Customer Reviews

Every Picture Tells A Story: A location workshop with Steve Kossack

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just finished watching this video and was not going to be able to sleep tonight unless I wrote this review, hopefully to save someone else from what I just went through. I spent the entire time waiting for something to happen, waiting for useful information, waiting for Mr. Kossack to make a valid well thought out and informative statement. It never happened.

Okay, the guy's I little strange, we all agree on that. I can get past that, it's just that this video shared absolutely no real solid information. While watching I couldn't help but think that his statements were thought up totally on the fly, which in itself is not a completely bad thing, but it caused him to repeat himself over and over and over again.

Additionally, I love the Southwest and bought the video partially in hopes of getting some tips on some of shooting locations there. Never happened. He mentioned where he was, you see him shoot there, but zero mention of the area itself, its surroundings, best time of year, etc.

Let me save you the $$ and give you the whole video in a nutshell. First use no filter. Now use a split ND grad. Now use a polarizer. Bracket. Move your camera to the next location. Use no filter. Use a split ND grad. Use a polarizer. Bracket. Move your camera to the next location. Repeat this process for 2+ hrs.

Other then a few mentions of basic composition that really didn't amount to anything, there really was nothing else to take way from this. A better choice for me was Tony Sweet's Visual Literacy.

I agree with the other reviewer about Steve being really excited about the subject and the presentation not up to the rest, but still believe it to be a worthy purchase. Though i don't know his work as well as Jim Zuckerman or Tony Sweet and found there video's to be better this will help you improve your photography and teach you what to look for when composing and when you might want to use one filter over another or why you may want to use them together. I would probably start off with New England Color - Field Techniques for Great PicturesWhich I would rank best of the series so far followed by Tony Sweet's Tony Sweet's Visual Literacy: Photography Workshopanother excellent video before this one as they are a bit more detailed and cover more subject matter. But this video is far from a bad choice either.

Steve Kossack's "Every Picture Tells A Story" is an excellent photography workshop DVD that will help your photography move to the next level. Steve is very enthusiastic about his subject and his approach is to help you analyze your surroundings in regard to light and composition--to tell a story! He suggests making many shots, with and without image enhancers and to vary the shots which will increases the possibility you will get the shot you want.

He is full of many, many tid-bits that will enable you to critique your own approach. An important concept he emphasizes is the idea that when you plan and go on a shoot, the conditions you wind up with may not be what wanted..., so you must adjust to the conditions you are presented with. He is filled with many ideas and shares them with the viewer. He analyzes every shot he makes and takes you through his thought process in arriving at the point to make the shot. Changing the angle, including debris and other vegetation helps you to tell the story.

I own works by Zuckerman, Sweet, Reichmann, Cooper, Smith, Barker and many others. Each photographer approaches the subject different but is filled with knowledge as a result of their many years of experience to share with the viewer. I enjoyed Kossack's workshop DVD and have watched it many times. You will come away with many new ideas to include in your next photo shoot. Well worth the money!!!

I learned a lot about filters from watching this DVD and i enjoyed all of the content a lot.

The presenter is a strange guy, very very exicted about the subject matter, but that does not detract from the production, i guess it just shows his passion for the subject.

Steve is a talented photographer who has a great communication style. He has thought provoking compositional commentary as well as reviewing his image making style. The film crew did a wonderful job with the area and in getting the most out of this format of film. Very well done, instructive, and useful.