Make Your Movie-Night Inspiring!

The relentless schedule of courses and homework can often make you feel burnt out on studying photography, but I have a list of five movies and a television series for you to catch that might help you feel a little more inspired as a professional as opposed to student in your downtime.

1. "Capture With Mark Seliger"

I have this show set to record on my DVR.  It airs on the Ovation channel (on DirecTV for me) on Sundays at 4:00 and 4:30 p.m.  Seliger, the host, has some very famous guest photographers come talk about their experiences and he also has some famous actors who might surprise you as being photographers and enthusiasts!  They discuss iconic photos as well as have a Q&A at the end.  I highly recommend checking into this series.

2.  "'Fur' – An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus"

Starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr., this movie does not portray completely accurate truths about the life of Arbus, but it does tell the story of her transformation from lonely housewife to iconic photographer.  This would be a nice drama to watch for some much-needed downtime while staying sharp on all-things photography.

3.  "Annie Leibovitz 'Life Through A Lens'"

I have seen this movie before and I think it's great to learn about the experiences of such an esteemed, highly-sought-after portrait photographer and listen to the testimonies of those who have had a chance to work with her.  

4.  "Henri Cartier-Bresson 'The Impassioned Eye'"

Another big name in photography, Cartier Bresson's life and career are illustrated in this movie.  

5.  “Guest of Cindy Sherman”

A truthful depiction of Sherman's creative mind and artistic process.  "She made her debut in the art world with “Filmstills” – 69 black and white images that show Sherman herself in different situations that resemble scenes from famous movies." (Behrmann)   Intrigued?  Check it out!

Tuesday's Personal Pick:  "The Bridges of Madison County"

I know, I know, I'm a sucker for romance and dramatic cinema, so it should be no surprise that I would feel compelled to sneak in one of my personal favorites...  "What does this movie have to do with the list," you might be wondering?  Well, Clint Eastwood plays Robert Kincaid, a National Geographic photographer on assignment in Iowa to document the covered bridges.  (I bet it makes sense now why I put it on the list. *wink*)  It is not as educational as some of the documentaries here but it doesn't stray from the central theme of all-things photography.  

There are many, many movies out there about photography and famous photographers, but I thought I would keep the list short and sweet.  Do you have any recommendations on movies or television shows that discuss our central theme?  Please list them below in the comments!  Thanks for reading today!

Works Cited

Behrmann, Kai. "The 10 Best Photography Movies." topphotographyfilms. Top Photography Films, Inc., 18 July 2013. Web. 8 Sept. 2014. <http://topphotographyfilms.com/videos/the-10-best-photography-movies/ >

"Capture With Mark Seliger." ovation. Ovation, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ovationtv.com/series/capture-with-mark-seliger/ >

"'Fur'--An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus." Photograph. topphotographyfilms. Top Photography Films, Inc., 18 July 2013. Web. 8 Sept. 2014. <http://topphotographyfilms.com/videos/the-10-best-photography-movies/ >

"Guest of Cindy Sherman." Photograph. topphotographyfilms. Top Photography Films, Inc., 18 July 2013. Web. 8 Sept. 2014. <http://topphotographyfilms.com/videos/the-10-best-photography-movies/>

"Henri Cartier-Bresson 'The Impassioned Eye.'" Photograph. topphotographyfilms. Top Photography Films, Inc., 18 July 2013. Web. 8 Sept. 2014. <http://topphotographyfilms.com/videos/the-10-best-photography-movies/ >

"Life Through A Lens." Photograph. topphotographyfilms. Top Photography Films, Inc., 18 July 2013. Web. 8 Sept. 2014. <http://topphotographyfilms.com/videos/the-10-best-photography-movies/>

"The Bridges of Madison County." Photograph. rottentomatoes, Flixster, Inc., n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2014. <http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bridges_of_madison_county/ >

What Do You Drive?

Greetings fellow shooters! Tuesday Ambassador Stanley, here welcoming you to another Tuesday. So what inspires you? I know what you are going to say and it is probably pictures. Actually I would have probably given the same answer as well. In this case, though, it is not the answer I am looking for.

Maybe viewing paintings is your soul source of your inspiration. Perhaps you are one who likes a good book or one who fathoms about the layouts of a particular magazine. Usually a great flick is something people never turn down. How about Youtube, music or even video games? What drives you to do what you do? Whatever it may be, it goes to show in the work that you do each and every day.

Key point here is you should always follow the sources of inspiration that drive you to be where you are at today. I mean, without it, what in the world would you create if there is no drive? It does not matter when, where or how you go about to get your dosage of inspiration. Day or night, rain or shine, happy, sad or angry, we all need to keep up with what inspires us. The things that inspire us are what help to keep us creative and for the most part sane, depending on who you ask.

World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment 

So what inspires me? Well I have many avenues of inspiration whether it is music, movies, video games or even other peoples’ work. Perhaps for the longest time my total source of inspiration was from video games. However, for the past few years now gaming has been nothing but a past time for me. I recall playing an overly addictive game called World of Warcraft or World of Warcrack for the fully aware. Now I just call it World of Warcrap because I have my reasons. I am sure the vast majority of you, if not all, have heard about the game or maybe even played it from time, to time and time again. Why did I play it? It was not mainly for the aspect of wasting time, albeit it did, but for the simple fact of the in-game landscapes. Yes, I got photographic inspiration from a silly make believe game because it was a creation of someone’s artistic vision of which I do not play anymore.

So where am I going with this? Let’s just say that I’m writing this to bring to your attention the fact that nobody should completely neglect artists’ creative and highly inspirational works because then you will never know what you have been ignoring. Even if it is just a blog you like to follow, it is a source of inspiration that drives you to think and create. So what inspires you? I would love to read what inspires you in the comments below. And as always, thanks for reading.

- Tues. Amb. Stanley

Image - Entertainment, Blizzard. "World of Warcraft’s Seventh Anniversary! - World of Warcraft." Us.battle.net, 2014. Web. 25 Feb 2014. <http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/3968197/World_of_Warcraft’s_Seventh_Anniversary-11_18_2011>

My Top 5 Sources of Inspiration

One of the hardest things I have found as I have navigated my way through the Art Institute Online Division curriculum is constantly finding new subjects to photograph.  I love the assignments that are so specific that all I have to do is follow the instructions, but at the end of the day those aren't really satisfying.  The further along in my studies that I get, the more and more creative control I have over the shooting assignments... but where do I get ideas and inspiration from?  Well here's my Top 5 List of places I look for inspiration:

1. TV 

Breaking Bad

I am an avid binge watching TV addict.  I cut the cord to cable a couple of years back so it's nothing but Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and iTunes for this ambassador.  And as you would expect with that comes binge watching.  I noticed in the past year or so as I watch TV that pay more attention to composition, lighting, mood, etc.. in my favorite shows.  It also helps me think of new angles and types of shots that I can create for my own projects.



2. Movies

Much like TV shows, movies have been a big part of my life for many years, and again I watch movies differently now than I did a year ago.  I think both forms of media (TV/Movies) are great sources of inspiration for project ideas.


3.  Comic Books/Graphic Novels

In the same way that Hollywood has embraced the comic book world for story lines and intellectual properties, I think photographers can find inspiration in the art of comic books/graphic novels.  I think the artists in tis medium create portraits with fantastic lines and composition and it is fun to incorporate that into some of my own images.

4. Books



The Artist

Admittedly I don't read for fun nearly as much as I should anymore, but there are still many books that I have read in the past in which I was able to paint a vivid mental picture that still holds water today.

5.  Other Photographers

Were you wondering if I was going to include this one?  Of course.  Learning from those who came before you is a great way to kick-start your creative juices.  No matter what genre of Photography you are into, there is bound to be someone that you admire that shoots in the same genre.  Study their work and see how you can improve/bend it to suit your style.


What are your inspirations?  Are they the same as mine?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Works Cited

Gilligan, Vince, dir. "Pilot." Episode #101. Breaking Bad. A+E. 20 Jan. 2008. Netflix. Web. 23 July 2013. <http://netflix.com>.

Hazanavicius, Michel, dir. The Artist. Studio 37, 2011. Netflix. Web. 23 July 2013. <http://netflix.com>.