Inspiration

Inspired by the beautiful ink-in-water photography of Alberto Seveso -- who, by the way, we've featured many times on PetaPixel, so definitely check that out -- South African artist and photographer Chris Slabber recently put a spin on ink photography the likes of which we've not seen before.

Using his skills as a digital artist, he combined the genres of ink photography and double exposure portraits to create something that, in the interest of avoiding photography word inflation, is both good and beautiful (but not 'stunning' or 'brain paralyzing').

Mitch Dobrowner is a fine art photographer based in Studio City, California. Born on Long Island (Bethpage) New York he as have a wife (Wendy), 3 kids, a dog... and in his words, a bratty cat.

His work has been published by National Geographic Magazine, ABC News, TIME Magazine, Newsweek, CNN, NPR, Audubon Society, LA Times and LensWork, among others. Google recently produced a 2 minute commercial revolving around his work for their Search Stories campaign.

@chadders_dm special thanks to @FAMediaOps #gwsMarc they win the prize no question pic.twitter.com/ueDxKB2HgQ
— Dickie Pelham (@DickiePelham) June 13, 2014

On the tenth of April, The Times chief sports photographer Marc Aspland was in a terrible car accident. The crash, which occurred in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, left him with brain hemorrhaging, nerve damage and two broken collarbones.

It was these injuries that led to Aspland missing out on two of the world’s largest sporting events, Wimbledon and the World Cup. But after news of the photographer unable to make it to these events spread about, a number of athletes started to team up to send support his way. Using the hashtag #gwsmarc (get well soon, Marc), a number of well-known tennis, cricket and football athletes have teamed up to show their support.

The Assignment I was contacted on a Friday for this assignment which was to take place the following Tuesday.

Earlier this year, renowned Cape Town photography store Orms developed their last roll of slide film through the E6 process. To bring the era of a legendary process to a proper close, Hero AV brought together a short documentary depicting three photographers who were asked to shoot the last of the slide film that would be developed at the lab.

Last month we featured A Day In the Life of Roadtrippers time-lapse photographer Joel Schat -- a wonderful, jealousy-inducing BTS look at Schat's travels. And today we have for you the product of those many days spent traveling across the country, cameras in tow. No surprise: it’s a beauty.

70-200mm f/2.8 II at f/11, 170mm 1/15 seconds, ISO 100 It’s approaching 8pm and I’m sitting at the Chez Vrony, …

Canadian photographer Richard Gottardo -- whose beautiful work we've featured several times before and who I am going to email passive aggressively to see why he didn't send this our way the moment he published it -- just uploaded some truly spectacular aerial footage of the Spring flood in Alberta.

National Geographic photographer William Albert Allard has spent the past five decades of his life capturing photographs and authoring articles for the storied magazine.

Over the course of fifty years, one would think the narratives behind individual photographs would begin to blur together, but that's not the case. At least not for Allard and a photograph of a buckaroo named Stan.

We've seen both night sky and 360º time-lapses before, but we hadn't ever run across an amalgamation of the two until earlier this week when we received an email from photographer Vincent Brady.

John Poppleton's personal motto as a photographer and artist has been to 'cherish something different.' The first roll of black and white film he ever got, he climbed to the top of a palm tree to shoot it; and during his 20-year career as a top-notch wedding photographer he would photograph brides in everything from abandoned buildings to the top of picturesque rooftops.

It was this need to be different, to be on the cutting edge of creativity, that inspired Poppleton to get into black light body art photography. And it's these mesmerizing Bodyscapes that captivated us when we stumbled across them a couple of weeks ago.

Mobile photography has gone from a convenient novelty of sorts to a full-fledged art form in its own right. And in the video above, some of the best photographers in this burgeoning form share insights into their art and tips on how to make the most of the camera in your pocket..

National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore has been capturing life across the globe for over 22 years. And it was these travels across our Blue Marble that lead him to take on a personal project that he hopes will bring awareness to a subject he’s held dear since he was a child.

Called Photo Ark, Sartore has teamed up with zoos and rescue facilities across the globe to document the last of some of the most endangered animals on our planet, and in the TEDx talk above, he tells you all about this moving endeavor.

Brian Matthew Hart has spent the better part of 9 years playing around with unique light drawing techniques. His latest project, Uncertainty, brings together the knowledge and inspiration he’s accumulated over those 9 years and packs them into one of the most abstracted and unique approaches to light painting we’ve ever come across.

Photographer Clint Davis doesn’t do simple. Featured on PetaPixel almost four years ago when he created an unforgettable promotional mailer, his second attempt at the same is even more impressive.

The indie rock band OK Go has an uncanny ability to come up with some of the most creative, fun and visually compelling videos in the entire music industry. Over the years we've featured several of the music videos they've come up with, and today we have another that is perhaps the most impressive of them all.

Last November, photographer Jeremy Cowart revealed OKDOTHIS, a two-and-a-half year collaboration between himself and the development team at Aloompa to create an app that inspired creatives to be... well... more creative.

And now, in the name of continuing to keep the creative community on their toes, OKDOTHIS has announced a 2.0 revamp of what is essentially its entire platform. The app, website and overall structure of the platform is much more streamlined now, featuring a more unified and easy-to-use design across the board.

We all know what those stacks of iconic yellow-bordered magazines are when we see them lying around your local doctor or dentist's office. They’re National Geographic Magazines, and inside of these magazines are hundreds upon hundreds of wonderful photographs that may never be seen by the next generation.

It's a sad state of affairs, but one that Tumblr blog Vintage National Geographic is trying to remedy by sharing hundreds of scans of old Nat Geo photos you probably forgot existed.

Photographer Chris Pritchard recently took it upon himself to pay a time-lapse tribute to a city he loves. The city of Los Angeles. The final product is called Above LA, and it manages to capture our attention in an over-saturated genre thanks to its fantastic compositions, beautiful use of movement and vibrant (but not overwhelming) colors.

One of the standard cliché Instagram shots that gets ridiculed on occasion is the plane wing photographs, usually accompanied by some clouds or a sunrise or sunset. And while we agree that taking a photo out the window of your commercial airplane is tacky and overdone, the photo above by astrophotographer Alessandro Merga is a big fat beautiful exception.

October 5th, 2011 was a Wednesday, and the Cache Valley Photographers were gathered at my studio for their weekly lunch time meeting to discuss Scott Kelby’s Guest Blog, and I remember the day well. The Guest Blogger was Jodi Cobb, who wrote about her project documenting modern slavery. Unfortunately, the group didn’t spend as much time discussing this as it deserved because it was also the day that Steve Jobs passed away.

When trying to perfectly light an object, there’s a method of shooting it inside of an environment called a lightbox -- essentially a 360° softbox that emulates the soft, natural, even lighting you would get on an overcast day.

Lightboxes are fairly small in size, meant for lighting small objects for product photographs and so on. But what if it were possible to create a human-sized lightbox for use with people? It turns out you can, and in the BTS video above, photographer Kevin Lynch shows off his version.

Here's a little bit of photographic inspiration for those of you not currently glued to your television sets watching the World Cup. Last month, LA-based photographer Dan Marker-Moore went out for the second year running in search of the perfect vantage point from which to shoot the full moon rising over the skyline of LA.

What kind of project would you dedicate six months of your life to? For photographer Brandon Griffiths, the answer was "pinhole bullet time photography." His recently completed project took him a whopping 4382 hours to complete from start to finish.

Using a custom-built rig of 364 pinhole cameras, Griffiths created the video above showing Matrix-style bullet time done completely with analog photography.

If you remember our coverage of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, you might recall a photograph of an adorable dog, soaked with water after a bath. It was captured by photographer Sophie Gamand and won in the Portraiture category. Today, we get a behind the scenes peek at what goes into the making of her viral puppy portraiture.

Stanley Kubrick’s legacy will forever be sealed in images. Mostly known for his motion picture work, it wasn’t until after his time as a still photographer that he took on the world of movies. Kubrick began his career as a photographer, at 16-years-old, after a single image seemingly catapulted his way to success.

It started as a chance encounter on a train. Photographer Lindsay Morris was on her way back from a photo festival where she had been inspired by a seminar on photo essays, when she happened to sit next to Janice Di Joseph and her daughter, Ricchina.

For better or worse, photography is considered by many as one of those endeavors that makes a better hobby than career. Aspiring full-time photographers are often met with the same four words that aspiring writers, painters and others are quite familiar with: get a real job.

On this, the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, it seemed appropriate that we cap off the day and the week with the story and images of a remarkable photographer who was there: US Army Private Tony Vaccaro.

The question, "how can I take better photographs" never goes away for the photographer who is constantly looking to improve and evolve, no matter how many years they've been doing it. But this question is particularly difficult to answer for beginners who don't yet have the foundation that years of looking through a viewfinder offers.

Thankfully for those people, there are professionals like Jim Goldstein who don't mind condensing years worth of experience into useful tips and advice.

While most of the outdoor winter sports photography you see is as clean and crisp as the snow itself, photographer Matt Georges goes for a more moody feeling while out on the slopes. His work with the Polaroid, Holga, and medium format film creates a unique look at the life of the thrill seekers out there.

Although not a formally trained photographer, Matt has been in the photo world most of his adult life, photo-editing for ski magazines, and working his way up to senior in-house photographer. Read on to hear about his technique using these films, his background, and more.

It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through 2014, right? But the good news is there’s still over 200 days left to bring in business, make more connections with potential photo clients, and end the year strong. To help you out and provide a little inspiration, we’ve also launched PhotoShelter’s Guide to Conquer the Rest of 2014 -- a compilation of our best business advice to help you make the next six months count.

On top of that, we also wanted to know what some of the most seasoned photographers are doing to rev up their businesses before the year is up. Are they focusing on marketing? Reworking their websites? New projects? To find out, we caught up with a few top photographers including Joe McNally, Jeremy Cowart, Ami Vitale, David duChemin, Stacy Pearsall, Dixie Dixon, and Gary Arndt to ask one question: How do you plan to grow your photo business over the next six months?

It’s been just over three decades since the passing of Ansel Adams, but his legacy lives on in the hearts and minds (and on many of the walls) of those he inspired. One of those people, noted National Geographic photographer Peter Essick, decided to pay tribute to the renowned Group f/64 master.

Throughout his career as a New York Times photographer, James Estrin has capture some in credibly powerful photography.

With assignments ranging from capturing the Ground Zero memorial being opened on the one-year anniversary of 9/11, to something as seemingly mundane as capturing photos of the elderly residents who use Meals On Wheels, Estrin takes a unique approach to his photos, attempting to capture a spiritual experience in every moment of life.

What would you do if you were photographing people in Bulgaria, there as a volunteer for an anti-human trafficking nonprofit no less, and you were offered a baby for $50.

The interaction seems outright absurd, perhaps even unbelievable, to those of us who have never experienced such a thing first hand, but that's what happened to Seattle-based photographer Tanner Wendell Stewart in 2012. It was the moment that would forever alter his life.

“If you can’t do it right, do it big.” These are just a few of the wise words shared by renowned photographer Marc Hauser in the above mini documentary by Chris Cascarano.

He’s shot for the likes of Rolling Stones Magazine, Pepsi and Playboy (just to name a few) and the concise words of wisdom he shares in this video are worth writing down no matter where you are in your photography career.

Digital media company Blue Chalk recently teamed up with National Geographic photographer and North Face athlete Cory Richards to create the deeply inspirational video you see above.

Jennifer is a composite of all the students who’ve asked me to look at their work online and offer some advice. My advice has changed over the years.

How are these Apollo 17 astronauts riding around in their buggy on the moon without their spacesuits? You might wonder. Well, they’re not. This photograph, captured in 1971, shows the astronauts taking their buggy for some field training test drives on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Keliy Anderson-Staley is an assistant professor of photography at the University of Houston. Her work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian, the California Museum of Photography and the Portland Museum of Art, and is currently on view at the Houston Center for Photography.

Her book of portraits, On a Wet Bough, is forthcoming from Waltz Books. She is represented by Catherine Edelman Gallery.

No photoshoot goes off without a hitch. But with the correct amount of planning in the way of a vision, schedule, proper team and backup equipment, the risk that you'll run into a big hitch is dramatically reduced.

One photographer who seems to have mastered putting all of those components together seamlessly is Benjamin Von Wong, but it took all of his skill and more to make sure that his most recent crazy adventure came together seamlessly.

What is 'freedom'? This seems to be one of the main questions at the center of photojournalist Kitra Cahana's recent TED Talk in which she tells the stories of the nomadic, homeless youth she spent many months documenting.

CJ Kale and Nick Selway long ago fell in love with Hawaii and founded Lava Light, a photography gallery focused on capturing the ever-changing landscape created by an active volcano and crashing waves -- and sometimes both together when the conditions are just right. And if swimming with fire and dodging lava bombs weren’t challenging enough, these photographers believe in creating their images completely in-camera.

Balancing exposures between sky, water and lava can be incredibly tricky. Luckily, Lava Light has shared some tips to help you get the shot without combining exposures or using HDR.

We've introduced you to best friends CJ Kale and Nick Selway before, back in 2012 when we first shared the beautiful photography they created for their gallery "Lava Light Galleries." But today, you get to go into the water with them while they tell you about capturing amazing shots while, at times, swimming in 110°F water.

This piece originally appeared in PhotoShelter's guide Building Your Outdoor & Adventure Photography Business – for the full article download the guide here.

Elizabeth Krist, Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic, and the rest of the Nat Geo team seek photographers who have an eye for composing striking and electrifying images. But perhaps even more importantly, they want photographers who have a real curiosity about the world around them -- those who aren’t afraid to delve into the intellectual and research aspects of an assignment.

To give photographers a better sense of what goes on behind the scenes at National Geographic, Elizabeth provided some insight into what type of work the magazine commissions, how photographers can pitch Nat Geo, and what you can do to get noticed.

GoPros seem to have captured every activity known to man, but this is the first time we've ever seen a dog fly. The footage is part of a National Geographic feature on adrenaline junkie Dean Potter, who brings his dog Whisper along for every crazy ride.

What do you do when the usual outlets for photographic media choose not to show images you risked your life to capture? What is the next best way to make sure the world sees what is really happening?

It's these questions that led French photojournalist Pierre Terdjman and his buddies to create something called Dysturb, a project that plasters ignored, hard-hitting and hard-to-swallow photojournalism all over the streets of Paris.

There comes a point in any passion or career when you feel like you hit a brick wall; you feel like you’re standing there motionless while everyone else is carrying on achieving things and becoming more successful than you -- whatever your definition of success.

But as you'll understand once you watch this fantastic two-part video series, everybody who has ever achieved anything has gone through this (sometimes many-year-long) phase. We just never hear about this lost chapter in their lives.

Born in Jerusalem, Israel, Michelle Frankfurter is a documentary photographer from Takoma Park, MD. Before settling in the Washington, DC area, Frankfurter spent three years living in Nicaragua where she worked as a stringer for the British news agency, Reuters and with the human rights organization Witness For Peace documenting the effects of the contra war on civilians.

Since 2000, Frankfurter has concentrated on the border region between the United States and Mexico, and on themes of migration.

Leaving behind a pioneering legacy, pin-up model turned pin-up photographer, Bunny Yeager, has sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 85. Born March 13, 1929 Yeager started her career as a pin-up model herself, eventually switching sides of the camera and becoming one of the most commercially successful female photographers of our time.