Click through for some great photography links and some words about the coming year

2010 is well and truly underway now, and we are once again strapped into that unstoppable rocket called Time, hurtling inexorably into the future. Time to shake off the holidays. Time to get back into the daily grind.

As photographers we don’t have a ‘grind’ to be exact, but it’s very easy to fall into a rut. You know how it is; sometimes it can seem like you’re going out and taking the same photos everyday, and everywhere you look you see the same things as you did before. We all know the feeling, and regardless of all the new things a new year brings, it won’t bring you any new creativity.  What do you do?  Sure, you can go to the works of the greats for inspiration: Bresson, Capa, Brassai, Avedon, Adams.  These names are amongst the most influential in the history of photography – the great people who defined our genre with their own vision and genius. These are photographers whose impact was so profound that their style has filtered down into almost every shot we take.  Modern photography was built on the work of these men.  And every now and then it is a good idea to go back to their work and remind yourselves of the heights these men reached with the equipment of their time.

Times have changed though.  Things have moved on, and so has photography.  Modern photography was built on the work of Adams, Avedon, Bresson and so on, and we are here because we stand on the shoulders of these giants.  But who will the future of photography be built by?

We move swiftly into an age where media is an inexhaustible stream of bytes washing endlessly over us, and to some extent we have become inured to this. Cameras have never been so accessible and photographs have never been so easy to take, discard and take again. It’s easy for almost anyone to gain a degree of proficiency with photography, judging by the high standard of work out there. It’s a scary time for a lot of pros, as the general level of photography by hobbyists and enthusiasts gets higher and higher.  Some are against it. A smaller proportion are for it.  Of this latter group of photographers, a smaller percentage of them are out there encouraging the growth of photography as an art not just for pros but for everyone to enjoy. These photographers share what they know to the wider population for free – they have embraced the fact that photography is here to stay and instead of rebelling against the idea, and have opened up their brains to the public.  This, in addition to their incredible quality of work is enough to convince me that these photographers are the ones who will build the future of photography.  In the open forum of the internet, ideas fly thick and fast and these guys are at the forefront of it all, determined to bring the whole world with them as they forge new paths in photography.

So the next time you’re in a photographic rut, don’t automatically run back to the work of the greats for inspiration. As fantastic as their work is, it’s been imitated, copied, done any number of times. In this year of 2010 try to expand your photographic horizons by following some of the people I’ve listed down here. You might learn something, you might end shooting something you never would have shot before, but you’ll definitely be inspired.

1. Strobist.com

This site almost doesn’t need to be mentioned, as it’s gotten enough plugs from this site already. Run by David Hobby under the slogan Less Gear + More Brain = Better Light, the Strobist website is the goto website if you want a comprehensive primer on using off-camera small-flash.  With its emphasis on getting the maximum return from your minimal gear, Hobby has an exhaustive selection of posts on lighting in almost any situation. New users of the site check out Lighting 101 and 102 on the right side, and the on-Assignment bar is excellent too.  Strobist is an amazing site that is on the blogroll of almost every prominent professional out there – check it out if you’re even the remotest bit interested in learning how flash works.

2. Joe McNally’s Blog

You knew it was coming.  When the minimal-gear approach to strobing is not enough for you, check out Joe ’54 speedlight’ McNally’s blog for some pant-wetting speedlighting action. Joe McNally is a 30 year veteran of Sports Illustrated, Nat Geo, Time, LIFE…pretty much every major publication you can think of has him in it at some point. Joe’s blog is an amazing repository of behind-the-scenes looks at his workshops and shoots, as well as insightful notes from his 3 decades as a top shooter in the rough-and-tumble world of magazine photography.  His two books – ‘The Hot Shoe Diaries’ and ‘The Moment It Clicks’ are also well worth a look. He’s also a bit of nutbar, but we love him for it.

3. Chase Jarvis’s Blog

Just when you thought all of the links were going to be about lighting….Chase certainly lights his photos brilliantly but that isn’t the focus of his blog.  Chase’s blog is one of the few that make extensive use of video throughout his posts – which is great but be prepared to spend time going back a long way as you get addicted to watching them.  Chase is known as a top commercial photographer and one of the most creative going around, and I enjoy visiting his blog because of the what he has to say about creativity and photographic inspiration.  It’s also worth checking out his portfolio for some eye-popping images.  He also has a new book out (I haven’t read it yet) called ‘The Best Camera Is The One You Have With You”, and deals with the iPhone camera.  There’s an iPhone app for it too – don’t know too much about it (don’t have an iphone), but worth having a look at it.

4. Vincent Laforet’s Blog

Nocturne from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

If you ever thought that you’ve taken your camera to its absolute limit and are satisfied with the images you are getting – one look at Vincent Faforet’s blog will destroy your pumped-up image of yourself.  Vincent’s brain must be one of the most fertile fields for photography ideas in the world – he consistently puts out work that just blows my mind. Needless to say he is a top sports and commercial shooter in NY.  Vincent is a photographer, however (5D mkII users take note) he is making some huge waves in the industry by producing eye-popping movies on his camera of choice (you guessed it), the 5D mkII. Vincent also writes some shrewd articles on the state of the photography industry – just like the one here: http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/2014

5. John Harrington

Not a website this time, but a book.  John Harrington’s book ‘Best Business Practices for Photographers’ is one of the best books going around for how to run a respectable business as a freelance photographer, period. In it, John pours out everything a photographer might need to know about refining the way they do business – from negotiating, billing, licensing, insurance, tax…you name it.  This book was my bible for a while, and now that there’s a second edition out, I think I’ll be grabbing that as soon as I can.  In it John Harrington shows that he has one of the best business minds in the photography industry, and has a lot of pride in his work.  So should we. If you’re planning on starting out as a professional, get this book and learn what it means to take photos for a living.

6 and 7

These are some guilty pleasures that I like to use to procrastinate with when I don’t feel like doing anything.  First up is the blog of John Keatley, who takes some of the best portraits I’ve ever seen.  His portrait of Annie Leibowitz is amazing and is a testament to his skill (can you imagine shooting a photographer as great as Annie Leibowitz?)

Lastly is a photographer who doesn’t blog but that doesn’t take away from his awesomeness – Dan Winters has been a source of inspiration for me for sometime.  His portfolio is chock full of ridiculously cool photos of some of the greatest icons of our time.  If you ever run out of ideas for how to shoot people, check out his site and be reminded that there are plenty of ideas still left; you just need to try harder.

I hope that gives you plenty of inspiration to take your photography higher this year.  Another way of finding inspiration is to shoot in groups, and a great way to do that is at a Japanorama workshop – check out the one we are having with capoeira dancers this Sunday at Komazawa Park.  Take your photography to another level in 2010. Hope to see you there!