In about an hour from now, I was supposed to start teaching a photo workshop in Zion National Park. Instead, like most of you reading this, I am sitting in my home trying to figure out what life looks like going forward. Last week, I spent far too much time obsessing over the news and feeling anxious about all the suffering that is happening across the globe because of the coronavirus. This week, I am trying to focus on more productive things. Since I am assuming that many of you are going through the same evolution and might be looking for ways to occupy your mind and build your knowledge, I have pulled together a list of some of the resources I turn toward to improve my photography skills and stretch my thinking. I know that many of you are likely facing financial uncertainty, so everything I include below is free or affordable, and is available instantly online. If you find post this helpful, you are welcome to share it widely.

If you do have more to spend and are looking for an online learning opportunity, I encourage you to consider Out of Chicago LIVE, a new interactive photography conference that will be held April 24-26, 2020. I, along with 60+ other inspiring photographers, will be teaching on a variety of topics related to nature and landscape photography. You can learn more and register here: https://www.outofchicago.com/live/.

Finally, if you have a favorite photographer who makes their income through workshops and speaking engagements, please consider supporting them right now by doing things like buying tutorials/ebooks or signing up for online teaching sessions. Since many working nature photographers are self-employed, this is going to be an especially difficult time for our profession (example: most of my income for the year disappeared in a poof over the last two weeks). Self-employed people typically cannot access programs like unemployment compensation, so the loss of income from in-person workshops or speaking engagements is going to create a dire situation for some photographers who are your biggest sources of inspiration.

Resource List

I quickly pulled this post together in an afternoon and know that it is incomplete. So, if you know of a great photography resource that is free or affordable (with a focus on personal expression, living a creative life, etc) or read a particularly good article recently, please share a link in the comments below. For most of these resources, I include a general link to a full archive and then link to a few specific articles or episodes that resonated with me. Working through this list should keep you busy for at least a few weeks and help your mind focus on creative, enriching things during this difficult time. And, since we all need a little encouragement and human connection right now, if you enjoy something you find through one of these links, please let the photographer know with a nice comment or little note.

Nature Photographers Network - Learning from Experts Series

Article Archive - a fantastic collection of articles from a wide variety of authors
Ask Me Anything discussions with Charlotte Gibb, Guy Tal, Alex Noriega, Jack Curran and more
Before/After Photo Processing tutorials
In Layers Interviews - interviews about the creative process with Colleen Miniuk, Anna Morgan, and Matt Payne

Podcasts

David Johnston’s Landscape Photography Show podcast (recent episodes: TJ Thorne, Michael Bollino, John Barclay, and Ben Horne)
Matt Payne’s F-Stop Collaborate & Listen podcast (With 152 episodes, Matt’s archive is deep. Here are episodes I have in my list to listen to: Michael Strickland, Brenda Tharp, and Alex Burke.)
Lenswork Podcasts

Michael Frye’s Blog

Photo Cascadia Blog Archives

Please Don’t Tell Anyone by David Cobb (article plus the comments)
Thoughts on Grit and the Landscape Photographer by Chip Phillips
Looking Beyond Locations in Landscape Photography by Erin Babnik

Eric Bennett’s Article Archive

Ian Plant’s Shuttermonkeys TV YouTube Channel

Interview with Sean Bagshaw
Interview with Kurt Budliger
Ian’s wild trip to Mongolia at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak

I do not watch many YouTube videos so this list is woefully incomplete but here are links to a few other YouTube channels from nature photographers: Ben Horne, Josh Cripps, Nick Page, Michael Shainblum, Jack Curran, and a new channel from Sarah Lyndsay Cederholm.

Guy Tal’s Blog Archive

AFFORDABLE PAID RESOURCES

For a small yearly fee, you can also become a member or subscribe to the following sites, all of which offer top-notch educational resources for nature photographers and in the case of NPN, lots of other benefits as well (photo sharing, photo critiques, and a friendly, supportive community of like-minded people).

NPN membership (free trial options, plus monthly and yearly memberships)
On Landscape Magazine subscription (digital only)
Lenswork Magazine subscription (print and digital options)

Your Recommended Resources

If you have a favorite resource or read a particularly good article recently, please share a link below. And, if you are a nature photographer who sells tutorials or other educational products that can be accessed from home, please feel free to share information in the comments, as well.