Where did Mattias Burling go? Youtube channel is gone.

[John Matthews]

Anyone know where he went? It would seem his "Gear Doesn't Matter" doesn't exist anymore.

[newfoundmass]

That's really unfortunate. His Vimeo is still up, and his Instagram too, though they haven't been updated recently. His content output decreased a lot once Gunpowder passed, but he had already been less active as I think he became more and more disillusioned with the entire YouTube/Filmmaking/Photography scene.

I hope he is well and creating the art that he loves.

[FHDcrew]

Miss him. He also randomly deleted or privated a bunch of his older videos; I noticed this happen maybe 2-3 yrs ago. Tons of old Blackmagic videos, his awesome Canon XC10/XC15 review, etc etc. 

[tupp]

I miss Gunpowder!

 

Burling's YouTube channel went down a few days ago, and the only thing that remains is the title, "ICE was here."  It's a shame, because he created some exceptionally informative videos.

 

Some of the transcripts from his videos are archived here.

[Andrew - EOSHD]

Really sad if he has indeed given up on YouTube.

He's still on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mattiasburling

Maybe we should ask him if he's alright?

[John Matthews]

I've seen this before, but usually it's with channels (especially old ones) that have been hit with copyright strikes and such. Mattias's channel take down seems to be voluntary and perhaps political.

5 hours ago, tupp said:

I miss Gunpowder!

 

Burling's YouTube channel went down a few days ago, and the only thing that remains is the title, "ICE was here."  It's a shame, because he created some exceptionally informative videos.

 

Some of the transcripts from his videos are archived here.

I simply don't have the hard disk space to save all the videos I really enjoy, but it makes me really sad to say goodbye. It feels like it's the digital equivalent of burning books and erasing history. Personally, I don't think I could do that. Then again, we don't know the exact circumstances. @Mattias Burling, care to respond?

[Clark Nikolai]

I had been searching awhile back for one of his videos I remember watching a few years ago and couldn't find it. He might just be pulling out of being online. I know several friends who have done that, (usually to stay sane.) Maybe he's not into photography anymore in his life.

I don't think any of his videos were at all political, they were always about photography and his personal philosophy about it. 

The thing I got the most from his videos (aside from some pretty thorough reviews of equipment) was him saying that it's okay to go back to a place and take the same picture again and again, improving it each time. This was good advice for me. I guess I had some idea that every picture should be original. (Don't know where I got that idea and wasn't even conscious I held that belief before he helped me change it.)

[Andrew - EOSHD]

11 hours ago, John Matthews said:

I've seen this before, but usually it's with channels (especially old ones) that have been hit with copyright strikes and such. Mattias's channel take down seems to be voluntary and perhaps political.

I struggle myself with using US services at the moment given that our data could soon (and might be already) in the hands of a neo-nazi government.

In terms of the ethics of it, I'm also disappointed with the behaviour of the American CEOs and how they have brown nosed the nazi President like a bunch of pathetic losers.

It leaves a very sour taste in the mouth and not just for them.

It does make me uneasy paying for YouTube Premium, Google Gemini, Apple iCloud, Adobe Premiere and Netflix, actually it makes me more than uneasy, it makes me sick.

But unfortunately our leaders in Europe barely know how to use MS Paint, and have over the years completely dropped the ball on tech. So there are no decent alternatives, not really.

That said, the UK & EU gets a bad rap for what it's created. The best of European technology is the most complex in the world from ASML and Zeiss. Without their EUV lithography machines, TSMC, Nvidia and Apple would not have their fancy chips.

They'd be reliant on Intel fabs and old processes.

Any more funny business from the US admin and the Dutch should fucking remind them of that.

Also the British invented the WWW, RISC architecture for CPUs and smartphones, not to mention ARM. We've not done so badly, we've just failed to commercialise stuff properly and let the American venture capitalists snatch it away from us.

11 hours ago, John Matthews said:

I simply don't have the hard disk space to save all the videos I really enjoy, but it makes me really sad to say goodbye. It feels like it's the digital equivalent of burning books and erasing history. Personally, I don't think I could do that. Then again, we don't know the exact circumstances. @Mattias Burling, care to respond?

If it is political and that's why he's taken the channel down, he's missed a big opportunity to publish a video saying so, and directing us to his new channel on a different and more ethical Tube.

It's a real shame just to pull the plug entirely without even so much as a goodbye.

But then, maybe he has good reasons to... I don't know. I just rather hope he's ok.

[newfoundmass]

I hope someone is able to reach out and check on him, and let him know that he's missed. He was a rare gem on these forums and YouTube; he was just someone that enjoyed sharing his passion for video and photography. He wasn't trying to sell anything, or get free stuff, he just loved sharing. There was a purity to that, and it's severely lacking these days. 

[newfoundmass]

6 minutes ago, Andrew - EOSHD said:

I struggle myself with using US services at the moment given that our data could soon (and might be already) in the hands of a neo-nazi government.

In terms of the ethics of it, I'm also disappointed with the behaviour of the American CEOs and how they have brown nosed the nazi President like a bunch of pathetic losers.

It leaves a very sour taste in the mouth and not just for them.

It does make me uneasy paying for YouTube Premium, Google Gemini, Apple iCloud, Adobe Premiere and Netflix, actually it makes me more than uneasy, it makes me sick.

But unfortunately our leaders in Europe barely know how to use MS Paint, and have over the years completely dropped the ball on tech. So there are no decent alternatives, not really.

That said, the UK & EU gets a bad rap for what it's created. The best of European technology is the most complex in the world from ASML and Zeiss. Without their EUV lithography machines, TSMC, Nvidia and Apple would not have their fancy chips.

They'd be reliant on Intel fabs and old processes.

Any more funny business from the US admin and the Dutch should fucking remind them of that.

Also the British invented the WWW, RISC architecture for CPUs and smartphones, not to mention ARM. We've not done so badly, we've just failed to commercialise stuff properly and let the American venture capitalists snatch it away from us.

If it is political and that's why he's taken the channel down, he's missed a big opportunity to publish a video saying so, and directing us to his new channel on a different and more ethical Tube.

It's a real shame just to pull the plug entirely without even so much as a goodbye.

But then, maybe he has good reasons to... I don't know. I just rather hope he's ok.

Yes, it's very difficult right now not to feel dirty. I've always been pretty far left politically, and as such pretty critical of the style of greedy capitalism that has won out, but today there is virtually no ethical way to do much of anything because EVERYTHING is wrapped up in some pretty deplorable shit. The way the tech companies especially kneeled to this administration, it just feels dirty to even use their services but it's virtually impossible not to. 

Everything uses at least something from Google or Amazon to operate and run. Look at how many sites and services become unusable when Amazon Web Services goes down, for example. The internet itself grinds almost to a complete halt.

It's such a bleak time. 

[John Matthews]

I really feel for Europe and how it’s been bullied by the US for decades—through trade agreements, military operations, and more. I’ve been telling people here in France for years to stop following the US blindly. Europe gets screwed every time. I’m a leftist in France, but I vote in the US; believe me, I do it consistently. Right now, that’s the best way to make a difference. And remember—the US is full of well-intentioned, humane, and kind people. The only way things change is through voting, in my opinion.

As for Mattias, maybe he just wants to disconnect. I get it. I’m into politics, but sometimes the sheer mess of it all is too much. To recharge my political energy while keeping my sanity, I go back to season 1, episode 1 of The West Wing and start over. I focus on my family and, importantly, on voting in the real world—with my attention on policy, not culture wars. These days, my priority is taxing the obscenely wealthy, and I figure the rest will follow.

[Andrew - EOSHD]

17 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

Everything uses at least something from Google or Amazon to operate and run. Look at how many sites and services become unusable when Amazon Web Services goes down, for example. The internet itself grinds almost to a complete halt.

It's such a bleak time. 

If anything good comes out of this, less dependance and less monopolies would be a great thing.

[UK switching to Chinese tech in 3,2,1...]

[sanveer]

20 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

Everything uses at least something from Google or Amazon to operate and run. Look at how many sites and services become unusable when Amazon Web Services goes down, for example. The internet itself grinds almost to a complete halt.

It's such a bleak time. 

And Microsoft. Remember the cloudflare aviation outage? Gates is way more influential than most heads of state. 

[newfoundmass]

7 hours ago, Andrew - EOSHD said:

If anything good comes out of this, less dependance and less monopolies would be a great thing.

[UK switching to Chinese tech in 3,2,1...]

It's never going to happen, but the ideal scenario would be every developed country investing in the tech space to create more competition overall. As countries pull away from the United States (and rightfully so) they might look towards China, but that's just replacing one bad actor with another. It's just hard to think of playing catch up.

[MrSMW]

It would not surprise me in the least if Mattias packed it all in due to:

A. Having a YouTube channel can be very taxing, especially if trying to do it as a business rather than just for fun as it’s a beast that never stops increasing it’s appetite, plus,

B. It can get so toxic in the comments and most take it too personally and it only takes one or two toxic trolls and it can stress them out so much, it ruins it for them.

Based on a couple of pals and their own YouTube experience…

[John Matthews]

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

It would not surprise me in the least if Mattias packed it all in due to:

A. Having a YouTube channel can be very taxing, especially if trying to do it as a business rather than just for fun as it’s a beast that never stops increasing it’s appetite, plus,

B. It can get so toxic in the comments and most take it too personally and it only takes one or two toxic trolls and it can stress them out so much, it ruins it for them.

Based on a couple of pals and their own YouTube experience…

Yes, very likely too.

[Clark Nikolai]

8 hours ago, MrSMW said:

It can get so toxic in the comments and most take it too personally and it only takes one or two toxic trolls and it can stress them out so much, it ruins it for them.

This is why I've never put my work on YouTube (and some people were suggesting that I do). I've had enough rejection in my life, I don't need to set myself as a target for more. Who needs to show the world their baby they put a lot of care in to making just to have some dweeb say that it sucks or something.

[Andrew - EOSHD]

I've always found YouTube comments pretty positive. They certainly were on Burling's channel. Everyone was enjoying a wholesome source and then poooof... gone. A real shame and not the right way to bail on your community.

To be honest, I am annoyed at the guy.

[Geoff_L]

I had "Harv audio and video stuff" in my subs and it also suddenly disappeared during the last days. I noticed because I refreshed my Newpipe subs (I use this on my phone) and I received a "can't reach feed" message. It was the same with Mattia's channel.

[Mattias Burling]

Hello, I hope everyone is well!

Even though I’m not really active on camera forums anymore, I frequently read the EOSHD blog and every now and then the forum, so I saw the thread and thought I would respond.

Because it wasn’t ”poof gone”, it was announced on the channel over a year ago and mentioned in the last three videos.

Before going into why, super flattered that this thread exist. I mean that.

So here are some thoughts on the matter and why I took it down.

Hobby vs Work

YouTube was never my job, just a hobby. So was video making and photography, in the beginning.

When starting the channel I was working as a producer after a couple of years as a radio/TV reporter. So I started the channel to keep my practical skills fresh. And to keep up with the development, which was huge at the time. The DSLR revolution, Blackmagic, cheaper editors etc.

Fast forward a couple of years and I started making more videos at work again. At the same time I pretty much lost all interest in doing it as a hobby. And actually canceled the channel.

Winston Churchill was definitely right in saying that work and hobbies should not be too similar. 

But what I had discovered was a passion for still photography, which I had pretty much no experience with. So I started making videos again.

That’s why my videos became very repetitive and short. I didn’t care about that part, I just wanted to display my stills work and get feedback, talk to the community, experiment with cameras and develop.

After a few years I became a good enough photographer that my new employer noticed and just like that I was shooting stills professionally all the time. And I still do (I work in marketing and PR). It’s a huge bonus in my field and if you are good at it you will never be out of work.

So photography also became less and less of a hobby.

Instead I found other hobbies. They where things that for example got me out into nature, so photography tagged a long a while, as a secondary activity. But eventually it faded. It was also nice to do things and not share it with people. I know I probably could have a very successful channel by making videos about my current hobbies, and even make some money. But I never really wanted a channel for the sake of a channel. And always had a full time job.

The fact is that at no point would I had been able to live of my channel, not even at the peak. Even with sponsors it was never more that a regular salary (in my field and country). But as long as it was a hobby and I was glad to do it, it was a welcome addition to finance camera gear.

 

Time

At the same time as my channel started to feel less fun and other hobbies started taking my time, I started a family. So.. you get the idea: full time job + family + 2-3 hobbies = no YouTube.

Upkeep 

So why take it down, why not leave it for the community? I did..  at first.

Like some of you pointed out, the YouTube crowd in the photography/video space is generally nice and positive. That is my experience as well.

Early on I learned that a good way of keeping the trolls away was to be present. Respond and engage. Trolls are usually idiots or cowards, so they don’t like getting push back.

But once I stopped making videos, views and comments obviously went down. But the trolls started coming back. Not so much after me, and I don’t care about that. But agains the community. The people commenting started being nasty towards each other.

I felt a responsibility to moderate, which was annoying. That’s when the thought about simply removing it started to grow.

It wasn’t an impuls. It was an internal debate that went on for months. And the issue grew much much larger than a couple of trolls. 

I started thinking about five years ahead, 10 years, 30 years..

This post is already way too long so I won’t go into all of it. But I think you get the idea when I say:

Privacy or when the content no longer reflects the creator. Digital minimalism, control over one’s narrative, inactive or outdated content. Risk of misuse of content  due to me not checking the terms updates. Closure.

 

So there is a looong ramble :)

 

To keep in spirit of the forum I can charge my current gear for pro work :)

For the longest time I used the EOS-R for 75% of all my work and the R5 (rental)  for the rest. It wasn’t mine but my employer told me to buy whatever I wanted. Paired it with a 28, 35 and 70-200. 70/30 stills/video.

 

The R5 is peak camera imo.

 

Today is a little different. I started working for a new company about a year ago and again was told to buy what I needed. I would have bought the R5 without hesitation if it wasn’t for the Sigma 35-150/2-2.8.. I just had to have it. So I ordered the Nikon Z6iii. It’s not as good overall as the R5 for me and what I like in a tool camera. But it’s 90% there. And coupled with that lens it’s becomes on par.

 

//MB