Joe Allam

Twice in one week, I received a follow-up response for a virtual interview request. I have sent four responses out, so far two have been returned. The earlier response was Thomas Heaton and this time I will be introducing you to Joe Allam.

Upon reaching out to Joe I explained the reason for the interview request, and how I have found photography so therapeutic.  My mind races daily.  Sometimes less, sometimes more, but always racing.  I mentioned to Joe in my email that when I raise the camera to my eye, my brain calms down, at least for a moment.  At that moment all distractions are gone and, yes pun intended, I can focus.  He too seems to identify with this aspect as he responded to me “I know exactly how you feel with photography helping you to focus. To me, it can be a bit of an addiction. I absolutely love the process of holding and using a camera, clicking the shutter and making images. Whether they’re even of anything or if the lens cap is still on, the mechanics to it all connect so much with me.”

I also explained to Joe in my email that the purpose of reaching out to him was so I can write a blog about him (at least with interview questions and answers).  I mentioned my audience was small, but the purpose of my blog was again, a form of therapy for me, and not done to get subscribers.  He kindly responded “I love that you write your blog for yourself primarily. This is the biggest advice I give to anyone who’s looking to start out. Audiences come and go, but your own passion needs to be protected!”

I have mentioned the rabbit-hole that YouTube can be for me.  I love researching things, gain different perspectives, doing comparisons, and sometimes spend hours doing so on YouTube.  I gravitate to what I like and like many others, I have ‘discovered’, I found Joe’s YouTube channel while researching specific camera settings when I newly acquired my Fuji X100F.  I found his video very helpful, and like I mentioned with Thomas, I watch one after the other of Joe’s videos.  I found Joe did a wonderful job explaining his settings but more importantly to me was his thought process was behind the settings, why he chose to shoot what he did, or even his workflow in LightRoom or Photoshop. He is based out of the United Kingdom (if you cannot tell by his voice), but also adopts Japan as his home as well.  Joe recently attended the 2020 Fuji X-Summit along with other brilliant photographers I admire.  He wrote about it here. Joe also travels a lot (well up until the virus hit the world), often going to Japan, and several other countries as documented on his channel.  He sometimes travels alone, but often with his girlfriend Elly.

The things I enjoy most about Joe (what I gather from his channel and work), is that he followed his passion.  He loves to travel and take photographs and as a result, he turned that into a business of photography, designer, and even digital consulting.  Joe has a positive demeanor on his channel and he educates through messages reflecting the true passion for what he does.  The videos, unlike some I have seen from others on YouTube, are often the perfect length of time, not to overdrawn or wordy.  You will notice his cinematic editing skills if you watch any of his videos.  Oh, and my wife will be happy to know he has done work for Disney, as mentioned on his website.  Being a fan of accents, especially British, Irish and Australian, I can listen to Joe’s voice all day long.  Yet another appeal of watching his videos.  Joe shoots pictures in the genres I enjoy. Landscapes and urban/city/street. To top it all off he shoots with Fujifilm cameras, like me.  Much of his work inspires me.  Joe’s video messages and challenges motivate me to try different things and possibly travel someday.  Below are the links to Joe’s various social media sites.  As always I would not write about him if I didn’t highly recommend him.

Joe Allam

Website – joeallam.co.uk

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

YouTube – youtube.com/joeallam

Twitter – https://twitter.com/joeallam

Which is your favorite lens? Why?

Fujinon 35mmF2 without a doubt. I keep this on my camera (currently X-H1) about 75% of the time. The discrete portability, sharpness, and weather-sealing of this lens matched with a field of view similar to the human eye, making this an everyday lens perfect for sharing the world how I see it.

What is your favorite style of shooting?

I’ve experimented with so many styles over the years and love to progress my skills in phases. But one phrase has stuck with me the longest; urban and street. When I travel, I often search for city-based destinations to explore and capture. My images are usually snapshots of daily life featuring a whole scene rather than invading someone’s personal space. As a city-dweller myself, I’m always enticed by the hustle and bustle. Seeing it stopped in motion will forever fascinate me.

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

I’m generally very purpose-driven in my work and life. It’s rare that I’ll be spontaneous enough to regret a tech purchase. However, when I first started my route into filmmaking, I wanted to get a Steadicam, to improve my shots. This was back in 2014 before IBIS and electronic gimbals were popular. I came across the GlideGear DNA 5050 and thought it was perfect for my size and weight requirements. I then saw that I could bundle it with a chest and arm mount, for only about £200 more, but saving £200 by buying it as a combo. Optimistically, I thought this would be perfect for when things might scale up and I’d like a bigger rig!

Needless to say, I’ve never actually used the full rig and only ever used the main stabilizer on one shoot. It’s just too big and cumbersome and would likely benefit a broadcast camera operator covering sport, then a travel filmmaker. The bag still sits at home taking up the space of the suitcase because I can’t find anyone who’d want it! To this day, I still just shoot handheld for everything.

How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?

I always take note of when I’m inspired or caught in awe of other images. I take time to study and analyze exactly what is it about an image that I enjoy. I’ll then keep it in mind for when capturing my own images and apply the same technique when reviewing them back afterward. This technique has sped up my rate of improvement dramatically, as it’s directly connected to the enjoyment I get when viewing images.

Whose work has influenced you most?

Without a doubt, Chase Jarvis has been the biggest impact on my professional life. I discovered his YouTube channel in the very early days back in 2007, a year after I bought my first DSLR. He shared regular videos showing behind the scenes on commercial shoots, and I’ve followed his work ever since. The aspiration I got from watching his videos about running a photography business was a huge factor in my own journey with photography. At the time, there was no one documenting this lifestyle in such an engaging and inspirational way. Even with his shift in focus away from photography to other endeavors such as CreativeLive, I am still continually inspired.

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

I wish I knew that not everything needed to be shot in manual mode. I was so desperate to learn photography and how a camera worked, that I thought the best way to achieve great images was if you had full control over everything. If I was missing shots, it was my own problem for not being fast enough or not understanding a scene correctly. Sure, I understand it all now, but I also very rarely shoot manual. Opting mainly for aperture priority. Would I have still learned how it all works had I not gone down the full-manual route so early? Who knows…

Thanks again for taking the time to read this and I want to thanks Joe for responding to my email.  A simple gesture on his behalf, but means a ton to me that he did that.  Based on Joe’s responses above I plan to take this one simple tip when I look at my work “I take time to study and analyze exactly what is it about an image that I enjoy.”

Until next time,

Tim