Inspiration

Unity over adversity. It’s a running theme in the story of Tombohuaun, translation “Tombo’s Wound,” a remote village tucked into the jungle of Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province. The community’s founding legend states that a villager named Tombo cut his foot on a catfish in the river, and the then chief ordered the fish to be caught and killed. Back then, as now, the community came together to put things right: they caught the fish, ate it, and went on to name the town after this …

The multiple exposure is one of the easiest, fastest and most flexible ways to create striking images. It is usually my go-to technique when I am struggling with creativity and I need a good shot fast or when the venue is less than ideal for creating amazing images.

As creatives, we all go through a very similar journey when it comes to improving our skill. Though details of the turbulent ride vary for everyone, it always boils down to two things; the how, and the why.

OK Go, a band known for its groundbreaking music videos, has just released a video for their new track "Obsession". It features 567 printers and a whole lot of paper in what they claim to be the world's first example of "paper mapping."

Photographer and filmmaker Roman De Giuli has created a new short film titled Matereality. The visual effects in the 3.5-minute video were created using iron powder, highly reflective pigments, and magnets.

Photographer Ryan Pfluger says he uses photography "as a means for therapy and connection." In this 12-minute talk he recently gave at TEDxPasadena, Pfluger shares an inspirational insight into how photography has played a major part in bettering his life.

What if your house burned down? Have you still “made it” as a photographer?

Looking to build up your brand as a photographer? Here's an inspiring 15-minute discussion with well-known photographers Chase Jarvis and Ben Von Wong that's filled with advice on how you can do so.

German photographer Max Leitner has published a project titled "Misleading Lines." It's a series of architectural photos shot in Warsaw, Poland. They're not standard architectural images, though: Leitner photographed an urban gymnast from unusual angles perspectives to create mind-bending optical illusions.

After moving into a new home, photographer Juhamatti Vahdersalo noticed the cardboard boxes he used sitting in his garage. So, he decided to get creative and use the used cardboard for a photo series.

Salt Lake City-based photographer Dewey Keithly recently came up with an unusual way to edit the look of portraits: he creatively burned them by igniting gunpowder across the surface of the giant prints.

Back in 2014, time-lapse photographer Julian Tryba released a "layer-lapse" of Boston that showed different times of day in different parts of each frame. That video went viral and received over a million views. Now Tryba is back with another layer-lapse, this time of New York City in the 3-minute short film above.

Benjamin Von Wong, a viral photographer turned environmentalist, has released a new project to raise awareness about "toxic laundry" that is full of plastic. An estimated 94% of American tap water contains invisible plastic fibers, and Von Wong felt compelled to do something about it.

Tracking and panning a camera in time with a tank shell seems impossible given that the shell travels at over 1,500 meters per second. Yet, somehow, there are videos showing just that floating around the Internet. Here's a 7-minute video from Curious Droid that lifts the veil of mystery on ultra high-speed cameras and explains how they work.

Let's be honest: how can one be stuck in NYC? NYC was supposed to be a four- or five-day stop for my project Around the world in 80 followers, but it worked out quite differently.

German-French graphic designer Matthieu Bühler has been shooting gorgeous nighttime photos of Tokyo, Japan, focusing his attention on the illumination created by all the different neon lights found across the city. His series is titled "Neon Dreams."

Erik Johansson is a Swedish photographer who creates surreal scenes with his camera and Photoshop. His latest work is titled All Above the Sky. It shows a man climbing a ladder and poking his head above the sky, only to find himself looking up out of the waters nearby. Above is a 1-minute behind-the-scenes video that shows how it was created.

Being at the right place at the right time sometimes results in the unexpected. That’s exactly what happened to me on November 7th, 2017, when my wife and I were waiting to photograph the sunset at Lookout Mountains’ Sunset Rock while returning home from a West Virginia photo adventure.

I recently shot a series of double exposure photos of the band I Don’t Know How But They Found Me at The Knitting Factory, and they've received a great response. So, I thought it would be worth explaining how I took them!

NPR's Fresh Air just aired this fantastic 30-minute interview (here's a transcript) with Pete Souza, the Chief Official White House Photographer for U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. In it, Souza reflects on 8 years of capturing Obama's presidency, creating an archive of over 1.9 million photos during that time.

Almost a year ago I purchased a set of color gels on Amazon but never got around to actually trying them out. Recently, after watching Blade Runner 2049 and being smitten by the gorgeous cinematography by the legendary Roger Deakins, I just had to play with them. Not only that, the original Blade Runner, shot by Jordan Cronenweth, is one of my biggest influences ever so this shoot was bound to happen.

Do photos always need to be technically perfect? In this 10-minute video, landscape photographer Thomas Heaton discusses whether photographers worry too much about the technicalities of a photo, forgetting about what's actually in the image.

Photographers Against Wildlife Crime™ is a new book being launched on Kickstarter that is taking aim at the world of wildlife crime. With 20 of the most high-profile nature and conservation photographers involved, the book is coming at a crucial time for our natural world.

Photographer Jessica Kobeissi is back with another shootout challenge, this time putting herself and photographer Rachel Gulotta to the test by shooting in ugly locations in Stockholm, Sweden.

Canon and Nikon, watch out: Sony is on the rise. Just months after Sony claimed the #2 spot for full-frame interchangeable lens camera sales in the United States, Sony has also passed Nikon at the largest online camera gear rental business in the US.

As photographers, it is very easy to focus on stills and ignore the world of videography. However, video is an increasingly powerful tool and understanding it can benefit your work and career as a stills photographer. This 5-minute video by COOPH offers 8 reasons why you should be getting to grips with moving images and how you can quickly improve a short film.

As a landscape photographer, the Atacama desert in Chile has always been a dream trip for me. As the driest desert on Earth, it offers one of the best night skies to shoot astrophotography. Its amazing landscape mirrors those from Mars which makes it one of the most incredible experiences for any photographer and space enthusiast.

Here's a 3-minute video by Wex Photo Video about portrait photographer Ian Treherne, a man who succeeds despite deafness and blindness.

Giles Duley, one of the world's leading documentary and humanitarian photographers, is working on a new project titled Legacy of War. Learn what he thinks it means to tell a story in this inspiring 7-minute interview as part of Ilford Photo's new "Ilford Inspires" video series.