I admit it. I am a photography nerd.
I fell in love with photography in 2001 when I got my first digital camera. A few years later I started photo-blogging and then joined Flickr when it first launched.
Since then I have been amazed by how photography has grown online and is now a hobbyists dream world. But its hard to keep up with what's going on.
So here is my quick guide to photography on the social web.
By no means an expert comprehensive survey, but a personal glimpse into the pockets of photographic nerdom on the web.
Enjoy.
Photoblogs
A photoblog is a place where a photoblogger posts an image everyday(ish) on any topic from their life. There is rarely any other commentary or text other than just a personal image posted. It all started with L Brandon Stone who spawned photoblogs.org in the 2002 and helped inspire people likeChromasia to leave their job and become a full time photographer. Some photoblogs are the homes of amateurs and others are the sideline of pros who have got hooked on publishing their daily trivial fix. Here are a few photoblogs I like:
Little Time Machine - est in 2004 its one of the original photoblogs.
The Sartorialist - the original style street photographer. Consistent and high quality.
Chromasia - this guy took photo-blogging to a whole another level. An inspiration to many.
Smudo - one of my favourite photobloggers, always a treat to visit.
Observations - one of the first photobloggers and one of the best.
Mute - consistently good work published. An example of how photoblogging has no grand aims.
Jimbus - beautiful observations on the ephemera of life.
Blogs about Photography
A photography blog is normally a site run by an enthusiast or a group of semi commercial bloggers and publishers, blogging about everything to do with photography: from general interest to gear reviews, exhibitions, techniques, work-flow and the business of photography. This type of blog has grown over the years and turned into micro-businesses for many enthusiasts. But some still do it for the love. Here are a few I like:
Peta Pixel - nice blog targetting tech-savvy photo-enthusiasts who want to know about the latest gear.
A photo editor - run by an ex photo editor (of course) with good book and exhibition reviews.
Conscientious - great blog about contemporary photography, fine art and considered posts on the meaning of photography.
Photoshelter - one of the best photography blogs out there, mainly about the business of being a photographer and with a particular focus on how to use social media.
Amy Stein - fine art photographer and teacher blogging about the future of photography.
In Public - the home of street photography, dedicated to promoting the art of street photography.
Shane Lavalette - a fine art photographer blogging about the beauty of photobooks.
Thomas Hawk - an enthusiast who is into Google+ in a big way!
Photography Magazine Blogs
In a different category to the enthusiast blogger format, these sites offer a more 'magazine-y' publishing focus on the high brow topics of photography. They blog about photography's role in society, emerging photographers and the latest exhibitions and books. Here are a few of my faves:
Exposures - the blog of the Aperture foundation, a not for profit organisation dedicated to promoting photography.
Lens Culture - a great blog about international contemporary photography and world culture.
Burn Magazine - is a great site for emerging photographers curated by Magnum photographers.
British Journal of Photography - You can't beat the BJP - the oldest and the best!
Photophilanthropy - interesting blog about crowd funded photojournalism and how to use photography to tell stories that can drive action for social change.
LPV - dedicated to contemporary documentary and fine art photography. Some fascinating essays on the evolving nature of photography.
Photography Communities
The growth of the social web, digital photography and smartphones has meant there are now literally hundreds of places to hang out if you are into photography. Sharing portfolios, voting on friends work, sharing tips, tagging shots, self publishing - you name it you can do it. Here are some communities I like:
500px - not one I use myself, but it is a great photo-community where people can vote on your portfolio.
Google+ - G+ is a vibrant and active place for photographers to connect and has some distinct advantages for sharing your work within the Google network.
Instagram - the leader in photo mobile social network. Hugely addictive and satisfying.
Flickr - of course its the original old school network. Still worth a look even though its looking tired with Yahoo's ownership. Immense archive.
JPG - 'a magazine made by you' with a committed community of 'into it' amateur photographers.
My Shutter Space - a social network for digital photography enthusiasts
Photo.Net - started as a personal site in 1993 now it has 800k registered users. The home for serious photographers to connect with incredibly in depth forums on every topic possible.
Lomography - explore the wonderful world of analogue lomography.
iPhoneography blogs
iphonenography is photo-blogging using a smartphone as your camera. It has emerged over the years as a vibrant community of people hooked on photography via their iphones. With many disagreements over the actual definition of what iponeography is, its generally accepted that it has to be mobile, candid and produced on the fly. No desktop over production. In the words of Knox Bronson, a founding iphoneographer: “Aim well, shoot fast, and scram.” said, Henri Cartier-Bresson,but “Aim well, shoot fast, and app that bitch until it sings.” Here are a few iPhoneography sites I like:
Life in Lo Fi - news, app reviews and musings from a wonderful blog celebrating iPhoneography.
iphoneography - a great review based blog about apps, gear and technique.
iphoneography central - great site covering everything from technique, workflow and showcasing work from iphoneographers around the world.
Juxt - group of enthusiastic bloggers flying the flag for mobile arts and how it is developing.
Mobile Photography Awards - round up of the best in mobile photography.
Objective Scenes - fantastic group blog dedicated to the art of mobile photography.
Pixels: the art of iPhone - est in 2009 and one of the first to exhibit iphone shot images.
iphoneogenic - a one stop celebration of the iPhonegrapher. Collections, interviews and reviews.
Little Purple Cow - a lovely stream moments from this documentary iphoneographer.
iphoneographynyc - snapshot views of life on the streets of NYC.
Photography Mobile Apps
Smartphone photography apps are massive. One of the biggest earning categories on iTunes. Get it right and you can make a fortune serving the growing global mobile photographer community. There are so many to choose from. But frankly, most are rubbish. But if you want to shoot and retouch on the fly then here are a few of my favourites:
Camera + - the mother of all mobile photography editing apps. Get it now.
8mm - the most authentic, versatile, and easy to use retro video camera app. A delight to use.
PictureShow - fantastic editing app to get no so over polished lo-fi look for your shots.
SlowShutter - DSLR slow shutter speed effects on your iphone. Incredible results.
(Photo credit: me)
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