Now that you have your photographic house in order, your sensors are sparkling and your batteries are charged (having read Part 1 of our blog series, obviously!!) it’s time to get those creative juices flowing!

Now is the perfect time to immerse yourself in all things creative – catch up with your favourite magazines, professional photographers, blogs, vlogs, product news and reviews. You could even read your camera manual! (Although, we can think of about 157 more interesting things to suggest!)

With so much free content now available online – make the most of any spare time you might now have to read, watch, learn and hone those skills for when we can all venture out again!

Online Content

There is an absolute plethora of free online content – whether you want to learn new techniques, work on your understanding of the craft of photography (we’ll be testing you on those f-stops later!), read about photography adventures in exotic locations, or learn how to shoot more in your own back yard.

Whether its wedding or wildlife, landscapes or sport, there’s always something to learn or be inspired by. The toughest question is where to start!

Traditional photography magazines have evolved immensely – whether you look at the print editions or the digital versions. Lots of content is free, or you can treat yourself to a subscription and browse until your heart’s content.

Current editions are great for seasonal photography tips, the most popular genres, interesting features and interviews - while each generally contains editing tutorials, creative project ideas and objective gear reviews amongst a huge range of other photography news and info.

Here are a few suggestions to get you going (other magazines are available!!):

Note: Many have special offers running at the moment when you can buy 5 editions for £5 (digital or some print).

N-Photo (for the Nikon users)

Photo-Plus (for the Canon fans)

Amateur Photographer

Digital SLR Photography

See here for a comprehensive range of photography publications available.

 

Podcasts

Podcasts are another great source of inspiration – and you can basically tune in, download or listen just about anywhere via your phone, tablet or computer. Listen to experts share their knowledge, experiences and generally be inspired!

A great idea with podcasts is to try listening to something completely out of your normal comfort zone – even someone you might not have heard of. Drop that virtual pin and tune in!

For those of you who enjoyed the talks by Paul Sanders at Digital Splash, Paul, together with his colleague Sam Gregory, host ‘The Togcast’.
It’s a bi-monthly free download.

Currently on episode 73, there’s loads to listen to – and a few recommended highlights include Alex Nail, Wilki Ambassador Alyn Wallace, Valda Bailey, Joe Cornish, David Ward, another Digital Splash favourite Jonathan Chritchley, Margaret Soraya, Lizzie Shepherd. Plus loads of others!

A Photographic Life

The ‘A Photographic Life’ Podcast is weekly, recorded in a shed(!) and lasts around twenty minutes. It is available on iTunes, Spotify, and all other podcast platforms and has just posted its 100th episode.

Each week photographer, writer, lecturer and filmmaker Grant Scott reflects on news, discussions, themes and issues surrounding the photographic community. Previous episodes have included David Bailey, Paolo Roversi, Brian Griffin, Brian Duffy, Mary Ellen Mark and many more.

Digital Camera World has also put together a great feature, which includes their ‘20 best podcasts for photographers in 2020’ . You’ll see a few names we’ve already mentioned, plus a whole host more!

Films and Vlogs

And finally, for now (this feature could go on for E-VER), if you’re looking for something different then these projects and short films could be perfect:

Film: Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life Of Bill Jay

Bill Jay was a photographer, a writer on and advocate of photography, a curator, a magazine and picture editor, lecturer, public speaker and mentor. He was the first editor of Creative Camera Owner magazine, which became Creative Camera magazine (1967–1969) and founder and editor of Album magazine (1970–1971). He established the first gallery dedicated to photography in the UK with the Do Not Bend Gallery, London and the first Director of Photography at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Whilst there he founded and directed the first photo-study centre. He studied at the University of New Mexico under Beaumont Newhall and Van Deren Coke and then founded the Photographic Studies programme at Arizona State University, where he taught photography history and criticism for 25 years. He is the author of more than twenty books on the history and criticism of photography, four books of his own photography, and roughly 400 essays, lectures and articles. His regular column titled Endnotes was published within Lenswork magazine for a number of years. His own photographs have been widely published, including a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Those are the facts, but Bill Jay was so much more than just the facts…

You can see it for free here!

Alyn Wallace

Yes, another one of our most popular Digital Splash speakers and host of our recent Astro Photography workshop up in north Wales, Alyn is a YouTube Vlogger extraordinaire! Check out Alyn's YouTube Channel for some amazing content.

 

Andy Rouse - Wide Angle

We also spotted this great video from wildlife photography legend Andy Rouse – talking specifically about getting started in bird photography in your own garden, while under lockdown!  Definitely worth a watch! Part of his new series Wide Angle, over on YouTube.

PhotoBite Kids

PhotoBite UK is a YouTube Channel from a team of photographers, filmmakers, photo-journalists and tech geeks (their words, not ours!) bringing you reviews and news from the photo world. But, they’ve just announced their new offshoot – PhotoBite Kids.

In response to schools being closed 'until further notice', team PhotoBite is launching a twice-weekly photo challenge for children aged between 5-15, inviting them to explore photography and to introduce a little more creativity into the weekly home school schedule. Head over to their channel for more information or to get involved.

 

So that’s it for now, hopefully plenty of ideas of things to read, listen to and watch – all to help fuel your photographic aspirations once this difficult time is over!

In the meantime keep an eye on our social media channels for the latest photography news and special offers.

Keep in touch:

Stay Safe

The Wilki Team