THE WICKED HUNT
June 7, 2022

Ep 38 – How Daniel Kordan turned photography hobby during his PhD to become one of the top travel & landscape photographers

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The Art of Photography
The Art of Photography
Ep 38 - How Daniel Kordan turned photography hobby during his PhD to become one of the top travel & landscape photographers
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Hey Wicked Hunters, 

Welcome back to The Art of Photography Podcast, this week we have one of the most respected travel photographers joining us. He was one of the first photographers in this space.

Daniel started his journey as a photographer back when he was still a PhD student. It took him 8-10 years until he could pursue his passion in photography full time.

Since then he has become one of the most respected travel, landscape and adventure photographers. He has taught thousands of students and he’s an official Nikon, Gitzo and Lucroit ambassador.

He has been published in many magazines such as National Geographic, Digital SLR Magazine, etc. His photos were purchased by leading worldwide brands like Apple, RedBull, HSBC, etc.

 

If you want to learn more about Daniel’s work, you can find it here:

Link to social media:

Link to NFT

https://opensea.io/collection/red-sails 

 

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• Spotify – http://bit.ly/twhspotify  

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• Website: https://podcast.thewickedhunt.com     

• Tune In (Alexa) – https://bit.ly/TuneInTheArtOfPhotographyPodcastWithStanleyAr  

 

For those of you who want to learn more about The Wicked Hunt Photography by Stanley Aryanto:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewickedhunt/   

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewickedhunt/ 

• Masterclass: https://www.TheWickedHuntPhotography.com     

• Photo print: https://www.TheWickedHunt.com/

 

Don’t forget to leave a review on the podcast if you enjoy this conversation. It would help us to get found and help to inspire other photographers. 

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Transcription:

Daniel Kordan  0:00  
This is how you can build your own style. And this is how you can learn in a really fast way. Because the process that I undertake, it took me about eight years to 10 years

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  0:20  
Hey wiki hunters Welcome back to The Art of Photography podcast where we share photographers journey and passion and how photography gives them hope represent happiness. And today we have someone very special to be part of this podcast, someone who have done this for a long, long time and have been an inspiration to my journey as well. Daniel Corden, how are you Daniel, welcome to Bali. I know you just settling in here in in the island of gods. But very good to have you in the island. How are you? Yeah, hey,

Daniel Kordan  0:53  
Stanley, good actually settled already getting used to live in Bali in the tropics, and continue exploring Indonesia. I was here first time in 2019. And I really loved it here and the family loved it here. Well, it’s the sun, the ocean, and so many beautiful places like almost 17 plus 1000 islands in Indonesia. So I have to explore lots of them and exploring Southeast Asia in general, it was a long lasting dream for me as well, because I covered a lot Europe and America but in Asia is still a lot to explore it a photograph. So I think it’s a good base for me for coming here, at least for my nomadic life supplants the here for one year. And yeah, to inspire you more with some photos from Indonesia, and well, Southeast Asia in general. Yeah,

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  1:47  
I mean, I saw some of your brothers from the island already. And, you know, around in Asia, and, you know, you covered it very quickly. So, you know, that’s, that’s awesome to see some of those places to be taken by someone like you with a different perspective. It’s always refreshing. So you’ve been in this industry a very long time, you know, but what really started your journey, have you always been wanted to be a photographer? Or is there a story behind that?

Daniel Kordan  2:19  
Well, of course, there is always a story behind some long way. And the story for me started, of course, with my house in my neighbourhood, I think most of photographers, they do the same, they just start exploring from the backyard, in general. Yeah, they go to the forest, they go to the mountains, whatever they have near their house. And this is how I started, when I was 17 years old, 17, maybe 16 years old, that was just wandering in the wild in nature. I was a grown up in Russia in Moscow region. So it was beautiful forests and beautiful lakes. It was a nice playground. So it was just taught by myself or photography. I was also attending the painting school at the time when I was a student. And I guess it’s helped us a lot to just understand the colour with colour management in photography later as well to be bold with colours not to be afraid to use some colours and editing in my landscapes and travel photography as well. So I guess many photographers will do the same they just start with a backyard start practising and then they build career build portfolio and start travelling outside as well. Yep, yeah, so

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  3:33  
it’s actually very different for me i i started photography because of travels it’s actually land away from my home that got me started. So that’s really interesting. And you know, like that the back back, your back your own backyard inspired to be a photographer because most people take that for granted. So I think that’s really cool. Was there like a particular moment within you know that that time where you feel you know that photography makes you happy? And you know, you want to do that for longer? Or is it just you know, you just kind of know ever since you started photography, like I know you share a little bit about exploring the backyard but how do you start photography itself?

Daniel Kordan  4:18  
Well, it’s always kind of struggle of course, because the first steps will make you can’t really earn your photography more like investors so you buying new cameras buying the gear you just investing in the in the flight so just yeah, go somewhere. Yes, the first steps. You basically spend more money than you’re earning on photography say it was always just a hobby, a passion for me, and it’s still a hobby, passion, I can even now I can tell that it’s kind of professional or it becomes like a routine work. And also it’s still a passion until now and well there was a certain moment when I started earning a little bit on photography, but more was more Some commercial projects like portrait studio, maybe even some wedding. So how was this, like mark on my history with wedding photography as well. So it was just the student and earning some money, but that give me some good practice, how to choose all the settings, compositions help edit images just was really, really good practice for me. But yep, slowly, I started organising some workshops around the world and was one of the first persons who actually make the workshops were just it was not mainstream at all. We just knew all the people actually who make workshops, photography workshops that time. So it was around 11 years ago, 11 or 10 years. Now there are just literally 1000s of people and influencers who are making this. But since then, it’s grown up in a huge business. I’m partnering with Iceland photo tours with my good friend UDB Gorski and we have about 45 destinations in our portfolio. So before pandemic, we had about 4000 clients per year, so 4000 photographers per year joining our photography tours, but pandemic hit. And then we change the bit the things I make online courses, online education. So now I have 16,000 students in my online courses. So it’s also grown up quite a lot when people join the metaverse and joined online courses. So who knows? Where next year this year will take us but

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  6:36  
we’ll see that that’s awesome. Wow, that’s a lot of students. You’ve taught a lot of people that’s that’s crazy. You know, it’s, I mean, this just goes to show you know, how, how great and how much people love your photography and how inspiring they are. It is, you know, otherwise, there won’t be that many people following your footsteps, you know, as far as being inspired by your photography, what do you love the most about photography, in general, or in landscape photography. And actually, I forgot to say, I would love to see your wedding for like wedding photography, photos

Daniel Kordan  7:16  
on the website and everything, but I can try to dig specially for you, if you come to mandolin Valley, I will show you in private, you know. Just kidding. But I can try to find, if you surely want wanted,

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  7:32  
I can imagine, you know, because every time I see that, even when you should landscape, a lot of them are very intimate landscape, you know, very clean. People in human figure, you have some of those as well. But yeah, so it’d be interesting, I would love to see them

Daniel Kordan  7:50  
actually build quite a big business on that. Because I was doing that for like three or four years. And last years, I was shooting weddings in France and Italy. So when I was like 20 to 23 years old, I was still in university on my PhD and was just sneaking out, like France to the wedding to shoot for like four or 5000 bucks. It was a good addition, though. My salary as a PhD student at around $200 per month. Really fine.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  8:21  
So what makes you love photography? You know, if there is, is there a one thing that makes you love photography? Or is there a lot of things that make you fall in love with photography in general?

Daniel Kordan  8:31  
Well, in general, what I like about photography and landscape in particular is the people. So you can ask me why people in landscape? Yeah, but it’s the people who are joining my workshops, the people who I meet, while we talk with you right now. So we also kind of inspiring each other, right? So it’s a community of people that just come together. There’s not just, I can myself a lonely wolf now it’s just like, I’m making fun for myself. All the time, I’m turning entertaining myself and the people around and educating them as well. So you always meet with some amazing people and you have something in common. You have in common the passion to the nature to photography compositions. So this is what I love about landscape. It’s just inspiring each other. Yeah. That’s awesome.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  9:19  
Yeah, I mean, like, you know, if I didn’t come across your profile back then I might not be where I am today. So you definitely have inspired, you know, other photographer. So, you know, you’ve been to a lot of places in the world, right? Have you have you ever counted how many how many countries have you ever been

Daniel Kordan  9:40  
really not counting countries, but I have favourite places that I return all the time, like Indonesia, right?

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  9:51  
Like is there like you know, any particular place that really hits home and keep taking you back to those place?

Daniel Kordan  10:03  
There are so many of them. But there are a few places in particular that really return every year. It’s like Patagonia or Greenland or Antarctica. So all of this replaces, it’s something that may be part of my soul, my heart is left there. And while always taking workshops, this places like Italy, Tuscany as well. I love it a lot just because you feel amazing there, because landscape is always beautiful. Or you always struggle in Patagonia with the conditions. But eventually you just get rewarded by just some fantastic lenticular clouds and flying skies and, I don’t know, beautiful Puma or going like as in the frame against the mountains. And the same from Greenland. And we didn’t want we developed absolutely amazing tour with Red Sails, Red Sails in Greenland, and become kind of viral. It just it’s one of my most favourite tourism portfolio. Let’s say this summer, we sell ready 16 tours 16 tours from June to September, they’re fully booked. We just started accepting people for next year. But that’s pretty much 16 tours per 16 people each tour. So that’s more than 250 people this summer, I need to guide some of them. And we already have some guides for workshops. In late August, September. I just, I can’t just guide all of them myself. But we have local guides and some good friends that help us a lot. Educating people in the stores as well. But it’s really romantic when you have read sales and you just going among all the icebergs and midnight sun, the sun just never sets there and just throws from horizon for like, five, six hours. So it can imagine like six hours nonstop with the flaming skies. Reflections of the iceberg some whales and seals on the ice. It’s pretty incredible place just can go there forever.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  12:06  
That is amazing. You know, and just you explaining it. I know you have a collection that I have checked out your NFT collection on the Red Sails, and they’re just so breathtaking. But you know, just listen that listening to that. It’s so Sunday already breathtaking without looking at that photo. But yeah, I highly encourage those who listen, you know, to check out his NFT collection on open sea and on the Red Sails, and the link will be on the description. It’s just absolutely incredible. How does how does that come about? Is it is it is the other boat? If you have like two kinds of boats, or is it most of the boats there have Red Sails or how does that work? And yeah, yeah, this

Daniel Kordan  12:49  
boats, they belong to the tour company. So these are all boats, basically. And we’re using to sailing boats and make specifically for them. Red Sails, and well, just bringing them for every season for every summer.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  13:05  
And it’s cool. Yeah, so you know great Greenland is actually one of my top bucket lists to go to I really want to export the Greenland sound so amazing. So you’ve been to a lot of these places multiple times, right? Like you say, Patagonia, you go there almost every year while you save every year as well as the other two places. You know, when you go to the same place over and over again, it can be kind of really like boring and you know, you feel like you know it all and doesn’t excite you anymore, because it’s predictable, you know what’s going to happen, but I feel like every time you you take a photo of those new places or I should say of those old places that you’ve been to you manage to come up with something different something unique, something fresh, something exciting, how how does take us through how do you come up with that you know, so that people who are photographers who kind of feel like they’ve been to this place over and over again and get bored with it can get inspired and learn from what you’ve done as well as what you do in travel photography.

Daniel Kordan  14:20  
Well, first of all, you’re completely right that let’s see if you go to the same place and make let’s say workshop after workshop, it’s also becomes quite boring. Like I just decided for myself, I will not go myself myself to the places but I will just put my guides or local photography guides who can take people in the company so you just don’t need to be caught on the hook. You know, you got like a fish and you just keep doing the kinds of job so it becomes more like not using passion yeah becomes like office work. Let’s see. I love like example Am I love to a lot Provence in France for the first visit, but already the second, the third visit in Provence, it’s the same conditions as the blue sky, the same blue sky, the same lavender fields, the same like hordes of tourists in the fields, and becomes really boring. So I just decided, okay, we’ll just we’ll go there. Yeah, so I’m going to the places where conditions are always different. Let’s say this way, I’m going to Greenland to Patagonia. Because every time you go there, conditions are totally different. And Patagonia, you have all these lenticular clouds, they have storms, and the light is really, really different all the time. And you’re just adapting to changing the light. And this challenging, so without any challenges, it becomes quite boring, as well. So you’re hunting for the light. It may be it’s the same compositions that you’ve seen already the previous visit, but the light may be different, and conditions different. Yeah, also, how not to lose passion in this work. Basically, I tried to make, let’s say, one workshop, and after workshop, there will be exploration. So let’s say I make one week of education, because during workshops, I just barely have time for myself, I’m always with people, just communicating with them. And another week after workshop might be exploration of some new places around this area. Let’s say, next year, I can go to Patagonia, I can guide some workshops. And after that, I go to Patagonian fjords to the other side of Torresdale. Pine, and say, Yeah, so it’s a new place for me new area, and just excited to explore it. So all this keeps, keeps me excited as well.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  16:45  
So, you know, you you take you do workshops, you do online course, and you also do exploration. And you’ve just, by the way, congratulations on your new board. And if you have kids and family, how do you find the time and balance all that? And I know as a photographer as well, you know, that’s not it, right? You still have to do all your accounting or your other marketing, social media. So how do you find all that and have time for each single one of them?

Daniel Kordan  17:17  
Yeah, it’s just all about balancing, as you mentioned, this word balance, right. So let’s say I can go for two or three weeks outside, and some other workshops and other exploration. And then I spend the same time with family like two or three weeks, with family. But this is kind of quality time. So you know, just outside in the office and just come tired, exhausted in the evening. But it’s a quality time. So you go hanging out somewhere, you just playing some games. So this, this is much better than actually having the permanent job and coming back absolutely exhausted, of the office work. So this is how it is it is trying to balance the whole year. And I can put myself my time. So I’m the owner of my time. So there is no one just head of me telling me okay, you must work two or three months, nonstop, you must go for three months out there. So I can easily just check my calendar and book all the next year, just very carefully balancing week by week, day by day, where I’m going how much time staying back at home with family. And yeah, it’s all about balance, like the same with composition of photography, the same as your composition of your

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  18:30  
life. That’s awesome. Yeah, I love how you draw, you know, metaphor to photography, because I feel like you know, from photography days, a lot of life lessons. So you know, one of the things that I learned from photography is being able to have a pay out passions, patients, I should say no. As well as patient, of course. But yeah, it’s cool. That balance is something that’s really difficult to find, and you seem to be doing very well. So before you started photography, you mentioned you were a student as well. And you’re studying PhD as well. What what what were they on? What were you studying to become before photography?

Daniel Kordan  19:10  
Yeah, so before photography, I was studied physics, actually. And I was studied quantum physics, in particular, in my university in Moscow. So I actually didn’t finish the PhD. So on the third year, already, I was doing a lot of photography, a lot of commercial projects and had a family. So it just didn’t work out for me to finish it because it’s some complications in Russia about the science. It’s just people didn’t pay paid. They’re not paid enough to sustain the living. So you have the choice either you making some business or you just going out of the country in Switzerland, USA, and it was hard with already little kids at the moment.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  19:57  
Wow, that’s that’s really interesting to see fit. agraphia is not really, you know, a job that people think you know, would jump into to make a living, because it is a difficult way to make a living. What made you decide to, you know, do that full time instead of sticking with your PhD,

Daniel Kordan  20:18  
that was not really a decision in one day like this, I was slowly going to this point where I can abandon the work the job that I do, I have some small businesses like in website design, and website programming as well, that helped me a bit to invest in photography, as well. But at a certain moment, I just see that I had portfolio already, I had some workshops going on, and they started bringing more money. So I just see it and decided to make a little bit more workshops, and in adding a little bit more tours every year. And well, this is how I started building all the workshop portfolio. This is how I started to make it full time. But at first stage, I guess for most of us, it will be really challenging and hard to earn on photography, it just needs to keep trying. And there are many possibilities. Now. It’s not like it was 10 years ago without social media, then now we have online education have NF T’s you have work with brands, hotels, with air companies, whatever. So now possibilities that they’re just much, much better than it was 10 years ago in photography. But still there is a lot of competition, like good competition as well with young travellers, young people who are willing to travel, so just need to be very active. And well keep it going keep it running every day. That’s it.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  21:46  
Yeah. I love how you mentioned that. Because I know a lot of people can ask me, you know, it’s like, how do you do this? I was like, man, there’s literally so many ways to make a living, you know, be just travelling or being a photographer. It’s just a matter of which one you want to do. So I’m glad that you mentioned that, because I think that that is a confirmation for a lot of people that it’s possible to do this. So that’s really cool. And you know how this this journey that you had so far, what would be the hardest time of your journey? Is there a time where you felt like you want to give up and you know, you want to either go back to your physics degree or try something else at all?

Daniel Kordan  22:34  
Well, of course, there are some ups and downs like for all the people. And there are many in my career as well. Because sometimes, you just travelled for moms, and you get so exhausted. And then there are crazy times like pandemic or nowadays a war between Russia and Ukraine. And well, I was living in Russia and needed basically to abandon my country, we still have the dog there in my house. And well back grandparents are still looking for our animals, the dog, the cat, and we’re thinking how to move them as well to barley, but in some terrible things going on in the world, as well. And sometimes it’s just sad to think about these things, but you can do, you can do much you can help me be I have some also, some charity projects, as well, it was a few years ago, it was about climate change, but also have campaign prints for the planet, also where we donated for growing, growing up the trees, as well. And now also have some empty project for the help there Ukrainian refuges, as well. So just trying to help little by little to the world as well, maybe just a small drop in the ocean. But if everyone will make a small drop, maybe we’ll bring the water back again. Yeah,

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  24:03  
totally. I love how you say that. I know, a lot of people can say, you know, someone else can do it for me. But you’re right. You know, if everyone just give a little bit of drop in, you know, it will make a lot more difference. So, I’m glad that you say that, and I’m sorry, you have to go through that. But it’s really good that you are giving back to the community as well as to the world with your successes. So you know, I think that’s, that’s that’s a really good thing to see from someone who made that you’re who who already become successful in what you do. So that’s, that’s really cool. And all right, this, this might be really hard for you because I’m sure you have a lot of successes. If there was one moment of your journey that you’re most proud of, what would that be and why?

Daniel Kordan  24:56  
We’ll hold it I think from the beginning There are a lot of moments like this when you’re just starting photography, because even, let’s say I remember my first kind of salary for my first photo shoot, I was shooting some concerts in university and organisers, they presented me a cake. So I was so happy, I get paid by the cake. Yeah, for this job. And then they’re just the first image that you actually sell for money. And then the first contract you get for some bigger project. And then the thing that really makes me happy. Also, it’s the first international, one of the first actual international job because Apple bought some of my images for MacBook Pro presentations and desktops are still I was out in USA and I see my image on every billboard, when Apple just released the new MacBook Pro, it was like 2015 or so. So about nine years ago, so I it was just kind of big achievement, then I don’t do much of the photography competitions, myself, just don’t have much time for that. But I feel really proud of my students right now. Because there are a lot of people visiting my workshops, and I see their success. And it really makes me happy. Let’s say some person can be just some office worker, and maybe some banking. And then he visits workshop got inspired and changed his life. So I already have a few students guiding workshops and blending some amazing deals, so they quit their job. And well, they do what they love to do now, photography and also guiding also educating people. So I’m really proud of this people. Also lots of students that make some exhibitions as well, some charity exhibitions in London and New York, New York recently, so it was very nice. They’re proud of them

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  27:01  
at a scale that is really cool. I think that’s the one thing that I really love about teaching others is when they can, you know, succeed and get inspired by you. And you know, I mean, your photography are just such an inspiration. Like, every time I look at your photo, right, I would try to dissect it, and I would go like, Man, I wouldn’t have thought, you know, you seeing that grass that just looked like a bush that’s, you know, annoyed the hell out of me as a foregone. And I was just like, how did you make that look good, you make the simplest thing look good. And that’s just incredible. Is there any photography workflow, when you know when you when you go explore, right, you don’t really know what your, what’s going to come up in front of you. Is there any workflow or, like you know, things that you go through when you try to compress your photography.

Daniel Kordan  28:03  
The main tip I can give here is, when you’re at location, you just need to look under your feet. So you already have some amazing landscape. Let’s say it can be waterfall, it can be an amount Brahma is in Java, but then okay, you can make this postcard without any foregrounds without this three dimensional thing, but it makes a difference if you just frame it with some really stunning three dimensional and interesting foreground. And as you say, It must not be called Ticket must be simple, must be easily readable. That’s why I’m trying to get a bit closer to the foreground. Let’s say it might be some flowers might the leaves may be some just bullsh of grass, but you must be really close to that object on the foreground. Sometimes I’m just as close as about 3040 centimetres even closer. And this helps to simplify the composition as well because you’re not including let’s say the whole bush of flowers like hundreds of flowers, but you come there you look carefully you find like three five flowers maybe just one flower. Yeah, and be really close to them. This is how you compose

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  29:11  
Yeah, I definitely mean level one. I definitely learned that a lot from watching you you know your photography and you know that forgotten just managed to find the coolest foreground so that’s that’s really cool to hear from you as an instructor and when you looking at the you know the photography and you say get really close. Does that mean you really like a wide angle lens and you do a lot of focus stacking on your ship on your photography.

Daniel Kordan  29:42  
Yeah, I do a lot of focus stacking and a lot of wide angle but of course I’m just taking with me all the three lenses I have with switching 2424 710 So Instagram it sometimes you also need to be like director of the movie right? Not just the way the angles things but some details. So mole nature buttons. And it’s kind of boring goals if you have the same just wide angle shots everywhere, but you also need to just concentrate on details small things. And then drone photography is my passion as well. I just got myself on the road that maybe 30 to 40% of my portfolio now is made with a drone. It’s just another dimension, especially in Indonesia, it’s like paradise for the drone rules. Very easy here. I can fly almost everywhere in Indonesia. So I’m using a DJI Mavic pre cine combo for my flights already. I’m pretty happy with it.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  30:39  
In Asia is definitely the drone paradise. I remember when I left Indonesia, I just sold my drone coming to Canada, it’s just too difficult. Yes, yeah. So you’ve got a lot of gear, you know, with just mentioned about four lenses, a body and a drone? How do you prioritise what you bring on your back? Or do you always have a massive back on your back?

Daniel Kordan  31:06  
To always, that’s a big problem. This is my cross I’m carrying through all these years. It has nothing to do even switching to mirrorless. Two years ago, I didn’t help much because the weight is pretty much the same as it was before.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  31:20  
Yeah. Is that right? Yeah, I know that feeling because I’ve never hiked Well, I think there’s only one hike, which is my very first fight before I got into photography, not actually even that I’d never hiked without a camera and you know, massive bag, so I know exactly what you mean. That’s yeah, it’s it is. It’s a good workout, though. For us. Going forward, what are you know, what are your project? Or do you have any project or any exploration that you want to do coming forward? Is there anything that are on top of your bucket list? Yeah, in

Daniel Kordan  32:03  
particular, I moved to Indonesia. This like a paradise for me as well. So I’m planning to explore Southeast Asia. There are a lot of countries I’ve never been to like Vietnam or Thailand. I’ve been there like family vacations. But let’s say for photography, I’ve never been to Vietnam, Thailand. I’ve never been to Australia, as well for landscape photography. And well, blank from Belize. It’s really easy to all of these countries, even flying to India or Pakistan. It’s Japan it’s relatively easy. From the side of the world. So this is where I’m I will try to concentrate on the next year. And Indonesia itself is like so many islands Yeah, so many places the sea to explore. Just after tomorrow, I’m actually going for two day trip to lampoon shortcut Guinea here, and the sharks of beach, because it will be also pretty amazing. No two way out there. So next two days will be normal in the night, and we’ll try to shoot both sunset sunrise in the Milky Way the Shakti fish.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  33:09  
That’s awesome. Yeah. lampoon, I actually never been there myself. So that’s, that’s really cool. What What are your, you know, workflow on finding these places? Is there any particular things that you look or that excites you to go to those places? Because you know, lampoon might be beautiful, but I’m sure there’s going to be a whole lot other places that just like lampoon that’s beautiful, as well. What would make you choose some of these places that we go for exploration?

Daniel Kordan  33:41  
Well, let’s kind of some places that kind of epic. Yeah, so I feel like edu lampoon, they offering a lot of compositions, and just, the result might be quite amazing. But it’s nice question about where the inspiration comes from yet to make a choice. And most of the inspiration comes from local photographers. So you just what they do is just sign up for local photographers, and which they feed and trying to communicate with them make friends. Let’s see. I went already in Denpasar a few times just to meet and hang out with local photography community. Well, they kind of let’s say spoiled with the photography in Bali, but they can always suggest some new places some different places outside. So when you talk to them, you they show some locations, places that can suggest you some local drivers. And this is also how our workshops working so we’re not just kind of aliens in in totally different world. Yeah, but I’m trying to hire, always hire local photographers, local drivers, local guides, so giving also back to photography, local photography community and involving them in the work with international clients as well. So I think it’s kind of good ideas better idea than that. just inviting photographers from Europe, USA to guide in Bali. So let’s say my workshops in June, in Indonesia, there will be also just with local guides, local licenced divers, so everything is kind of official and just giving people well needed job after the pandemic

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  35:19  
salutely I think that’s really awesome that you did that, or doing that. Because, you know, a lot of times, the local community doesn’t really get a lot of from that, you know, from the tours and stuff. So I think it’s really cool that you give that job opportunities to this local people, especially in places like Bali, where you know, it’s been hit really hard. So, you did a lot of workshop in I mean, you know, what, one of your main stream of income is workshop? I assume, I assume, is that correct?

Daniel Kordan  35:59  
Well, it depends, because you need to be like a Swiss knife, man. And your income just comes from different things like workshops, and online education, then also work with brands as brand ambassador, or some contracts with also to these boards of different countries. So you always need to be responsive, open for just new opportunities, and just work in totally different way, like MFTs, also worked out pretty well, in the beginning of the year, last year, it’s a little bit slowing down, but I hope it will come back to life. Soon. So NFT might be also the future of photography and art in general. So I’m trying to be active in the community. It’s hard to sustain, of course, all the fields, like education workshops, and NF T’s, but still trying to be everywhere, just just a little bit. And that’s cool.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  36:59  
You know, I was gonna ask how, how the pandemic connect impacted your, your photography, but I think you’ve answered that really well by you know, having different ways of income. And, you know, it’s I think that’s important for people to consider not to put their eggs in one basket. So that’s, that’s really cool to hear. And talking about NFT it’s something that’s very hit something that’s very coming up, right, something that just got popularised how what’s what’s your thought of NFT? And why did you start an NFT collection or got into NXT? In the first place?

Daniel Kordan  37:35  
Well, I think in the future is the future of everything we have. Because looking at what’s happening, people are ready to start selling and buying houses with NFC, smart contracts, houses, cars, and I think air companies and just booking companies will also soon implement NF T’s is the form of payment and the form of really, really amazing and simple smart contract. Yeah, and even now people buy for my tours and include that. So there is an option to just also transfer money transfer payments for the tour in encrypt as well. Just open for it. And yeah, regarding photography, it’s also quite amazing. I see that even people who just started photography last year or two years ago, if they’re active in the community, community, they’re quite successful in the earning quite good money. So the only thing you just need to be super open, active and well, you will succeed.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  38:36  
That’s a really good advice. All right. Well, you know, we’ve talked for quite some time now. And, you know, I know you’re a busy man and you have family as well. So I’m not going to keep you out much longer. But something that I always ask my you know, my guess in the podcast is if there is one advice whether it’s live advice or photography advice that you could give to other that you know, that you learn yourself through this journey, what would that be?

Daniel Kordan  39:09  
I think it will be the advice that I actually myself didn’t take in attention the first steps because it was almost not poseability about that. This advice will be to learn from online courses, or maybe workshops from other photographers because now most of photographers like Master photographers, they are releasing their courses, online courses, online education, and put a lot in there like let’s say myself, I’m released a few courses and really put there everything the person needs to know like from composing shots to editing the pictures. And if you studied these courses, if you let’s say try to repeat the style on some of the samples and some of your own images. Let’s say you can repeat for like 50 times 100 times Okay, then you download that you remember that, and then you switch to another course, another course another photographer, you can take something from him as well. And then this is how you can build your own style. And this is how you can learn in a really fast way. Because the process that I undertake, it took me about eight years to 10 years to build a career when I’m paid when I’m just staying with leaving with photography. But now I see that people who really invest in this online courses, which are not very expensive, like, just the one course can be, like, just part of the filter for your camera, right. But what matters most is not the equipment, it’s your knowledge. Yeah, it doesn’t matter which camera you use, as most people at the beginning, they ask about that. But what matters is your knowledge and your education. So to get faster than eight to nine years, like I did, which is dreamt of having just watched some of the courses of my fellow friends, my fellow photographers, as well. And this is how you can accelerate this process, maybe up to one year or two years. And I see really, like life examples of people who invested the time and little bit of money and the knowledge and they succeeded really fast. I guess that’s it.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  41:22  
That’s, that’s a really good advice. You know, even for myself, when I first started, I didn’t know where to start. And, you know, I don’t have I don’t have any other photographers to follow or to ask questions to but there was, you know, fortunately, already YouTube, which YouTube wasn’t out there, back then. So that already accelerated my journey. And I see that, you know, I like for example, for business and internet marketing, I just took the courses because it really shortcut your learning curve. So you’re absolutely right. And I think it is the best advice that you can give other is to learn from other photographers or whatever their expertise may be. Because, yeah, I mean, you know, what is $100 or $200, or $2,000? Right? That’s, that’s their camera, like literally, and, you know, you can save years and years, like you say, you know, you spend at least eight years to get to a level where you are happy with So, wow, eight years is a long, long time.

Daniel Kordan  42:27  
I mean, people, they also they started, let’s say, watching YouTube, and they get lost, because there’s so much information out there, it doesn’t have any system in there. And it works totally opposite. For the people, if they say, Okay, I have time this pandemic, many people did this and they start wishing non stop, information just comes in one year comes out from another year, because it doesn’t have any system in there. So the difference of the courses that usually photographers make that there is a system and the make where the love the passion, and just step by step. So this is the main difference. Yeah,

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  43:06  
it really well. Because I think, you know, now like you could find anything anywhere, right? But it’s just how to find it. So you’re right, people, a lot of people get overwhelmed and quit altogether. So that’s really good advice. But Daniel, it’s been, you know, a really good conversation, love hearing your journey. I love hearing your perspective and the way you see the world through your lens. So for people who want to learn more about you or want to get in touch with you, or even join your workshop, or buy your online course, where can they find you? What’s the best way to get in touch with you?

Daniel Kordan  43:45  
Well, there are two links. The link to my website is Daniel gordon.com. I have some tools to set guide myself then Iceland photo tools. Its main company for my photography business, Iceland for the tourists.com. And for online courses. Its cordon landscapes.com. This is main website for the courses, there are presets, there are online workshops or editing courses. So there’s already quite a lot to see out there.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  44:12  
Fantastic. Well, they know thanks a lot for your time. You know, it’s been a good conversation. And it’s been very inspiring to hear your journey. So thanks a lot to be you know, for coming and be part of this podcast and inspiring other peoples who may be in their journey or just get started in photography.

Daniel Kordan  44:32  
That’s my pleasure. So always happy to talk about my passion. Yeah, that’s fantastic.

Stanley Aryanto – The Wicked Hunt  44:36  
All right, we kill hunters. Well, thank you very much for tuning in. If you haven’t subscribed, so feel, make sure you hit the subscribe button. But also don’t forget to check out Daniel’s profile as well as his work. I know most of you would already know him. But if for whatever reason you’ve been in a cave and haven’t heard of Daniel Cornyn, then go check out his work you will be blown away I promise you but thanks a lot for listening and make sure again hit the subscribe button and I’ll see you guys on the next podcast

 

The Wicked Hunt by Stanley Aryanto Copyright 2020 All rights reserved.