1,000 Points of Inspiration
The most amazing aspect of today’s transforming photography world is that it is so easy to find inspiration. The digitization of photography has placed inspiration a Google search away or even a Tweet away. While I certainly don’t have time to list a 1,000 points of inspiration I will share with you a few that I recommend checking out and I’d like to invite you to fill out the other 9,997 whether still photography, photo books, ebooks, music, video, etc. Up to the challenge? I hope so. Add your points of inspiration in the comments below.
1. Chase Jarvis CURRENT: The Consequences of Creativity
For some a photo alone can be inspiration and for some a video that clubs you over the head with great ideas will do the trick. Chase wields his club with caveman like surgical precision. What the hell does that mean?! It means no matter who you are, what your photographic skill level is, or background this video is sure to get you off your butt to do something creative this weekend.
2. William Neill’s Meditation in Monochrome eBook
The digital edition of Meditation in Monochrome has stuck with me after several viewings challenging my artistic view of the world. By no means has it converted me to a B&W photographer, as color photography resonates with me far too much. What it has done with its high quality presentation, ease of access & review via PDF format and masterful photographs has challenged me to view my photographic subjects differently. It has reinforced my deep appreciation of how other nature photographers to see our world in Black & White. It also has inspired me to take a closer look at electronic publishing. William Neill’s life long efforts have been inspiring enough, but this particular project has given me a source of inspiration that is only a click away on my computer.
3. Playing with Time (via John Nack’s blog)
I’ll cheat on this counting a couple of photo/video artists under this one entry:
Andrew Curtis’s Cinco De Mayo Carnival timelapses and David Coiffier super slow motion video rugby, fire-breathing and more. For me these videos are visually engaging, they get my creative juices flowing analyzing the visual and logistical components of such a capture and change my mindset in how I evaluate photographic or video opportunities.
Now it’s your turn… add a comment and help me fill out a list of 1,000 Points of Inspiration no matter how small or large the inspiration might be.
Technorati Tags: Photography, Inspiration, William Neill, Chase Jarvis, John Nack, timelapse, video
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Well i’ll start with an obvious one:
http://www.flickr.com/explore/
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And a few more of my personal favorites:
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography
http://www.earthshots.org/
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/onlineGallery.do
http://www.naturesbestphotography.com/index.php
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23photo
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pimp your flickr inspiration with this tool. makes browsing much more enjoyable http://www.cooliris.com/
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more great stuff:
http://www.photoblink.com/
http://blog.ayola.com/
http://www.modelmayhem.com/f.php
http://www.fotocommunity.com/
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One of my favorite sites to browse through is http://mayang.com/textures/
The photographer has toured the world taking background images for graphic arts use.
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Wildlife Photographer Laurie Campbell http://www.lauriecampbell.com – with all the travel that wildlife snappers do these days, it’s refreshing to see someone who has made an entire career out of working in his local area.
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This National Geographic book: Visions of Paradise
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product/crossell/4466.html
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I found the Transform Video that Zack Arias made very inspirational: http://www.zarias.com/?p=284
Ed
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I love the Michael Freeman Book: The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos
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Magnum in Motion is amazing!
http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/
Also available on iTunes for you iTouch or iPhone
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Here goes:
Art
http://alexiuss.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://airage.deviantart.com/gallery/
http://fractaliterations.deviantart.com/gallery/
Books:
Medici Effect by Frans Johanson
Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Music
Yann Tiersen – La Valse d’Amélie (Piano Version)
Holding out for a Hero by Jennifer Saunders (shrek 2 soundtrack
Random:
Weebl & Bob – http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/
“Adventures of Mark Twain” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak3z2Pm7Iwg
Inspired Bicycles – Danny MacAskill April 2009 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o
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Got a couple for you –
Michael Anderson (always inspiring images from around the world)
http://www.michaelandersongallery.com
Kah Kit Yoong & Winnie Ho (be sure to check out Winnie’s shot “Dune Abstract”!)
http://www.magichourtravelscapes.com/
Marsel van Oosten
http://www.squiver.com
Joe McNally (one of the greatest photogs of all time – and funny as hell)
http://portfolio.joemcnally.com
I hope that my site can offer some inspiration as well.
Just click on my name – right up theeere, and GO!
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A great directory of photography, design, motion graphics, directing, all kinds of good stuff:
http://www.behance.net
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Top notch concert shots.
http://ishootshows.com/
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Into the Light: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNuKRJiKa5M
http://www.flickr.com/explore/
http://www.stuckincustoms.com/
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Creative Success
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/video-gain-2008-gladwell
http://florianschulz.wordpress.com/
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I would start with, the flickr superstars by popular demand:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1044328@N25/
Lightsource podcast:
http://www.studiolighting.net/category/studio-photography-podcast/
In the description and comments on this photo, my main source of inspiration:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dovevadar/3532609384/
And much more many blogs and people to list! So this is a glimpse.
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Inspiration comes in many forms. I like the human aspect of TAL, and Ira and crew are amazing at drawing out amazing stories from amazing people:
http://thisamericanlife.com/
Chase and David Hobby are constant sources of illumination and inspiration.
But it’s also wonderful to work closely with inspirational people, like Ab Sesay:
http://absesay.com/
and Andre Costantini:
http://www.SillyDancing.com
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abduzeedo’s daily inspirations are quite nice.
ie. http://abduzeedo.com/daily-inspiration-239
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I hope this inspires you to travel…..
Jeffflindt.com
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Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s projects are quite awesome, and a tremendous source of inspiration for me:
http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/
In this context, google maps is a great tool to figure out places that may be interesting:
http://maps.google.com/
And, on a somewhat different tangent, the Exposé book series is very nice as well. These pieces have been created entirely in computer, but for me that’s a nice way to be inspired in a way that is not necessarily bound to the way we think about photography:
http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/expose/
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If you’re on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/friends/ could and should be a great source of inspiration.
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While the works of others are always a good source of inspiration, sometimes the actual subject matter is the source of inspiration. For me, this means certain back country locations–specifically Cathedral Lakes and peak, Vogelsang, Ancient Bristlecone Pines, Mono Lake Tufa. The entire Sierra Nevada region is my most profound source of inspiration.
Today I’m going to let Young Lakes and Ragged peak inspire me!
Edie
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Great idea Jim!
Just being outdoors watching and experiencing nature first hand is my best source of inspiration.
In addition, I would say the Big Picture is a good source: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/
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Not sure what happened to my original comment, but cmon now I’m surprised that http://www.mountainlight.com hasn’t been mentioned yet!
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Picked up this link from somebody’s blog this morning… photog Hans Strand’s “Intimate Landscapes” portfolio:
http://www.hansstrand.com/Hans_Strand/Intimate_Landscapes.html
It really resonates with me, and I’m going to look at it a couple more times before heading off on my summer camping trip.
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I had just seen an special bbc program on You tube called, 7 photographs that change fashion, in which British photographer Rankin goes over 7 photographs, talking about the people that made and making a reinvention by him of them. Can’t Miss that.
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I am inspired by the images of my friend Chris Rainer:
http://www.chrisrainier.com/
Be sure to see the videos…
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Jim Reply:
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Thanks for the addition William! Chris’ work is amazing. I’ve seen his web site and photography before. Definitely a great source of inspiration.
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I draw inspiration from all over the Internet, including great sites like this one! Creative ideas are out there, taking a spark from someone else’s work and making it into my own vision is what I try to do.
My biggest source of inspiration though is the people I shoot. I really try to look at what separates them from the crowd and bring that out in my shoots. Always keeps it fresh and fun.
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Jim Reply:
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Great take on the topic of inspiration Matthew. Thanks for the comment.
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The internet has become such a great resource with incredible on-line galleries from such wonderful photographers as Art Wolfe, Guy Tal, Greg Downing, David Duchemin, Gavin Gough just to name a few (and of course yours). For an amateur photographer like me it is wonderful to view these galleries and see what is possible to achieve with a camera. As for books I really enjoy Freeman Patterson’s “The Art of Seeing”. Following some great photographers on Twitter that are kind enough to share their knowledge has also been extremely helpful.
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[...] What’s your source of inspiration? Help me compile a 1000 points of inspiration: http://www.jmg-galleries.com/blog/2009/07/02/1000-points-of-inspiration/ [...]
Here is my great inspiration blog, http://www.photobuzz.org,
Thanks Jen
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