Kappa Alpha Theta fans rush the track after their team won the Women’s Little 500 at Bill Armstrong Stadium on Friday, April 20, 2018. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Swimmers enjoy a day in the sun on Lake Ouachita, Arkansas on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018. (Photo by James Brosher)
After a few years of holding out, I finally relented and started posting non-iPhone work on my Instagram. I found I was often shooting things twice using both my DSLR and iPhone. Rather than continue this merely for some sort of Instagram purism, I started posting a wider swath of my work – film photography included – in September. This coupled with a heightened interest in my newly-repaired Rolleiflex meant I shot considerably fewer photos with my iPhone in 2018. One of my resolutions for 2019 is to shoot more day to day. This includes on my iPhone even though I’ve blasted through the “iPhone only” barrier on my Instagram. Below are a few of my favorite iPhone Instagrams from 2018. Thanks for looking. Please consider following me: @jamesbrosher.
Mountains are reflected in a calm Yellowstone Lake as morning haze hangs near the waterline in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on Tuesday, May 23, 2017. (Photo by James Brosher)
Guitarist Carlo Fierens poses for a portrait in Auer Hall at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (Photo by James Brosher)
I continued to use Instagram in 2017 to challenge myself visually. In recent years, the social network has evolved to become the new equivalent of photo blogs. Despite this, I continue to use it to solely post iPhone photos – and an occasional drone photo. I love Instagram’s emphasis on visual communication. Using the platform challenges me to think visually on a daily basis outside the realm of my normal 3×2 DSL work. It is also a great source of visual inspiration. To have the opportunity to follow the work of other incredible photographers from around the world is a great thrill. Below are a few of my favorite Instagrams from 2017. Thanks for looking. Please consider following me on Instagram: @jamesbrosher.
University Grand Marshal Brian Horne, an Associate Professor of Music, carries the Mace to the stage to start the processional during the Indiana University Bloomington Undergraduate Commencement on Saturday, May 7, 2016, in Memorial Stadium. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Kasim McCarthy-Brown improvises dance moves joining the Movement Cooperative (MoCo) at IU for an impromptu cameo as they perform a traditional rain dance before the reveal of a Rainworks, a type of rain-activated artwork, during the CultureFest After Party on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, at the Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
This year I went back and forth on whether I should continue to post only iPhone photos to Instagram. Now that the platform supports vertical and horizontal, non-square images I’ve seen a lot of DSLR images proliferate on Instagram. Ultimately, I decided to stick with the iPhone because it represents an interesting creative challenge to try to create with a cell phone camera. Nothing against the photographers who post DSLR images on Instagram, but personally I didn’t want it to become a place to merely post all my daily work. I have and continue to use Instagram as a creative challenge – in a good way. It forces me to visualize differently. One of my goals for 2017 is to post more often to Instagram than I did in the second half of 2016. This includes using the new(ish) Instagram Stories feature. Below are a few of my favorite Instagrams from 2016. Thanks for looking. Please consider following me on Instagram: @jamesbrosher.
Culling through a year’s worth of images is always a very humbling experience. It’s an interesting exercise because it always gives me a good overall perspective of what I’ve done – or haven’t done – with my year. The year 2015 marked a move away from photojournalism work to more commercial, marketing and event photography. I still did a fair amount of photojournalism freelance work, but the bulk of my day-to-day shooting was not photojournalism for the first time. Interestingly, I processed more “selects” in 2015 (7,876) than I did in any single year while I was a full-time staff photographer. So while it sometimes felt like I wasn’t shooting as much this year, I actually was. Below are my 10 favorite moments of 2015. Thanks for looking, and I wish everyone a great New Year.
J Thomas Forbes, executive director of the Indiana University Alumni Association, waits at the start/finish line before driving the pace vehicle for the Women’s Little 500 on Friday, April 24, 2015, at Bill Armstrong Stadium. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to a group of School of Global and International Studies students on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015, at the school on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Secretary Kerry’s visit coincides with the dedication of the university’s state-of-the-art, 165,000-square-foot Global and International Studies Building, which opened in August. Kerry is the first sitting secretary of state to visit IU in 20 years. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
I’m very thankful for Instagram. It’s a great platform for photographers to exercise and expand personal vision while discovering new photographers. (Seriously, this isn’t an ad for Instagram.) For me, it’s a great daily challenge in visual thinking. It forces me to see the light in everyday situations, which helps to keep me visually stimulated. Almost all of my photos from this year were #nofilter squares. The only filter I used was Inkwell to create contrasty, black and white images. I’m still a big fan of the traditional square because it’s an interesting aspect to work with coming from someone who shoots a lot of 3:2 rectangles on a DSLR for a living. Below are a few of my favorite Instagrams from 2015. Thanks for looking. Please consider following me on Instagram: @jamesbrosher.
Editing this post each year is usually a very humbling experience, but this year it was also bittersweet. In July, I left my newspaper staff photographer job to move to Bloomington with my fiancée. As I looked through hundreds of images from South Bend, I was reminded of all the special people and places I experienced and had the opportunity to photograph over the past couple years. It took me a while to adjust during the transition from a staff position, but I was ultimately able to refresh my personal vision. I now feel as though I’m shooting and seeing in a more careful and deliberate way. I’m looking forward to carrying this momentum into 2015. Below are my 15 favorite moments of 2014. Thanks for looking, and I wish everyone a great New Year.
Taylor Lizzi, a 10-year 4-H member from Bremen, reacts as a bucket of cold water is dumped over his head during a water fight in the dairy beef club’s wash stalls during the St. Joseph County 4-H Fair on Friday, July 4, 2014, in South Bend. Several club members took part in the water fight, marking an unofficial end to 4-H competition at this year’s fair. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Dressed as a police officer Carter Tripp, 2, takes a seat at the feet of his father, Elkhart police Cpl. Jason Tripp, during a resolution honoring Tripp and Cody Skipper for their part in ending an active shooter situation at a Elkhart Martin’s Super Market on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, at the Indiana State Capitol in Indianapolis. Tripp and Skipper shot and killed gunman Shawn Walter Bair on Jan. 15, ending a rampage that left Krystle Dikes, 20, and Rachelle Godfread, 44, dead at the Martin’s on East Bristol Street in Elkhart. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
I’m a fan of Instagram. I try to use it as an exercise in daily visual thinking. I believe a person’s personal vision is not unlike an athlete’s muscle: it needs to be exercised in order to stay in shape. Instagram allows photographers to do this on a daily basis whether it’s by photographing serious stuff or cats. Trying to express myself visually in daily situations is a healthy challenge. This has become even more important to me after I left my newspaper staff job in July. Instagram helped to keep me visually stimulated in the lull between shoots as I adapted to the freelancer life. Below are a few of my favorite Instagrams from 2014. Thanks for looking. Please consider following me on Instagram: @jamesbrosher.
