Ted Vieira

Today’s interview is with a man who like others I discovered through YouTube, yet fell in love with his work and voice instantaneously.  I found him because I owned a Fuji but stayed with him due to his similar love of black and white photography, his passion and drive with his work.

I was new to Fuji after purchasing my XT-1 and as usual began my research online to help me learn about the camera menus, settings, and functions.  I soon came across Ted’s YouTube channel and that is where I got hooked.  First, there was his raspy voice, his appropriate use of ‘yeah’ and ‘man’, but mostly his passion for shooting.  As mentioned above he shoots mostly monochrome, which is a particular love of mine as well.  This was the first video I saw of his.

Photo by: Ted Vieira

Since I first discovered him he has moved from mirrorless to film cameras but for an amateur eye, his look is mostly the same.  Ted’s utilization of lights, shadows, and even grain is something I strive for myself in some of my work.  He has that ‘feel’ or ‘moodiness’ I want to eventually achieve with my work.  As you will see Ted does both portraits (I’d be so nervous shoot what he does) and street work and I would classify his work in the noir genre.  Noir is described as, basically dark, moody and dramatic.

Another aspect that draws me to Ted is his passion.  You can tell by listening to his podcast, YouTube videos, reading his blog, journal, or even visiting his site, that he takes his craft seriously.  He is not a shooter for money, but a photographer with a vision, purpose and true passion.  With his videos as an example, he explains a camera, settings or even why he prints with not only a technical aspect but also with the reasoning for his settings, paper he chooses, film he loves and why, and the passion behind what and why he shoots.

If you follow Ted for very long you will discover his different side as a classical jazz guitarist.  In my opinion, his look, that voice and the mood he portrays with his work fit that old jazz scene.  I picture an old dark smoky lounge with him and a few guys jamming to some smooth jazz.  I’m sure he would give that a ‘yeah’ for sure.

Whether you check out Ted’s various aspects on YouTube, his podcast, his website, buy a print or just check out his social media, he provides wonderful tips, techniques, and insight into his world of photography.  He goes beyond the basics, and covers aspects of creativity, inspiration, and drive to shoot.  Please check out his various links below (and subscribe).

Photo by: Ted Vieira

 

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/TedAVieira/videos

Podcast – https://photographymatterspodcast.com/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tav_photography/

Webpage – https://tavphotography.com/

Blog – https://tavphotography.com/blog/

Journal – http://minor11.com/

Photo by: Ted Vieira

 

Which is your favorite lens?

If I had to pick just one, I would go with my Summicron 50mm. This is my favorite lens I’ve ever shot with. Man, the micro-contrast, the punch that this lens delivers… pretty wonderful. It just amazes me every time I shoot with it.

I know a lot of people think 50mm is too short to do portrait work. But man, this is my favorite portrait lens I’ve ever owned.

Now, all that being said, I do love my Summicron 35mm. It delivers that same kind of punch that I get from the 50, but 35mm it’s kind of a better focal length for just general photography; a walk around lens. And to be honest, I guess if I really could only have one, yeah, actually I think I’d go with a 35. It’s the most versatile focal length out there, and the image quality from this lens is stunning. But man, I would miss the 50.

 

What is your favorite style of shooting?

I go back-and-forth on this one. I really need variety. One of my favorite areas of photography is that intimate portraiture, beauty work that I do. I love working with another person to create something so powerful and beautiful.
But then after a while, I get kind of bored with that. I need to mix it up. Then I’ll go out and do some street photography; go out shooting at night; that kind of stuff. I’ll do that for a while until I get bored with that, then move on to something else.

Last year I made a quite a few trips out to the desert. I really enjoyed that for a while. But yeah man, I need to change it up every once in a while. That’s what keeps me motivated.

 

Among the gadgets that you own, is there something that you wish you hadn’t bought?

Man, there is so much stuff that I bought that I really wish I would’ve just saved the money.

Back when I first started taking photography seriously, I bought a ton of gear that I just really didn’t need. I was shooting with Canon back then, and for some reason felt I had to have so many different lenses. All L glass.

I remember buying the 70-200. I really thought I needed that lens if I was going to have the right gear for portrait work. I rarely used it, I think maybe twice. After a while I finally sold it, it was just sitting on the shelf collecting dust.

I’ve done that with so much gear; it is addictive; it is a lot of fun. But for me, most of it wasn’t really necessary.

 

How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?

By studying the masters. Saul Leiter; Cartier-Bresson; Doisneau; Peter Lindburg… Man, there are so many.
Obviously, for most of those guys, their photography was done quite a while ago. But I still find it to be some of the strongest work that I see.

Also, I will have to say, that shooting film, and particularly cameras that are literally almost featureless. That has really improved my overall understanding of light and photography.

 

Whose work has influenced you the most?

There are a few, but probably the one that stands out the most would be Saul Leiter. Not that my work looks like his, but I can feel his influence in my own photography; whatever that means.

But yeah man, there are so many people. Go back to that short list I mentioned earlier, and I could still add many names to that list. So many talented people out there.

 

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?

I go back to my earlier comment about the gear. If I could give just one piece of advice to anybody starting out in photography, I would say, keep it simple start with one body and one lens. Work with that combination for a year. And then, only if there is something that you specifically need, then go ahead and add that piece, one piece at a time, but again, only if it’s necessary.

If someone takes that approach, they will learn so much more about photography so much faster.
It’s simple, they have fewer choices, and that’s a good thing. They learn how to see better and know what they can get with that one focal length (and by the way I think it should be a prime, not a zoom).

I think that for most of us, the simpler we keep our systems, the better. That way we’re not so much focused on the gear, but more on the photography.

Photo by: Ted Vieira

 

I want to thank Ted for taking the time to do this interview for me.  I hope someday I can make it to Las Vegas and say hello in person, and if lucky go out and shoot with him a bit.  “Man” that would be awesome.

Until next time,

Tim