This past month as I've been cleaning up my image archives, I was reminded of the many influences that have shaped my way of seeing and photographing the natural world. Artists and the art community as a whole continuously evolve in style and subject matter. This evolution is the result of a variety of influences including world events, contemporary trends, years of experience, and experimentation. Perhaps the greatest influence is the work of other artists.

Viewing the work of others, understanding how they think, why they make certain choices, what influences them, and how they choose to look at the world, is in turn inspiring and motivating. Next to the natural world itself, the comminity of artists is my greatest influence and harshest critic. It's that influence and criticism that pushes an artist to go beyond their comfort zone, to learn how to both gain control and relinquish control for a more emotive end result.

Over the years, I've had the good fortune of studying under some terrific artists. A few years ago, I took a course with William Neill. William is a well respected Landscape/Nature photographer with a regular column in Outdoor Photographer Magazine. Since the course, we've remained in contact. HIs work and words continue to influence my own. His connection to the natural world is so clearly apparent in his work. I was pleased to find out today that he has started a blog. This is great news for outdoor photographers and those who simply appreciate beautiful photographs. I encourage you to have a look for yourself.

William's Blog