Is a new photography project on your bucket list for this year? It can be overwhelming to figure out where or how to start. The case is true whether you’re planning to do it for the first time or the first time in a long time. To help fellow photographers who may be struggling, Kyle McDougall shares his approaches to two of his current long-term projects in the quick video above.

According to McDougall, both projects started out as very loose ideas, but a few things helped him find direction. First is to give yourself a development phase, where you explore your ideas and make work around them without any expectations or pressure. This way, you’re giving it room to become the project that it needs to be.

Next is to do ample research to help you narrow down a wider idea and understand your subject better. It may also help you uncover some interesting details that you may otherwise miss. Likewise, your research may change the way you look at your subjects and help uncover other angles to explore your subject with.

Finally, aside from shooting, scouting and planning also take a big chunk out of any photography project. McDougall suggested doing this on your first to second day on location if you’re going to travel a lot for your project. As with research, it’s this leg work that often opens you up to the spots to photograph as you gain a better understanding of the location — including its people, history, and culture.

Got anything to add? Do share your photography project tips with us in the comments below!

Everyone has access to a camera on a cell phone, and YouTube is the second largest search engine, yet photography and videography remain a form of fine art and a key marketing and promotional tool that requires skills and a dedication to the craft that can take years to develop.

“Video has become so prevalent in the era of YouTube. It’s something we have to be good at and have in our tool box,” said Doyle Albee, president and CEO of Comprise, a Boulder-based full-service communications company.

Comprise started out as a public relations firm that expanded to a content creation company employing video, website design and development, digital marketing, social media and trade show booths to market and increase its clients’ brand awareness, comprising “all the things that we think communication needs to be,” Albee said. “We really try to approach things so it’s not ‘what video do you need?’ but how does video play a role in your overall communication and marketing strategy?” Albee said.

Comprise, he said, identifies the story that needs to be told and the best tools to do that for all of its clients — often, video is a way to get that story out quickly, increase search-engine optimization and add to website interactivity.

“When we do some video work, really it’s about how that video is going to move the story along,” said Jennifer Stevens, vice president of creative and digital for Comprise. “We look at what the big picture is going to be and how we can take the video … from long form that lives on a client’s website … and create snippets for use in other parts of their communications program, so is it being used on social? Are we using it in paid advertisements?”

Comprise collects video footage to provide clients multiple applications for finished pieces, consistent with its strategic focus to “extend the investment” in its core offerings, Albee said. The cost to produce video can be a challenge, however, though over the past several decades it’s been on the decline, he said. “Now, you can get far better quality for 1/45th of the price,” Albee said. “The other thing that’s come down is the cost of editing.”

Video equipment used to cost in the tens of thousands and now production can be done on a laptop or home computer, and the hardware, software and cameras are less expensive. Plus, the technology has improved, making the process easier and faster.

“While the software has become easier to use and dramatically less expensive, as well as the hardware, there still needs to be the human element … to bring that together and really tell that story,” Albee said.

There’s a level of skill to using a video camera and editing tools, following the design rules and knowing how to make video great, Stevens said. She’s worked in a variety of storytelling mediums, starting her career in print and moving into website and coding work. Now, she manages a team of audio, video and animator experts at Comprise, where she’s worked for the past 10 years.

“I like there’s a lot you can do with it,” Stevens said. “It’s fun, and it takes time. There are a lot of applications you can use video for, so it’s fun to think about how we could use it in the marketing we do or our clients.”

Jonathan Castner, owner of Jonathan Castner Filmmaker/Photographer, is a Denver-based commercial filmmaker and photographer who tells the human side of a business’s story. He primarily works in film, creating explainer videos, testimonials and other content, sometimes fleshing out his storytelling packages with print.

“What I do is I connect my clients to the people who want to hire them by crafting a narrative using a documentary feel, so it doesn’t feel like advertising, marketing or sales,” Castner said. “It feels like revelation, because I’m pulling them through an honest and accurate story that makes them understand. It makes them feel they are connected.”

Castner also makes sure the story he’s producing isn’t improvised but the one that’s intended as part of a marketing or branding campaign. His type of storytelling and the work he does is tough to sell, though, since there isn’t a widely accepted term for commercial photojournalists.

“The opportunity is that there are lots and lots of people who need me … they all have a story to tell,” Castner said. “My job is to produce a series of assets that go out primarily through digital marketing … to further amplify a connection to the client.”

Castner initially worked as a photojournalist for 30 years, including as a freelance photographer for BizWest. In 2018, he left journalism to go commercial after giving a presentation on small-budget commercial promotional videos, realizing he had the needed skills, after working in stills, multimedia and video. He now works primarily with business-to-business clients, only taking on ethical projects that don’t stoop to the emotional manipulation tactics that can be found in traditional advertising.

“I have to believe in the mission; otherwise, I’m not creating a story but propaganda,” Castner said. “I’m still telling stories, and I’m still being honest and accurate, but I’m doing it in an engaging way so people have a positive feeling about this organization.”

Joel Blocker is a photojournalist and professional photographer who likes to tell the editorial side of a story through his LaPorte-based business Joel Blocker Photography. He has done freelance photography for publications such as BizWest and the Coloradoan and is focusing on special events and private photography sessions.

“I get to be creative. I get to come up with my own thing — I follow a short list at the same time,” Blocker said. “I enjoy being behind a lens, and I love the people aspect. I get to know a lot of people in the community.”

When Blocker started out in photography in the late 1990s, he worked in black-and-white images and printed them using a darkroom; now, he uses photo share applications and has more range, since camera equipment has improved in the megapixels. 

He also worked for a couple of publications in western Colorado before branching out on his own. “The challenges are pretty simple,” Blocker said. “It’s not a lot of steady work exactly. It’s not your typical 9-to-5 job. You really have to market yourself.”

The Center for Fine Art Photography, a big city art center founded in Fort Collins in 2004, takes a different approach to photography, focusing on themes for its local and international artist exhibitions, anything from the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage to stories about everyday life in a mining town.

The exhibits — there are about six to 10 each year — are coupled with artist talks. The center also offers online programs and exhibitions, photo-based installations, live building projections, educational programs and supporter and artist memberships.

“It’s a channel for artists to show their interpretation of the world. They’re interpreting trends, themes, culture and world events,” said Hamidah Glasgow, executive director and curator for the Center for Fine Art Photography.

Photographers who do their work as an art form work differently than commercial photographers and videographers, building networking relationships and submitting proposals to be part of an exhibit or to present a solo venture.

“You need to hone your craft. You need to get really good at what you do and try a lot of different things, then you find your groove,” Glasgow said. “It’s an artistic skill. It’s a passion thing. It’s what keeps you curious. You need to know the craft and follow your creative instincts.”

Photography as a hobby or art is expensive, requiring an investment in equipment and software, just as it requires in the commercial realm.

“It’s difficult to make money doing it,” Glasgow said. “You really have to have a passion for it, a sense that this is something you really need to do. It’s honing your craft and finding ways to support that passion.”

With snippets of iconic spots in the city weaved together as they move from a snowy winter to lush summer scenes, all lined up precisely, Kieran Murray‘s video of New York City is mesmerizing.

The effect is incredible thanks to the otherworldly precision. Every tree, building, and bridge line up perfectly. Beyond that, even the subjects captured seem to transport through time.

A man walks along the Brooklyn Bridge in the cold of winter. In the next second, another man resumes his pace from the exact same spot, this time in the bright sunlight of a summer day. This repeats to an almost unbelievable effect. A black dog runs, playing in a park. In the summer, another black dog repeats the same action. A car drives on the cobbled stones of Dumbo in Brooklyn. Another car picks up the route in another time. Different couples pose with the Manhattan Bridge in the background. A horse-drawn carriage completes its journey months apart (twice!). The ducks swim in park ponds as if migration were a myth.

It evokes the cyclical nature of New York City. The same spots remain popular locations for a day out, for a perfect photo opportunity, and people simply always have somewhere to be, always on the move.

“I knew from the beginning that this project was going to be a monumental task but if there was any chance of pulling it off the effect would look impressive,” Murray, who’s been working as a photographer in New York City for the past six years, tells PetaPixel.

Perhaps more captivating are the changes. Washington Square Park’s famed arch stands lonely in the snow, but in the summer it’s joined by crowds and framed by green trees. In another part, its fountain lies dormant, before viewers see the water shoot into the air. The scene and fountain are so lively a person even walks across the water in a giant bubble. A park goes from a desolate scene covered in a blanket of snow, offering only empty branches, to one with groups of people lounging on the green grass. A city comes out of hibernation before viewers’ eyes.

It’s a gorgeous video and one that’s incredibly impressive from a technical perspective. Without seeing the video in question, which is posted on TikTok and Instagram, it’s difficult to describe just how seamless the transitions truly are. The fact that Murray was able to get the framing right across scenes, with markers likely lost and buried under snow, is something to marvel at. Murray says he took note of the position, height, and framing of his tripod when taking the first set of videos. These were actually the summer images, despite the video moving from winder to the warmer months.

“Then I would bring the clips into my editing software and line up the 4k images,” Murray tells PetaPixel. “The first time I ever saw two clips transition from summer to winter on my computer screen I leaned back in my chair and smiled. I knew I had something here.”

A bigger obstacle than getting the alignment just right was out of Murray’s control. It didn’t snow during the winter of 2022 to 2023, so the NYC-based photographer wasn’t able to get the right shots to complete the project. That meant waiting for the next season, making the video take more than two years in total to complete.

“Given that I haven’t seen any kind of video like this done before I was a very steep learning curve and there were a lot of kinks to my method that I had to iron out but it was only made possible through trial and error and learning from each shot,” said Murray.

But in the end, it was worth it. Murray even hopes to continue the series, possibly expanding it globally.

“The project as a whole was actually quite a pleasant experience. It got me out of the house and gave me a reason to stop and admire the scenery in each season. I’ve lived here for eight years and I believe we tend to take our cities for granted and only explore them when friends or family visit. This was the perfect excuse to wander around and capture the beauty of New York,” he says.

“It was also quite therapeutic because I really had to slow down from the usual fast-paced lifestyle and really take the time to make sure each shot was captured perfectly. There were snow days where I was outside in freezing temperatures for 10 hours of the day. A lot of work but I believe it paid off and I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Image credits: Photographs by Kieran Murray

Almost all hobbies require gear, but photography is among the most expensive. Even amateur photographers will spend thousands on camera bodies, lenses, and lighting. And that equipment tends to be beautiful, so throwing it away once it becomes obsolete would be a travesty. Petri Damstén, a photographer from Finland, had an old flash unit gathering dust. To give it new life, he converted that flash unit into a digital clock that is perfect for decorating a photography studio.

This looks like a typical flash unit, so it is at home among other outdated camera gear on a shelf. But instead of just looking pretty and evoking a sense of nostalgia, it performs a function: displaying the time. Where the flash unit’s diffuser panel was, there is now a small TFT LCD screen that shows the current time. Below the time, there are decorative dial markings like the kind you’d see on a camera lens. Below those, there are a few additional pieces of information: the current temperature in Celsius, the date, and a dot indicating if the temperature if plus or minus (red is positive, blue is negative).

The aesthetics are perfect, as they very closely mimic the style of camera settings screens. When placed atop a nice vintage Leica, the flash unit’s display looks like something created by a German design house.

To make this work, Damstén pulled the original electronic components out of the flash unit’s enclosure and replaced them with a Raspberry Pi Pico W development board and a 1.8” ST7735-based TFT LCD screen. Damstén chose the Pico W for its built-in WiFi adapter, which lets it stay updated with NTP (Network Time Protocol) and pull weather information from the internet. He programmed that functionality using Adafruit’s CircuitPython. Power comes from a USB cable hidden behind the camera.

Photographers tend to care a great deal about design and visuals, so this should appeal to anyone with a collection of old camera gear.

WSLS 10, the Graham Media Group, Inc. owned / NBC affiliated station in Roanoke, Virginia is seeking a Photographer/Editor to join our News team.

You’ll live and work in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, plus you’re only a short drive to major metropolitan areas as well as beaches. WSLS 10 recently moved into a brand-new state-of-the-art broadcast facility.

General Position Description:

Duties associated include gathering information and making decisions on shots and audio to be used creative broadcast storytelling. The ideal candidate will be a positive, highly motivated, creative self-starter with strong work ethic. Must be a team player with the ability to work alone or with a reporter. Must be able to multi-task and be highly organized. Must be able to work evenings, weekends and holidays as required and be regularly on-call to resolve issues.

Responsibilities:

• Use video news gathering and editing equipment to create broadcast stories
• Shoot and edit video; shoot live shots as necessary
• Work independently with reporters to gather news content
• Must work with minimal supervision and under deadline pressures
• Must use the ENG truck and Backpack technology as appropriate
• Edit newscasts as required
• Ensure any live shot feed is properly routed and ready for newscasts as required

Qualifications:

• General knowledge of television news broadcasting
• Ability to edit with Grass Valley non-linear editing system (EDIUS).
• Ability to use Panasonic/JVC HD cameras.
• Ability to use TVU/LIVEU/ENG equipment for live broadcasts.
• Work with others efficiently.
• Possess strong news judgment and digital media savvy
• Non-linear editing experience
• Educational background in communications and/or journalism preferred by not required
• You must hold a valid driver’s license and be insurable under VA laws

To apply, please send links of your work, resume and references to:

Jeff Perzan jperzan@wsls.com

No phone calls, please.

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package to successful candidates.

Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verification, and reference checks. You must hold a valid driver’s license and be insurable under VA laws

WSLS 10 is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In addition to complying with the requirements of federal law, WSLS 10 will comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

A photographer out “doing what he loved” has tragically fallen hundreds of feet to his death as he tried to find a better vantage point.

19-year-old Jonathan Fielding passed away on January 27 while shooting photos on Moon Overlook near Torrey, Utah.

Fielding lost his footing while searching for a better spot to train his camera from, the shaky ground causing him to slip over the canyon edge, according to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

In an obituary posted by his family, they wrote, “We take some comfort knowing that he was doing what he loved at the time of the accident.”

“He was on a photo shoot with friends in the beautiful Utah wilderness where he loved to be,” the family adds.

His sister Rebecca Fielding tells ABC 4 that her brother was instantly killed after the 300 foot fall. She visited the spot where he died and noted that the ground was flimsy — but gave the impression that it was sturdy.

“The biggest thing that can be done to support my family is to spread awareness about hiking safety. So many people take risks, so many people just want that perfect shot, that perfect view, but it is not worth anyone’s life,” she says.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize just how dangerous those areas are, it is just so easy to just slip and fall.”

Wayne County officials have ruled Fielding’s death as accidental and emphasized that he was not climbing anything at the time, they believe he was simply trying to find a better spot for his photograph.

“It was a tragic accident, but Jonathan should be a cautionary tale to anyone who hikes or does photography,” his sister Rebecca wrote on Facebook.

“Never trust the ground on the edge of a cliff. The rocks may look solid, the ground might seem like it will hold, but it’s still an eroding ticking time bomb. All it takes is one wrong step to dislodge rocks, one moment of unbalance, a trip over a rock, and you can plummet to your death.

“No view is worth your life. No view is worth the suffering that your family and friends will go through. No view is worth the risk that rescuers face when trying to save people and recover bodies.”