His name is Matt Granger, and he divides his time between Australia (where he was born and raised, in New South Wales) and Hong Kong, where his wife is from. He is a professional photographer and, like all his colleagues, has some very good work and some less good, depending on who is judging. To paraphrase Nikos Nikolaidis, we have all now seen so many images that, besides our day jobs, we are also photography critics. What makes him worth mentioning is that he is one of the best-known faces in online photography education. Even more interesting, he came to this “role” entirely by chance.
About a year ago, Granger created a YouTube channel to share some videos about his photographic equipment. What he could not have predicted was the channel’s enormous success. “Thatnikonguy” has become one of the most popular meeting places for photography enthusiasts, with 54,000 subscribers and more than 500 videos that have been viewed over 15 million times. It has also spawned a web of online presences, starting with the website of the same name and including related channels on all the major social media platforms.
Over the months since, Thatnikonguy’s videos have become far more educational, in the form of tutorials, moving away from equipment presentations and self-reference. Matt Granger’s friendly, relaxed style, his interaction with the visitors who watch his videos, and his willingness to answer all their questions as well and as honestly as he can have helped to create something more than a channel that resembles television: Thatnikonguy is a photography community, one of the most active on the web.
Text: Grigoris Miliaresis
Source: theartfoundation.metamatic.gr
