I preordered Art & Soul, photographed by Brian Smith, ages ago. I’ve had it a while and intended on posting about it, but of course, life gets in the way of plans. Anyhow, I’ve really enjoyed both the photography and the messages from the artists and celebrities involved.

I think I first became aware of Brians work through his connection with X-Rite. They’ve a wonderful video of Brian working with Burlesque performers, and I really liked his final photos. You can follow Brian on Twitter as @briansmithphoto or check out his website at http://briansmith.com

Mellisa Rodwell has posted a new BTS video and blog on her Spring shoot for Genlux. Following a ‘Royal’ theme, the video is great to watch, along with the final images. Melissa has a fantastic eye, and is really not afraid to share her thought processes. While not the most prolific blogger, the posts are more that worth the wait, each and every time.

One photographer that I really love is Dave Delnea. A travel photographer from Canada, he has a wonderful sense of colour and composition. His blog is well worth subscribing to.

IMAGE: Out To Sea

about nothing.. I’ve been laid low with flu all week. I thought I was getting better, but by 5 today I was wiped. I managed to sleep through my son getting his fingers caught in the door (didn’t hear any screaming). Poor lad. Such is how wiped I was.

Anyway I’ve been living on laptops and Twitter for the past few days. Some of the conversations on Twitter reminded me of old websites I love. The first being Ashes and Snow from Gregory Colbert. That in turn reminded me of the fabulous tonal qualities of Nick Brandt. While both are shot quite close to animals, and go for a sepia tone, the similarity ends there. Gregory’s work is about the human animal interaction, while Nick is creating an almost fantasy ‘memory’ collection of animals that may not be with us for much longer.

Elephants and Cheetahs are my favourite of all the African species. And of course it goes without saying, the swimming Indian Elephants of Sri Lanka. This is reason enough for me to like the work of these photographer. The wonderful compositions and toning cement this completely. Nick will have a new book out later this year. I know I’ll be buying it.

While Nick is keeping some of his secrets close to his chest, he still has a large press section on the website where you can learn about his work and techniques.

The other link I’ve been perusing is an absolute opposite: Fashion. It came in from Melissa Rodwell: FTape.com. It’s a great resource for fashion.

James Nachtwey has revealed the results of his TED Prize wish: The harrowing results of extremely drug resistant tuberculosis. The widespread nature of the disease hits home in the simple 3:44 video.