Hi folks! I’m Brenda Petrella - ask me anything!

Hi Brenda,

Thank you for doing this AMA. My question is simple: what are your long term goals (meaning several years into the future) for your photography business?

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Thank you, Eric! That means a lot.

Hi Alain,

Simple, but not easy, right? ; :wink: Perhaps one way to answer this question is to share my “why”. The “how” is still something I’m trying to figure out…

My primary driving motivation is to help more people feel connected to nature - to love it, respect it, and to feel part of it. Not to see nature as a resource, but rather as an essential part of who we are and our existence. My time as a biosafety officer and a green labs coordinator made me realize that policies and regulations are not effective motivators when you really want to drive a change in culture. Nor is a “feel good” approach in the long run (like, I feel like I’m doing my part by recycling, etc.).

What we need (in my opinion) is a cultural shift in values - where we put a higher value on the biodiversity of our planet over our needs as a consumer. And I think in order to do that, people need to actually connect with nature on a deep level.

So whether it’s through my photographs or how I teach photography, my goal/hope/vision is to help people build and sustain that connection with nature. The combination of time in the natural world with a creative outlet could do a lot to improve mental and physical health as well.

That said, my guess is your question was more along the lines of what my long term business goals are, and I’m still trying to figure that out. I would love to be able to build the business to where I can financially support myself (right now, the business pays for itself, but not me). And I would love to be able to reach that goal without needing to do weddings or portraits to fill in the gaps! :sweat_smile:

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Lovely photos. I relate to your photography. Thank you.

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Thank you so much, Mary Lane! I really appreciate that. I’m so glad :blush:.

Thank you for your thoughtful answer Brenda.

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My pleasure, Alain!

Hi Brenda, 1st time hear your podcast while driving home from work. When I reached home, I immediately signed up to your newsletter, sub to your YT and of course downloaded your free ebook about the Hyperfocal distance.(Thanks)
My question is : in your own thoughts, what is photography’s role to those suffering from mental health issues ? Thank you.

Hi Dante,

First - thank you for signing up to all of those things and for tuning into the podcast! :blush: I hope it all helps you on your photography journey.

You ask a really good question. I have a history of clinical depression and anxiety, and outdoor photography has helped me manage that. It’s one of the primary reasons I left my career in science where I was working long days and every weekend and never seeing the light of day. I have always sought refuge in nature - even as a kid - and I knew I needed to find a way to open my life/schedule up enough to have time to hike and walk in the woods and just “be”.

I think nature photography offers (at least) two ways to help those who suffer from mental health issues: 1) time in nature, and 2) being in creative flow (and these may just be reflections on my own experience).

Studies have shown that time in nature (or even viewing photographs of nature) reduces stress hormones, blood pressure, can change one’s mood by providing a sense of awe and wonder, etc., to the point where some medical practices have started to partner with national parks to prescribe time in nature to patients. So going for a walk doesn’t only have physical benefits like getting into shape - it’s also healing in many ways. In fact, the Japanese put this into practice back in the 80’s with something called Shinrin-Yoku or forest bathing, and I wish more of us adopted this approach!

Photography provides yet another avenue to healing, and that is the creative process. When we are fully present and using our senses and creating a composition, we get a reprieve from mental pain or from the external circumstances that have led us to feel depressed or anxious or grief or what have you. Getting into the flow state of creating is a welcome break from the darker sides of our minds and emotions, and it can have positive neurophysiological effects that can help us with the healing process as well.

So I definitely encourage those who suffer from mental health issues - whether they are short or long term struggles - to embrace nature photography (even if just with a smartphone!) as a path towards healing.

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Hi Brenda! I very much respect your ability to handle not only professional photography education, but to grow a podcast and a YouTube channel. Although I have a lot I would like to share, as an introvert I don’t personally think I have it in me to do YouTube (but I do enjoy watching a lot of longer/deeper content there).

My question is: since you practice slow, contemplative photography of small scenes, do you find that maintaining high energy and frequent engagement for both your YouTube channel and your podcast is difficult to do (or rather, do you feel that what is required of you to do so runs counter to the way you engage with photography, or to the way that you naturally are)?

Apologies for the word salad, just trying to keep it to one question as the rules state :grin:

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Thank you so much Brenda for the inspirational reply, really appreciated it. I will listen to your podcast @ my car and/or @ home. Best regards.

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Hi Brenda,

Beautiful work. Well done.

Crongrats for sharing your professional website.

Keep doing!

Best,

Eurico

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Hi Alex,

Mmmmmm…salad… :smile:

Thanks so much for your question and kind words - I admire your photography so much, so they mean a lot to me.

I, too, am an introvert. I would say that I’m an introvert that likes people in moderation :sweat_smile:. I have a really hard time doing photography with others, as much as part of me would like to enjoy that more, I do my best work if I’m by myself. That feels like sacred time to me.

And so when I decided to give YouTube a try, I had to change my approach a bit. First, I didn’t think anyone would actually watch the videos (and many of them are quite cringe-worthy in retrospect…), but I also found a lot of comfort in the edit. I didn’t have to publish anything that was awful, and that made me feel a little better. Notice I never jumped on doing YT lives or anything like that, even though that would have likely grown the channel more quickly.

I did find myself starting to create videos and photographs that were aimed towards the channel rather than aimed toward my own growth as a photographer. I found it very difficult to be on a hike and creating a tutorial video where helpful educational content was only part of the process - there’s also the entertainment aspect (story, b-roll, etc.). I do/did all of the filming myself, so it would take me 3x as long to hike a trail because I was constantly putting the camera ahead of me, walking back to make it look like I was walking up the trail, going back for the camera, etc. It definitely takes away from the experience of being out there and looking for compositions that really resonate with me.

So, what I ended up doing was compartmentalizing my time in the field. The goal of one outing would be to create a video and the goal of another would be to do photography for myself. I found that to be a better approach. I haven’t posted a new video in about a year and a half, somewhat because I haven’t had much time to do my own photography, and if I have the opportunity to go out, I don’t want to compromise that in exchange for growing an audience. I’d rather grow slowly and stay true to why I do photography in first place.

On the other hand, the podcast has been a different experience. I’m not following any algorithm or trends - I’m just creating the content I want to create and connecting with other photographers and people who love the outdoors, and that has been a very rewarding experience.

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I’m glad it was helpful!

Thank you so much, Eurico! I really appreciate that!

I think your best image is the last one you posted above - ‘In Between’.

I don’t have a question for you.

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Thank you, Igor - I appreciate that. That photograph was a result of being lost in my thoughts while looking at the ground beneath my feet. I stumbled upon it, quite literally!

Hi Brenda - yours is the only photography podcast I listen to these days. I’ve been through a few, but yours lacks pretension and I love the Lightning Round. You ask good questions and I like your originality.

Could you comment on whether the folks who connect with your education and teaching programs fall on gendered lines?

Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA session.

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Hi Kristen,

I’m so glad the podcast style and content resonates with you! Thank you for listening :slight_smile: .

You ask an interesting question that doesn’t have a very clear answer, mostly because measuring and comparing audience demographics across platforms (social media, podcast, YouTube, website, etc.) can be tricky.

When I started my YouTube channel, I was one of only a handful of women who were teaching landscape/nature photography (or doing the more vlog style content). I hoped to be an example and inspire more women to get into nature photography without specifically focusing my content towards a female audience. I got positive feedback from both men and women that it was refreshing to see a woman creating these videos. So I’m grateful that I haven’t felt discounted based on my gender. Interestingly, my audience on YT is about 90-95% male, according to YT’s analytics. This percentage could mean a number of things: there are more men than women interested in outdoor photography; men go to YT for this kind of content more than women; my style of teaching resonates more with men, etc. It’s difficult to know.

That said, my podcast has attracted a more balanced listenership - about 55% male 45% female. The analytics for podcasts are likely not that accurate because podcasts are delivered to multiple directories (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.) and each one has their own method for measuring these things. So take the numbers with a grain of salt. But, one interpretation of the numbers is that podcast content resonates more with women than my YT content.

One thing that I personally enjoy about listening to podcasts and creating one is that it feels like a more intimate experience between the host/guest and listener. It feels (to me) more like we’re sitting in the same room or around the campfire and having a conversation, rather than it being more for entertainment value or a search engine helping to answer a specific question. And I think that experience appeals more to some people than others, regardless of gender.

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Thank you, all, for your thought-inspiring questions! I really enjoyed hanging out here with you, and I look forward to interacting more with you on NPN. :smile:

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