The Big Inspiration Round-up.
Sources I look to when I need a creative pick-me-up.
I’ve got two kids home with me this week - one with the flu and one with Covid - so needless to say, not much in the way of productivity is happening around here.
For years I’ve been bookmarking things that inspire me online and tucking them away, mainly in the form of Safari bookmarks - I have folders named “favorites” and “inspire” with dozens of links inside. I thought today would be a good day to share some of them - and might give me a little pick-me-up as well while I’m stuck at home with these sick kiddos.
In no particular order:
One Month Two Cameras Youtube channel:
Ali is the one who started my obsession with vintage digicams. I love her photography, I love her Youtube videos, and I love that she is a middle aged mom like me and not some young Gen Z bro lol :)
The documentary 306 Hollywood.
I don’t even remember how I stumbled over this film, but it is now one of my favorite movies of all time. It opened up the idea of what “documentary” can be: that you can tell true authentic stories in a creative, magical way.
Slow cinema - particularly the movies of Kelly Reichardt and Chloe Zhao. I recently watched Showing Up, directed by Reichardt, and I absolutely loved it. And if you haven’t seen The Rider, a film Zhao made before Nomadland, you should definitely check it out. I love that she works with folks who are not actors, but part of the real life landscapes of where her films are set.
Speaking of slow cinema, I somehow stumbled across this little film by photographer Alec Soth, called Summer Nights at the Dollar Tree. It is inspired by Robert Adams’ book “Summer Nights”. I find it so peaceful. I ended up making a few little videos during lockdown in 2020 inspired by it’s quiet ambience.
While we are talking about Alec Soth, I also really like this little documentary about him.
Another little documentary that I love is this one about Sian Davey, one of my favorite photographers.
Two other docs about photographers that I find highly inspirational:
This one about Jessica Backhaus, who is a master at finding beauty in the mundane, and this one - a talk by the genius who is Sam Abell. I have a lightbulb moment every time I watch it.
Okay, moving on to New York City, which has been inspiring me since I saw the movie Fame as a kid. I have a whole shelf of biographies about artists making their way in NYC - some favorites are: Dreamtime Alice by Mandy Sayer, Savage Beauty by Nancy Milford, No Intermissions by Carol Easton and Bird’s Eye View by Dorothy Bird.
I’m currently reading and loving Girl To City by Amy Rigby, which is making me miss old NYC.
Remember the actress Brooke Smith from Silence of the Lambs? Well, she took these photos of life in the East Village in the ‘80’s, and they are pretty rad.
I also recently bought the book Street, by photographer Carrie Boretz, who documented NYC life from the 1970’s through the 1990’s, and I think its my favorite photo book I’ve bought in a year.
The photos shared in this Facebook group “Manhattan before 1990” are SO GOOD.
This interactive feature in the NY Times about block parties makes me taste summer.
Okay a few more random links:
I really love how this photographer documents her family and her travels, both in words and images.
I could fall down a rabbit hole watching pretty much any of the NY Time Op-Docs, but I especially love this one - “How Does Life Live?” by Kelly O’Brien.
This poem:
And finally, the bible - otherwise known as Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg - if you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and get a copy. It is written for writers, but I found her words just as inspirational and applicable for documentary photography.
Any others I should add to my list?