When the weather gods do something crazy, don't ask questions; just say thank you. You can try and plan your outdoor photography until you're blue in the face, but sometimes, when it starts to look like the conditions might be epic, you need to be spontaneous and just get out there.

Many photographers use the word “make” to describe their process of photography. “I made these images,” you might hear a professional say describing his work. The layman phrase, “take pictures” or “capture photographs” evokes a feeling that the photographer did not put any work into the image, that they simply pointed the camera and the photo just came to be. Any creative medium takes skill and I’m not here to argue the artistic validity of a photograph over a painting or sculpture. But a somewhat fatal flaw of the digital age is the ease of which photography can be transferred, saved, downloaded, and reproduced in comparison to that of physical artistry.

Mostly, photographers learn the camera settings and compositional techniques first. Those basics of photography are essential. But when we have mastered those, what do we do next?

BBC's "Sherlock" has been widely praised since it debut in 2010 thanks to it's razor sharp dialog, witty humor, and gorgeous production. From a filmmaking perspective there is much to be admired, which is why we were thrilled to see Nerdwriter1 use the Conan Doyle adaptation as his latest subject in his latest YouTube video essay.

There is obviously no shortage of camera apps out there in the world but, every once in a while something new hits the market that actually seems a bit useful. While not something I would recommend to the casual, or even semi-pro photographer the Mark II Artist's Viewfinder actually looks very helpful to directors, and photographers that need to do a lot of scouting and planning for their shoots.

Let's face it, smartphone cameras are getting better and better with every release. Mobile photo editing software is getting better too, and with the rise in popularity of Instagram over the last four years, sharing vintage-looking photographs have become quite the trend. Online content studio Rubber Republic produced the #PictureBelfast campaign for Tourism Ireland featuring fashion and lifestyle blogger Donna Ross going head to head with Belfast based photographer Andrew Rankin. Their challenge was to take photographs showing off the best of Belfast – half with a smartphone and half shot on film – where Internet users would try to guess which method for each image was utilized.

If you’re thinking of making your love for photography into the thing that pays the bills, here are a few pitfalls which you might want to avoid.

Coolors is a fantastic new app that I stumbled across the other day. It is an incredibly easy and intuitive way to generate a beautiful 5 color palette for any situation. Primarily developed for designers it has instant appeal to us photographers. We deal with colors in most of our work and knowing how to match and complement effectively can make or break the images we create.

Fujifilm's latest release in their X mount range is the Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 LM WR Lens, a compact and lightweight lens that is perfect for a wide range of photography, including macro, portraits, and street. With a fast maximum aperture of f/2.8, it also allows for great low-light performance. Yes, there are wider apertures from the Fujifilm range, but none I expect can shoot as close to the subject and still provide highly detailed images as this one can.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Okay, not really, but choosing a camera these days when that same camera can change so much from year to year can make buying decisions all the more difficult.

Photographer Markus Berger from The Cooperative of Photography put together a quick two and a half minute video demonstrating some really cool photography tips using everyday household objects. From a simple beer coozy to a flaming aerosol can, Markus points out some creative ways to step up your photography game.