Ruts.

I cannot stand them. All creative people get stuck in them from time to time.

As a photographer, I am always on the lookout for new sites, new (new to me anyway!) photographers and new blogs. Many times, just looking at what other people are doing can give us that boost we need to get the creative juices flowing again.

So here are five sites that I check often for inspiration…

1. I Shoot Shows

Todd Owyoung is a concert photographer out of Missouri. His photography is great. The design of his blog is awesome as well. Where I think Todd really shines is with his portraiture. He largely uses Nikon speed-lights with his setups and he goes over how he set up his shots.

Here are some examples with the Christian metal band, ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’

2. Dave Beckerman Photography

Dave is a New York City photographer and nearly all of his images are made in NYC. Dave has the ability to see things in NYC from a different perspective and therefore, images of the the Empire State Building and other landmarks will often have a viewpoint most people have not photographed before.

This image of Poet’s Walk in Central Park is one my favorite all time photos.

3. Chase Jarvis

What’s interesting about Chase Jarvis’s blog is there aren’t many photos. Chase challenges people creatively. He will throw out questions that force people to think. Chase is a “look outside the box” kind of guy. A highly successful commercial photographer, Chase is best known for photographs made by the iPhone.

Chase’s philosophy is, “The best camera, is the one you have with you.” He turned that into an iPhone app and a book.

4. John Keatley

Keatley is an amazing portrait photographer. Some of his more famous work includes the cover of Sarah Palin’s book, ‘Going Rogue’ as well as the portrait Mark Driscoll uses for his Twitter profile.

I love looking at Keatley’s images where he is balancing a mixture of ambient light along with flash.

5. Dan Winters

Another portrait photographer, Winters has photographed people such as Bono, 50 Cent, Barack Obama, The Dalai Lama, and Tom Hanks.

Winters portraits almost have a ‘film noir’ quality to them with the way he uses light. He has this amazing knack of getting these very stoic expressions from his subjects (and not just the actors so it isn’t that) that when I look at his images, I think, “What was he saying to them?”

What are some of your favorite sites to check out when you need some inspiration?