New Blog: The Photo Fundamentalist

[Turtle]

Fine People,

I've just started a new blog, The Photo Fundamentalist (http://www.thephotofundamentalist.com), which might be of interest to you. I'll be combining documentary/reportage pieces, technique, reviews.... and all sorts. The aim is to keep it grounded and frank. After all, its therapy at a much lower price than any psychiatrist and I'd only be cheating myself 😉

I'm a huge fan of traditional rangefinders (and their modern derivatives), so some of it might be up your street (I work almost entirely with light and portable systems). Its early days and it currently constitutes 'moonlighting', but I will be working hard to keep adding content (2-4 pieces a week for now and a more when I'm out of Afghanistan) so perhaps take a peek.

Feedback is very welcome, but please keep insults and physical threats to a minimum. if you like it, make sure you let me know (and others if possible) know, because it all helps with motivation.

PS I also have a show in Switzerland on the 15th, if any of you happen to be near La Chaux-de-Fonds (http://www.nuitdelaphoto.ch/edition-2014). I'm the filling in the Simon Norfolk-Zalmai sandwich and flattered by such company!

Cheers,

Tom

 

[ironhorse]

Lively, intelligent, and informative writing. Congratulations and good luck with your blog. I have you bookedmarked and look forward to future posts. Thanks Tom.

 

[ricnak]

Excellent work. I have also bookmarked it.

 

[c.poulton]

Ditto.... Very interesting!

 

[Michael Markey]

Yes ... interesting blog.

 

[drinkingeye]

very good work! I will be around... Thanks 😎

 

[Turtle]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate you taking a look and giving me feedback. I'm just beginning to write up the Leica Monochrom, which still leaves my jaw on the floor when I look at the files....

 

[OurManInTangier]

Another bookmark here. I've had your website bookmarked for some time so I look forward to seeing more of your excellent images.

 

[Turtle]

Thanks Simon!

 

[Joe Vitessa]

Beautiful work--and good writing. Why can't all photo blogs be like this? Keep it up!

Joe

 

[froyd]

A pleasure to read and browse. Some outstanding images and engaging writing. Quite a relief from a lot of what's out there!

 

[maddoc]

Very enjoyable to read, bookmarked !

 

[biomed]

One of the most intelligent and well written photography blogs I have seen. Well done!

Mike

 

[Gregoyle]

This is one of the best photo blogs I have read in a long time. Well done, and please don't stop! You definitely have one more reader.

-Greg

 

[Richard G]

Great. Bookmarked. Thanks.

 

[2WK]

Wow, I'm already lost in a few articles and inspired to go out into the night with my Monochrom. Thanks!

 

[Jamie123]

Looks nice! Just my personal opinion, but you might want to consider slowing down the posting of new articles to a rate that you can consistently keep up in the future. Otherwise people get used to it and as soon as you don't post for a week or two they assume you've given up on the blog. 4 posts a week seems like a LOT of work especially if they're packed with images and text. If you limit the amount of posts to 1-2 or so a week you can also queue up new articles so you have something to post in those weeks when you're too busy to blog.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Looks nice! Just my personal opinion, but you might want to consider slowing down the posting of new articles to a rate that you can consistently keep up in the future. Otherwise people get used to it and as soon as you don't post for a week or two they assume you've given up on the blog. 4 posts a week seems like a LOT of work especially if they're packed with images and text. If you limit the amount of posts to 1-2 or so a week you can also queue up new articles so you have something to post in those weeks when you're too busy to blog.

Seconded!

Cheers,

R.

 

[TennesseJones]

Great blog. Bookmarked! (And a Londoner too, excellent.) Thanks for sharing.

 

[Turtle]

Thanks Jamie and Roger and I completely take it on board - its something I have been thinking about and don't want to get wrong.

I've got a number of articles pre-written, or in draft format, and went through a couple of extremely busy weeks on other fronts which meant little writing of new material and posting what was already 'in stock'. I think I should be able to maintain the current pace of about 10+ a month, but worst case scenario would fall down to, say 5. I'll certainly have a further think about the pace, because I don't want to run out of material and have people think I've stopped!!! I think this is where RSS feeds are useful for the reader, so you get alerted when new articles have been posted, rather than having to go back and check all the time.

I will say at this stage that this blog is part of a wider effort and is a priority of mine, so I am trying to take the approach of making time, rather than finding time if that makes sense. I also intend to do a lot more with it that what you see now and I will be thinking about how to structure the coming evolutions.

Thanks everyone for your support and I'm stoked to hear that many of you like the way it is written and 'pitched'. I had to think about this quite a bit, because I did not want to fall 'between stools'. It seems that taking the true to self approach and the one my instincts led me towards was the right one, which I'm really pleased about; it makes the process of blogging all the more enjoyable.

btw, I am still going to keep contributing here and look forward to seeing Roger post on Les Rencontres d'Arles. I may be able to go again this year and hope to see RFFers there again!