Inspiration

13 Beautiful Cinemagraphs of Water’s Movements

Having a stressful week? Here's a series of images that's perfect for you. It's a set of cinemagraphs (i.e. partially animated GIFs) created by Julien Douvier of Strasbourg, France. Each one features the simple concept of water's movement.

Renowned Photojournalist Steve McCurry Recounts His Experience Photographing 9/11

On September 11th, 2001, photojournalist Steve McCurry found himself in his hometown of New York City when chaos started unfolding around him. Of course, we all now know of this day for the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers, but at the time, it was a blur of events that even McCurry’s vast experience as a photojournalist hadn’t necessarily prepared him for.

This Beautiful Time-Lapse Tribute to California Took 4 Years and Countless Hours to Shoot

California time-lapse photographer Hal Bergman wanted to pay tribute to his homeland using his artistic abilities. And so he spent four years packing as many of California’s diverse environments into one, 4-minute video simply titled California.

The result is simply gorgeous, and captures everything from Long Beach to Ansel Adams's playground, Yosemite National Park.

Video: On Fear, Photography Books and Asking Yourself Why You Take Pictures

The folks over at F8 Photography recently got a chance to sit down with well-known, love-him-or-hate-him street photographer Eric Kim. And whatever your opinion of the successful street shooter, the advice he offers in this short video interview about fear, book recommendations, and figuring out the 'why' behind your photography is well-worth 4 minutes of your Saturday.

“Work Hard, and Be Brave”: An Inspirational Message from Casey Neistat

Casey Neistat doesn't believe he is the best looking, tallest, most talented, most capable, best funded filmmaker. In fact, he's pretty convinced he's not, and there's nothing he can do about those things. What he can do is be the hardest working person in the room, and the way he sees it, "the hardest working person will always win."

These little nuggets of wisdom and a whole lot more are all shared in the inspirational video above, which Neistat created a couple of months ago for National Geographic and their $50,000 dream expedition giveaway called Expedition Granted.

Photographer Creates a Fantasy World for Her One-Handed Daughter to Show Her Anything is Possible

Photographer and mother Holly Spring's photography has always been about her daughter. Born with only one hand and suffering from something known as Hirschprung's disease, little Violet almost died from surgical complications before Holly ever got a chance to take a single picture of her.

Shortly after that, her husband bought her a DSLR, and she has been taking pictures of Violet ever since.

Gorgeous ‘Trash the Dress’ Wedding Photos Captured on a Stunning Glacier in Alaska

It takes work to stand out among today's wedding photographers. After all, you've got shots like these from Iceland to compete with, so how do you create photos that will widen eyes and loosen jaws?

Well, if you're photographer Josh Martinez from Chugach Peaks Photography, you helicopter the couple onto a glacier in Alaska and let nature do the talking while you take some pictures and ruin a wedding dress.

B&H Photo Debuts One of the Most Comprehensive and Useful Canon Lens Guides You’ve Ever Seen

Earlier today, B&H officially launched a new online resource called the Canon Lens Experience. It’s a dedicated microsite that takes a comprehensive look at the various lenses Canon offers, presenting unique and interactive features that demonstrate the various capabilities.

Even more interesting is the series of interviews which features 15 well-respected photographers from different fields, each of whom talk about their experience as a photographer and how their respective Canon gear have helped them make the iconic shots they’ve captured.

7 Simple Tips, Tricks and Ideas for Taking More Creative Smartphone Photos

COOPH, The Cooperative of Photography, is back in the photo tip game again, this time showing us 7 smartphone photography tips you'll want to be writing down if you ever shoot with the computer in your pocket.

From unique panorama uses to a clever way to easily take partially underwater photos, these tips are quick, easy and will certainly add a little variety to your Instagram arsenal.

Fan Ho’s Fantastic Black-and-White Street Photographs of 1950s Hong Kong

Photographer Ho Fan has been shooting black and white street photography since the 1950s. At the time, he was living in the poor, rundown Central neighborhood of Hong Kong. The streets, filled with food and trinket vendors, captured the recent Shanghai transplant's attention. It was with this fascination that Fan took his camera to the streets, documenting the intriguing life around him.

Stunning Video of Paris Captured Through the Viewfinder of an Old Pentax 67

If this video doesn't make you want to go out and buy a Pentax 67, nothing will. Paris is beautiful enough as-is, but there's something about exploring it through the viewfinder of a classic medium format camera that will tug at your photographic heartstrings and have you nostalgic for the good ol' days.

Star Trails, Fog, Volcanoes and a Meteor: A Spectacular 270-Image Composite

270 photographs and a total exposure time of two hours and fifteen minutes went into creating this stunning composite photograph of an Indonesian landscape complete with an erupting volcano, a steaming caldera, a meteor, copious amounts of fog and beautiful light trails created by cars traveling below the fog.

NatGeo Photographers List the Strange and Horrifying Things that Have Happened to Them On Assignment

The Photo Society, a website run by a collection of National Geographic photographers, took the time a while back to put together a wonderful little tribute to photographer Wes Skiles, who passed away doing the work that he loved.

In tribute, the photographers compiled a 'Reality Check' list of all the crazy, strange and sometimes horrifying things that have happened to them on the job.

‘Humans of New York’ Sends Back Powerful Portraits and Heartbreaking Stories from the Middle East

It's getting to the point where you'd be hard pressed to find anybody who doesn't already know about Humans of New York, Brandon Stanton's project turned photobook turned international phenomenon. But that became even harder this week when Stanton took the project on the road with the UN and delivered some of his most powerful portraits from the streets of, not New York City, but Iraq.

Confessions of a Colorblind Photographer

I’m colorblind.

There it is, I said it. I’ve been holding it back for years, before I even knew I wanted to be a photographer and it feels good to put it out there. I’ve told exactly two photographers about my handicap before tonight but I feel like its time to put it out there publicly. I was ashamed of it but I’m not anymore. It’s part of who I am.

Destroying the Creative ‘Monsters’ and Overcoming the Immature Mindset that Nearly Killed Me

I’m writing this from the perspective of someone who is trekking through the process. I’m not sitting on a high horse. I can’t even afford a horse.

It is often said that you have to be partially insane to be a creative. I’m not sure if that idea is influenced by the odd forms of modern art, or if someone recognized the risk of choosing fields with high unemployment rates.

Video: Why Some Photographers ‘Can’t Stop Shooting Film’

In terms of marketshare, it’s rather obvious digital photography has the upper hand. Whether it’s convenience or other reasons, digital seems to make sense for many for its flexibility across the board. But, despite vast advantages of a digital workflow, there are those still dedicated to analogue photography.

In an attempt to understand why it is some photographers are dedicated to film, wedding photographer and filmmaker Amrit Vatsa took a look into the art form that is analogue photography.

Photographer Puts His Beautiful Underwater Photography to Use Saving the Oceans

The oceans are in trouble, and while marine biologists and conservationists and (God help us) politicians are the main advocates for the health of our planet, photographers can also play a role.

One photographer doing his part to help ensure future generations enjoy pristine oceans is Richard Salas, a talented underwater photographer with a decade of underwater photo experience who is currently crowdfunding the last of a trilogy of underwater photobooks that are helping both fund and inspire change.

A Letter to My 18 Year Old Self: If I Started Street Photography All Over Again

Dear Eric,

You are 18 years old. You just got a point and shoot digital camera from Mom as a high school graduation present. You are super excited, as you never had a camera before. A lot of exciting things will happen in your life surrounding photography. I wanted to write this letter to you and give you some advice I wish I knew. This is coming from your 26-year-old-self.

Video: Inspirational Advice on How to Attain Creativity Through Diligence

It may seem as though creativity is an innate trait, passed down in the genetic code from generation to generation, but that's just not the case.

It’s been shown over and over again that with the right mindset and ideals, creativity and success can indeed be taught. And in the above video, writer Shawn Blanc shares his insights on the abyss of creativity and how proper time-management, focus and routine lead to creativity and success.

How I Used ‘Grandpa’s Photos’ to Honor My Grandfather’s Memory and Retrace His Steps

It’s a sad day when your Grandfather needs to go into a ‘nursing home.’ For years my Grandpa, Stephen Clarke, had always been the strongest, smartest, most capable guy in the room. Now, he had been reduced to needing 24-hour care in a place that smells like a hospital.

In an effort to help him, my family and I cleaned out his now empty house. As I was sorting through things and cleaning I found a box of old 35mm slides. Little did I know just how much these slides would change the next half-decade of my life, eventually leading me to create my latest project, Grandpa’s Photos.

Video: Inspirational Words on Having Confidence as a Photographer

We are our own worst critics. It’s always the case. Naturally, we see the works of others and gawk in amazement, but when viewing our own work we can often only notice the flaws and imperfections. But, photographer Mike Browne is here to hand out a healthy dose of inspiration and speak to the power of self confidence.