Inspiration and Influence
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.
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.
The Pain and Joy of Photography Competitions
Do you enter photography competitions? Do they bring pain or joy? Let's discuss!
Measuring Success
There are many ways to try and measure the success of your photography. You can post your images on social media sites such as Flickr, Instagram or even Facebook and see how likes you get. If you are a full time photographer you can measure your success by how well your business is doing.
I measure the progression of my photography skills in two ways. Firstly I have my images regularly critiqued by a professional photographer (see my post on Tuition and Mentoring). This provides invaluable and detailed feedback on my images that I can use to further develop my skills. The other way I measure progression is through my success (or failure) in photography competitions. For me having my work recognised in competition provides some sort of validation for my photography. Some people may consider this shallow or vain, but for me photography competitions have often been a great source of inspiration and being placed in one of the more prestigious competitions would be a great source of pride and joy.
Entering Competitions
One of my entries in LPOTY 2015.
It's only recently that I've actually started entering images into competitions. Though I've always I wanted to enter I probably lacked some of the commitment to achieve this in the past (see my bog post on Practising the Craft of Photography). Over the last couple of years I've put a significant amount of effort into being placed in Landscape Photographer of the Year (LPOTY). I fully appreciate that going from entering no competitions at all to being successful in LPOTY is a bit of a jump but for me LPOTY is the pinnacle in landscape photography competitions. So I'm aiming high that's for sure but seeing an image printed the LPOTY book would be for me at least, a dream come true.
The good thing about having such a lofty goal is that it has driven me to get out more with my camera and improve my photography. In 2015 I entered a number of images into LPOTY but failed to have any shortlisted. At the time I was gutted not to have progressed anywhere. I had put a significant amount of effort and passion into those images, and the rejection was painful.
Rejection and Motivation
This image was shortlisted in OPOTY 2016 but it unfortunately didn't make it any further. It was however published in Outdoor Photography magazine (issue 206).
However, I use that pain as a way to motivate myself even more! I decided to submit some of my images in the Outdoor Photographer of Year competition (OPOTY) in 2015. One of my images was shortlisted for the competition but that was as far as it went. The image did go onto win the monthly competition in Outdoor Photography magazine which was a huge confidence booster. I love Outdoor Photography magazine so seeing my image in print there was really pleasing.
So for the 12 months following the end of LPOTY 2015 I worked hard at my photography. I was out shooting more than ever and I undertook more 1-2-1 tuition days with my mentor (see blog post on Tuition and Mentoring). By the time LPOTY 2016 had come around I had already had a few images in Outdoor Photography magazine published and I had won a local photography competition.
One of my entries in LPOTY 2016.
When I entered my images for LPOTY 2016 I was more confident and was excited about the possibility of being shortlisted. The excitement was unfortunately short-lived as I soon got that email that had caused me so much pain last year. But I'm not letting it get me down. After all, who knows what the judges are really looking for? It's not to say that I necessarily had a bad image it might be that it didn't appeal to that particular judge at that particular time. Art competitions are fickle things so some of my entries from previous years will be submitted again. They might just strike a chord with someone else.
I invest a lot of time into these photography competitions and while rejection is painful, that just makes me try even harder the following year. I'm already hard at work for my OPOTY 2016 portfolio and of course my LPOTY 2017 portfolio. If I do ever get placed in one of these prestigious competitions it will be joyful day. Of course with such a singular goal what would I aim for after that? I'll just have a cross that bridge when I come to it but for now I will live with the pain and joy that competitions bring.
So how do you feel about photography competitions? Are they a painful or joyful experience? Are they a measure of success or just fickle things where luck is a factor? Let me know your thoughts.