This blog post is by Taiwain-based culture & travel photographer Craig Ferguson. You should follow him on Twitter.

One step forward and two steps back seems to be the pattern for a lot of photographers lately, particularly in the area of cultural travel photography. Falling editorial rates and increased competition make things tougher for all. For me personally, potentially beneficial long-term opportunities in the world of travel photography have recently opened up (one step forward) but at the cost of tougher times in the short-term (two steps back).

Choosing to forgo immediate gain in order to focus on the medium and longer term future isn't always easy. I recently sent off the last of a series of photographs to a publisher. It's unlikely that I'll see any licensing fees from this until 2011 at the earliest, even though putting it all together took the best part of the summer. Other than a couple of small and quick portrait shoots and a little bit of editorial travel photography for a regional magazine, the past couple of months have been lean. In the long run, it will be worth it but that doesn't necessarily make it easier to stomach now.

2010 was always going to be a year of major transition for me as I move my photography business away from the general and into a much more specialized direction. That transition is still ongoing and becomes frustrating at times, as the bulk of my time is now spent in front of a computer rather than behind a lens. This recent project was a vital step in that process but it was only a step. Completing one major task would, in a perfect world, be cause for celebration and signify time to take a break. In reality though, it's just another box to tick and task to cross off the list. Almost as soon as the DVD's full of photographs were dropped off at Fedex, it was back to the grindstone. Seeking out, researching and reaching out to new potential clients. A day full of crafting individualized, cold email introductions to a market that is not covered by Agency Access and the like. When that day is over, I end up with a stack of further possibilities for the future to investigate and approach. It's not a task for the impatient but at the same time, it's a task that must be done sooner rather than later.

So why do it? Why not take travel photos for fun and work in something else, something that provides a regular salary? I know plenty of photographers who have done just that. They work a full time, salaried job and save photography for the weekends. For some people, that's the best thing to do. Not for me however. Why? It's quite simple.

I am a photographer. More accurately, I am a cultural travel photographer. It's what I do. It's who I am. It gives me more than I could ever hope to repay. It's a passion. I have no choice. I can't not do it.

Short term pain may well be necessary for long term gain, and if that is the case, then so be it. Photography is a calling and when you've been called, you have no other options.

This is a guest post by Scott Webb, a photographer based in London, Ontario Canada. Through photography and art, he believes that we can avoid and fight depression and mood disorders. He gets out of bed everyday to challenge the mediocre through the lens of photography.

Every week there are a massive number of articles posted relating to photography. I want to present some that help me out and could help you out too. Tiffinbox is growing as a great resource for photographers and the weekly round up is intended to build upon that momentum. This being the first week for the photography round up, I’m testing the waters and the topics are very malleable.

The format of the helpful photography round up will take some time to mold, but the intention is always to help photographers with a place to come and be presented with content they may not have come across during their busy days of the week. The topics included within such a round up related to photography are anything from photography tips, marketing, business, inspiration, and showcasing. Forgive me if this first week feels a bit scattered.

Here are some of the best articles I have read in RSS subscriptions this week, stumbled upon, or caught in my twitter stream and retweeted on @scotty_webb.

Tips & Technique

• 5 ways a photographer can take advantage of using long lenses when it comes to portrait photography
• A helpful interview that will help you learn to shoot challenging food photography
• Rad approach that says to forget about focusing on your subject – great right brain thinking.
• How it's possible to use a normal lens for macro photography – why not!

Thought Provoking

• Is photography an art? You tell me in: Beyond Craft – this is a great insightful exploration within the photographers mind.
• Better start to think about what your portfolio is revealing about you – is it good or bad news?
• 5 points a photographer should consider related to watermarking photographs – helping or damaging?
• How much time do you spend keeping up with industry trends and cutting edge info? – might be time to start chasing

On Tiffinbox!

• Photographers: do you have a photographic archive? – be good to your archive and it will be good to you
• How success comes from your photographic vision – as the world of photography democratizes before your eyes you'll need to craft a vision

Introspective

• It's not too early to start some reflection and plan for 2011 – start looking within for next year.
• What type of photographer do you see yourself as? – become the observer and step back.
• How a photographer struggles with the vision for a photography business – labels and being defined by what
Offbeat
• Customize your Pentax with lego blocks and skins – have the coolest camera in your city
• NASA releases images for creative commons – check out NASA's vast collection of photographs

Showcase!

An amazing photography project – Our Secret Selves.  The artist looks at identities in the pockets and purses of strangers. Beautifully inspiring!

Want To Be Featured In A Helpful Photography Round Up?

Looking for some Tiffinbox link love? Articles featured in the resources come primarily from people I interact with in social networks and comments! So comment your heart out and add me to your social networks.  If something you share catches my eye, it may appear here on Tiffinbox.

A word from Seshu: Scott Webb and I have never met. Yet, here we are collaborating on a weekly post. That's the beauty of the Internet. Scott, who is very active on Twitter has generously offered to collate and post links to some very interesting articles about photography on a weekly basis. I used to this way back when but it's always great to have a second pair of eyes scouring the net to bring you useful, informative and sometimes amusing stories. Here is Scott's first foray into guest blogging on Tiffinbox.

This a guest post by Ken Jarecke, a world-renowned photojournalist and founding member of Contact Press Images, an illustrious photo agency based in New York. Please also visit and read his blog, Mostly True.

The past few years it’s been hard for me to pick up a camera. We all know that the industry, at least the editorial side of it, has been at an all time low. Sure, I’ve worked to put a good face on it, like in this piece on the New York Times Lens blog, but more often than not, my desire to make wonderful images has been absent. My heart has just not been there.

It’s not the creative side. I’ve rarely cared about the choices editors make about my work. That’s never been my motivation. Besides, I figured if I made great images, they’d get published. Somewhere. Sometime.

For example, here’s a take from the Beijing Olympics. After nine Olympics, I felt this was the best job I’d ever done. Normally, the Olympics will generate tons of tear-sheets, but outside of China, where my agency had a deal with the local English language newspaper, I managed to get only a single image published (in a French newspaper).

Frustrating to be sure, but still, not something that would stop me from making pictures.

No, I’m sad and ashamed to report that my lack of desire stemmed from nothing more than a lack of money. More specifically, the constant worry, and the ongoing struggle to pay the bills had taken its toll.

It’s sad, because I didn’t become a photojournalist to get rich (I was never that crazy or misguided). I’m ashamed because much of my money problems were the direct result of poor or stubborn decisions that are completely my fault.

In the past, I hesitated to book weddings. I made the excuse that I couldn’t book something that far in advance. What if an editorial job came up? In reality, I felt this type of work was beneath me. I felt the same about the portrait market (Yes, I know where this is being read). It’s easy to say now, but what’s more important than a wedding, or capturing a child’s life? Oh well, live and learn.

I didn’t let the magazines determine if a picture was good or not, but I sure put them in charge of what was important enough for me to photograph!

Pride and arrogance, a nasty couple of vices. As you can imagine, the only people to suffer from the choices I made was my family. Over the past few years, we’ve cut expenses, and eliminated most of the extras that come with family life, in my vain attempt to reinvent the editorial market and make things right (vanity, there’s another one).

Although I never stopped loving being a dad or a husband, the only thing I accomplished was to give my family a grouchy dad who hated making pictures.

As a photojournalist, I always try to have a backup plan. I would look at every situation with the perspective of a worse possible case scenario. Like, what would happen if I got a two flat tires in a post-Katrina New Orleans?

Practical to be sure, but it also gave me a sense of being in control. Maybe we all do this. It would explain tings like always having a pocket bulging with extra batteries.

Well, about three weeks ago, I ran into a situation that I couldn’t control. One of our children came home from camp very sick. It took twelve days for the doctors to figure out what was wrong. Plenty of uncertainty. Lots of prayers. Scary times. I don’t want to put too fine of a point on it. She spent four nights in the hospital and has been home for about a week now. She’s getting better everyday and is on her way to a full recovery.

Ironically, being in this powerless situation has seemed to heal me also. I have no cares about my reputation, or my standing in the photography world. I should be totally freaked about the medical bills (on top of everything else), but instead they just don’t seem important. I just want to be a better dad and husband (I thought I always was, but I didn’t give any thought to the huge burden I had placed on my family).

Strangest of all, I also want to make some really good pictures. Go figure.

I’m working on getting some portrait jobs… I booked one yesterday! I did my first wedding back in June. I gotta say, I really enjoyed it. The pictures were good too! I hope I have the chance to do some more.

The medical bills? Well, I hope to pay for some of them with a special print sale. I’m going to offer eight or ten prints at a special price for seven days only. They’re signed, archival pigment prints made by me.

You can see a preview here. I don’t know what the final selection will be, but I’m open to suggestions. Please check the above site on Monday to find out. The 17” x 22”s will be $300 and the 8.5” x 11”s will be $97 (plus shipping).

The two black & whites shown here are from an essay I did for Time magazine in 1990 called, “The Rotting of the Big Apple”. They’ve been very popular with collectors over the years.

The image from the Tiananmen Square student protests of 1989, shows a lone hunger striker sitting in front of Chinese soldiers. It has also been popular with collectors. At some point it was named “The Rose”. The Beijing Opera performer was made in May of 2007. It’s one that I like. I think it works well.

If you have ever considered creating a photography collection for yourself, Ken's offering here would be a terrific start. In fact, I have already told Ken that I will be buying one of his prints! Supporting each other through the valleys and peaks of life is what will make us stronger. Give it some thought, but don't wait too long because these prints are very likely to be gone soon.

UPDATE: Ken sent me this slideshow that you see below. It has all the images he has on sale through this Friday (September 10, 2010). I hope this inspires you to invest in one of his images.