The concept of Podcasting has been around around 18 months now but it is only in the past 6 months that I have really become aware of the sheer number and variety of podcasts available on a wide range of popular subject areas - including photography.
As a method of learning and keeping up-to-date with technology in a given subject area, in my case photography, podcasts are great for a number of reasons;
1. They are free! I can't think of any other medium, other than trawling the internet, which enables you to keep updated on the latest news for free. Books, magazines, DVDs, professional societies etc. are all great as educational resources but can be relatively expensive if bought regularly. I subscribe to a number of podcasts using iTunes, all of which are downloaded automatically for free.
2. You can listen to them anywhere. Whether you are walking down the street, driving, travelling etc. you can listen. As much as books can be helpful and informative it's not generally considered safe to ready a book whilst driving down the motorway!
3. They are regular and bang up-to-date. Again, as an educational tool, I find that podcasts are far better at keeping me up-to-date with the latest photography news than other mediums such as magazines. As good as magazines are, most are only published monthly whereas some podcasts are weekly so you can often hear of new develpoments earlier.
4. A better range of opinions. Again, if you are considering buying a new piece of equipment or software you may find that it receives a great review in one magazine but not in another - which makes it hard to form an opinion and make a decision. However on most podcasts you may hear a number of photographers talking about that piece of equipment and discussing the pros and cons, which personally I find this much more helpful and enlightening. In the past few months I have purchased two great pieces of software this way: Photomatix (amazing for HDR photography) and Adobe Lightroom (has dramitically speeded up my workflow).
Should you be interested in listening to any photography related podcasts there are three that I would particularly recommened, although there are lots out there which I'm sure will be good but I just haven't got round to listening to them all! The three I subscribe to on iTunes and would recommened are: TWIP (This Week In Photography), Pro Photography Show and The Digital Photography Show.
Happy listening!
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