Having just spent four amazing days at the Telegraph Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show, where we hosted the PhotoBox lecture theatre, it struck me that the future of the outdoor photography
genre is bright and extremely exciting. In among the lineup of well-established speakers were some of the young photographers who, armed with an instinctive understanding of the latest technology and a nose for the power of social media and collaboration, are driving the genre forward. One of the traits this group of pioneers possesses
is an appetite for experimentation – they are not afraid to take risks in their pursuit of a fresh way of seeing and capturing the world around them. Photographers such as Bertie Gregory, Kamil Tamiola, Alexandre Buisse, Dan Carr and Vladimir Donkov are out there creating images and films (yes, video certainly is a big part of the future for photographers looking to make a living from their work) not only with a ton of commitment and enthusiasm, but also with skillsets that already go beyond those possessed by more senior professionals who have let their knowledge base stagnate. There was not one word uttered by them about the demise of the stock photography industry or the lack of editorial opportunities available. The conversations were all about deeply committing personal and
commercial projects, meetings with potential sponsors, and using the latest photography technology in fun and new ways. What a breath of fresh air. It occurred to me that one of the reasons for this is that these photographers haven’t grown up with stock and editorial being a particularly viable option for making a living, so they are not encumbered with any negative emotions about the changes. From the outset they are working in today’s world, not yesterday’s; a world where ingenuity, passion, daring and sharing will bring about other ways of appropriately monetising their immense talents