Five Handy Photography Sites

Everyone has to learn something from somewhere, right? As someone who has never taken a photography class in his life, I have relied on friends, reading, and trial and error to learn more about different facets of photography. I am further along in some areas than others. To some extent, that is just fine. Typically photographers will have a niche or two, but it is always good to be well versed in all facets. You never know when something will come up, and you don't want to be ill-prepared or ill-informed should that happen. Here are five sites covering a variety of different purposes that I would recommend to people interested in photography.

1. Adorama Learning Center - Adorama is a phenomenal site. Most people will know this site because they are a prominent photography retailer, and certainly they are a good option to purchase from if you are in the market for gear. Fewer people, however, probably know about the learning center. The learning center is a fabulous resource to become better informed on a number of things, including technical aspects of photography, gear, file formats, composition, lighting, and so many other topics. They have both articles and videos submitted by Adorama's team of experts. They cover all different skill levels, so regardless of if you are picking up a camera for the first time or have been shooting for ten years, they will have something new to learn for you.
2. DxOMark - Admittedly, this site might not be for everyone, but if you are a tech junkie, this site is a very thorough and valuable resource. They have very in depth gear reviews and tests alongside a pretty easy to navigate (there are some quirks, but nothing major) site enabling side by side comparisons of up to three items at a time. They have a very large database of quantitative information to go off of; for example, if you are debating between a couple of different lenses, you can put them side by side on the camera you'd be using them with, and it will rate things like sharpness, vignetting, and aberrations so you have some data to help you make your decision. I would never make a purchase without consulting DxOMark first.
3. The Tumblr of Zack Arias - Zack Arias is a professional photographer and author of Photography Q&A. What some people may not realize is the book available in stores all come from questions and answers on this Tumblr page. Zack takes questions from followers and gives candid answers. Sometimes his responses may come off blunt or a tad more forceful than necessary, but the fact of the matter is he knows his stuff and took the time to answer 1500 questions for people. Questions range from lighting to pricing to confidence and everywhere else in between. If you have a photo question, chances are he has answered it before.
4. Flickr - Okay, so putting Flickr on here may seem out of place. Maybe it is, as I couldn't tell you that Flickr is better or worse than other similar photography sites of that category, but I wanted to put a site like Flickr in the list. Why? I have several reasons. Having a site with user uploaded photos with message boards is a good way to see "the average photographer's" artwork and to meet new people. A site like 500px is intimidating because the photography is out of this world good. Flickr still has some high quality work, but there's the average work, or even work that isn't great (such as many of the over the top HDR images found on there). Seeing what others do helps show what things may or may not work, gives you a barometer of your work without pitting your photos up against a site full of phenomenal ones, and the social element is nice to talk photography. It's also a good way to get others to look at your work; if you comment on a photo of someone's chances are that user will look at your profile to see who you are, which means he/she will see your work.
5. Craigslist - Yeah, yeah, I know, why am I putting Craigslist on here? Well, part of photography is buying and selling gear, and if you are comfortable using Craigslist, it's a good resource to do just that. You'll never get fair value trading in gear at a pro shop, and shipping a lens after selling on Amazon presents potential risks on top of the sites taking their cut of commission off the top. As far as buying goes, you never know what gems you'll find listed on here, be it old film equipment, tripods, or a great price on a gently used DSLR. Yes, there are risks involved to purchasing from Craigslist, and I don't recommend it to everyone or for all items, but there is a comfort level in being able to see and test the gear before purchasing it, a luxury you wouldn't have ordering off of eBay, for example. So yes, caution is advised, but it's good to take a peek every once in a while, even if just to compare prices on Craigslist to other online sites.

Feel free to leave other useful sites in the comments of this post!