Gallery: Get to Know Our Favorite Photobloggers
01m-scott-brauer-matt-lutton
Raw File is relatively new to the photography-blog scene, and as an act of both goodwill to the community that inspires us and as a service to Wired readers looking for more quality photography coverage on the web, we're spotlighting some of our favorite photobloggers out there right now. These bloggers are interested in where photography and culture dance. They wonder not only what we do with photography, but what photography does with us. They are hostile toward elitism as much as they are to clichés. Measured by any metric, each blog is a labor of love with a personal, distinct and knowledgeable voice. The internet is vast, and this is by no means a comprehensive list. But we consider a visit to these sites time well-spent. This is meant to be a resource for photo enthusiasts and not necessarily an article to be read in one sitting, so feel free to bookmark this page and come back to digest it in small bites. Read on to meet the photo scribes behind some exemplary blogs. If you don't see your favorite photobloggers profiled here, please let us and our readers know about them in the comments. __Above:__ __The Wide-Eyed Young Photojournalists__ ---------------------------------------- __Blog:__ [dvafoto](http://www.dvafoto.com/) __Bloggers:__ Matt Lutton (left) and M. Scott Brauer __Location:__ Belgrade, Serbia (Lutton) and China (Brauer) __Day job:__ Photographers __Blogging since:__ 2005 Brauer and Lutton met at college (neither studied photography) and kicked around the stacks of Black Star Agency in New York as interns before deciding the best way to make it in the world of photojournalism was to move half way across the globe. Since 2008, Matt has been based in Serbia and Scott in China. Dvafoto’s link-replete posts are international in scope and characterized by genuine respect and care for photojournalism. Expect discussion of new industry models for funding and recommendations of young colleagues' work. “We tend toward focusing on documentary, long-term photography," says Brauer by e-mail: > We are two young editorial/documentary photographers trying to make a living and a mark on photojournalism, and we write from this perspective. We'll comment on the news, international or within the industry, from the seat of being Americans living abroad working in the media. The hellfire wrought on \[traditional\] photojournalism by the economy and the internet is a perennial topic. > > News photography as it is published rarely rises above the level of illustration, serving the written word. Photography at its best operates as its own document, both informing and being informed by an accompanying article. This sort of photography is being produced — often independently and at great cost to photographers — and with little outlet to the public at large. *Wired.com recommends: [Interview: Molly Landreth and Embodiment: A Portrait of Queer Life in America](http://www.dvafoto.com/2010/05/interview-molly-landreth-and-embodiment-a-portrait-of-queer-life-in-america/) and [DVAFOTO Book Club, Vol. 1: The Hurt Locker](http://www.dvafoto.com/2010/04/dvafoto-book-club-vol-1-the-hurt-locker/).*
02jeff-ladd
The Bookworm ------------ __Blog:__ [5B4](http://5b4.blogspot.com/) __Blogger:__ Jeff Ladd __Location:__ New York City __Day job:__ Book publisher, teacher, photographer __Blogging since:__ April 2007 Ladd, one of the founders of [Errata Books](http://errataeditions.com/index.html), is an informed voice on book-specific 5B4. As well as reviews of photography and art-related publications, Ladd will pen the occasional [dispatch from an international book festival](http://5b4.blogspot.com/2010/05/kassel-fotobook-festival-2010.html). As a kid, Ladd skated and grew radishes. Ladd laments a lack of discussion in the blogosphere on rare Italian-artist books from the '70s and recommends that we check out "all of the great photography books that are currently out of print, too rare, and too expensive for younger people to buy." (This is an effort Ladd and his colleagues are leading with the [Errata Books on Books Project](http://errataeditions.com/books_on_books.html).) *Wired.com recommends: Ladd's selection of [Best Books of 2009](http://5b4.blogspot.com/2009/12/best-books-of-2009.html).*
03blake-andrews
The Prankster ------------- __Blog:__ [B](http://blakeandrews.blogspot.com/) __Blogger:__ Blake Andrews __Location:__ Eugene, Oregon __Day job:__ Photographer __Blogging since:__ November 2007 Andrews’ sideways and irreverent commentaries are refreshing in the photoblog zeitgeist. Fond of the visual gag, Andrews often connects dots between photography and pop culture. “I have no training in writing or criticism or even photography,” he says, “and no connections to anyone in the art world. I am a complete outsider.” He points to the availability of images on the internet as the biggest difference between photoblogging and conventional criticism. No longer does one need the physical book to talk about a photographer. A Google image search will suffice. But there are still opportunities online that he’d like to see more photographers exploit: > I'd like to see more day-to-day journaling from prominent photographers. Not the usual show or book announcements you see on all blogs, but thoughts by photogs as they work through ideas. [Mark Tucker](http://marktucker.wordpress.com/)'s or [Richard Renaldi](http://richardrenaldi.blogspot.com/)'s blogs are good examples. But it would be great to see this sort of thing from top-shelf stars. Can you imagine a Friedlander blog? Or a Martin Parr blog or a Sally Mann blog? I think the only thing comparable so far was [Alec Soth's blog](http://alecsothblog.wordpress.com/) which was great. Alec Soth's blog was really *the* landmark photoblog. It was the Lexington and Concord of photoblogs. Andrews also has an extensive list of what he’d like to see less of on photoblogs: > Less 6 x 7 aspect ratio color photos of the human-nature interface delicately composed, with everything in focus; less portraiture with desaturated colors; less perfectionism; less constructed images and more found images; less commercial advertising on blogs; and less equipment talk. Instead, he’d like to see "more unpublished street photography circa 1965-1985; more creative quizzes, lists, contests, and generally interactive posts; and more trading of prints, books and other physical objects." *Wired.com recommends: [The Ode to the Lowly Sprocket Hole](http://blakeandrews.blogspot.com/2010/06/brief-history-of-sprocket-holes.html) and [My Favorite MLK Photo](http://blakeandrews.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-favorite-mlk-photo.html).*
04mrs-deane
The Europeans ------------- __Blog:__ [Mrs. Deane](http://www.beikey.net/mrs-deane/) __Bloggers:__ Norman Beierle and Hester Keijser __Location:__ The Hague, Netherlands __Day job:__ Making visual art, photography, photo gallery curation, photo-book production, writing, lecturing __Blogging since:__ March 2006 Mrs. Deane is not a woman, Mrs. Deane is not even one person. With an eye for kitsch postcards, ad imagery, stereograms, vintage photos, the finest of art and the snapshot aesthetics of family albums, Beierle and Keijser always keep you guessing. Expect each blog post to shunt you out of your visual comfort zone. Mrs. Deane, in the words of its bloggers, “trails the endless fields of photography, seeking what feeds the eye, nourishes the soul and riddles the mind.” Beierle and Keijser encourage us to hunt down more photography that isn’t widely available online, and to spend less time talking about photography and more time thinking: > It's the more far-reaching questions concerning the role, function and position of photography in our society that never get asked, because we simply don't have the time to think them through. *Wired.com recommends: [A Sunday Stroll Through Awful Library Book Blog](http://www.beikey.net/mrs-deane/?p=4022) and [All Along the Watchtower (The Bechers in Palestine)](http://www.beikey.net/mrs-deane/?p=3010).* *Photo: "Self Portrait of the Artist as a Weeping Narcissus (free after Olaf Nicolai)" © Norman Beierle 2010.*
05bryan-formhals
The Community Organizer ----------------------- __Blog:__ [La Pura Vida](http://lapuravidagallery.com/blog/) __Blogger:__ Bryan Formhals __Location:__ Brooklyn, New York's Greenpoint neighborhood __Day job:__ Social media manager __Blogging since:__ February 2008 Photography on La Pura Vida hovers between fine art and documentary. It’s drawn primarily from the Flickr community Formhals and his cohorts have built. In regular op-ed appearances, Formhals attempts to make sense of the onslaught of photography, social media and their meaningful intersections. Balancing the benefits (visibility, direct relationships with clients, self-determination) of the digital age against its downsides (continued battle for mind share, added self-marketing responsibility, image use and control), Formhals is a cheerleader for emerging artists without shying away from the sticky conversations about distribution, payment and self-marketing: > *LPV* is unique. We're not necessarily focused on promoting photography that makes it into galleries and books. *LPV* speaks for the photographers working on the periphery of the art world, the passionate amateurs who have worked to build an audience on the web. > > I would like to see more vernacular work from developing countries. We often see these lands through the eyes of western photojournalists who do a great job of showing us the difficult conditions, but I don't think this is the entire picture, pardon the pun. The web and digital cameras allow virtually anyone to make and share photographs. I think it'd be interesting to see photographs from ordinary people in these countries. Of course, economics might make this challenging. Formhals is a busy man. As well as LPV, he’s cranking the gears at [Street Reverb Magazine](http://streetreverbmagazine.com/), as well as [InOrbitNewYork](http://inorbitnewyork.tumblr.com/) and the Flickr group [Hard Core Street Photography](http://www.flickr.com/groups/onthestreet/pool/). Each advances the work of enthusiasts and street shooters. *Wired.com recommends: Formhals' five-parter on the use of [social media tools Flickr, Facebook, Tumblr, blogging and Twitter](http://lapuravidagallery.com/blog/2010/08/social-media-photography-observations-part-1-introduction/).*
06colin-pantall
The Pundit ---------- __Blog:__ [Colin Pantall's Blog](http://colinpantall.blogspot.com/) __Blogger:__ Colin Pantall __Location:__ Bath, England __Day job:__ Writer, photographer, teacher __Blogging since:__ December 2007 Preoccupied with visual culture at large, Pantall draws frequent parallels to literature, television and film. The result is an eclectic exploration of what "does and doesn’t make photography work." "The best photography blogs arise out of a passion for something outside photography," says Pantall by e-mail: > These blogs contextualize photography and make sense of the great chaos in which images exist. They also have a depth, feeling and knowledge that helps make sense of the creative (and non-creative) surges that are currently taking place in photography. > > I value most the times when I find a groove in which passion and cynicism combine to cut to the chase of what photography is really about. It becomes unique when neither I, nor the readers, are sure if my rhetoric is entirely serious. *Wired.com recommends: [Propagandists](http://colinpantall.blogspot.com/2010/01/propagandists.html) and [Who Took the Myra Hindley Photograph?](http://colinpantall.blogspot.com/2010/01/who-took-myra-hindley-photograph.html)*
07joerg-colberg
The Godfather ------------- __Blog:__ [Conscientious](http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/) __Blogger:__ Joerg Colberg __Location:__ Northampton, Massachusetts __Day job:__ Writer, photographer, photography teacher, former astrophysicist __Blogging since:__ July 2002 Joerg Colberg is a pioneer in photography blogging, and his blog Conscientious maintains a tight editorial voice. With eight years of committed blogging, Colberg has forged his own space in the photography ecosystem. He contributes to global publications, judges contests, operates his own [competition](http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/2010/09/cpc_2010_and_the_winners_are/), curates the [Independent Photo Book](http://theindependentphotobook.blogspot.com/) and recently ventured into [publishing](http://meier-mueller.com/Home.html). Conscientious features photographers with a minimum of fuss: The images go front-and-center, and a portfolio must do its own legwork. Colberg only blogs work he respects, so if you want his more *au contraire* side, you’ll have to visit [Conscientious Redux](http://conscientious.tumblr.com/). “I don't think there are obvious, simple answers for most of today's issues," says Colberg by e-mail: > I'm trying to look at the different angles of any given topic. I'm looking for photography that leaves me with questions and not only with answers, and I am trying to bring that to the blog itself. > > Photography, by its nature, is visual, so it can be viewed by people that might not speak the same language and that would be unable to communicate otherwise. Blogging and other online forms of publishing allow photographers and photo enthusiasts from all over the world to share an experience. *Wired.com recommends: [A Conversation With Olaf Otto Becker](http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/extended/archives/a_conversation_with_olaf_otto_becker/) and [A Conversation With Richard Mosse](http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/extended/archives/a_conversation_with_richard_mosse/), just two examples from the archive of [Conversations](http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/extended/authors/joerg_colberg/) Joerg has shared with his readers.*
08qiana-mestrich
The Advocate ------------ __Blog:__ [Dodge & Burn](http://dodgeburn.blogspot.com/) __Blogger:__ Qiana Mestrich __Location:__ Brooklyn, New York __Day job:__ Search engine marketer, fine-art photographer __Blogging since:__ January 2007 Mestrich’s generous commentary is an antidote to the egos that have been known to surface in the photography blogosphere. Her interviews with, and promotion of, photographers of color have redressed the prior lack of coverage of minority photogs. African, Asian, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander and Aleutian heritage, as well as women photographers are all groups Mestrich says are often "dodged" by the art scene and "burned" by art history. “Blogging for me,” she says, “has been a great way to discover photographers of color from the past, connect with those working in the present, and inspire photographers of the future. I've had many photography teachers e-mail me to say that they use Dodge & Burn as required reading in their curriculum.” She continues: > There needs to be more people of color in "gatekeeper" positions (publishers, editors, curators, gallery owners, etc) in order to change the inequalities within photographer assignments, awards and exposure. > > Historically, people and communities of color have been photographed during times of struggle and misery. I'd love to see more photography projects and reportage reflecting the positive and uplifting times. *Wired.com recommends: [Interview with Aida Muluneh](http://dodgeburn.blogspot.com/2009/08/photographer-interview-aida-muluneh.html).*
09john-edwin-mason
The Professor ------------- __Blog:__ [John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History](http://johnedwinmason.typepad.com/) __Blogger:__ John Edwin Mason __Location:__ Charlottesville, Virginia, and Cape Town, South Africa __Day job:__ Professor of history at University of VIrginia, part-time documentary and motor-sports photographer __Blogging since:__ March 2009 Mason deals with America’s visual heritage in fresh and often surprising ways. He mines the Farm Security Administration photography archives and applies the back stories, social contexts and even a smattering of jazz and car-culture references. Set against the current networks of (social) media exchange, academic writing is facing a [direct challenge](http://www.david-campbell.org/2010/03/30/social-media-university/). Mason is a rare example of an academic opening up his writing for wider readership. He’s also a [professor who tweets](http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/more-professors-are-using-twitter-but-mostly-not-for-teaching/27354). “You can’t understand photography in a vacuum,” says Mason: > I'm especially interested in the histories and social forces that shape the ways in which photographers produce images and the ways in which audiences make sense of them. > > My voice is informal. I never want to use jargon or the language of academic discourse. If you know how to write, you can talk about complicated things in uncomplicated language. *Wired.com recommends: [Esther Bubley's Erotic Photography](http://johnedwinmason.typepad.com/john_edwin_mason_photogra/2009/09/ester-bubleys-erotic-photography.html).* *Photo by Justin Sadacca*
TONY FOUHSE 200910tony-fouhse
The Photog ---------- __Blog:__ [Drool](http://tonyfoto.com/drool/) __Blogger:__ Tony Fouhse __Location:__ Ottawa, Canada __Day job:__ Photographer __Blogging since:__ July 2006 Fouhse distinguishes himself from the thousands of blogging photographers with funny and vulnerable prose. He shoots USER, a portraiture project about a single Ottawa city block, in collaboration with crack addicts. Into its fourth year, USER is not without its controversy, so to have an open line on the thoughts and ethical dilemmas of the photographer is the type of added value for which blogs were made. Weekly blog posts on Drool have, to a degree, open-sourced the ethical and emotional content of this difficult work. “I try to be honest,” says Fouhse, “but I'll never name names": > The only person I ever call out is myself. Drool is opinion, thoughts and queries; some tough-love and a bit of neurosis (or, what I prefer to call ‘obsession’). There is, from time to time, some hype, but it is never unadulterated hype. Drool admits shortfalls and failures; it wonders at successes. Drool scratches its head a lot. > > Creativity is not gear, it's not hype, it's not a list of all the kool jobs the blogger has shot and it's not gee-whizz. Creativity is thought and speculation, effort and questioning, trial and error. *Wired.com recommends: [Okay, I'm Confused. Okay](http://tonyfoto.com/drool/2010/07/17/okay-im-confused-okay/) and [Time Lapse](http://tonyfoto.com/drool/2010/08/15/time-lapse/).*
11bruno-decock
The Humanitarian ---------------- __Blog:__ [MSF Photoblog](http://msf.ca/blogs/photos) __Blogger:__ Bruno Decock __Location:__ Brussels, Belgium __Day job:__ Photographer, Medecins Sans Frontieres photo editor __Blogging since:__ January 2009 Decock has taken the helm at the Medecin Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) photoblog and steered it through a successful, reflexive period, responding to [criticism and Angst within the photojournalist field](http://duckrabbit.info/blog/2009/08/msf-cineama-advert-have-your-say/). No shock or guilt trips here: Expect informative images of the developing world from top-shelf photographers — Donald Weber, Alixandra Fazzina, Carl de Keyzer and Lynsey Addario, to name a few. MSF recently partnered with esteemed VII Photo Agency on the [Starved for Attention](http://www.starvedforattention.org/blog/) campaign against childhood malnutrition. Before that it spearheaded the [Condition Critical](http://www.condition-critical.org/map/) media campaign to raise awareness about the conflict in eastern Congo. According to Decock, MSF “always tries to show events from the perspective of the population that is directly affected.” "We focus on images from our archive that are less likely to be used in our regular publications," says Decock by e-mail: > We get a lot of good images from both professional and amateur photographers working as MSF staff in the field, but are not used because they may not "fit" the style or message of a publication. > > Our archive hosts a remarkable collection of images documenting humanitarian crises of the last 40 years, with work by some exceptional photographers. The archive is not accessible outside of our organization; the blog allows us to share some of these images with the public. *Wired.com recommends: Freely browsing through the many quality photos on MSF.*
12aline-smithson
The Teacher ----------- __Blog:__ [Lenscratch](http://lenscratch.blogspot.com/) __Blogger:__ Aline Smithson __Location:__ Los Angeles __Day job:__ Educator, editor, curator, writer, photographer __Blogging since:__ February 2007 Lenscratch follows a dedicated format: Artist statement, brief introduction to the work by Smithson and then a dozen or so images. The blog gives emerging and established photographers the same treatment. Of all Lenscratch’s 17 bloggers, Smithson has the most open interest in different photographic styles. “Often, I am learning about the photographer along with my readers," says Smithson by e-mail: > I tend not to be critical; if I don't like something, I don't post it. > > Photographers need to \[better\] articulate why they are making the work they are making. They also should share failures, mishaps and unfair practices as a way of keeping it real. It would be interesting if everyone broadcast their rejections and failures. *Wired.com recommends: Aline's features on [Michael Jang](http://lenscratch.blogspot.com/2010/09/michael-jang.html) and [Bobby Davidson](http://lenscratch.blogspot.com/2010/09/bobby-davidson.html).*
13rachel-hulin-kate-steciw
The Hostesses ------------- __Blog:__ [The Photography Post](http://thephotographypost.com/) __Bloggers:__ Kate Steciw (left), Rachel Hulin (right) and Danielle Swift (not shown) __Location:__ New York City __Day job:__ Hulin is a photographer, photo editor and writer. Steciw describes herself as “a photo-based artist, writer, educator and retoucher (in that order).” Danielle Swift is a Brooklyn-based artist and former Director of Post Production for Michael Thompson Studio. __Blogging since:__ February 2010 *The Photography Post, or TPP,* is primarily an aggregator — a collection of the best photocentric RSS feeds with thumbnails. It also pushes its own content with the community-minded [Go Here, Do This!](http://thephotographypost.com/blogs/category/Calendar) bulletin on books, openings and lectures. TPP pogo-sticks between commercial work, DIY photoshoppings and contemporary fine art. TPP’s [MoOPC](http://thephotographypost.com/museum) points enthusiastically toward both the wackiest and most-traditional online photo archives. “I started writing about photography for Photoshelter's Shoot! the Blog, and I was hooked, " says Hulin. "I try to shoot as much as possible, to keep the writing and the photography feeding each other." Hulin maintains a second photography blog with the cunning name, [A Photography Blog](http://www.rachelhulin.com/blog/). Hulin adds: > One of the primary goals of The Photography Post is to bring the many disparate photoblogs out there to one place as a live newsfeed and compliment that with our own brand of original content as well as an ever–evolving marketplace. We think it makes a lot of a sense for our readers, who are inherently visual people." In the year before the launch of TPP, Steciw noticed an increase in the number of blogs and the number of photographic genres explored in the photo-blogosphere: > We recently created the [Index](http://thephotographypost.com/feature/index) to allow anyone to post interesting content or images, whether they have a blog or not. Our goal is to create a community. The value of these social networks to photography across genres cannot be overstated. Interested in the potential of new media and Chris Anderson's concept of 'Free', co-founder Swift emphasizes TPP's delivery of "free materials to inspire and support reader interests." *Wired.com recommends: [Asger Carlsen Is So "Wrong" He's Right](http://thephotographypost.com/blogs/post/kate/asger-carlsen-is-so-wrong-hes-right-1684) and [Mari Bastashevski: File 126](http://thephotographypost.com/blogs/post/kate/mari-bastashevski-file-126-1488). And never, ever, ever miss the [Friday Round Up!](http://thephotographypost.com/blogs/category/Beyond)*
?? David White 200414duckrabbit
The Lovable Rascals ------------------- __Blog:__ [Duckrabbit](http://duckrabbit.info/blog/) __Bloggers:__ David White and Benjamin Chesterton __Location:__ London and Bristol, England __Day job:__ Journalism, production company __Blogging since:__ September 2008 White (Rabbit) and Chesterton (Duck) are cheeky, loudmouthed charmers: the opinionated disruptive kids in the class who always got away with it. White and Chesterton call BS on careerism and solipsism. They “blog for fun” and describe the blogosphere as “bigger than a 360 panorama of the universe on a billboard": > Photographs won’t save the world, no media will, but if photos are paired thoughtfully with audio, they can make the world a whole lot easier to understand. Duckrabbit is hell-bent on seeing new media and publishing platforms in the hands of the poor, the disenfranchised — those who’ve traditionally been the subjects of journalism. > > The tagline of our blog is "Where photography, art, audio and journalism collide (sparks may fly)." We're known for the sparks but mostly we're just sharing our wonder with the world.... We just try to be totally true to ourselves and our readers. We don't have time for posturing or egos. *Wired.com recommends: Duckrabbit's impassioned [defense of Haitian photographer Daniel Morel against AFP](http://duckrabbit.info/blog/2010/10/afp-cnn-getty-abc-v-morel-why-this-case-matters-to-all-professional-photographers-or-why-getty-could-be-selling-your-photos-without-you-even-knowing/) which also includes some [fierce questions to Visa Pour l'Image director J.F. Leroy](http://duckrabbit.info/blog/2010/09/dear-mr-leroy/) for his defense of AFP. Duckrabbit repeatedly succeeds in drawing out industry leaders to answer questions in public forums.* *Photo: Reluctant to show his "ugly mug," White provided one of his images of a recuperating Sri Lankan child soldier at a secret recovery camp in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. David White (2005).*
