what are sometips for folks photographing
(01:19):
from planes, like lensselections.
Do you get shots in the plane?
I know that the knee-jerkreaction is probably to think of
like doors off right, but a lotof times we're in small bush
planes, we're cruising overamazing landscapes and we just
don't have that ability.
So kind of walk me through yourthought process.
(01:39):
Do you bring a spare lens?
Do you have your wide angle?
Do you have a telephoto?
What's going through your mindas you're getting aerial shots?
Do you have your wide angle?
Do you have a telephoto?
What's going through your mindas you're getting aerial shots?
You are the maestro at it.
Chris (01:48):
So yeah, it's an excellent question.
You know, to be honest, thebiggest and most important thing
is knowing what you're flyingin right and and knowing the
plane, and that just comes withexperience.
I think one of the tough thingsabout you know any sort of
facet of photography or any sortof more niche genre is that is
(02:09):
that you know you have to sortof really get to know the craft
intimately.
And I'm sure it's similar.
You know, I've never shot onsafari, but I'm sure it's
similar to that.
You know, like what are you?
What are you actually drivingin?
What's the car, what's the riglike?
You know what's how, you knowaccessible and how boots in the
ground?
Are you going to be with aplane or, you know, with a
helicopter?
It's the same thing.
(02:29):
Are you in a you know, cessna172?
Are you in a bush plane, aproper bush plane?
Are you in a Piper Cub?
Are you going to be in ahelicopter?
All of those present differentchallenges.
You know the dream is just tobe door off Right, but that's
not realistic and in fact it's.
It's less realistic than youthink because you typically
don't want to travel with thedoor off.
You know the distances that younormally have to travel to get
(02:51):
to the good places.
So, that being said, you've gota limited window space and what
I would say is that typically,um, you know, space in the craft
is limited, you're not justlike can have your huge camera
bag.
You've got one camera, you know, maybe a backup in the back,
two lenses, and I think thatwhat ends up happening is that
your relationship with thatcraft, with the plane and with
(03:15):
the pilot is everything that'sgoing to change everything.
All the best images I've evergotten have been when I have
flown with a talented pilot whoknows what to do and how to put
the plane in a position where Ican actually get the shot that I
want, because it's not likeyou're just going to be, you
know, typically it's frustrating, I guess is what I'm saying.
(03:36):
You're not just going to be,you know, casually, sort of
going out there and just nailingthese amazing aerial
photographs.
Usually it's a much likeanything else.
You know you need the righttime of day, you need, like, the
good light.
You know you're looking foroftentimes for me it's like
dappled clouds, so that youdon't have flat light.
You have some sun, but not toomuch sun, and I'm looking for,
(04:02):
oftentimes a variety of shots.
Sometimes it's straight down.
You're shooting directly downat the ground from above, where
it almost looks abstract, and inorder to shoot that, typically
a polarizer is key, because itcuts the reflection from a water
source or the ground orwhatever, and also just
something that kind of helps ifyou're cutting through the glass
(04:23):
of a plane or a helicopter orsomething like that.
There's a lot of little thingstoo.
I always wear black because youhave less reflection in the
plane window or helicopterwindow.
You don't wear your white shoes.
I've seen so many people haveto film outside of a window.
Everything they're wearing iscontrasting against that glass
(04:44):
and it's ruining their shot,right.
So I'm just trying to be arealist here.
We're not always going to beable to open the door.
We're not always going to beable to get our entire camera
out the window.
I would say that the leastexperienced kind of person is
probably going to want to shootwith like a 70 to 200 out of the
plane, because that's going toallow you to zoom in on anything
(05:04):
you want.
Right, it's a less.
70 to 200 out of the plane,because that's going to allow
you to zoom in on anything youwant right.
It's a less intimateperspective.
Truly, it's not as as close oras wide angle as I prefer.
I guess you could say you'rekind of zooming in from far away
.
My favorite images are usuallyshot with a 16 to 35, but the
crux of shooting with that isthat you're going to get a strut
or you're going to getsomething in the plane in the
(05:27):
shot, and that can be toughright.
So you really need a pilot whocan put the plane at a bank
where you can basically have thetotal proximity of what you're
hoping to shoot in front of you,like the total opening, right,
and that only lasts for like acouple of seconds.
It's not like you're just ableto kind of consistently be
(05:47):
shooting everything you want.
You kind of have to circlearound something and align
yourself to be in the rightposition with it.
You get a couple moments andthen it's done.
So I guess I would say like 70to 200 is kind of a go-to for
beginners and then a 24 to 70 iskind of that mid range Great
lens.
I mean most people.
I'd say a 7,200 and a 24 to 70is going to cover all your bases
.
For me personally, if I want toget like something really
(06:11):
compelling.
I'm shooting wider and closer,um, and that is going to be more
challenging, right?
Uh, wide angle, things aregoing to move faster past you as
well.
You know you're flying throughsome Canyon or by the Nepali
coast and everything's movingand it's it's creating more
issues, more dynamic situationswhere you're constantly changing
(06:32):
the shutter speed, aperture inorder to deal with those
constantly, um, kind of fastmoving objects and or um.
I think another situation isthat, for me at least, the
shutter speed versus kind ofaperture priority situation, how
you set up your actual camera,it's going to be a lot easier
(06:52):
just to kind of keep it inshutter speed priority, because
the aperture is fairlyirrelevant.
You're so far away fromeverything that you're shooting
that it's not important.
The shutter speed is importantbecause you will get motion blur
.
So trying to shoot above that500th of a second if things are
closer to you, shooting 600, 800, 1,000, 1,200, something within
(07:14):
that range is really helpful.
But I can't give you a perfectformula for it, uh, but
oftentimes, you know, as youbecome more advanced, you can
shoot manual from a plane.
It just takes a lot ofconstantly.
You know dialing in thosesettings, dialing in the buttons
, you know, dialing back theshutter speed, dialing forward
(07:35):
your aperture, whatever you do,you're up and down your iso
because, because the light isconstantly changing, some in one
second you're shooting into thesun.
In one second you're doing abank and all of a sudden it's
totally shaded.
So not really any way to easilyarticulate.
Court (07:49):
No, no, that was.
That was awesome, Super helpfulstuff.
And I was thinking as you weretalking.
One of the great things aboutaerial photography like this is
that you usually do have a goodbit of light, even if it is done
.
You're above the tree line,you're?
You're probably below theclouds Obviously, if there were
clouds you wouldn't be shootingbut you get a lot of light.
So you know, one thing that Ialways talk about a lot on this
(08:10):
podcast is my kind of manualplus auto ISO mode that I just
find so nice because I can dialin the aperture, I can dial in
the shutter speed, let thecamera choose ISO and, as long
as the light is pretty good'sgiving me iso.
You know 100, 200 the wholetime.
So I I feel like that is themode to be on.
And then, per chris, yeah,something 500th of a second
(08:31):
faster.
You know, I think a lot of folksare probably looking at a
maximum aperture of f4, f 5.6with a with a lot of lenses,
especially kit lenses.
So it seems to be like that'spretty darn good if you're going
for that maximum depth of field, obviously bumping up to F8 if
possible.
But what are you looking for asyou get that top-down shot, the
(08:53):
abstract shot that you'retalking about.
I think that that is probablyone of the more common things
that I see on my veryopportunistic bush flights
across Alaska or Africa oranywhere when we're trying to
make lemonade.
This is not necessarily a photoflight seeing trip flights
across Alaska or Africa oranywhere when we're trying to
make lemonade.
You know, this is notnecessarily a photo flight
seeing trip, but we're shootingout the window.
We might get a nice shot ofsomething, what, what are you
looking for in the landscape?
(09:13):
To give you that shot, toreally hone in on that one kind
of image.
Chris (09:19):
Well, I mean, that's like asking somebody what their
favorite type of fruit is andwhy, because I'm not going to be
able to explain to somebody whycertain things you know
resonate with me and why youknow they might not resonate
with others.
But the point or the goal isthat you're seeing something
hopefully unique, and the planepresents unique opportunities,
(09:43):
and so the goal should be todocument those opportunities and
do so in the best way possible.
Now, I think that there's a bigdifference between just
spraying and praying and hopingthat you get something good,
versus being thoughtful andconscious about it.
You know, am I going to includea little bit of this coastline?
Am I going to include, you know, these birds that are sitting
on this tiny little in thisestuary, on the sandbar?
(10:06):
What am I trying to portrayhere?
Because I think photographingthings without any intention is
just one of the reallychallenging things that I see
these days in terms of trying totell a story and having no
story to tell.
So I guess, when I look forsomething unique, I'm typically
(10:28):
trying to just be open to whatI'm seeing and what speaks to me
and what resonates with me,like oh wow, the colors are
beautiful.
This is a really stunning area.
I really want to document thisriver, this place, whatever it
is, and I spend the time that ittakes to get around it, but I
would say that it's almost neverbeen like the first flight
(10:48):
around an area that I've likenailed the moment.
You know, usually it's goingback a different season, a
different time, really trying tosee it in in the most ideal
situation that I can, being thatsometimes these rivers maybe
that I'm photographing arereally full of glacial silt and
they're really colorful, orthere's a large, you know kind
(11:10):
of swath of birds that's flyingover them.
So there is no recipe forsuccess.
It would be inauthentic to saythat there's just like a way to
analyze what looks good from theair.
I think that you really need toreally spend the time up there.
I would say that the more timeyou spend just like, the more
time you spend anywhere, youbecome desensitized to the
(11:34):
mundane, and what I mean by thatis that it's not uncommon for
people to come to Iceland, forexample, and be photographing
you know, from Highway 1,driving 60 miles an hour on the
side of the road or on the roadand be photographing, you know,
from highway one, driving 60miles an hour on the side of the
road or on the road right.
They're just their cameras out,they're just shooting
everything, because everything'sbeautiful and I love that.
That's, that's amazing.
But are those going to be thebest images?
(11:55):
Probably not.
It's usually going to be whenyou pause and you, you, you
intentionally try to create animage.
So the kind of this pageantryaround, maybe shooting, um,
where you know you're, you'redialing in your, your settings
and your camera and blah, blah,blah and it's, it's.
That's wonderful.
But I think that we need to givetime to the landscapes to make
(12:18):
something special.
And I would say that oftentimes, what makes something unique is
is that you've, you've flownaround, you've kind of seen it
all, and then you're pulled backto one place or one spot in
particular.
You're really trying to work it, you're trying to find that
angle, you're trying to findthat perspective and it feels
different, it feels likesomething you haven't seen
before, and that's usually atelltale sign to me that it's
(12:42):
something special, somethingunique, something really cool.
So I guess that's kind of whatI look for, that's kind of what
really speaks to me and and whatresonates with me, and I just
try to find a way to identifythat?
Court (12:52):
I guess you could say that's great advice, and you say
that you don't have a perfectrecipe, but you do have a really
key ingredient here, which isthat intentionality.
And I think there there is acost to just taking a ton of
photos.
You there, there is a cost tojust taking a ton of photos.
You know a lot of people, Ithink, especially on the more
beginning side, we'll justcontinually take photos, whether
it's out on ground with animalsor landscapes, or in the air,
like we're talking about here,and just take, take, take,
(13:14):
because the more photos you haveyou can call them down to some
usable things.
And while there is somejustification there and it's not
entirely wrong if you'relooking for that really special
one like chris you certainly areand like many people perhaps
should be more often you knowthose shots that you're taking
that don't have intentionalityare actually channeling your
distraction elsewhere orchanneling more distraction.
(13:36):
Your photography is channelingyour attention elsewhere.
So, yeah, I I do advocate forthat, and I hear a lot of other
photo buddies of mine that willsay you know what, like the
first thing I do when I get to abeautiful place with a photo
group is I tell them to put thecameras down and just have a
good five, ten minute look, umand yeah, like maybe there's a
one in a thousand chance you'regonna miss some rare encounter
with a bear uh you know leapinginto a river with salmon at that
(13:59):
moment.
But the reality is you'reprobably going to get more of
those shots and, because you'vetaken a pause and looked around
and analyzed the scene, you'regoing to get better shots of
that same thing, or shots oraerial shots later.
So, yeah, I think that the keyingredient well said, well put,
insightful is thatintentionality.
Certainly.
Chris (14:18):
Yeah, and I don't.
I don't know if it's like youknow.
I do think I will say for surethat there is some element of it
that is kind of just you knowyou're hoping for the best, you
know you're out there and Ithink putting yourself in those
situations is what createsbeautiful, beautiful images and
(14:39):
allows for unique moments tokind of come to life.
I guess you could say and Ithink that's a big part of it is
like the more time you spend upthere, the more chances you're
going to have just to findsomething really special.
And I would honestly say for me, I don't think I'm a great
technical photographer orsomeone who's necessarily wildly
creative.
I'm just the most stubborn,maybe, or the person who's
willing to like, give it themost amount of tries or the most
(15:02):
effort.
And I think that that is been abig part of my recipe for
success is just trying to givethe time, spend the time to be
out there in the elements and tonot be deterred maybe when the
weather gets bad or things likethat.
Court (15:17):
I've heard you say that you see the world in wide angle
or ultra wide angle.
I've seen this on previousvideos and interviews you've had
and I find that so interestingand I know that well.
I think that one of yourfavorite lenses is that 16 to 35
class and I was so like youdidn't just stop saying it's
like my favorite lens.
It's like you see the world inthat angle and I'll be honest,
(15:39):
like I don't think I do, like Iactually think there's a
different range that I see it in.
So it clearly is some sort ofsubjectivity amongst
photographers.
I'm so curious.
I never would have thoughtabout that, you know,
introspectively, on my own self,had I not heard you say it.
Can you explain seeing theworld in a 16 to 35?
Chris (16:00):
Yeah, well, I mean, I think it's more around the idea
that when, when I start at thebeginning of the day, um, I have
any any day shooting, right,with one lens on my camera, it's
the 16 to 35.
That's just the key, that's thelens that I always start with,
like, if I'm going to wake up,it's early, I'm going to be
shooting potentially sunrise, etcetera, et cetera, like that's
(16:20):
the lens that I'm going to shoot.
And I think the reason isbecause you know you have to
kind of see things from oneperspective, right, you really
got to be, you really got tohave an intimate connection with
the cameras that you'reshooting or with the lenses that
you're shooting.
You know you should be able tovisualize.
You know and I think that theexperienced and the talented
photographer will visualize theworld between certain lenses,
(16:43):
like, if I'm going to, you knowI'm not going to look at
something and be like, oh, thismight be good in a wide angle,
and throw it on and be like, wow, that was totally the wrong
perspective.
I actually need like a 600,.
You know, like, obviously, you,you, you need to be able to
picture or imagine what theselenses will do.
So for me, it is that wideangle perspective.
I'm always thinking, okay, likeright now, what I'm seeing, is
(17:05):
this going to work for this lensMaybe?
Court (17:07):
it won't.
Chris (17:08):
That's fine, like that's the whole point, right.
But I just know that usuallymost of the photographs that I
really like that I've shot havebeen shot with that lens.
Now it's as simple as goingback into your archives.
You know, maybe you've beenshooting for two years, three
years, 10 years, I don't know.
Look at your most iconic 100photos or the ones that you like
(17:28):
.
What were they shot with?
If 30% of them, or 40% or 60%or 80%, were shot with one lens,
that might be the lens that youwould always prioritize
bringing.
To not be cognizant and aware ofthat is is really to me kind of
crazy, because I feel likethat's what I'm always trying to
(17:49):
do is analyze, like what, whatpiece of equipment is going to
get the job done the mosteffectively, right, um?
So I think that that's kind ofjust how.
What I mean by that is likewhen I'm having to make lens
choices or picking what's in mybag for that day, I always am
going to choose that lens that Ifeel like is the easiest one
(18:13):
for me to navigate and work withand use before all others.
Am I going to leave behind that50mm 1.4?
Am I going to leave behind theprime millimeter.
You know, one four am I goingto leave behind the prime?
You know this and that I'm justkind of trying to look for
something that's going to get meto like the results that I want
(18:34):
faster.
Court (18:34):
I love it, yeah, cause it combines everything.
It combines the technique, thevision, and I think you you put
it in a very interesting context.
For listeners out there tryingto figure out what they might
use to see the world accordingto their vision is, yeah, what's
that lens that you walk out thedoor with?
Um, totally, maybe on safari,it is a 100 to 400 or 600 prime,
(18:54):
um, but you know, nevertheless,the thing that you just always
pick up and gravitate to, thatthat might be your, your vision
lens.
Can I coin it?
Chris (19:03):
yeah, yeah, yeah, you're I, that's the way to put it
right.
I also like really love thefisheye.
Like I feel like it's one ofthose like lenses that just
always speaks to me and I alwaysinclude it in my bag.
It's not a common one for mostpeople, it's not something that
I think most people gravitatetowards, but that's kind of the
point.
Right, you should form arelationship with your camera
and your lenses.
(19:23):
You know how far you can push.
Whatever it is you're shootingthe A7R IV or whatever it is
no-transcript then you know thesituations you might bring it in
, right?
You're like, oh well, I'm goingon this trip.
There might be Northern lights,there might be astrophotography
moments.
Those things that you're hopingto shoot are going to, you know
(19:46):
, inversely affect yourdecision-making process when it
comes to which lenses you packand which lenses you bring.
And the hope is that you don'tbring everything, because I
think that there's an illusionwhen it comes to choice, like as
if the more choices we have,the more creative we'll be.
I actually think that that'scouldn't be further from the
truth.
I think that, um, in fact, theless choices we have, it forces
(20:08):
us to be more creative.
Court (20:10):
I could not agree more the paradox of choice is around
us in life constantly and Ithink it's getting stronger and
stronger as time continues onthis idea that we think the more
choices again give us happinessand satisfaction and blah, blah
, blah.
But yeah, sometimes I find mymost creative versatile
photography is when I have my my51.4 on.
(20:32):
Honestly, like I'll just I'll,I'll force myself to do it.
It's, it's a technique that Ireally, really love and you know
, maybe halfway through a trip,once I've gotten a lot of great
photos of whatever I'm shooting,like you know what, I'm gonna
force myself to use a 50millimeter all day and see the
world and it's really, reallyfun.
So, yeah, great stuff there.
Okay, I'm gonna switch to alittle bit of a bigger, deeper
(20:53):
question here.
So I think of you as astoryteller extraordinaire.
In fact, I think that might bea lot of how and why you're into
your current work with thevarious film projects and
everything you've got going on.
Chris (21:07):
AKA too many things at once, the too many things.
Court (21:13):
Yeah, trying to do it if you want.
But getting into storytelling,what do you view as the key
ingredients to storytelling fromyour point of view?
Big question open-ended, butI'm leaving it there.
Chris (21:27):
That's an excellent question, actually, I think if
it was.
You know, there are many waysto really dive in and try to
extrapolate a story from anexperience.
I think that, at the end of theday, it needs to be something
that you are personally investedin, because any good story,
(21:48):
telling any good story, whetherit's in film or photography or
video is going to require anelement of sacrifice on your end
.
It's going to require that Idon't know, you know, getting
out of the tent when it'sfreezing cold to to uh shoot a
time-lapse or film something,and so I guess what I'm saying
is like there will be discomfortand there will be moments of uh
that are not easy.
That's kind of the point, right.
(22:09):
If it was easy, why would we doit, um, or why wouldn't
somebody have already done it,so?
So, with that, you need to makesure that your purpose is near
and dear to you.
It's something that youactually care about, something
that you are inspired by,because if it's not, I just
don't know that you will be ableto get through those initial
kind of pressure points or painpoints.
Like there's a million storiesof projects that sort of started
(22:34):
and then stopped.
There's not a lot of stories asmany about projects that kind
of started and then were.
You know, there's not a lot ofstories you know as many about
projects that kind of startedand then and then were
successfully completed.
Right, because that's that'sthe hardest part.
So I guess, finding that, thatthing that really gets you
excited and gets you stoked totell it, and then and then, with
that, you know, there is aprocess that I think everybody
(22:56):
undergoes, a different one foreach person.
For me, usually, if I am tellinga story about a person and they
have kind of told me this relayto this experience to me, or
something that we're going totry to film or create or
photograph, I oftentimes,depending on the scope or the
budget, I'll have a third party,journalist or a writer, a
(23:17):
friend of mine, call them andinterview them.
And the reason is because I canhave sort of delusions of
grandeur when it comes totelling a story and I'm like, oh
, I heard this thing from thisperson and this is what I think
it is and it's going to be socool and I'm pitching this
project and I'm very investedand it's easy to kind of I guess
you could say have a slightlyskewed perspective when it comes
(23:40):
to telling the story and youwant to be honest, you want to
be straightforward.
So I usually will have a thirdparty come in, a friend of mine,
interview my subject or myperson and just like make sure
that we got it right.
That it's because from a thirdparty, somebody who's not
invested, you know, it's a loteasier and I think that's
important.
That's a, that's a process thatI've tried to undergo three,
(24:00):
four, five times and it'sactually really helped me.
And so I Can I interrupt realquick?
Court (24:05):
Do you do this before you start the project?
Is this when, like you, havethe vision and the dream before
you know to continue on you, youbring in a third party?
Chris (24:14):
Yeah, Because you don't really want to go all in guns
blazing, and then all of asudden realize, man, yeah,
because you don't really want togo all in guns blazing, and
then all of a sudden realize,man, we really got it wrong.
Like this is actually not whatthis person meant by that or
whatever.
You know, maybe you overheard astory of a person and you know
this part of the world andyou're like, well, we want to go
back and film this thing andthis is going to be amazing and
maybe it's slightly different.
So I think that allowing thatperson to share the story in
(24:44):
their own words, you know, thisis obviously, if we're sharing a
story about people and it'srelaying an experience, this is
a powerful way to do it.
Now, I think if you're sharinga story about a place or a
documentary that's happening inreal time, you know there are
other kind of solutions and waysyou might go about that, but
for me, this has been one of thebest ways to kind of detach
myself from the, from the um, myinitial thoughts and feelings,
and try to look at it from likea 30,000 foot view, Because I
(25:06):
think that um one of the mostvaluable tools that I've tried
to use in everything.
I do it literally.
It doesn't matter if this islike a marital decision or if
this is a business decision.
It's what is my intendedoutcome visualizing that,
picturing that, articulatingthat, expressing that,
verbalizing it and then workingbackwards from that outcome in
(25:31):
order to get there.
And I think one of the issuesthat you find with people
oftentimes telling stories ofany kind or just working in
general, is that they wantdirections to a place that
doesn't exist because they haveno idea where they're going,
Right.
And then they look to maybemore successful people or they
look to somebody who has done itbefore for directions and then,
but the problem is they can'toffer that to you because if you
(25:54):
don't have a vision for whereyou want to end up, nobody can
get you there.
So that's a big part of it,right Taking the time to really
digest and process where you'regoing, where.
Where is this thing going totake you?
You know, and that's important,right.
Court (26:09):
Yeah, do you have any tips and tricks for visualizing
that?
I mean, it's, it's, it's so,it's so obvious, but it's so
challenging.
Chris (26:23):
I mean, I don't really have a tip or a trick, so much
as like what have you seen?
That you're maybe you know thisis going to sound a little bit,
you know, harsh, but like whatdo you?
What do you cop?
What are you trying to copy?
Right, Cause everybody'scopying something.
It's okay, Like, oh, I saw thisshort film, I loved it.
I really want to createsomething like that Great,
that's, that's your North star.
You know, um, I saw this, uh,you know photo blog somewhere
and I really want to createsomething like that.
I'm going to use that as areference or a guide or whatever
(26:45):
.
It is like that's your Northstar.
So there can be a lot of youknow um, anchor points that will
hopefully get you there, orsome guardrails you're going to
set up.
Obviously, things change,stories change Changes.
You need to be open to that.
But the hope is you have someidea, some concept of where
you're hoping to go, potentially, because that will ultimately
(27:06):
help you get there Right, andthat's kind of the whole
pointism in approaching filmsand photo projects.
Court (27:13):
I'm going to challenge you to think on the
non-professional side and likewhat advice would you have to
someone going on an individualtrip?
It might be a couple going ontheir honeymoon.
(27:33):
It might be someone going on aphoto adventure somewhere in the
world and they want to maketheir photos more meaningful.
They might want to do somestorytelling, like conservation
storytelling, to make their worka little bit more powerful than
just snapping pretty photos ofamazing looking things batched
(27:54):
way.
What are some things that theymight think of in prepping for
the trip, while on the trip andthen after the trip to just I
don't want to say likehalf-baked this storytelling,
but without a super professionalapproach where they're going to
make a kind of like a featurefilm or anything of the sort.
(28:15):
What are some?
Chris (28:16):
yeah, I think that I think you're going to hate me,
because the problem is it's thesame process, like if they don't
know where it's going to end up.
It's your end goal willcompletely direct the way you
operate, right?
So, if you're like, you know,we really want to, we're going
on this safari, we really wantto document this animal because
it's endangered, and we want toshare or showcase this to like.
(28:37):
Who is your audience?
First of all, there's a list ofquestions that I would ask a
person if they were looking foradvice from me.
Who's your audience?
What's going to be the mosteffective way to get to that
audience?
What are the tools that you'reat your disposal?
And then, how are you going toutilize those tools?
Are you going to vlog about it?
Are you going to film it?
Are you going to photograph it?
Where will this end up?
Where will it live?
Where will it exist 20, 30 daysfrom now, six months from now,
(29:00):
and then that will hopefullydirect the actions of that
person.
And I do think that there aredifferent ways in which you
would go about, because here'sthe crux is like you're never
going to go on a trip and youknow film and photograph and
vlog and whatever all the otherthings that you know and journal
(29:21):
.
One of those things is going togive.
Like you can only do so manythings.
Well, human beings.
Sadly, for all of our amazingachievements, we have not
figured out how to multitasksuper well, so something is
going to sacrifice, and so Iwould say that I try to look at
the story.
Obviously, I have a lot ofyears of experience.
I try to look at each story,given what is the most valuable
way to get this message across.
(29:41):
If I am advocating forIceland's glacial river systems
and a national park there andI'm spending time creating a
photo essay, how will that photoessay best be realized?
Will it be me partnering with alocal NGO to speak on their
behalf, to advocate for this,talking about what I've seen?
Is it making a book so that itcan get into the hands of people
who are maybe decision makers,can be gifted to them, can be
(30:03):
shown to them?
Is it going to be partneringwith somebody in the government
to do X, y and Z?
So the end goal will absolutelydirectly affect kind of the
where you start, and I thinkthat each one.
Again, if you are a journalist,like the best thing you can do
is be a journalist, you knowlike, take meticulous notes,
(30:26):
shoot photographs to help youremember those experiences.
If your goal is to film, thentry to truly document it.
What style of film are yougoing to shoot?
Who is, who is whose voice?
Is this being told through?
Who is our main character?
Who am I following?
Am I taking the time to dointerviews?
Blah, blah, blah.
Is this something I'm justsharing on social media?
So what is the tone and tenureof that social media approach?
(30:49):
Like, how am I getting myinformation?
Who is it from my allowingpeople to tell their own story?
Am I filtering that storythrough my own voice?
Those are all the things that Iwould be thinking about, and it
does take time.
Like, I think the worst thingthat can happen is to get onto
the ground, wherever you'regoing, and just be like, oh well
, I haven't really thought aboutit, I'm just going to try and
do it.
All you know, and I think thatthat's a recipe for disaster a
(31:11):
little bit.
If, if the goal is to actuallytell a story, if the goal is
just to experience the place anddocument it and do whatever you
want and use your camera anduse your tools, then have fun
and, honestly, don't put thestress on yourself at all to do
anything.
I think, actually, one of thebigger issues I see is people
putting too much pressure onthemselves.
You know they're going toAntarctica or they're going
(31:33):
somewhere and they they feellike there's a cause they need
to like stand for, and that'sexcellent.
There are many causes, andimportant ones at that.
But to go there with theintention of like making change,
as opposed to, first andforemost, just experiencing it,
just being there.
Oftentimes, if you're goingsomewhere and it's your first
time and you're going there tomake a difference, make a change
(31:55):
, you're probably more sofollowing somebody else's
narrative as opposed to your own.
You haven't actuallyexperienced this place for
yourself.
So how do you know that it'sspecial?
How do you know that it'simportant?
How do you know that glaciersaren't these gross ugly things
that should be melted?
The point is to be inspired andthe goal is to leave inspired.
(32:18):
So you have something to say,because if not, it's just going
to be a formula that you'refollowing because you saw
somebody else do it and you feltlike you should get involved,
and there's nothing wrong withthat.
But I do think that the verybest, very most potent, the very
most powerful conservationistpeople who are advocating for
wild spaces, other people whohave a real relationship with
(32:39):
those places and takes time todevelop.
That's I guess.
That's just all I'm thinking.
Yeah, I, I'm sorry, I sort oflike boondoggled your question
there and, like you know,wrapped into my own thought.
Court (32:49):
No, I'm trying to dig into the the brain of chris
burkhardt.
Chris (32:53):
That's exactly what I wanted?
Court (32:54):
no, it referred me to.
You know, think of a quote thatI I say so often, um, which is
a bit of a mixture of quotesfrom Aldo Leopold, and it goes
something like you cannot savewhat you do not love and you
cannot love what you do not know.
And so, yeah, you got to knowthings first to then love it, to
then save it, and I thinkyou're spot on there.
Chris (33:15):
You are good with quotes.
I will tell you this to yourcredit Court.
When you sat with me on theplane and we were coming back
from Iceland, we were flying toNew York, you told me something
you said the most dangerous viewof the world is is the view of
somebody who doesn't know theworld.
And what's what's awesome is Imean, I stole that from your
lips and I used it in like threeor four presentations, cause I
(33:37):
just said like I met this guy onthe plane.
He shared with me this view andit really struck me and I and I
, I think that, um, that ispowerful and that is a
perspective.
That is something I've thoughtabout, because it's so easy to
demonize people who are outthere spending all their spare
time traveling and seeing theworld, but truly, the ones who
(33:58):
get us to be inspired by what'sout there are the ones who are
spending their time doing so.
You know, and I, honestly, thescariest version of the world
that I could think of would beone where nobody gets on a plane
, nobody sees what's out there,everybody lives in the microcosm
of their own small, you knowexistence and no change is ever
made.
I mean truly.
Court (34:19):
Could not agree more, Chris.
What gives you the most energythese days?
What drives you?
Chris (34:26):
Besides coffee, no, I think, definitely spending time
with my kids.
You know, that's probably thething that, like, motivates me
the most, inspires me the most,gets me the most excited, gets
me the most psyched.
I guess you could say, inspiresme the most, gets me the most
excited, gets me the mostpsyched.
I guess you could say, andtruly, like, it's the, it's the
(34:48):
part of the puzzle that nowadays, you know, and it's not just my
kids, it's honestly sharingthings with others.
I think that you relate to thisand the fact that, like, it's
really special when you get achance to take people to a place
that they've never been,they've never seen, you know,
you, it's a, it's a trueprivilege, um, and whether it is
my kids or whether it's someoneelse, I don't, I don't know, um
, it doesn't really matter,because the point is that, like,
(35:09):
that is the experience I'mseeking.
I have seen a lot of the worldand, and, and I feel lucky to
have done so and, um, if I nevertraveled a day in my life again
, I'd be content.
You know, I truly would.
I mean that sounds silly, butnowadays the joy comes more so
(35:30):
from sharing it with people Icare about or love, or sharing
it on social media to peoplethat I know don't have that
privilege, because I grew uplike that.
I was one of those kids thatdidn't travel, that didn't have
a passport until I started towork, and so I guess I really
value what it's brought me, andthat's kind of nowadays how the,
the, the way in which Ievaluate success, I guess you
could say yeah, no, I do verymuch resonate with that.
Court (35:50):
From all my guiding is is I get to live quite vicariously
through my travelers.
You know, I've seen many ofthese things for for 10, 15, 20
years in a row.
It's the same phenomenon.
People ask me do you ever getsick of this?
I'm like no, because I'mreliving it each and every time
through your eyes.
I actually am thinking about itdifferently.
(36:11):
As I see your reaction and talkabout your impressions and your
feelings, I actually thinkdifferently.
It's like compounding interest.
It actually grows, grows and mypassion grows for these sort of
things.
Chris (36:21):
I love that man.
That's cool, that's a cool wayof putting it, and you're, and
you're, you are spot on.
I do, I do agree and I doresonate with that pretty deeply
.
Court (36:31):
What is the?
We're getting back tophotography here.
What is?
What is the Chris Burkhardtphoto style?
And what I mean by this isphoto style, um, and what I mean
by this is it changes a lot.
Just so you know.
Yeah, yeah, no, no same, likehonestly every.
You know, when I download a newversion of photoshop or
lightroom and like it, minemight change a little bit, but I
always like, as an example, Itend to go for sort of big bold.
(36:55):
I call them like big photoswhere if you were to look at
them on a thumbnail on a phoneacross the room, you know that
that's an orangutan's face orthat's a sunset of the avenue of
baobabs in madagascar maybe youdon't know exactly where it is,
but you kind of know.
It's like, oh yeah, trees andsunset, and so I like those big,
powerful, colorful, popping,contrasty sort of photos.
But I see so much stuff,whether it's from colleagues or
(37:17):
websites or Instagram, whatever,and there's very distinct
styles and I'm so I admire somuch people that kind of have a
style.
You know like, oh yeah, that's,that's Arthur's stuff or that's
Rich's stuff.
I can definitely tell and I Ifeel like I know your stuff as
well, like I'll.
I'll sometimes see thingscompletely disparate from you.
(37:37):
It's like a desktop screensaveror something like like that.
Chris (37:41):
That's one of chris's photos, um, and I'm wondering if
you, if you, have a style andcan name it um you know, I I
would say like, from afunctionality standpoint, I
really like shooting close andwide and slightly over my
subject, like if I'm shootingkayaking or I'm shooting you
(38:01):
know somebody climbing or it'ssome portrait.
I really like to like be kindof above looking down, this sort
of like my subject is here, butthen there's all this other
stuff behind them and it's moreof like if I was shooting a
portrait, for example, it'd bemore of an environmental
portrait.
Right, it wouldn't be so muchthe face only of the person, it
would be more of them in thecontext of what they love, where
(38:22):
they are, what they're goingthrough, whatever.
And then, when it comes tolandscape, I guess you know, or
action, sports or anything, I Iusually love the idea of of
giving scale to what I'mshooting.
If it's aerial photography, Ithink one of the things that
I've been luckily, you know andyou know, gratefully known for
is is flying with multipleplanes, where I'm trying to add
(38:45):
scale and context to anotherwise super abstract scene.
And so I think I'm constantlyputting myself in the viewer's
perspective, being that I knowwhat it means to look at an
image and be like what am Ilooking at?
And so I want to give peopleclues.
I don't want to give it allaway, but I want to give people
clues of where they that theycould identify where we are and
(39:06):
and understand maybe thesurroundings.
And I think that comes from mysurf photography days where I
was always trying to look forelements of foreground, the
background, the headland.
Where are we?
You know what?
I don't want to have to explainit, I want to give people clues
to figure it out, and so thatis kind of what I've always
looked for is like how can Ibring those elements into the
(39:28):
image and into the story?
So I would say that maybe I'mnot like so in your face.
Tight action.
I like the pulled back action abit.
I do like the environmentalportraiture and sort of
showcasing an element of thesurroundings and I think that
nature or the landscape, whetherthat's a city or whether that's
(39:50):
, you know, actually outdoors isis a key and critical part of
the images that I'm shooting andoften always kind of has been.
So I don't really know how tosum it up.
That's a great question.
Court (40:02):
I don't really like have a way, um, and it instantly made
me think of um something whenyou said sort of that, that
environmentalist, notportraiture, but like you're,
you've got a subject, you've gota scene, you got a story, but
then you're showcasing allaround it as well.
And this is just a pro tip forlisteners out there.
Um, so I I got a new lensrecently, which is super
(40:23):
interesting.
I'm a canon guy and they cameout with this rf um 24
millimeter macro.
I mean, I'm sure that exists inother lineups, but yeah, I got
it mainly for videography stuffbecause I have like a little
studio here and it works wellwith my angles and it's super
shallow depth of field, it'slike 1.8, but it's a macro 24
mil.
And so I took it down tophotograph monarch butterflies
(40:44):
this past winter.
You know where they?
They have these huge roostingaggregations in central mexico
and it's just exquisite.
And I finally figured out howjoel sartori and all these guys,
franz lanting, get these shotsof like monarchs filling the
frame but then the whole treeabove it and yeah, you can take
this shot inch away fromanything, tack, sharp focus.
(41:07):
But it's a 24 mil and becauseyou're so close to your subject
it almost makes it look like anultra wide Um.
So anyway, pro, tip out, theremight be my new X factor lens
when I want to just getsomething really different,
really special definitely notputting this on the first thing
in the morning, but like just ifI want something weird and
wacky 24 millimeter macro um, Ididn't even get it for the macro
(41:29):
, I got it just because I wanted24, 1.8.
Anyway, that leads me to my.
My next question here, chris,is what?
What is your X factor lens?
And I kind of defined that asthe lens that you're not going
to have on all the time maybeeven just 5% of the photo shoot
of the trip, maybe even less,but it might stand to get you
the photo of the trip and youknow it because of that.
(41:49):
You know it can get you thephoto of the trip possibly.
Chris (41:52):
Yeah, so you know it's, it's, absolutely, it's a.
It's usually the, uh, the Leica35, uh, summicron, and um,
because I'm shooting on Sony,I've got the adapter, so it you
know it's, it's makes it not asperfect.
I guess you could say Um,because I'm shooting, it's a one
, four, um, right, or a one, two, I can't remember something
like that and maybe it's a one,two and uh, it's just super
(42:15):
shallow depth of field and youknow it's easy when you're just
shooting someone's face, um.
But I think when you'reshooting a little further away
and you're trying to nail downthat actual, you know, shallow
depth of field, it's tricky, uh,it's a tricky lens to use and I
think that's kind of why I loveit.
Um, I love, I love the fact thata lot of times, you know I'm on
(42:36):
an assignment, maybe I'mshooting product or I'm shooting
portraits, I'm on a, I'm on ajob, right, and maybe it's not
the most sexy job and I have tomake something look good, and so
I think that that lens canreally do that.
It can really make somethinglook good.
It can really make somethinglook interesting when it's not
so interesting and and maybeit's more of like a, a secret
(43:00):
weapon, but I think that's kindof what I love about it is that
it just brings out some cooldetails, some aspects, a lot of
fall off, beautiful bokeh, um,when it's done right and it's
not.
I don't always do it right, soI'll be honest.
But I do um because I, becauseyou know, a lot of times you're
looking in the camera you'relike, oh, this is epic, I am
nailing it.
And then all of a sudden you'relike, no, this is uh, this is
(43:24):
not perfect.
When you look at the actual,you know um, when you look at
the actual, like you knowphotographs later on or
something like that.
So, yeah, um tricky right.
Court (43:36):
But 35, 1.4 and Leica specifically.
Chris (43:39):
Yeah, exactly, but 35, 1.4 and Leica specifically.
Yeah, exactly, it's the Leicaspecifically.
Yeah, and it's, it's.
It is a really sick lens.
I will say, like it's, it'sjust a beautiful lens, and I
mean, obviously, when you'reusing it on the Leica, it's,
it's even cooler, you know yeah.
Court (43:54):
It's all about that glass .
Chris (43:56):
Yeah, you know it is, and I like I'm definitely not a
huge fan of like, oh, thisspecialty lens for this
specialty thing, because I dogenuinely feel like people can
(44:17):
make crazy beautiful images withwhatever pieces of equipment
they have.
You know I've shot a lot of myfavorite work on kit lenses.
Do think that this lensspecifically is has a purpose.
You know, and it's fun to shootpurposeful lenses, if you know
what I mean.
And then purposeful pieces ofequipment and and that's kind of
a refreshing thing sometimeswhen you're sort of using a lot
of generalist equipment, I guessyou can say yeah, yeah, I've
been getting more into primesmyself.
Court (44:36):
I mean, obviously, the 24 , 70, 70, 200s are just so rad,
so good.
But but, like I said earlier,just throwing a 50 mil or an 85
mil and just seeing the world,forcing myself to see the world
through that lens is is quitecompelling.
Um, okay, I've got a couple,couple of final questions here,
um, and we're sort of zoomingout.
You may have said the answersto some of these before, but
(44:57):
we're, we're putting in maybe adifferent context.
What is, what is one lessonyou'd like to teach or tell
aspiring nature and wildlifephotographers and videographers
and cinematographers, filmmakers?
It could be either or or both,whatever you want.
But one lesson and I'm this oneis kind of like more on the
technique side.
Chris (45:18):
Yeah, you know it's not going to be the lesson that
anybody wants to hear, but Ithink that the goal to me, if I
was going to give a one piece ofadvice to aspiring creatives of
any kind, let's, let's justlike be you know, let's just be
realistic about the fact that,like you, could be any kind of
creative and um, is that I.
(45:39):
I hope people will learn totell better stories, their own
personal stories.
I want to hear them open theirmouths and share what they
experienced out there, becauseone of the beautiful things
about being a photographer isthe fact that you had this
experience.
There's nobody else that had it.
And to go back to the world atlarge, you know, and maybe
(46:01):
you're on social media and youjust simply tell somebody.
After you, you know, you bledand you sweat and you cried and
you had this amazing momentwhere you went up a mountain or
you flew halfway across theworld and you saw this thing and
you shot it and there was snowcrunching under your feet and
the wind hitting the back ofyour head and just you can
remember it all, you can feel itall because it was so visceral.
And then to go online and tosay like, oh, the mountains are
(46:23):
calling and I must go.
Here's my beautiful image frommy trip.
Like that's such a disserviceto photography as a whole, to
yourself as a whole, becausesocial media, it's a place you
make your own quotes, it's aplace that you give people a
piece of who you are.
And I think that that level ofvulnerability is what I am
searching for from people andthat level of vulnerability is
(46:43):
what I am aspiring to offer theworld.
And I want to tell people whatI felt like to be there.
I want to tell people what itmeant to me, and I think that
there is a need for more.
I guess you could, could sayhonesty in the experiences that
(47:04):
we have and tell me what it feltlike.
Was it overwhelming, was it fun, was it terrible?
You know, um, but at the end ofthe day, you were the
photographer.
Nobody else can really do thatfor you, because, because you,
you experienced it.
So I guess, um, I guess that'skind of what I really think
about and what I really hopepeople will consider when
they're telling stories is likeyou and me we could stand at the
(47:26):
same exact spot.
We could stand at the sameexact spot and shoot the same
exact photo, and maybe we're atGlacier Point, yosemite or
whatever and it's the samepicture, but at the end of the
day, maybe what I'm willing toshare versus what you're willing
to share, or vice versa, iswhat sets it apart, and I think
that that is where realstorytelling comes from.
Court (47:47):
Very cool.
Yeah, you're remarking how youliked my worldview quote.
I'm going to say the same aboutyou.
Social media is where you makeyour own quotes, and I think you
could probably replace socialmedia with any sort of media or
platform to share, but I lovethat.
Make your own quotes Very cool,okay.
And then, indeed, the finalquestion here.
It's going to be a similar one,but I want to think about this
(48:09):
from more of like the businessperspective, because I know
we've got a lot of folks outthere that are thinking about
going into this line of workmore professionally.
Chris (48:21):
I see that you are also, among the many things that
you're doing, a mentor to newfilmmakers what is, um, I don't
know if I'm, I don't know if I'ma mentor, but I have meant I
have, I have mentored.
I don't think that I don't knowif it's like an actively
ongoing thing, but it'ssomething that I've definitely
done and it's something that Idefinitely do care about.
But it's, um, yeah, I would Idon't know know if, like I'm, in
the process of currently.
Yeah, like I mean, when you findthose pupils that you really
(48:43):
want to help, it has to besomebody special, because you
need somebody who can learn andyou can listen and whatnot.
Court (48:50):
But yeah, sorry, didn't mean to distract, no, no, no,
and that's an important thingbecause I was really kind of
getting more at like some ofyour classes that you do online
but you're right, mentor is muchmore of like a personal
hands-on one-on-one, but you doadvise and I would say even
mentor, like a lot of peoplethat are interested in hearing
(49:10):
more from you on a nitty grittybasis and this, of course, is
more of a briefer overview inthis episode, but hopefully
still, people learn a lot ofstuff.
But no, the question here is,along the lines of the teaching,
what is a top one or two bitsof information for anyone
starting off wanting to make abig mark in photography or
filmmaking in this world?
And this one I'm thinking morefrom like the business
(49:31):
perspective.
Chris (49:32):
Hmm, like what would be a good business practice that
somebody might, yeah, like Imean, you can even, I can even
ask you to like you know what.
Court (49:43):
What is one piece of advice that current Chris
Burkhardt would tell young ChrisBurkhardt about getting into
the business?
Chris (49:49):
Oh, great question.
Um, well, I would say that youknow, um, first and foremost,
the business changes right, andI think it's important to
recognize that.
Like you know, the businesschanges right, and I think it's
important to recognize that,like you know, the business,
whatever the business is, itgrows.
(50:09):
Don't get so committed to oneform of say storytelling or one
form of say of anything, because, because it evolves, it changes
, it grows, we grow, we changeas people, and I just think that
there is something reallyvaluable in trying to make sure
or ensuring that you, you knowyou, you keep your options open,
because, uh, even for me, um,it's been really important to
(50:30):
realize that, like camera,photography is just one
beautiful tool, but one tool,right, it's just one way of
seeing the world, right, and Ithink that I have learned and
realized that nowadays, learningto adjust with the times, you
know, learning to be an authorand a filmmaker and a speaker
and a creative consultant attimes, and just whatever, like
(50:54):
those are all different toolsthat I now have in my tool belt
that have made me reallyvaluable to the people that I
work with, and there was a timewhen I did not think that that
would matter, or I did not thinkthat anybody would care about
those things, right, and therewas a time when, when, um, I
thought, like photography, thisis it.
This is the one singular goal,vision, career, whatever, you
(51:16):
know, and and I guess what I'mgetting at here is like, need to
be open and adapt, and you needto adapt with the times and
change with the times.
And I think that some peoplewho maybe didn't do that really
suffered during COVID and reallysuffered when projects and
shoots and things like thatstopped.
Say that, um, that, when itcomes to business, being
(51:39):
flexible, understanding andevaluating what do you have to
offer the people, the clients,the, the whoever might be hiring
you?
That's all important toconsider, um, and and maybe most
important is just knowing yourstrengths and weaknesses,
evaluating them, thinking aboutthem from time to time and, and
(52:00):
I guess, um, you know, whentimes are good, it's easy to be
like well, this is it, I'm goingto throw all my eggs into this
basket, I'm all in on onwhatever, and that can quickly
bite you in the butt.
You know, um, for me, it's beencritical to take times.
Take time when things are goingwell to reflect and hone other
(52:22):
skills.
I am a constant learner and I ama constant refiner of my skill
sets.
And just because I've foundsuccess in a couple slight areas
, it doesn't mean that I don'twant to expand what I have to
offer or my learnings, because Ithink that that's what makes us
really valuable is beingconstantly inquisitive and
dedicating time.
(52:43):
Just like in the beginning ofmy career, when I would dedicate
myself to shooting certainportfolios because I knew that
nobody for being hired was, wastrying to spend the time and the
money and the effort and theenergy that I had to go out and
(53:04):
prove that I could do it, sothat if the opportunity came
along, I could have something toshow for it.
Court (53:11):
Well, folks, you heard it from the man himself never stop
learning, invest in yourself.
Two bits of information that I,in addition to many other
things I think people will takeaway from this episode and
continue their own learning.
So, chris, thank you so muchfor taking the time and joining
me today.
It is most appreciated.
Chris (53:32):
Thank you, man Appreciate it big time.
Court (53:35):
Well, there you have it, folks.
What a fun conversation withChris and thank you so much for
listening today.
This is an absolute passionproject of mine and I hope it
shows, and I'm so glad I'm ableto teach so many about what I
personally find the mostvaluable and helpful in the
world of nature photography, andthat certainly goes with having
expert guests like Chris on.
I want to say a big thank youto LensRentalscom who helped
(53:57):
sponsor this podcast, and I havethem as sponsors for multiple
reasons, but first and foremostbecause I love advocating for
the rental of lenses.
I think it's an affordable,practical way to test out really
high-end gear, or maybe evennot a high-end type of gear or
high-end lens, but just a way tounderstand the broader spectrum
(54:18):
of what's available out therein the gear and technology space
.
So, lensrentalscom, big thankyou out there.
And if you choose to rent fromLensRentalscom and you use the
promo code WILDPHOTOGRAPHER15,all one word WILDPHOTOGRAPHER,
and the numeral is 15 for 15,you get 15% off.
So that's pretty sweet.
So thank you again.
This is a big part of my.
(54:39):
Why you know this podcast.
It's to preserve the beauty ofour world and to showcase it.
If you would like to get intouch with me on those topics or
really any topic at all.
You can do so atwildphotographerpodcast all one
word.
Wildphotographerpodcast atgmailcom.
You can also check out othertutorials related to this
content, as well as a lot ofmore things about science,
(55:02):
nature and adventure, at myYouTube channel at Court Whalen.
All one word, and it's beenmost fun today and I'm really
looking forward to the next one.
Hope you are too.
Thanks.
My guest today is Chris Burkhardt.
Chris is one of the mostaccomplished and talented
photographers in today's day andage, known for everything from
extraordinary aerial landscapephotography to surf photography,
to epic storytelling and Ireally do mean epic in the
nature and adventure space.
He's authored multiple books,has directed and produced
sensational films and has abusiness acumen that has made
(00:23):
him truly a household name inthe world of outdoor photography
.
In this episode we talk aboutso many things in the
photographic world, but we alsogo deeper into the psyche of
photographers with topics likegoal setting and why it's
important to make your ownquotes I'm doing that in air
quotes to enhance the work youproduce.
And he goes without saying thathis advice to photographers and
(00:44):
videographers at all levels onthe storytelling element is par
excellence.
So join me today to welcomeesteemed photographer Chris
Burkhardt.
Chris (00:54):
Stoked to be here Court.
Thank you so much for having me.
Court (00:58):
You're a man of many talents, I am a man of many
questions and so to cover allthe talents, as many as possible
, in this next bit I'm justgoing to straight up launch into
it.
So the first question I have iskind of a little bit of an
easier one.
But you are known so much foraerial photography.
I'm wondering what are sometips for folks photographing
(01:19):
from planes, like lensselections.
Do you get shots in the plane?
I know that the knee-jerkreaction is probably to think of
like doors off right, but a lotof times we're in small bush
planes, we're cruising overamazing landscapes and we just
don't have that ability.
So kind of walk me through yourthought process.
(01:39):
Do you bring a spare lens?
Do you have your wide angle?
Do you have a telephoto?
What's going through your mindas you're getting aerial shots?
Do you have your wide angle?
Do you have a telephoto?
What's going through your mindas you're getting aerial shots?
You are the maestro at it.
Chris (01:48):
So yeah, it's an excellent question.
You know, to be honest, thebiggest and most important thing
is knowing what you're flyingin right and and knowing the
plane, and that just comes withexperience.
I think one of the tough thingsabout you know any sort of
facet of photography or any sortof more niche genre is that is
(02:09):
that you know you have to sortof really get to know the craft
intimately.
And I'm sure it's similar.
You know, I've never shot onsafari, but I'm sure it's
similar to that.
You know, like what are you?
What are you actually drivingin?
What's the car, what's the riglike?
You know what's how, you knowaccessible and how boots in the
ground?
Are you going to be with aplane or, you know, with a
helicopter?
It's the same thing.
(02:29):
Are you in a you know, cessna172?
Are you in a bush plane, aproper bush plane?
Are you in a Piper Cub?
Are you going to be in ahelicopter?
All of those present differentchallenges.
You know the dream is just tobe door off Right, but that's
not realistic and in fact it's.
It's less realistic than youthink because you typically
don't want to travel with thedoor off.
You know the distances that younormally have to travel to get
(02:51):
to the good places.
So, that being said, you've gota limited window space and what
I would say is that typically,um, you know, space in the craft
is limited, you're not justlike can have your huge camera
bag.
You've got one camera, you know, maybe a backup in the back,
two lenses, and I think thatwhat ends up happening is that
your relationship with thatcraft, with the plane and with
(03:15):
the pilot is everything that'sgoing to change everything.
All the best images I've evergotten have been when I have
flown with a talented pilot whoknows what to do and how to put
the plane in a position where Ican actually get the shot that I
want, because it's not likeyou're just going to be, you
know, typically it's frustrating, I guess is what I'm saying.
(03:36):
You're not just going to be,you know, casually, sort of
going out there and just nailingthese amazing aerial
photographs.
Usually it's a much likeanything else.
You know you need the righttime of day, you need, like, the
good light.
You know you're looking foroftentimes for me it's like
dappled clouds, so that youdon't have flat light.
You have some sun, but not toomuch sun, and I'm looking for,
(04:02):
oftentimes a variety of shots.
Sometimes it's straight down.
You're shooting directly downat the ground from above, where
it almost looks abstract, and inorder to shoot that, typically
a polarizer is key, because itcuts the reflection from a water
source or the ground orwhatever, and also just
something that kind of helps ifyou're cutting through the glass
(04:23):
of a plane or a helicopter orsomething like that.
There's a lot of little thingstoo.
I always wear black because youhave less reflection in the
plane window or helicopterwindow.
You don't wear your white shoes.
I've seen so many people haveto film outside of a window.
Everything they're wearing iscontrasting against that glass
(04:44):
and it's ruining their shot,right.
So I'm just trying to be arealist here.
We're not always going to beable to open the door.
We're not always going to beable to get our entire camera
out the window.
I would say that the leastexperienced kind of person is
probably going to want to shootwith like a 70 to 200 out of the
plane, because that's going toallow you to zoom in on anything
(05:04):
you want.
Right, it's a less.
70 to 200 out of the plane,because that's going to allow
you to zoom in on anything youwant right.
It's a less intimateperspective.
Truly, it's not as as close oras wide angle as I prefer.
I guess you could say you'rekind of zooming in from far away
.
My favorite images are usuallyshot with a 16 to 35, but the
crux of shooting with that isthat you're going to get a strut
or you're going to getsomething in the plane in the
(05:27):
shot, and that can be toughright.
So you really need a pilot whocan put the plane at a bank
where you can basically have thetotal proximity of what you're
hoping to shoot in front of you,like the total opening, right,
and that only lasts for like acouple of seconds.
It's not like you're just ableto kind of consistently be
(05:47):
shooting everything you want.
You kind of have to circlearound something and align
yourself to be in the rightposition with it.
You get a couple moments andthen it's done.
So I guess I would say like 70to 200 is kind of a go-to for
beginners and then a 24 to 70 iskind of that mid range Great
lens.
I mean most people.
I'd say a 7,200 and a 24 to 70is going to cover all your bases
.
For me personally, if I want toget like something really
(06:11):
compelling.
I'm shooting wider and closer,um, and that is going to be more
challenging, right?
Uh, wide angle, things aregoing to move faster past you as
well.
You know you're flying throughsome Canyon or by the Nepali
coast and everything's movingand it's it's creating more
issues, more dynamic situationswhere you're constantly changing
(06:32):
the shutter speed, aperture inorder to deal with those
constantly, um, kind of fastmoving objects and or um.
I think another situation isthat, for me at least, the
shutter speed versus kind ofaperture priority situation, how
you set up your actual camera,it's going to be a lot easier
(06:52):
just to kind of keep it inshutter speed priority, because
the aperture is fairlyirrelevant.
You're so far away fromeverything that you're shooting
that it's not important.
The shutter speed is importantbecause you will get motion blur
.
So trying to shoot above that500th of a second if things are
closer to you, shooting 600, 800, 1,000, 1,200, something within
(07:14):
that range is really helpful.
But I can't give you a perfectformula for it, uh, but
oftentimes, you know, as youbecome more advanced, you can
shoot manual from a plane.
It just takes a lot ofconstantly.
You know dialing in thosesettings, dialing in the buttons
, you know, dialing back theshutter speed, dialing forward
(07:35):
your aperture, whatever you do,you're up and down your iso
because, because the light isconstantly changing, some in one
second you're shooting into thesun.
In one second you're doing abank and all of a sudden it's
totally shaded.
So not really any way to easilyarticulate.
Court (07:49):
No, no, that was.
That was awesome, Super helpfulstuff.
And I was thinking as you weretalking.
One of the great things aboutaerial photography like this is
that you usually do have a goodbit of light, even if it is done
.
You're above the tree line,you're?
You're probably below theclouds Obviously, if there were
clouds you wouldn't be shootingbut you get a lot of light.
So you know, one thing that Ialways talk about a lot on this
(08:10):
podcast is my kind of manualplus auto ISO mode that I just
find so nice because I can dialin the aperture, I can dial in
the shutter speed, let thecamera choose ISO and, as long
as the light is pretty good'sgiving me iso.
You know 100, 200 the wholetime.
So I I feel like that is themode to be on.
And then, per chris, yeah,something 500th of a second
(08:31):
faster.
You know, I think a lot of folksare probably looking at a
maximum aperture of f4, f 5.6with a with a lot of lenses,
especially kit lenses.
So it seems to be like that'spretty darn good if you're going
for that maximum depth of field, obviously bumping up to F8 if
possible.
But what are you looking for asyou get that top-down shot, the
(08:53):
abstract shot that you'retalking about.
I think that that is probablyone of the more common things
that I see on my veryopportunistic bush flights
across Alaska or Africa oranywhere when we're trying to
make lemonade.
This is not necessarily a photoflight seeing trip flights
across Alaska or Africa oranywhere when we're trying to
make lemonade.
You know, this is notnecessarily a photo flight
seeing trip, but we're shootingout the window.
We might get a nice shot ofsomething, what, what are you
looking for in the landscape?
(09:13):
To give you that shot, toreally hone in on that one kind
of image.
Chris (09:19):
Well, I mean, that's like asking somebody what their
favorite type of fruit is andwhy, because I'm not going to be
able to explain to somebody whycertain things you know
resonate with me and why youknow they might not resonate
with others.
But the point or the goal isthat you're seeing something
hopefully unique, and the planepresents unique opportunities,
(09:43):
and so the goal should be todocument those opportunities and
do so in the best way possible.
Now, I think that there's a bigdifference between just
spraying and praying and hopingthat you get something good,
versus being thoughtful andconscious about it.
You know, am I going to includea little bit of this coastline?
Am I going to include, you know, these birds that are sitting
on this tiny little in thisestuary, on the sandbar?
(10:06):
What am I trying to portrayhere?
Because I think photographingthings without any intention is
just one of the reallychallenging things that I see
these days in terms of trying totell a story and having no
story to tell.
So I guess, when I look forsomething unique, I'm typically
(10:28):
trying to just be open to whatI'm seeing and what speaks to me
and what resonates with me,like oh wow, the colors are
beautiful.
This is a really stunning area.
I really want to document thisriver, this place, whatever it
is, and I spend the time that ittakes to get around it, but I
would say that it's almost neverbeen like the first flight
(10:48):
around an area that I've likenailed the moment.
You know, usually it's goingback a different season, a
different time, really trying tosee it in in the most ideal
situation that I can, being thatsometimes these rivers maybe
that I'm photographing arereally full of glacial silt and
they're really colorful, orthere's a large, you know kind
(11:10):
of swath of birds that's flyingover them.
So there is no recipe forsuccess.
It would be inauthentic to saythat there's just like a way to
analyze what looks good from theair.
I think that you really need toreally spend the time up there.
I would say that the more timeyou spend just like, the more
time you spend anywhere, youbecome desensitized to the
(11:34):
mundane, and what I mean by thatis that it's not uncommon for
people to come to Iceland, forexample, and be photographing
you know, from Highway 1,driving 60 miles an hour on the
side of the road or on the roadand be photographing, you know,
from highway one, driving 60miles an hour on the side of the
road or on the road right.
They're just their cameras out,they're just shooting
everything, because everything'sbeautiful and I love that.
That's, that's amazing.
But are those going to be thebest images?
(11:55):
Probably not.
It's usually going to be whenyou pause and you, you, you
intentionally try to create animage.
So the kind of this pageantryaround, maybe shooting, um,
where you know you're, you'redialing in your, your settings
and your camera and blah, blah,blah and it's, it's.
That's wonderful.
But I think that we need to givetime to the landscapes to make
(12:18):
something special.
And I would say that oftentimes, what makes something unique is
is that you've, you've flownaround, you've kind of seen it
all, and then you're pulled backto one place or one spot in
particular.
You're really trying to work it, you're trying to find that
angle, you're trying to findthat perspective and it feels
different, it feels likesomething you haven't seen
before, and that's usually atelltale sign to me that it's
(12:42):
something special, somethingunique, something really cool.
So I guess that's kind of whatI look for, that's kind of what
really speaks to me and and whatresonates with me, and I just
try to find a way to identifythat?
Court (12:52):
I guess you could say that's great advice, and you say
that you don't have a perfectrecipe, but you do have a really
key ingredient here, which isthat intentionality.
And I think there there is acost to just taking a ton of
photos.
You there, there is a cost tojust taking a ton of photos.
You know a lot of people, Ithink, especially on the more
beginning side, we'll justcontinually take photos, whether
it's out on ground with animalsor landscapes, or in the air,
like we're talking about here,and just take, take, take,
(13:14):
because the more photos you haveyou can call them down to some
usable things.
And while there is somejustification there and it's not
entirely wrong if you'relooking for that really special
one like chris you certainly areand like many people perhaps
should be more often you knowthose shots that you're taking
that don't have intentionalityare actually channeling your
distraction elsewhere orchanneling more distraction.
(13:36):
Your photography is channelingyour attention elsewhere.
So, yeah, I I do advocate forthat, and I hear a lot of other
photo buddies of mine that willsay you know what, like the
first thing I do when I get to abeautiful place with a photo
group is I tell them to put thecameras down and just have a
good five, ten minute look, umand yeah, like maybe there's a
one in a thousand chance you'regonna miss some rare encounter
with a bear uh you know leapinginto a river with salmon at that
(13:59):
moment.
But the reality is you'reprobably going to get more of
those shots and, because you'vetaken a pause and looked around
and analyzed the scene, you'regoing to get better shots of
that same thing, or shots oraerial shots later.
So, yeah, I think that the keyingredient well said, well put,
insightful is thatintentionality.
Certainly.
Chris (14:18):
Yeah, and I don't.
I don't know if it's like youknow.
I do think I will say for surethat there is some element of it
that is kind of just you knowyou're hoping for the best, you
know you're out there and Ithink putting yourself in those
situations is what createsbeautiful, beautiful images and
(14:39):
allows for unique moments tokind of come to life.
I guess you could say and Ithink that's a big part of it is
like the more time you spend upthere, the more chances you're
going to have just to findsomething really special.
And I would honestly say for me, I don't think I'm a great
technical photographer orsomeone who's necessarily wildly
creative.
I'm just the most stubborn,maybe, or the person who's
willing to like, give it themost amount of tries or the most
(15:02):
effort.
And I think that that is been abig part of my recipe for
success is just trying to givethe time, spend the time to be
out there in the elements and tonot be deterred maybe when the
weather gets bad or things likethat.
Court (15:17):
I've heard you say that you see the world in wide angle
or ultra wide angle.
I've seen this on previousvideos and interviews you've had
and I find that so interestingand I know that well.
I think that one of yourfavorite lenses is that 16 to 35
class and I was so like youdidn't just stop saying it's
like my favorite lens.
It's like you see the world inthat angle and I'll be honest,
(15:39):
like I don't think I do, like Iactually think there's a
different range that I see it in.
So it clearly is some sort ofsubjectivity amongst
photographers.
I'm so curious.
I never would have thoughtabout that, you know,
introspectively, on my own self,had I not heard you say it.
Can you explain seeing theworld in a 16 to 35?
Chris (16:00):
Yeah, well, I mean, I think it's more around the idea
that when, when I start at thebeginning of the day, um, I have
any any day shooting, right,with one lens on my camera, it's
the 16 to 35.
That's just the key, that's thelens that I always start with,
like, if I'm going to wake up,it's early, I'm going to be
shooting potentially sunrise, etcetera, et cetera, like that's
(16:20):
the lens that I'm going to shoot.
And I think the reason isbecause you know you have to
kind of see things from oneperspective, right, you really
got to be, you really got tohave an intimate connection with
the cameras that you'reshooting or with the lenses that
you're shooting.
You know you should be able tovisualize.
You know and I think that theexperienced and the talented
photographer will visualize theworld between certain lenses,
(16:43):
like, if I'm going to, you knowI'm not going to look at
something and be like, oh, thismight be good in a wide angle,
and throw it on and be like, wow, that was totally the wrong
perspective.
I actually need like a 600,.
You know, like, obviously, you,you, you need to be able to
picture or imagine what theselenses will do.
So for me, it is that wideangle perspective.
I'm always thinking, okay, likeright now, what I'm seeing, is
(17:05):
this going to work for this lensMaybe?
Court (17:07):
it won't.
Chris (17:08):
That's fine, like that's the whole point, right.
But I just know that usuallymost of the photographs that I
really like that I've shot havebeen shot with that lens.
Now it's as simple as goingback into your archives.
You know, maybe you've beenshooting for two years, three
years, 10 years, I don't know.
Look at your most iconic 100photos or the ones that you like
(17:28):
.
What were they shot with?
If 30% of them, or 40% or 60%or 80%, were shot with one lens,
that might be the lens that youwould always prioritize
bringing.
To not be cognizant and aware ofthat is is really to me kind of
crazy, because I feel likethat's what I'm always trying to
(17:49):
do is analyze, like what, whatpiece of equipment is going to
get the job done the mosteffectively, right, um?
So I think that that's kind ofjust how.
What I mean by that is likewhen I'm having to make lens
choices or picking what's in mybag for that day, I always am
going to choose that lens that Ifeel like is the easiest one
(18:13):
for me to navigate and work withand use before all others.
Am I going to leave behind that50mm 1.4?
Am I going to leave behind theprime millimeter.
You know, one four am I goingto leave behind the prime?
You know this and that I'm justkind of trying to look for
something that's going to get meto like the results that I want
(18:34):
faster.
Court (18:34):
I love it, yeah, cause it combines everything.
It combines the technique, thevision, and I think you you put
it in a very interesting context.
For listeners out there tryingto figure out what they might
use to see the world accordingto their vision is, yeah, what's
that lens that you walk out thedoor with?
Um, totally, maybe on safari,it is a 100 to 400 or 600 prime,
(18:54):
um, but you know, nevertheless,the thing that you just always
pick up and gravitate to, thatthat might be your, your vision
lens.
Can I coin it?
Chris (19:03):
yeah, yeah, yeah, you're I, that's the way to put it
right.
I also like really love thefisheye.
Like I feel like it's one ofthose like lenses that just
always speaks to me and I alwaysinclude it in my bag.
It's not a common one for mostpeople, it's not something that
I think most people gravitatetowards, but that's kind of the
point.
Right, you should form arelationship with your camera
and your lenses.
(19:23):
You know how far you can push.
Whatever it is you're shootingthe A7R IV or whatever it is
no-transcript then you know thesituations you might bring it in
, right?
You're like, oh well, I'm goingon this trip.
There might be Northern lights,there might be astrophotography
moments.
Those things that you're hopingto shoot are going to, you know
(19:46):
, inversely affect yourdecision-making process when it
comes to which lenses you packand which lenses you bring.
And the hope is that you don'tbring everything, because I
think that there's an illusionwhen it comes to choice, like as
if the more choices we have,the more creative we'll be.
I actually think that that'scouldn't be further from the
truth.
I think that, um, in fact, theless choices we have, it forces
(20:08):
us to be more creative.
Court (20:10):
I could not agree more the paradox of choice is around
us in life constantly and Ithink it's getting stronger and
stronger as time continues onthis idea that we think the more
choices again give us happinessand satisfaction and blah, blah
, blah.
But yeah, sometimes I find mymost creative versatile
photography is when I have my my51.4 on.
(20:32):
Honestly, like I'll just I'll,I'll force myself to do it.
It's, it's a technique that Ireally, really love and you know
, maybe halfway through a trip,once I've gotten a lot of great
photos of whatever I'm shooting,like you know what, I'm gonna
force myself to use a 50millimeter all day and see the
world and it's really, reallyfun.
So, yeah, great stuff there.
Okay, I'm gonna switch to alittle bit of a bigger, deeper
(20:53):
question here.
So I think of you as astoryteller extraordinaire.
In fact, I think that might bea lot of how and why you're into
your current work with thevarious film projects and
everything you've got going on.
Chris (21:07):
AKA too many things at once, the too many things.
Court (21:13):
Yeah, trying to do it if you want.
But getting into storytelling,what do you view as the key
ingredients to storytelling fromyour point of view?
Big question open-ended, butI'm leaving it there.
Chris (21:27):
That's an excellent question, actually, I think if
it was.
You know, there are many waysto really dive in and try to
extrapolate a story from anexperience.
I think that, at the end of theday, it needs to be something
that you are personally investedin, because any good story,
(21:48):
telling any good story, whetherit's in film or photography or
video is going to require anelement of sacrifice on your end
.
It's going to require that Idon't know, you know, getting
out of the tent when it'sfreezing cold to to uh shoot a
time-lapse or film something,and so I guess what I'm saying
is like there will be discomfortand there will be moments of uh
that are not easy.
That's kind of the point, right.
(22:09):
If it was easy, why would we doit, um, or why wouldn't
somebody have already done it,so?
So, with that, you need to makesure that your purpose is near
and dear to you.
It's something that youactually care about, something
that you are inspired by,because if it's not, I just
don't know that you will be ableto get through those initial
kind of pressure points or painpoints.
Like there's a million storiesof projects that sort of started
(22:34):
and then stopped.
There's not a lot of stories asmany about projects that kind
of started and then were.
You know, there's not a lot ofstories you know as many about
projects that kind of startedand then and then were
successfully completed.
Right, because that's that'sthe hardest part.
So I guess, finding that, thatthing that really gets you
excited and gets you stoked totell it, and then and then, with
that, you know, there is aprocess that I think everybody
(22:56):
undergoes, a different one foreach person.
For me, usually, if I am tellinga story about a person and they
have kind of told me this relayto this experience to me, or
something that we're going totry to film or create or
photograph, I oftentimes,depending on the scope or the
budget, I'll have a third party,journalist or a writer, a
(23:17):
friend of mine, call them andinterview them.
And the reason is because I canhave sort of delusions of
grandeur when it comes totelling a story and I'm like, oh
, I heard this thing from thisperson and this is what I think
it is and it's going to be socool and I'm pitching this
project and I'm very investedand it's easy to kind of I guess
you could say have a slightlyskewed perspective when it comes
(23:40):
to telling the story and youwant to be honest, you want to
be straightforward.
So I usually will have a thirdparty come in, a friend of mine,
interview my subject or myperson and just like make sure
that we got it right.
That it's because from a thirdparty, somebody who's not
invested, you know, it's a loteasier and I think that's
important.
That's a, that's a process thatI've tried to undergo three,
(24:00):
four, five times and it'sactually really helped me.
And so I Can I interrupt realquick?
Court (24:05):
Do you do this before you start the project?
Is this when, like you, havethe vision and the dream before
you know to continue on you, youbring in a third party?
Chris (24:14):
Yeah, Because you don't really want to go all in guns
blazing, and then all of asudden realize, man, yeah,
because you don't really want togo all in guns blazing, and
then all of a sudden realize,man, we really got it wrong.
Like this is actually not whatthis person meant by that or
whatever.
You know, maybe you overheard astory of a person and you know
this part of the world andyou're like, well, we want to go
back and film this thing andthis is going to be amazing and
maybe it's slightly different.
So I think that allowing thatperson to share the story in
(24:44):
their own words, you know, thisis obviously, if we're sharing a
story about people and it'srelaying an experience, this is
a powerful way to do it.
Now, I think if you're sharinga story about a place or a
documentary that's happening inreal time, you know there are
other kind of solutions and waysyou might go about that, but
for me, this has been one of thebest ways to kind of detach
myself from the, from the um, myinitial thoughts and feelings,
and try to look at it from likea 30,000 foot view, Because I
(25:06):
think that um one of the mostvaluable tools that I've tried
to use in everything.
I do it literally.
It doesn't matter if this islike a marital decision or if
this is a business decision.
It's what is my intendedoutcome visualizing that,
picturing that, articulatingthat, expressing that,
verbalizing it and then workingbackwards from that outcome in
(25:31):
order to get there.
And I think one of the issuesthat you find with people
oftentimes telling stories ofany kind or just working in
general, is that they wantdirections to a place that
doesn't exist because they haveno idea where they're going,
Right.
And then they look to maybemore successful people or they
look to somebody who has done itbefore for directions and then,
but the problem is they can'toffer that to you because if you
(25:54):
don't have a vision for whereyou want to end up, nobody can
get you there.
So that's a big part of it,right Taking the time to really
digest and process where you'regoing, where.
Where is this thing going totake you?
You know, and that's important,right.
Court (26:09):
Yeah, do you have any tips and tricks for visualizing
that?
I mean, it's, it's, it's so,it's so obvious, but it's so
challenging.
Chris (26:23):
I mean, I don't really have a tip or a trick, so much
as like what have you seen?
That you're maybe you know thisis going to sound a little bit,
you know, harsh, but like whatdo you?
What do you cop?
What are you trying to copy?
Right, Cause everybody'scopying something.
It's okay, Like, oh, I saw thisshort film, I loved it.
I really want to createsomething like that Great,
that's, that's your North star.
You know, um, I saw this, uh,you know photo blog somewhere
and I really want to createsomething like that.
I'm going to use that as areference or a guide or whatever
(26:45):
.
It is like that's your Northstar.
So there can be a lot of youknow um, anchor points that will
hopefully get you there, orsome guardrails you're going to
set up.
Obviously, things change,stories change Changes.
You need to be open to that.
But the hope is you have someidea, some concept of where
you're hoping to go, potentially, because that will ultimately
(27:06):
help you get there Right, andthat's kind of the whole
pointism in approaching filmsand photo projects.
Court (27:13):
I'm going to challenge you to think on the
non-professional side and likewhat advice would you have to
someone going on an individualtrip?
It might be a couple going ontheir honeymoon.
(27:33):
It might be someone going on aphoto adventure somewhere in the
world and they want to maketheir photos more meaningful.
They might want to do somestorytelling, like conservation
storytelling, to make their worka little bit more powerful than
just snapping pretty photos ofamazing looking things batched
(27:54):
way.
What are some things that theymight think of in prepping for
the trip, while on the trip andthen after the trip to just I
don't want to say likehalf-baked this storytelling,
but without a super professionalapproach where they're going to
make a kind of like a featurefilm or anything of the sort.
(28:15):
What are some?
Chris (28:16):
yeah, I think that I think you're going to hate me,
because the problem is it's thesame process, like if they don't
know where it's going to end up.
It's your end goal willcompletely direct the way you
operate, right?
So, if you're like, you know,we really want to, we're going
on this safari, we really wantto document this animal because
it's endangered, and we want toshare or showcase this to like.
(28:37):
Who is your audience?
First of all, there's a list ofquestions that I would ask a
person if they were looking foradvice from me.
Who's your audience?
What's going to be the mosteffective way to get to that
audience?
What are the tools that you'reat your disposal?
And then, how are you going toutilize those tools?
Are you going to vlog about it?
Are you going to film it?
Are you going to photograph it?
Where will this end up?
Where will it live?
Where will it exist 20, 30 daysfrom now, six months from now,
(29:00):
and then that will hopefullydirect the actions of that
person.
And I do think that there aredifferent ways in which you
would go about, because here'sthe crux is like you're never
going to go on a trip and youknow film and photograph and
vlog and whatever all the otherthings that you know and journal
(29:21):
.
One of those things is going togive.
Like you can only do so manythings.
Well, human beings.
Sadly, for all of our amazingachievements, we have not
figured out how to multitasksuper well, so something is
going to sacrifice, and so Iwould say that I try to look at
the story.
Obviously, I have a lot ofyears of experience.
I try to look at each story,given what is the most valuable
way to get this message across.
(29:41):
If I am advocating forIceland's glacial river systems
and a national park there andI'm spending time creating a
photo essay, how will that photoessay best be realized?
Will it be me partnering with alocal NGO to speak on their
behalf, to advocate for this,talking about what I've seen?
Is it making a book so that itcan get into the hands of people
who are maybe decision makers,can be gifted to them, can be
(30:03):
shown to them?
Is it going to be partneringwith somebody in the government
to do X, y and Z?
So the end goal will absolutelydirectly affect kind of the
where you start, and I thinkthat each one.
Again, if you are a journalist,like the best thing you can do
is be a journalist, you knowlike, take meticulous notes,
(30:26):
shoot photographs to help youremember those experiences.
If your goal is to film, thentry to truly document it.
What style of film are yougoing to shoot?
Who is, who is whose voice?
Is this being told through?
Who is our main character?
Who am I following?
Am I taking the time to dointerviews?
Blah, blah, blah.
Is this something I'm justsharing on social media?
So what is the tone and tenureof that social media approach?
(30:49):
Like, how am I getting myinformation?
Who is it from my allowingpeople to tell their own story?
Am I filtering that storythrough my own voice?
Those are all the things that Iwould be thinking about, and it
does take time.
Like, I think the worst thingthat can happen is to get onto
the ground, wherever you'regoing, and just be like, oh well
, I haven't really thought aboutit, I'm just going to try and
do it.
All you know, and I think thatthat's a recipe for disaster a
(31:11):
little bit.
If, if the goal is to actuallytell a story, if the goal is
just to experience the place anddocument it and do whatever you
want and use your camera anduse your tools, then have fun
and, honestly, don't put thestress on yourself at all to do
anything.
I think, actually, one of thebigger issues I see is people
putting too much pressure onthemselves.
You know they're going toAntarctica or they're going
(31:33):
somewhere and they they feellike there's a cause they need
to like stand for, and that'sexcellent.
There are many causes, andimportant ones at that.
But to go there with theintention of like making change,
as opposed to, first andforemost, just experiencing it,
just being there.
Oftentimes, if you're goingsomewhere and it's your first
time and you're going there tomake a difference, make a change
(31:55):
, you're probably more sofollowing somebody else's
narrative as opposed to your own.
You haven't actuallyexperienced this place for
yourself.
So how do you know that it'sspecial?
How do you know that it'simportant?
How do you know that glaciersaren't these gross ugly things
that should be melted?
The point is to be inspired andthe goal is to leave inspired.
(32:18):
So you have something to say,because if not, it's just going
to be a formula that you'refollowing because you saw
somebody else do it and you feltlike you should get involved,
and there's nothing wrong withthat.
But I do think that the verybest, very most potent, the very
most powerful conservationistpeople who are advocating for
wild spaces, other people whohave a real relationship with
(32:39):
those places and takes time todevelop.
That's I guess.
That's just all I'm thinking.
Yeah, I, I'm sorry, I sort oflike boondoggled your question
there and, like you know,wrapped into my own thought.
Court (32:49):
No, I'm trying to dig into the the brain of chris
burkhardt.
Chris (32:53):
That's exactly what I wanted?
Court (32:54):
no, it referred me to.
You know, think of a quote thatI I say so often, um, which is
a bit of a mixture of quotesfrom Aldo Leopold, and it goes
something like you cannot savewhat you do not love and you
cannot love what you do not know.
And so, yeah, you got to knowthings first to then love it, to
then save it, and I thinkyou're spot on there.
Chris (33:15):
You are good with quotes.
I will tell you this to yourcredit Court.
When you sat with me on theplane and we were coming back
from Iceland, we were flying toNew York, you told me something
you said the most dangerous viewof the world is is the view of
somebody who doesn't know theworld.
And what's what's awesome is Imean, I stole that from your
lips and I used it in like threeor four presentations, cause I
(33:37):
just said like I met this guy onthe plane.
He shared with me this view andit really struck me and I and I
, I think that, um, that ispowerful and that is a
perspective.
That is something I've thoughtabout, because it's so easy to
demonize people who are outthere spending all their spare
time traveling and seeing theworld, but truly, the ones who
(33:58):
get us to be inspired by what'sout there are the ones who are
spending their time doing so.
You know, and I, honestly, thescariest version of the world
that I could think of would beone where nobody gets on a plane
, nobody sees what's out there,everybody lives in the microcosm
of their own small, you knowexistence and no change is ever
made.
I mean truly.
Court (34:19):
Could not agree more, Chris.
What gives you the most energythese days?
What drives you?
Chris (34:26):
Besides coffee, no, I think, definitely spending time
with my kids.
You know, that's probably thething that, like, motivates me
the most, inspires me the most,gets me the most excited, gets
me the most psyched.
I guess you could say, inspiresme the most, gets me the most
excited, gets me the mostpsyched.
I guess you could say, andtruly, like, it's the, it's the
(34:48):
part of the puzzle that nowadays, you know, and it's not just my
kids, it's honestly sharingthings with others.
I think that you relate to thisand the fact that, like, it's
really special when you get achance to take people to a place
that they've never been,they've never seen, you know,
you, it's a, it's a trueprivilege, um, and whether it is
my kids or whether it's someoneelse, I don't, I don't know, um
, it doesn't really matter,because the point is that, like,
(35:09):
that is the experience I'mseeking.
I have seen a lot of the worldand, and, and I feel lucky to
have done so and, um, if I nevertraveled a day in my life again
, I'd be content.
You know, I truly would.
I mean that sounds silly, butnowadays the joy comes more so
(35:30):
from sharing it with people Icare about or love, or sharing
it on social media to peoplethat I know don't have that
privilege, because I grew uplike that.
I was one of those kids thatdidn't travel, that didn't have
a passport until I started towork, and so I guess I really
value what it's brought me, andthat's kind of nowadays how the,
the, the way in which Ievaluate success, I guess you
could say yeah, no, I do verymuch resonate with that.
Court (35:50):
From all my guiding is is I get to live quite vicariously
through my travelers.
You know, I've seen many ofthese things for for 10, 15, 20
years in a row.
It's the same phenomenon.
People ask me do you ever getsick of this?
I'm like no, because I'mreliving it each and every time
through your eyes.
I actually am thinking about itdifferently.
(36:11):
As I see your reaction and talkabout your impressions and your
feelings, I actually thinkdifferently.
It's like compounding interest.
It actually grows, grows and mypassion grows for these sort of
things.
Chris (36:21):
I love that man.
That's cool, that's a cool wayof putting it, and you're, and
you're, you are spot on.
I do, I do agree and I doresonate with that pretty deeply
.
Court (36:31):
What is the?
We're getting back tophotography here.
What is?
What is the Chris Burkhardtphoto style?
And what I mean by this isphoto style, um, and what I mean
by this is it changes a lot.
Just so you know.
Yeah, yeah, no, no same, likehonestly every.
You know, when I download a newversion of photoshop or
lightroom and like it, minemight change a little bit, but I
always like, as an example, Itend to go for sort of big bold.
(36:55):
I call them like big photoswhere if you were to look at
them on a thumbnail on a phoneacross the room, you know that
that's an orangutan's face orthat's a sunset of the avenue of
baobabs in madagascar maybe youdon't know exactly where it is,
but you kind of know.
It's like, oh yeah, trees andsunset, and so I like those big,
powerful, colorful, popping,contrasty sort of photos.
But I see so much stuff,whether it's from colleagues or
(37:17):
websites or Instagram, whatever,and there's very distinct
styles and I'm so I admire somuch people that kind of have a
style.
You know like, oh yeah, that's,that's Arthur's stuff or that's
Rich's stuff.
I can definitely tell and I Ifeel like I know your stuff as
well, like I'll.
I'll sometimes see thingscompletely disparate from you.
(37:37):
It's like a desktop screensaveror something like like that.
Chris (37:41):
That's one of chris's photos, um, and I'm wondering if
you, if you, have a style andcan name it um you know, I I
would say like, from afunctionality standpoint, I
really like shooting close andwide and slightly over my
subject, like if I'm shootingkayaking or I'm shooting you
(38:01):
know somebody climbing or it'ssome portrait.
I really like to like be kindof above looking down, this sort
of like my subject is here, butthen there's all this other
stuff behind them and it's moreof like if I was shooting a
portrait, for example, it'd bemore of an environmental
portrait.
Right, it wouldn't be so muchthe face only of the person, it
would be more of them in thecontext of what they love, where
(38:22):
they are, what they're goingthrough, whatever.
And then, when it comes tolandscape, I guess you know, or
action, sports or anything, I Iusually love the idea of of
giving scale to what I'mshooting.
If it's aerial photography, Ithink one of the things that
I've been luckily, you know andyou know, gratefully known for
is is flying with multipleplanes, where I'm trying to add
(38:45):
scale and context to anotherwise super abstract scene.
And so I think I'm constantlyputting myself in the viewer's
perspective, being that I knowwhat it means to look at an
image and be like what am Ilooking at?
And so I want to give peopleclues.
I don't want to give it allaway, but I want to give people
clues of where they that theycould identify where we are and
(39:06):
and understand maybe thesurroundings.
And I think that comes from mysurf photography days where I
was always trying to look forelements of foreground, the
background, the headland.
Where are we?
You know what?
I don't want to have to explainit, I want to give people clues
to figure it out, and so thatis kind of what I've always
looked for is like how can Ibring those elements into the
(39:28):
image and into the story?
So I would say that maybe I'mnot like so in your face.
Tight action.
I like the pulled back action abit.
I do like the environmentalportraiture and sort of
showcasing an element of thesurroundings and I think that
nature or the landscape, whetherthat's a city or whether that's
(39:50):
, you know, actually outdoors isis a key and critical part of
the images that I'm shooting andoften always kind of has been.
So I don't really know how tosum it up.
That's a great question.
Court (40:02):
I don't really like have a way, um, and it instantly made
me think of um something whenyou said sort of that, that
environmentalist, notportraiture, but like you're,
you've got a subject, you've gota scene, you got a story, but
then you're showcasing allaround it as well.
And this is just a pro tip forlisteners out there.
Um, so I I got a new lensrecently, which is super
(40:23):
interesting.
I'm a canon guy and they cameout with this rf um 24
millimeter macro.
I mean, I'm sure that exists inother lineups, but yeah, I got
it mainly for videography stuffbecause I have like a little
studio here and it works wellwith my angles and it's super
shallow depth of field, it'slike 1.8, but it's a macro 24
mil.
And so I took it down tophotograph monarch butterflies
(40:44):
this past winter.
You know where they?
They have these huge roostingaggregations in central mexico
and it's just exquisite.
And I finally figured out howjoel sartori and all these guys,
franz lanting, get these shotsof like monarchs filling the
frame but then the whole treeabove it and yeah, you can take
this shot inch away fromanything, tack, sharp focus.
(41:07):
But it's a 24 mil and becauseyou're so close to your subject
it almost makes it look like anultra wide Um.
So anyway, pro, tip out, theremight be my new X factor lens
when I want to just getsomething really different,
really special definitely notputting this on the first thing
in the morning, but like just ifI want something weird and
wacky 24 millimeter macro um, Ididn't even get it for the macro
(41:29):
, I got it just because I wanted24, 1.8.
Anyway, that leads me to my.
My next question here, chris,is what?
What is your X factor lens?
And I kind of defined that asthe lens that you're not going
to have on all the time maybeeven just 5% of the photo shoot
of the trip, maybe even less,but it might stand to get you
the photo of the trip and youknow it because of that.
(41:49):
You know it can get you thephoto of the trip possibly.
Chris (41:52):
Yeah, so you know it's, it's, absolutely, it's a.
It's usually the, uh, the Leica35, uh, summicron, and um,
because I'm shooting on Sony,I've got the adapter, so it you
know it's, it's makes it not asperfect.
I guess you could say Um,because I'm shooting, it's a one
, four, um, right, or a one, two, I can't remember something
like that and maybe it's a one,two and uh, it's just super
(42:15):
shallow depth of field and youknow it's easy when you're just
shooting someone's face, um.
But I think when you'reshooting a little further away
and you're trying to nail downthat actual, you know, shallow
depth of field, it's tricky, uh,it's a tricky lens to use and I
think that's kind of why I loveit.
Um, I love, I love the fact thata lot of times, you know I'm on
(42:36):
an assignment, maybe I'mshooting product or I'm shooting
portraits, I'm on a, I'm on ajob, right, and maybe it's not
the most sexy job and I have tomake something look good, and so
I think that that lens canreally do that.
It can really make somethinglook good.
It can really make somethinglook interesting when it's not
so interesting and and maybeit's more of like a, a secret
(43:00):
weapon, but I think that's kindof what I love about it is that
it just brings out some cooldetails, some aspects, a lot of
fall off, beautiful bokeh, um,when it's done right and it's
not.
I don't always do it right, soI'll be honest.
But I do um because I, becauseyou know, a lot of times you're
looking in the camera you'relike, oh, this is epic, I am
nailing it.
And then all of a sudden you'relike, no, this is uh, this is
(43:24):
not perfect.
When you look at the actual,you know um, when you look at
the actual, like you knowphotographs later on or
something like that.
So, yeah, um tricky right.
Court (43:36):
But 35, 1.4 and Leica specifically.
Chris (43:39):
Yeah, exactly, but 35, 1.4 and Leica specifically.
Yeah, exactly, it's the Leicaspecifically.
Yeah, and it's, it's.
It is a really sick lens.
I will say, like it's, it'sjust a beautiful lens, and I
mean, obviously, when you'reusing it on the Leica, it's,
it's even cooler, you know yeah.
Court (43:54):
It's all about that glass .
Chris (43:56):
Yeah, you know it is, and I like I'm definitely not a
huge fan of like, oh, thisspecialty lens for this
specialty thing, because I dogenuinely feel like people can
(44:17):
make crazy beautiful images withwhatever pieces of equipment
they have.
You know I've shot a lot of myfavorite work on kit lenses.
Do think that this lensspecifically is has a purpose.
You know, and it's fun to shootpurposeful lenses, if you know
what I mean.
And then purposeful pieces ofequipment and and that's kind of
a refreshing thing sometimeswhen you're sort of using a lot
of generalist equipment, I guessyou can say yeah, yeah, I've
been getting more into primesmyself.
Court (44:36):
I mean, obviously, the 24 , 70, 70, 200s are just so rad,
so good.
But but, like I said earlier,just throwing a 50 mil or an 85
mil and just seeing the world,forcing myself to see the world
through that lens is is quitecompelling.
Um, okay, I've got a couple,couple of final questions here,
um, and we're sort of zoomingout.
You may have said the answersto some of these before, but
(44:57):
we're, we're putting in maybe adifferent context.
What is, what is one lessonyou'd like to teach or tell
aspiring nature and wildlifephotographers and videographers
and cinematographers, filmmakers?
It could be either or or both,whatever you want.
But one lesson and I'm this oneis kind of like more on the
technique side.
Chris (45:18):
Yeah, you know it's not going to be the lesson that
anybody wants to hear, but Ithink that the goal to me, if I
was going to give a one piece ofadvice to aspiring creatives of
any kind, let's, let's justlike be you know, let's just be
realistic about the fact that,like you, could be any kind of
creative and um, is that I.
(45:39):
I hope people will learn totell better stories, their own
personal stories.
I want to hear them open theirmouths and share what they
experienced out there, becauseone of the beautiful things
about being a photographer isthe fact that you had this
experience.
There's nobody else that had it.
And to go back to the world atlarge, you know, and maybe
(46:01):
you're on social media and youjust simply tell somebody.
After you, you know, you bledand you sweat and you cried and
you had this amazing momentwhere you went up a mountain or
you flew halfway across theworld and you saw this thing and
you shot it and there was snowcrunching under your feet and
the wind hitting the back ofyour head and just you can
remember it all, you can feel itall because it was so visceral.
And then to go online and tosay like, oh, the mountains are
(46:23):
calling and I must go.
Here's my beautiful image frommy trip.
Like that's such a disserviceto photography as a whole, to
yourself as a whole, becausesocial media, it's a place you
make your own quotes, it's aplace that you give people a
piece of who you are.
And I think that that level ofvulnerability is what I am
searching for from people andthat level of vulnerability is
(46:43):
what I am aspiring to offer theworld.
And I want to tell people whatI felt like to be there.
I want to tell people what itmeant to me, and I think that
there is a need for more.
I guess you could, could sayhonesty in the experiences that
(47:04):
we have and tell me what it feltlike.
Was it overwhelming, was it fun, was it terrible?
You know, um, but at the end ofthe day, you were the
photographer.
Nobody else can really do thatfor you, because, because you,
you experienced it.
So I guess, um, I guess that'skind of what I really think
about and what I really hopepeople will consider when
they're telling stories is likeyou and me we could stand at the
(47:26):
same exact spot.
We could stand at the sameexact spot and shoot the same
exact photo, and maybe we're atGlacier Point, yosemite or
whatever and it's the samepicture, but at the end of the
day, maybe what I'm willing toshare versus what you're willing
to share, or vice versa, iswhat sets it apart, and I think
that that is where realstorytelling comes from.
Court (47:47):
Very cool.
Yeah, you're remarking how youliked my worldview quote.
I'm going to say the same aboutyou.
Social media is where you makeyour own quotes, and I think you
could probably replace socialmedia with any sort of media or
platform to share, but I lovethat.
Make your own quotes Very cool,okay.
And then, indeed, the finalquestion here.
It's going to be a similar one,but I want to think about this
(48:09):
from more of like the businessperspective, because I know
we've got a lot of folks outthere that are thinking about
going into this line of workmore professionally.
Chris (48:21):
I see that you are also, among the many things that
you're doing, a mentor to newfilmmakers what is, um, I don't
know if I'm, I don't know if I'ma mentor, but I have meant I
have, I have mentored.
I don't think that I don't knowif it's like an actively
ongoing thing, but it'ssomething that I've definitely
done and it's something that Idefinitely do care about.
But it's, um, yeah, I would Idon't know know if, like I'm, in
the process of currently.
Yeah, like I mean, when you findthose pupils that you really
(48:43):
want to help, it has to besomebody special, because you
need somebody who can learn andyou can listen and whatnot.
Court (48:50):
But yeah, sorry, didn't mean to distract, no, no, no,
and that's an important thingbecause I was really kind of
getting more at like some ofyour classes that you do online
but you're right, mentor is muchmore of like a personal
hands-on one-on-one, but you doadvise and I would say even
mentor, like a lot of peoplethat are interested in hearing
(49:10):
more from you on a nitty grittybasis and this, of course, is
more of a briefer overview inthis episode, but hopefully
still, people learn a lot ofstuff.
But no, the question here is,along the lines of the teaching,
what is a top one or two bitsof information for anyone
starting off wanting to make abig mark in photography or
filmmaking in this world?
And this one I'm thinking morefrom like the business
(49:31):
perspective.
Chris (49:32):
Hmm, like what would be a good business practice that
somebody might, yeah, like Imean, you can even, I can even
ask you to like you know what.
Court (49:43):
What is one piece of advice that current Chris
Burkhardt would tell young ChrisBurkhardt about getting into
the business?
Chris (49:49):
Oh, great question.
Um, well, I would say that youknow, um, first and foremost,
the business changes right, andI think it's important to
recognize that.
Like you know, the businesschanges right, and I think it's
important to recognize that,like you know, the business,
whatever the business is, itgrows.
(50:09):
Don't get so committed to oneform of say storytelling or one
form of say of anything, because, because it evolves, it changes
, it grows, we grow, we changeas people, and I just think that
there is something reallyvaluable in trying to make sure
or ensuring that you, you knowyou, you keep your options open,
because, uh, even for me, um,it's been really important to
(50:30):
realize that, like camera,photography is just one
beautiful tool, but one tool,right, it's just one way of
seeing the world, right, and Ithink that I have learned and
realized that nowadays, learningto adjust with the times, you
know, learning to be an authorand a filmmaker and a speaker
and a creative consultant attimes, and just whatever, like
(50:54):
those are all different toolsthat I now have in my tool belt
that have made me reallyvaluable to the people that I
work with, and there was a timewhen I did not think that that
would matter, or I did not thinkthat anybody would care about
those things, right, and therewas a time when, when, um, I
thought, like photography, thisis it.
This is the one singular goal,vision, career, whatever, you
(51:16):
know, and and I guess what I'mgetting at here is like, need to
be open and adapt, and you needto adapt with the times and
change with the times.
And I think that some peoplewho maybe didn't do that really
suffered during COVID and reallysuffered when projects and
shoots and things like thatstopped.
Say that, um, that, when itcomes to business, being
(51:39):
flexible, understanding andevaluating what do you have to
offer the people, the clients,the, the whoever might be hiring
you?
That's all important toconsider, um, and and maybe most
important is just knowing yourstrengths and weaknesses,
evaluating them, thinking aboutthem from time to time and, and
(52:00):
I guess, um, you know, whentimes are good, it's easy to be
like well, this is it, I'm goingto throw all my eggs into this
basket, I'm all in on onwhatever, and that can quickly
bite you in the butt.
You know, um, for me, it's beencritical to take times.
Take time when things are goingwell to reflect and hone other
(52:22):
skills.
I am a constant learner and I ama constant refiner of my skill
sets.
And just because I've foundsuccess in a couple slight areas
, it doesn't mean that I don'twant to expand what I have to
offer or my learnings, because Ithink that that's what makes us
really valuable is beingconstantly inquisitive and
dedicating time.
(52:43):
Just like in the beginning ofmy career, when I would dedicate
myself to shooting certainportfolios because I knew that
nobody for being hired was, wastrying to spend the time and the
money and the effort and theenergy that I had to go out and
(53:04):
prove that I could do it, sothat if the opportunity came
along, I could have something toshow for it.
Court (53:11):
Well, folks, you heard it from the man himself never stop
learning, invest in yourself.
Two bits of information that I,in addition to many other
things I think people will takeaway from this episode and
continue their own learning.
So, chris, thank you so muchfor taking the time and joining
me today.
It is most appreciated.
Chris (53:32):
Thank you, man Appreciate it big time.
Court (53:35):
Well, there you have it, folks.
What a fun conversation withChris and thank you so much for
listening today.
This is an absolute passionproject of mine and I hope it
shows, and I'm so glad I'm ableto teach so many about what I
personally find the mostvaluable and helpful in the
world of nature photography, andthat certainly goes with having
expert guests like Chris on.
I want to say a big thank youto LensRentalscom who helped
(53:57):
sponsor this podcast, and I havethem as sponsors for multiple
reasons, but first and foremostbecause I love advocating for
the rental of lenses.
I think it's an affordable,practical way to test out really
high-end gear, or maybe evennot a high-end type of gear or
high-end lens, but just a way tounderstand the broader spectrum
(54:18):
of what's available out therein the gear and technology space
.
So, lensrentalscom, big thankyou out there.
And if you choose to rent fromLensRentalscom and you use the
promo code WILDPHOTOGRAPHER15,all one word WILDPHOTOGRAPHER,
and the numeral is 15 for 15,you get 15% off.
So that's pretty sweet.
So thank you again.
This is a big part of my.
(54:39):
Why you know this podcast.
It's to preserve the beauty ofour world and to showcase it.
If you would like to get intouch with me on those topics or
really any topic at all.
You can do so atwildphotographerpodcast all one
word.
Wildphotographerpodcast atgmailcom.
You can also check out othertutorials related to this
content, as well as a lot ofmore things about science,
(55:02):
nature and adventure, at myYouTube channel at Court Whalen.
All one word, and it's beenmost fun today and I'm really
looking forward to the next one.
Hope you are too.
Thanks.
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