blogs of photogs

Mattijn Franssen of The Netherlands makes fantastic surreal works of art that you can browse through on his site here or on his flickr page here. Much of his work on Flickr are photomontages (frequently self portraits) from his own photography works, but he also a self taught oil painter and illustrator. Wandering through his large quantity of work left me feeling like I was in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, especially as put forth in Peter Jackson’s LOTR movies. Mattijn has just a ridiculous amount of talent and I hope you enjoy this “something different” on Blogs of Photogs.

~Mary

Jodie Otte works out of the Black Horse Studio located in Northern Baltimore County, Maryland. Her blog can be found here, where you will see a beautiful sampling of her work with clients ranging in age from days old to families. Jodie is equally comfortable and skilled at using both studio lighting and natural light, and her blog also features lots of slices of life from the nature surrounding her home in the cornfields. Aside from being an accomplished and talented photographer, Jodie is also excellent at self-promotion and marketing and has a thriving workshop business and book offerings for photographers as well. I first met Jodie on a parenting forum nearly 10 years ago now, and though I don’t often get over to her blog, it was such fun to see how her kids have grown, and to find that she also keeps chickens (!) as we entered into keeping chickens ourselves this year! You’ll find lots of photographic inspiration here!

~Enjoy!

Mary

Bob Smith of No Traces has one of the largest online portfolio’s of amazing work that I’ve reviewed on Blogs of Photogs. Where to start… well you can go to his photoblog to view a singular image with a quote or lyrics or small writing, or read his blog to catch up on his thoughts, or view his flickr stream (my faves are in his “one’s I like” stream here…)

Bob’s passion for photography & life and his artistry and documentary style were just a wonderful place for me to get lost in. So, get a big cup of coffee and sit down and be entralled.

Enjoy!

Mary

Crash Taylor is a highly sought after and talented wedding photographer who is based in the UK in Nottingham and Derby. Crash’s style leans toward photojournalistic, with an eye for catching those moments that might easily be missed. He also has some great HDR images on his blog, always great to see when done well. Crash does a phenomenal job of finding the most amazing backdrops for his clients… really inspirational.

Crash also has a separate site that I’m sure many of my readers would love: Interviews by Crash Taylor where he does an in depth interview with various wedding photographers, great info, and fun to read too. Check it out here.

Enjoy!

~Mary

Eye in the Sky photography, owned by Kene Sperry, is based out of Big Sky, Montana, but he travels internationally to provide his elegant and artful wedding photography. Kene doesn’t have a blog, so I’m straying from my usual practice of featuring blogs, but his site has several sections where you can enjoy the cinematic artistry of his work~ from his portfolio, to his present moment section featuring weddings of 2008, to his slideshows and book samples. His work is brilliant, and a true archive of his clients special day- I know you will enjoy his site.

Mary

Enrique Vidal’s photoblog features a variety of landscape and travel images of astonishing beauty. To navigate through his blog, click the “Previous” link under his name to go back through each prior posting. I also discovered you can click on the photo with the same result. Enrique has travelled extensively, partly due to his work as an oceanographer, he has even to travelled to Antarctica, an amazing rarity in the photographic world. His work on his blog is mesmerizing and lovely; I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

~Mary

Spend a few minutes on Matt Nicolosi’s blog, and you will get a feel that he is a fun guy and that he really loves photography. I mean really. I have to admit it took me quite a while of hitting refresh to decide which of his “bio-pics” and header combo’s to use for my little screenshot up there. Every refresh it is a new one, from photos of him as a child, to fun ones like the iPhone eyes above. I love little details like this.

Matt’s blog features a dizzying array of amazing inspiration in color, texture and light. Lots of amazing architecture and travel shots, just beautiful work. Matt should really be working for a travel magazine, or shooting for an online travel or architecture website… really outstanding! Now, if you stopped at his blog, and didn’t make it to his site, you’d think that was it. But no, his site has loads of gorgeous client work too. I’m not sure why there are so few client sessions on his blog (could be a slow time, or too busy, or lazy, like me, lol) but make sure you check out his site too by clicking here. Matt’s work is not to be missed.

~Enjoy!

Mary

I wish the banner for Archibald Photography Blog had some photos in it, but after looking at lots of photographers blogs in the Britain, Scotland, Ireland, etc, I find it seems, oddly, to be more common for them not to. However, make sure you scroll down a bit to get to the wonderful wedding photography featuring some of the most amazing backdrops (and men in kilts! Love that!) and architecture. Amazing castles and ruins and more… and I love the processing on some of the images, gives them such an otherworldly feel. You can access their portrait work via the top bar links as well, some great stuff here. Archibald photography works in Scotland and is available for travel around the UK and internationally.

~Enjoy!

Mary

Kathleen’s photoblog is subtitled “A Walk through Durham Township, Pennsylvania. Her photos are lush, gorgeous and, in this age of flickr where everyone thinks they are a “photographer,” remniscent of the fact that properly framing, exposing and *gasp*, even waiting for the right photo are hallmarks of the true art form of photography. Kathleen has a lovely mix of human and landscape portraiture, for a quick synopsis of her portfolio, click on her “best pictures” link up top of her page, but when you have a great mug of java and at least 15 minutes, click through back one at a time. Truly worth it, and a fitting tribute to the lovely Thanksgiving I will wish all my American readers enjoy tomorrow.

~Enjoy!

Mary

I was fortunate to get an advance copy of The Life of a Photograph by Sam Abell to review before it’s release today. In this lovely coffee-table style book, Sam, a photographer for National Geographic, shares 200 of his amazing images taken over the last 40 years. This is a book that you will gain inspiration from each time you open it, it really is that amazing. My favorites were the “two views of a ___” where oppposing pages show two different photographs of the same thing, either a closeup and a wide view, or a different angle, or the difference between the same place with time between. The limited accompanying text strikes the perfect balance, explaining or adding to when necessary, and letting the photos do the talking when that is enough.  There were so many photos that moved me and made me go back to look at them over and over-

Anyway, the book is available starting today (link from Amazon up in first line), and I highly recommend this beautiful work of art. Hope you all enjoy this slight break from digital into the world of print.

~enjoy

Mary