On or close to my birthday, every year for the last four years, I have recognized and tipped my hat to a photographer-teacher in the industry who makes a significant impact on people's life.

The first four awardees of the Annual Tiffinbox Award are: David duChemin, Spencer Lum, Jamie Swanson and Jenika McDavitt.

This year, I am thrilled to announce the 5th Annual Tiffinbox Award goes to Neil van Niekerk, a South African photographer, teacher, author and speaker who now calls New Jersey home.

Neil publishes two blogs, One Perfect Moment and Tangents, a blog I recommend every photographer bookmark. It is through this latter blog that I learned that Neil also offered workshops on off-camera lighting. If memory serves me right, I have attended at least two of his workshops as a student. If you are starting to make the move from natural light photography to flash photography, Neil's workshops are a must. The day is usually long because he patiently goes over all that you will need to know about using your strobes off or on your camera.

Neil knows his stuff so well that he has written four books on the topic of lighting (see above) and is frequently invited to speak about lighting at conferences and industry gatherings across the US and beyond.

(if you were wondering, yes, that's a real tiffinbox you are seeing on the right there)

Here are some of my favorite blog posts by Neil van Niekerk over the years:

Dragging The Shutter
Black Foamie Thing
Flash and Ambient Light
Using Exposure Compensations vs. Manual Exposure

Please visit and bookmark Neil's websites, buy and read his books and enroll in his workshops. I guarantee you will be a better photographer. You can also follow Neil on Twitter and Facebook.