Happy 1st Birthday to My Blog

Starting Out

On August 30th, 2016 I published my first ever blog post, We All Have to Start Somewhere.  It was very much an introductory article in which I talked about why I had started the blog and what my goals were.  

I had been thinking about starting a blog for some time.  I wanted a place to share my stories and images so a blog seemed the best place to do it.  I already had my website so adding the blog was relatively easy.  The challenge, of course, was going to be writing interesting and engaging content for it.

Like a musical artist delivering his first album, I'd had plenty of time to think about my first collection of tracks, or in this case, articles.  The real challenge would be to keep the momentum going.  I had watched plenty of Fro Knows Photo's Rapid Fire Critique's to know that a blog that isn't regularly updated is a dead blog.

Momentum

To keep my blog alive I made a personal commitment to write a new blog post every week.  At first, this was easy as I already had a few article ideas but as time progressed the pressure started to build.

It would have been all too easy to let the idea drop, but I'm not that kind of person.  Not only was the blog helping me grow as a photographer, but people were actually reading my content!  As soon as people start leaving comments I felt duty bound to continue with the blog.  More than that though, and despite the challenges, I was enjoying the process of writing.

Benefits and Growth

So a year on and I'm pleased to say that I have managed to publish a new blog post every week.  Some have been short, some long.  Some have had videos, some have been opinion pieces.  Whatever the nature of the content though, the commitment of writing something new every week has greatly encouraged me to get out much more with my camera and shoot.  

The natural progression of this increased time with the camera is that my photography has improved.  The action of taking pictures and then writing about it can really make you think about what you did and why.  By learning from my successes and failures I have grown as a photographer.

To help get my blog posts and photographs seen by as wide an audience as possible I made sure that each new blog post was shared on Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus and Twitter.  This approach has really driven traffic to my site and I have seen a 20 fold increase in visitors to my website.  It's very encouraging to know that people want to see your photos and read your blog.

One final benefit of all this writing is that I was recently asked to start writing articles for Improve Photography.  This was a fantastic opportunity and one that I have grabbed with both hands!  Improve Photography is a great source of information, training, tips, reviews, and articles so if you've never visited be sure you do soon.  

My Favourite 3 Blog Posts

Over the last 12 months, I have written about a wide variety of photography topics, but the three blog posts below are some of my favorites.  They might not necessarily be the most read, but for me, they are possibly the most important as they either represent significant topics or were a story about moving forward with my photography.

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Practising The Craft of Photography

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Landscape Photography in the Lake District

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Making the Print

The Future

So what does the future of the blog hold?  Well, I'm going to continue with my commitment of posting every week.  I'll carry on telling stories of my photography adventures, including all the failures!  I'll also share my opinion on various photography topics and share any advice and tips I have.  So lots more of the same but I also have some exciting plans for the future so stay tuned!

Do you have a favorite blog post of mine?  Is there something you'd like me to cover on the blog?  What other photography related blogs do you read?  Let me know in the comments below.

Inspiration and Influence

A Source of Inspiration

Inspiration is a powerful thing and for landscape photographers it can come from many sources.  It could be from seeing in image in a magazine you were reading over a coffee one morning, or from a visit to an art gallery to see the work of some of the greats.  Either way, I'm not sure many of us would have become photographers if we hadn't been inspired by someone or something. 

As a landscape photographer (who is still learning his craft), I gain a lot of inspiration from the work of other landscape photographers.  In particular I have been heavily motivated by the inspiring photographs in competitions such as Landscape Photographer of the Year. (Read my thoughts on photography competitions here).  Images like those found in Landscape Photographer of the Year have driven me to shoot more and improve the quality of my work.  Without the influential and inspiring works of others I probably would have chosen to ignore some of those 4am alarm calls or have chosen to open a bottle of wine in the evening.

In this blog post I discuss my personal photographic influences. These are the photographers that have not only inspired my creative style but also given me encouragement to publish my work, write this blog and even create videos. 

Thomas Heaton

I first discovered the work of Thomas Heaton on the Improve Photography podcast  where I pleased to hear a British photographer being interviewed.  Not only does Thomas Heaton produce stunning landscape images but he produces fantastic YouTube videos on how he goes about his photography.  It was content that I could connect to and relate to. 

His stories are wonderfully told and though I'd been thinking about blogging and vlogging for a while it was definitely the viewing of Thomas Heaton's videos that gave me that final inspiration to just get on and do it.   His images also are a great source of inspiration.  So much so that I've purchased his 2017 calendar which you can see here and purchase here.  That calendar should encourage me to see a few more 4am alarm calls.

And if you ever need some motivation or inspiration for you landscape photography check out this wonderful video by Thomas Heaton called Wake Up.

Not only is this video by Thomas Heaton inspiring, but it is a great example of how to produce engageing content.

Jared Polin - Aka FroKnowsPhoto

As with Thomas Heaton I discovered the work of Jared Polin on a photography podcast, but this time it was TWiP.  It's hard to describe Jared in words but larger than life seems apt.  His work has influenced and inspired me in two ways.  Firstly his photography has greatly influenced my music work (see my blog post on My Other Photography Life).  Through his YouTube channel I have learnt not only how to go about shooting live music but how to work my way up from shooting local venues to music festivals run by national broadcasters.

He has also been very influential in how I style the content that I'm writing now and will be in the future. If there was ever a great example of how to produce compelling and entertain content it is him.   His free video guide to branding is well worth a download and I recommend you subscribe to his YouTube channel.

My first landscape photography video.  I'm trying to make engaging content, something that Jared is a master at.  I have a long way to go, but we've all got to start somewhere.

David duChemin

David's work and videos have been inspirational in developing the artistic style of my images.  His YouTube channel has a wonderful series of videos in which he delves into the art of photography.   Topics such as intent, composition, processing and printing have all influenced my approach to photography and how I output my images.  It inspires me to improve my process and approach to taking images in the field. 

Though I will probably never visit some of the locations David has photographed, images like the those found in his Portraits of Earth collection inspire me to improve my artistic skills and develop my own personal style.

When I shot this image I had a vision in mind. It also didn't need much post-processing. This kind of approach to my photography has been influenced by the approach taken by David in his videos.

Ross Hoddinott

Ross has probably has probably inspired me the most in my journey as a landscape photography.  This will be largely due to the regular contact I have with him (see my post on Tuition and Mentoring).  Through the many 1-2-1 tuition sessions I've had with Ross I have learnt a great deal about photography and how to approach and shoot the landscape.  With each new photography skill learnt from Ross my confidence grows and it is with that growing confidence that I find myself being even more inspired to not only shoot more but to drive up the quality of my images.

Furthermore I find his images inspiring as not only is a lot of his work local to me but I find he produces images of a style and quality that I wish to aspire to.  Just check out his wonderful image of Dawlish Warren in this link. 

I created this image of a groyne on Dawlish Warren after being inspired by the work of my photography mentor Ross Hoddinott.

Always Look for Inspiration

While all these photographers have inspired and influenced my artistic style, each one has also influenced my photographic journey in other ways.  Photography is so much more than just taking images and through following the work of others I have been inspired to extend my skills as a photographer by taking on challenges such as writing this blog.

I continue to find new sources of inspiration and influence, and hopefully one day the pictures I take or the content I create will inspire a photographer to produce something special.

Which photographers inspire you to get out of bed in the morning?  Do we even need inspiration or should we try to find our own direction from the start?  Let me know in the comments.