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Photography is one of the finer artforms that the web has to offer, though it is often drowned out in today's mass of streaming video and online games. Sure, there's Flickr, DeviantArt and Picasa, but what about small, independent websites?

Photojournalists, individual shooters and professionals venting some photo-based steam all offer an interesting perspective on photography, and sometimes you need to go off-piste to find the best.

Here are 5 varied and regularly updated photo blogs that will (hopefully) keep you coming back for more.

The Big Picture

One of the web's most important outlets of professional photography, The Big Picture is the official photo blog of The Boston Globe newspaper. The photographs featured come straight from some of the world's top news agencies such as the Associated Press and Reuters.

Without paying a small fortune, many of us would not get to see such well-thought out, professionally executed and critically selected photo sets from a variety of photographers in every corner of the globe.

World news headlines, seasonal events and even celestial happenings are documented with stunning, thought-provoking photographs. The website is also fully compatible with the excellent CoolIris, meaning you can browse some of the best pictures online from a very sexy interface.

One to stick in your bookmarks for sure.

50mm

A delightfully minimalistic blog that acts as the "personal notepad" of photographer Sean Wood. Sean deals with film photography, so the art on offer here should please some of the more die-hard photo critics out there.

With a Javascript lightbox for that closer look, each photo is presented with minimum amount of text and serves to document the photographer's more experimental work. If you like abstract photography peppered with film grain then you might have found your new favourite blog.

William Darhy's Photoblog

French amateur photographer William Darhy specalises in street and urban photography, and his personal photo blog highlights the intriguing and photogenic nature of a built-up environment. The photographs undergo very little post-processing, thus proving you don't need to spend hours in Photoshop to achieve good results.

Basic EXIF data is included with each photo, especially useful for those still learning the ropes. William also runs a blog which follows the state of street photography, exhibitions and advice, which you can check out here.

ATZOOM

Another daily dose of French photography is provided by Pierre at his ATZOOM photo blog. There's a selection of dramatic landscapes (including some beautiful shots of the French Alps), some stunning panoramas for an interesting look into the photographer's life.

In fact there's so many different styles on offer that it's hard not to find something you like. You can also check out Pierre's portfolio on the front page of his site.

They Shoot Film

They Shoot Film is the collective name of two photographers, Patrice Esser in San Francisco and Garrick Fujii in Los Angeles. Over the last year, they've kicked up quite a storm and were awarded the Best New Photoblog award by PhotoblogAwards.com.

As you'd expect, they shoot film! Each photo is punctuated by either # or + (# being Patrice's work, + being Garrick's), the camera used (Leica M6 anyone?) and the film used for the shot. There's a fair amount of variety, including candid lifestyle shots, urban photography, portraiture and anything that captures the duo's imagination.

The photos displayed here often give the viewer a quirky and cheeky insight into daily American life.

Conclusion

So there you have it - pure inspiration. There's nothing better for clearing out "photographer's block" than to examine the work of others, and see how they approach similar subjects and situations.

That and nothing beats a good gawp at some stunning photos when you're bored! You could even start one...

Have you got any favourite photo blogs? What do you think of this lot? Feeling inspired yet? Let us know in the comments below.

Intro image: Shutterstock