Edit- Updated April 25, 2011:
In my role as senior contributor to The Photoletariat, I’ve written nearly 150 posts in the past year. (Read all my posts here.) To celebrate, I thought I’d reflect back on some of the topics that I’ve covered and pick out a few of my favorites.
Writing for The Photoletariat has definitely helped me stay inspired and it keeps me in tune with the photo industry. And with many of my articles, I often write them for myself. It’s like my therapy. My posts make me smarter, they keep me informed, and they help me look at my imagery and business in new ways. And sometimes, they just make me laugh. I hope that they do the same for you.
If you’re a regular reader, you might remember some of these posts. It might even be fun to see what you get out of reading them for a second time. You may be in a different place with your photography or your business now than you were a few months ago, and reading these articles again might give you some new perspective.
So, in no particular order, here are the top 5.
Why Competition Makes us Better Photographers
Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged by how well you think everyone else’s business is doing compared to your own. This is natural and it probably happens to more people than you think. I wrote this post as a reminder as to why competition is actually good for our industry and to help readers keep in perspective that no matter what anyone else is doing, you have a unique path in life and thus a unique road to success with your photography. I think it’s one of my more motivating posts.
6 Things Photographers Like to Argue About
I came up with the idea for this post while riding the camper bus in Denali National Park. To date, it’s the most read and most commented post on the site. Although it was meant to be funny, some people took it a little to seriously. It’s fun to read through some of the comments and see what the ‘serious’ people wrote.
8 Ways to Spot the Pro Photographer
Another humorous post. I have lost of fun with these, and judging by how many times this one got tweeted around, so do you. Of course, the funniest thing about this post is that all of the examples are true. I just took a quick look at myself and came up with the list. I could have titled it “8 Ways to Spot Dan Bailey.”
Landscapes: Worth Waiting For
I liked writing this one because it was such a good reminder that creating a great image takes time, patience and slow observation. This is in stark contrast to our current fast paced, and often frantic world of Facebook, Twitter, email, concise blog posts and the hours that we spend each day absorbing as much content as humanly possible.
Is Photography About Pure Skill or a Little Bit of Luck?
The morning I sat down to write this one, I had just seen an amazing photo of a mama moose fighting off a wolf pack that was threatening her calf. The photo was shot by fellow Alaska photographer, Patrick Endres, and it reminded me that as much as we practice our skill, hone our technique and buy the best equipment, the truth is that sometimes, a great image comes down to simply being in right place at the right time. Sometimes it’s all about luck.