Exactly 12 months ago Patrick and I launched Fstoppers.com. We had never filmed a video before, we didn't have a single follower, we had never used a blog before, and we had no clue what would happen.
The day we launched Fstoppers nikonrumors.com posted about us (luckily we shoot everything on Nikon) and we got a few thousand hits on the first day.
We began to cold call photographers asking if we could film videos about them. Brownie Harris was one of the first photographers to agree.
A couple months later we flew to CO for a ski trip and posted an ad on craigslist for a "professional snowboard photographer" and Dave Lehl responded.
After that I took a risk and called one of my favorite photographers Peter Hurley. To my surprise he was excited to let us film him.
While shooting Peter I told him about this crazy idea I had that involved shooting a full fashion shoot with the iPhone. When we released the iPhone Fashion Shoot it was picked up by hundreds of websites including NPR.com, Gizmodo.com, Lifehacker.com, and it also made the front of Vimeo and Youtube. Within a few days it had been viewed over 500,000 times.
A month later we got a call from David Bergman; Bon Jovi had agreed to let us film David backstage at their next concert. While shooting David we caught a glimpse of the new (unreleased) Nikon Flex Pocket Wizards in his bag. Over the next few months we did everything we could to ask Pocket Wizard for a set of our own. They finally agreed to send us a few units we created a video with them.
These are just a few of the highlights of 2010. We actually released over 30 videos in 12 months and at midnight tonight we will release what I believe will be our biggest video yet.
Over the past 12 months 2.2 million photographers have visited Fstoppers.com and we are currently averaging 8,000-10,000 unique visitors per day. We have only you to thank. Thank you everyone who has made Fstoppers.com a success. Thank you for creating videos, thank you for submitting videos, thank you for commenting on our posts, thank you for taking part in our forum. Without you, we would have given up a long time ago. Because of your support, Patrick and I have worked harder than we ever have in our lives but we have also had the most amazing year of our lives. We plan to make this next year even better than the first and it will all begin at midnight tonight. The art world is going to be rocked by this next video... you can quote me on that.
Let us know how we are doing in the comments below. If you would like to see more of something we want to hear it.
I visit fstoppers every day since I found iphone fashion shoot video.
Congratulations, and keep up the good work!
Happy Birthday FSTOPPERS..you guys have been amazing...to me and to the ohter people around the world!! keep up the good work!!!
patrick
My favorite site congrats!!!!
Congratulations!! Cheers!
nice... didn't realize the site was that young
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! YOU GUYS ROCK!
Andy
lightenupandshoot.com
I found this site thru nikonrumors.
this is a great site and visit here almost everyday
thanks and keep up the good effort
Congrats Patrick and Lee. You guys have inspired and keep inspiring photographers (like myself @ihaynes05) around the world to do big things. Happy for the success of you guys and the site.
Congrats fellas! You guys are innovators and a true inspiration to photographers everywhere! Here's to many more anniversaries!
happy birth day fstoppers
Congrats. only place where i got to see really cool videos throughout the year.
Happy Birthday!
Congrats Lee, Patrick, Jerrit and the rest of the Fstoppers family. The site's truly inspiring for aspiring photographers of every level. Keep up the GREAT work and here's to another great year!
Happy Birthday..
I've been following you almost a year, and I'm very thankfull for eveything you have made for photography this year. I'm from Portugal and we don't have a website so complete as this one, where we can learn a lot of things, check new equipment or just see great photographers talk with passion about their work.
Allong this year I've thinking about making a blog similar to yours, contacting with portuguese photographers, but really don't know how to start. I think it would be a very good idea because the only thing that we have to learn, in portuguese, are the foruns, with a lot of text, and everyone gives their opinion and not a straight right answer for you doubt, and you never can see videos of the great photografers working (like the videos you'v got).
Recently I've talked to a photographer and he told me that one of the reasons that made a lot of professionals give up of beeing a photographers and closing a lot of photography houses (going bankrupt) is that because a lot of them have the idea that averyone should pull for his side, working against each other, lowering prices just to "steal" costumers to each other. But as Chase Jarvis said on one of his videos we should be a clan, should support each other.
So this said I would like to know if you have any advide, any tip of how to start a blog like yours, and how did you have all this photographer help, and how did you convince them to let you film them working?? =)
and again HAPPY BIRTHDAY guys...
Congrats guys! Keep up the good work, we follow your stuff everyday! Greetings, Rob (The Netherlands / Amsterdam)
Joyeux anniversaire à toute l'équipe de Fstoppers ! Votre site est une merveille, une vraie mine d'or ! Il est pleins de bons conseils et d'idées en tout genre ! Votre site traverse la terre et les océans. Merci de la part d'un photographe Français !
Happy Birthday Fstoppers ! Thx for your excellent and amazing work
Longue vie à Fstoppers !
Happy Birthday to you!!!
Happy birthday fstoppers, this is a great blog I have ever seen. Last Dec. I have discovered it, but never too late to find out. This is a great source get inspirations from.
Thanks for your site and the innumerable amount of inspiration you provide.
Great work guys! Thanks for posting my video. @Patrick, thanks for taking time to talk at WPPI. I AM YOUR WEST COAST ASSISTANT.
Happy Bday! From Ukrain!)
Happy Birthday - Congratulation and keep posting !
Congrats... You are my daily Photog fix
It has been awesome to be part of the community here...you guys keep the fire burning!
Patrick and Lee,
Congratulations and Happy Birthday!
I just started following this site about a month ago, and I have never been disappointed. You guys make such inspiring videos and you really are inspirational yourselves.
I look forward to more years of amazing content!
Congrats! I really enjoy visiting your little space on the internet at least once per day.
Wow, guys, what a year huh? Huge congratulations on the amazing job y'all have done with Fstoppers. I remember sitting at the table and talking about this idea y'all had over a beer... so many great ideas go no farther than that. But with hard work, passion, and determination you made it happen.
And now with a year since launch it's neat to look back and see all the great things that have already been accomplished. But it's even more thrilling to look forward to all the incredible places that it's going to go. Kudos on kickin' ass.
Way to go
Denny
Happy Bday!!! Great job guys! Thanks!
Psh, I'm not impressed. I just turned 30, which is about a million times cooler. But whatever, congratulations anyway. :)
Happy Birthday! and THANKS! un saludo desde México!
Hi guys,
congratulations. happy birthday!!!! big fan here...a filipino in UAE.
Happy birthday you guys... un saludo dese España!!
Congratulations on year one guys here's hopefully to many more =).
Congrats. Keep supporting~
A truly inspiring story to all those wanting to share information online. You guys are an example to follow!
congratulations Fstoppers
congratulations Fstoppers.
You guys rock!!!
All the knowledge and education in your videos and they way you present them, man I'm learning every week!!
After seeing Peter Hurley's video on headshots I experimented with his set up in my studio and now I have a awesome light set up for our Executive Portraits. It's the first light set up I "reach" for as it gives me so much control over the lighting on the model and over lighting the background.
Brilliant!! And there's so much more I've learnt to rave about here. I frequently post and share your links so other photographers can see them as well.
You're doing an awesome job, please keep it up as you're educating photographers world wide and we're all indebted to you :)
May this year be your very best yet :)
Congratulations! Happy 1st B-Day! I thank you for sharing new inspirations and ideas to all of us. I wish you the best and please continue the excellent work. Rock on!!
Just wanted to add my belated thanks and congrats to the list, this is fast becoming my favourite photography blog!