Inspiration

In this short Q&A exchange, filmmaker Kevin Smith delivers an important message to all creative people—be they photographers, filmmakers, writers, or anything else. The message is this: create work for yourself, not everyone else. (Warning: Video contains some NSFW language).

After seeing the trailer for Inception years ago, photographer Patrick Gilbert of North Bay, Ontario, recently decided to recreate the surreal "folding landscapes" in a series of drone selfies. The project is titled #BendNorthBay.

In today’s digital age, a budding photographer would find it hard to believe that physical mailers would be an important aspect of their marketing strategy. The reality is not only are they important but they are also essential.

Photographer Justin Olsen of Salt Lake City, Utah, recently visited a mountain biking trail at night with Cody Kelley, the world's 39th ranked rider. While Kelley did runs and jumps, Olsen shot video entirely by moonlight using the Sony a7S II. The 1-minute Red Bull video above is what resulted.

Funny photos are nice, but nothing beats funny photos for a great cause. Australian radiologist Mark Udovitch is helping to raise awareness and funds for cancer patients, and he's doing it by recreating popular celebrity photos in hilarious fashion using his soon-to-be-donated hair.

I've been a street photographer for a while now, and I would like to share what I believe are 3 popular misconceptions about street photography -- things I've seen pop up over and over.

Capturing beautiful macro photos on the cheap isn't tough if you're willing to experiment a little bit. Amateur photographer Benjamin Weir was able to do it with just a smartphone and a lens element he tore out of a dead point-and-shoot camera.

Ditching extraneous gear pays dividends when you’re traveling -- and not only the ones you might expect.

Over the weekend, aerial photographer Mike Risser of Escape-Backpackers.com visited 13 castles around the Czech Republic. At the 13th century Bezděz Castle, Risser decided to shoot the short drone selfie above that captures the beauty of the location.

My name is Dana Neibert, and I'm an advertising photographer based in Coronado, California. I recently shot a series of portraits of Flo from Progressive Insurance. Here's a look at the project.

Here's a 3.5-minute film by SmugMug Films about the life and photography of Dave Powell, the street photographer behind the photo blog ShootTokyo.

I was delighted this week to see that one of my photographs from a recent wedding was selected as an ‘award winner’ in the ‘All About the Light’ category ISPWP’s quarterly competition. Even more so that the founder, Joe Milton, had selected it as his ‘photo of the day’ yesterday! Here is how I made this image.

Australian adventure photographer and Canon master Krystle Wright is constantly dreaming up new extreme ideas for photos and figuring out how to turn those dreams into actual images.

For a Harry Potter-themed newborn shoot she did recently, photographer Kelsey Clouse made portraits of the tiny baby as a screaming mandrake.

I’ve avoided writing about Pokémon GO for a whole four days, trying my best to keep from inundating the Internet with yet another think-piece. However, something interesting has happened the last two times I have played the game with friends: I have taken some exceptional photos.

I covered Tim Duncan during countless games, including their three NBA Finals titles in 1999, 2003, and 2005. I probably took thousands of photos of him, but on the occasion of his quiet retirement, I picked a few out just for this article.

"Wake Up" is an inspiring 2-minute short film by landscape photographer Thomas Heaton about how his craft is so much more than just going into the great outdoors and taking pictures.

"Vorticity" is a new time-lapse short film by Mike Olbinski, a storm-chasing wedding photographer based in Phoenix, Arizona. Olbinski spent 18 days driving 20,000 miles across 9 states and shooting 60,000 frames to create what you see in the 6-minute video above.

Karen X. Cheng created this 1.5-minute "tiny planet" video that shows what the city San Francisco looks like through this unusual perspective.

Here's a 3-minute video that shows what's possible with a camera drone at an outdoor wedding in a picturesque venue. It captures a bride's grand entrance at a recent wedding in California.

My name is Carlos Chavez, and a couple of years ago I completed a "100 Strangers Project." I never expected this project to become as important to me as it is.

Here's a 47-minute documentary about the work of renowned fashion photographer Mario Testino. Titled "Mario Testino: Diana's Favourite Photographer," the BBC Omnibus episode aired back in January 2002 to coincide with Testino's exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The Milky Way is the name of the spiral galaxy in which our solar system is located. It is our home in space. The Earth orbits the Sun in the Solar System, and the Solar System is embedded within this vast galaxy of stars.

GoPro just released this 4-minute video tutorial titled "Creating Fire Rain: A Steel Wool Experiment." It's a look at how you can create raindrops of light by burning and spinning steel wool, a technique that has gotten a lot of attention (both good and bad) over the past few years.

I kept this post as a draft for months, unsure if I should publish it since it discusses things and events that aren't very easy to share. I hope it can inspire and help at least one person from my personal life experience.

In Thailand, there's a wedding photography business that's attracting quite a bit of attention. It's called คนตัวเล็ก, which literally translates to "Small Person." The photographer's specialty is making couples look like miniature figures living in a giant world.

In the span of just a few short years, Seattle-based photographer Nate Gowdy went from shooting weddings, headshots, and commercial images to shooting striking photos of politicians campaigning to become the leader of the United States. His work has since been widely published, including an appearance on the cover of TIME. We spoke to Gowdy about his life and journey in photography.

This photo of July 4th celebrations in Los Angeles shows 10 minutes worth of fireworks compressed into a single photo.

If you're just starting out in photography and your goal is to eventually make a living from your photos, one of the big obstacles you'll need to overcome is being bogged down by insecurities. Business and marketing guru Vernon of Shoot and Prosper has created an infographic to guide and encourage those struggling with this issue. It's called "The Ultimate Guide to Building Confidence as a Photographer."

"Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships." That quote by the great Ansel Adams might contain a hint of joke, but it's no joke that Adams sometimes spent entire days locked up in his darkroom creating his prints. And now we get to see the space for ourselves.

The Dronestagram social network, in collaboration with National Geographic, have announced the winners of their 3rd annual International Drone Photography Contest... and there are some real stunners among the top shots.

If you don't believe in "true callings" or hate stuff about "finding your purpose," this video is probably not for you. But if you believe there is such a thing, and you're wondering if photography is that "thing" for you, photographer and entrepreneur Chase Jarvis can help you figure it out.

My name is Adam van Alderwerelt, and I'm an amateur photographer living in Maui, Hawaii. Out here, there's only one location on the whole island that gets a permit from the local government to use aerial fireworks. Otherwise, it's completely illegal.

While most photographers captured this year's July 4th fireworks from below, Los Angeles-based photographer Aaron Keigher decided to find a different vantage point. He ventured up Mount Wilson, which rises over 5,000 feet above LA and create this dazzling time-lapse showing fireworks exploding across the landscape.

French photographer Nède has been working on a project called Altered Reality in which he explores the line between mundane reality and madness. One of the images, shown above, is titled "The Unsuspecting Victim."

The passing of iconic NY Times photographer Bill Cunningham has been met with an outpouring of affection, remembrances, and more than a few tears. He was, in every sense of the word, an icon. And today we're thrilled to share with you a rare interview with the humble, soft-spoken, and deeply-missed photographer.

Toronto photojournalist Victor Biro has taken it upon himself to do an upleasant job that he believes must be done. He spends all night listening to a police scanner and covering tragic crime scenes and gut wrenching accidents... because nobody else will.