Sharing your work online has never been easier, but so many sites take your beautiful images and compress them beyond recognition (I’m looking at you Facebook and Instagram). When Don Komarechka and I were looking at places to host the Behind the Shot group for our critique show we wanted a place that would display images the best they could, and one site stood out… Flickr.

I’ve been a Flickr member for as long as I have been into photography, and that says a lot. Yes, there was a point when many people worried about the future of Flickr, but once SmugMug acquired it a few years ago things changed. SmugMug, as people describe it, is a company actually run by photographers, people that love photography as much as we do. That brings us to this show…

I was recently contacted by Alastair Jolly, the Global Marketing Manager & Head of Ambassador Relations for SmugMug and Flickr. He was contacting me to ask if I would be a guest on SmugMug Live, to which the answer of course was yes. While chatting with him over Zoom I mentioned that I’d love to have him on the show to talk about the current state of online photo sharing, but then something special happened. I started browsing his portfolio and was blown away. I needed to get Alastair “the photographer” on for a normal Behind the Shot episode, and here we are. I can confirm that many of the people at SmugMug and Flickr are not only avid photographers, but really good ones!

Alastair has been in the photography industry for over 20 years, specializing in social and commercial photography throughout his professional career, while still managing to find time to capture imagery for his own personal enjoyment and creativity.

Like many of us, Alastair’s photography often takes him in ever changing directions. He is as happy photographing long exposure sea and cityscapes as he is in the middle of a vast landscape or on a Photowalk around a city. Looking at his portfolio I noticed that his landscapes are as creative as his street photography, something I think is the sign of a true creative.

In his role as Global Marketing Manager at both SmugMug & Flickr he travels frequently, which has the side benefit of allowing him to work with some of the best photographers in the world, like Renee Robyn and Anya Anti, to name a few. Still, no matter where he finds himself, he always makes sure to find some time for just him and his camera.

Join SmugMug and Flickr Global Marketing Manager & Head of Ambassador Relations, and wonderful photographer, Alastair Jolly and me as we discuss the current state of online photo sharing, and as we take a look at his amazing use of light for his photo of Loch Achtriochtan, Glencoe, Scotland on this episode of Behind the Shot.

Portfolio: amj.smugmug.com

SmugMug: smugmug.com