By Jeff Mather
The Web is a tremendous resource for photographers. It's the place to go for the most up-to-date product information from manufacturers and to get product reviews from other photographers. You can scout locations, find unexpected places to visit, and browse other travel information. The web consolidates disparate sources of information, and with today's search engines, finding the most relevent information on almost any topic is easier than ever.
Personal web sites and home pages allow individuals and groups to stay informed and share their work with each other and the broader photographic community all over the world. Museums and art galleries from the next town over to the other side of the globe display current exhibits by professional photographers.
Of course, most of these resources have long been available in libraries, stores, and elsewhere. The advantage of the Internet, however, is the breadth of offerings available and the ability to quickly access these options.
Having all of this information available means it's possible to be exposed to new techniques, genres, and styles. While perusing these sites you might come across a set of images that piques your curiosity and leads you to look at a familiar subject in a new way. You might discover a new technique that allows you to express your artistic vision in a different way. You might find information about a technique that you've always wanted to try but didn't know enough about to attempt.
Whatever reason draws you to explore the web for photographic ideas, it can seem overwhelming or even frustrating if you don't have a place to start. If you have a particular photographic technique or technical question in mind, it might be best to start at one of the search engines (such as Google) or at an online photographic community. Photo.Net may be the best source for product reviews, answers to technical questions, and for viewing other people's images -- you can even display your own images and get critques from other photographers.
There seems to be an ever growing number of "community" sites where amateur photographers post their photos, get critiques, and ask or answer questions. The quality of images, Q & A, and critiques varies widely from site to site. Here are some of the better communities:
One area where the web cannot compete with it's physical counterpart is the quality of displayed images. It really is hard to beat an 8 by 10 inch (or larger) professionally printed and matted image that's been thoughtfully lit and grouped with similar photographs. The quality and size of computer monitors has improved over the last few years, but the size of images online has not increased (for various reasons). Furthermore, some web sites suffer from poor digital techniques, subsequently diminishing the great work of others. It's usually nicer to be there in person.
That's supposing that you actually can get there. Using your web browser you can view exhibits in Massachusetts, New York, California, Europe, and anywhere else in a single evening. Looking at a less than perfect photograph online is almost always better than not seeing it at all. Even for places you could conceivably visit, you might feel more inclined to take a look at something new via the Web.
Almost every museum now has an online presence, but the quantity of images on the sites vary widely. Some have great photographic collections and display many works online; others have good collections but limited web presence. Galleries, on the other hand, tend to disply many images because they are trying to sell prints. This makes it easier to see a wider variety of styles or get a deeper insight into a single photographer. Here are a few museums and galleries with especially nice online displays.
You might also want to routinely check various local museums' web sites for exhibits to visit online or in-person.
For listings of photography exhibits currently showing around New England, take a look at In the Loupe, a publication of the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University.
Some sites display images by some of the more celebrated photographers, provide biographical sketches, and have links to scholarly articles. Most of these are "labors of love" with questionable copyright status. A few, however, are on the level. Two interesting sites are Masters of Photography and Artchive.
Most contemporary photographers have web sites where they display their work. Some artists' web sites -- presumably those who spend a lot of time in the field -- are minimalist. Others have glossy, impressive sites -- often part of a "bricks and mortar" gallery -- where they display and sell photographs, give technical advice, and have reprints of articles they wrote for print publications.
Whatever kind of web presence these photographers have, by looking through them you'll probably have several new ideas. Here are a few impressive web sites for photographers working in the landscape / outdoor / nature genre:
We live in a visual world. Advertising and editorial images appear almost everywhere we look, as does art. The web is no different. Keep your eyes open, and you will see plenty....