Back to something different

It was a strange foggy morning here in Fairbanks. Usually I would have stayed in during such weather and worked on the computer as the fog burned off. But this morning, the gray light and naturally black and white landscape lured me out to some agricultural fields. Images were forming in my mind, as they often do when I'm inspired, and I went in search of them. The image above is one that I successfully found.

I'm going through a period right now of major inspiration and enthusiasm for photography. I want nothing more recently than to be exploring with my camera. I hope this period lasts because my work is spinning off in new directions, directions that I like, that are pushing me and, I hope, making me a better photographer.

Monday Morning Inspiration

For those of you who haven't yet discovered the TED talk series. I encourage you to explore them. TED is a program designed to bring talks by scientists, creatives, politicians, and others important in their field to the general public. There are hundreds and most are around 15 minutes. You could easily spend a day on the site exploring and learning. Today however I encourage you to take a look at this one: by David Griffin, the Director of Photography for National Geographic. He isn't a terribly dynamic speaker but his presentation on what makes a great image a great image, and more importantly what makes a photographer great is worth watching. When the man in charge of images for magazine most associated with great photography speaks, you should listen.

World Press Photographer's Awards

I finally got around to checking out this year's World Press Photographer's Awards. Many of these images are very difficult to view. The winners are usually very painful to see, humanity at its worst. This year is no different. I thought initially I'd put one of the winning images here, but frankly, the ones that are most powerful, would probably turn a few of you away from this blog forever. However, if you have the constitution for it, I encourage you to click HERE to visit the winner's gallery. It will take some time to browse them all.

The effects of the financial meltdown, wars in Georgia and Kenya, and the aftermath of the earthquake in China are top finishers. And I warn you some of them will bring tears, to your eyes, bile to your throat, or disgust to face. But the winners are also speckled with images of hope, beauty, and how remarkable the world is.

A good lesson from these images is that not all of them are taken in war zones, not all are taken in remote, distant or exotic lands. Many are the stories of normal people. People with stories to tell. People, like many that live in your community. The images are everywhere, it just takes some searching, and no small amount of bravery, to go find them.

Here are three galleries I recommend:

Post Election Violence in Kenya by Walter Astrada- (One of the most difficult to view, but extremely powerful)

Men's 10m Platform Divers at the Bejing Olympics by Julian Abram Wainwright- (Remarkable stop action black and white)

Snow Leopards by Steve Winter- (Incredible images of wild snow leopards and the Himalayas, great use of camera traps)