Which photographers do you admire most?

[André.E.C.]

Tricky one I know:D, they are a few for different reasons, anyway, a shortlist of 5 seems ok.

My top 5

Paul Strand
Paul Caponigro
Edward Weston
Minor White
Aaron Siskind


Cheers


André

[Sandeha Lynch]

Jane Bown
Sebastiao Salgado
Arnold Newman
Helmut Newton
David Goldblatt

Five will do fine. :)

[Trevor Crone]

Wynn Bullock
Robert Adams
George Tice
Brett Weston
Gabriele Basilico

[Steven Taylor]

Ray Moore
Ralph Gibson
Robert Adams
Henri Cartier Breeson
Lewis Blatz
Steven (thats my signature, not the sixth hero)

[Roy_H]

Bill Brandt
Raymond Moore
John Blakemore
Edwin Smith
John Davies

Difficult to do, these lists, so I've adopted a chauvinistic approach for a forum with its roots in the UK.
(Could easily do others for U.S. and European photographers though).

[Bill]

Very difficult to limit it to five but mine are
Ansel Adams
Edward Weston
Fay Godwin
John Sexton
Trevor Crone

Bill

[les dix]

Michael Kenna


and....

Abelardo Morrel
John Sexton
Fay Godwin
John Blakemore

[Bob]

Nice to see Fay Godwin's name pop up more than once. It was her books that educated me to the fact that landscape photos do not have to emulate Ansel Adams and made me realise that trying to do so in the English landscape is just plain silly 99.9% of the time.

Having said that, I do still like AA a lot - 'tho not always the images that are the most celebrated.

So that's:
Fay Godwin,
Ansel Adams,
Michael Kenna,
Bill Brandt (for sheer dedication to a vision),
and more recently, Joel Meyerowitz.

Ask me again next week and I'll prolly change three of them...

[Victor Krag]

5 ? My 10 favorites in approx order of my discovering them.
7 of the 10 in CAPS are the ones that really move me consistently.

ANSEL ADAMS (My father had done a few workshops with him decades ago)
John Sexton
WYNN BULLOCK
MICHAEL KENNA
Brad Cole
ROMAN LORANC
ROLFE HORN
SALGADO
Clyde Butcher
PAUL KOZAL

Somewhere in my Top 25.... Brett and Edward Weston, Ruth Bernhard, Rhyuijie, Dorothea Lange, Phillip Hyde, Henry Gilpin, Patrick Jablonski, William Giles, Jerry Uelsmann, Paul Caponigro ..and Dominic Rouse (film scans, manipulations, silver prints - gulp!). I'm sure I left some out... Oh yeah, Dave Miller.

[Mark Burley]

My twopenneth would be:

Dorthea Lange
Edward Weston
George Tice
Andre Kertesz
Lee Miller
Ernst Haas
Michael Kenna
HCB
Ansel Adams
Paul Capronigro
Salgado
Brandt
Newton
David Ward
Joe Cornish

...and so many more it would be dull to list them all.

My list is not in an order of preference and yes it changes daily - It also includes Atget, Stieglitz and finally some of you lot!

Mark

[Martin Aislabie]

Hmmm, this is not as easy as it first appears

Choosing 5 is difficult - its either too short or too long

But here goes anyway:-

Ansel Adams
Edward Weston
Walker Evans
John Sexton
Leon Taylor

When the thread has matured and everyone who will, has posted I will do a ranking of photographers – if anyone is interested?

Thanks

Martin

[Les McLean]

Paul Caponigro
John Blakemore
Thomas Joshua Cooper
Don McCullin
Gary Wynogrand
Bill Klein

Sorry, I couldn't decide which one to leave out.

[David Lingham]

hard task choosing only 5. These are in no special order:

Micheal Kenna
Brett Weston
Eddie Ephrums
Anton Corbijn
John Blakemore

[Paul Mitchell]

Here's a list of photographers, not your usual suspects I know but these are people that I know personally that have inspired and influenced me during my short foray into photography.

In no particular order:

Jeff Teasdale
Steve Gosling
Vic & Mary Attfield (I know it's 2 people but what the heck...)
Derek Reay
and our very own Peter Hogan whose images I greatly admire but who also introduced me to Prescysol EF!

[Steven Taylor]

My first list was my five favourite photographers, but my influences are differant.
Paul Hill
John Blakemore
Tom Cooper
They have all taught me.
Fay Godwin and Chris Steele-Perkins encouraged me very early on.
Ansel Adams, I still go back to his series of Instruction books. I already mentioned Ralph Gibson and Robert Adams in my original list by they should be here too because of their writtings.
Sorry to have two hits at this, I couldn't resist.
Steven

[les dix]

Actually I have just discovered a contender for my list.

Lilo Raymond.

Simple, still life images. She fled Germany with her parents in 1939 and has spent her life in the USA. Now in her 80s, She has a website and a book.

Les

[mono]

Ansel Adams
John Sexton
Barnbaum
Clyde Butcher
Michael Kenna
Josef Hoflehner
Kertesz
HCB
Karl Blossfeld
Robert Häusser
Robert Lebeck
Isolde Ohlbaum

[Mike Meal]

Cole Thompson
Michael Kenna
Adrian Davies
Peter Hogan and Trevor Crone's work has also inspred me since seeing their work on FADU

[Ag-Bromide]

David Bailey
Terence Donovan
Bert Hardy
Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield
Gered Mankowitz.

[Ian Leake]

In no particular order and for different reasons:

Edward Weston
Frank Sutcliffe
Paula Chamlee
Jock Sturgess
Imogen Cunningham

... but I could easily have had Paul Strand, Charlie Waite, Joe Cornish, David Ward, Abelardo Morell, Richard Avedon, Helene Binet, Michael A Smith, William Mortensen, Kertesz, Capa, Horst, Steichen, Doisneau, Horst, or many others...

[seoirse]

John Davies
Phil Borges
Richard Avedon
Salgado
Colin Flanary Graham

[Michael]

In alphabetical order:

Ilse Bing
André Kertész
Willy Ronis
Edward Steichen
Henry Talbot

[kennethcooke]

Alfred Stieglitz but there again isolating just one is really impracticable and to even submit an extensive list would seem a pointless exercise . So I will just go with Alfred Stieglitz and his picture of his second wife, the painter Georgia O'Keeffe and his foundation of Camera Work

[Rob Archer]

Interesting question. I've been aking my self this a lot recently. I'm giving a talk at a local camera club next month on the subject of 'inspiration', so it's timely.

I think different photograhers have inspired me during my photographic life, and the list will keep growing. I suppose my top 5 would have to be (and why):

Ansel Adams - his commitment to conservation as much as his thorough technique.
Fay Godwin - Beautiful studies of the British landscape, warts and all, and using those images to bring about change.
Charlie Waite - the importance of composition
Sabastao Salgado - his images never fail to challenge.
Bert Hardy - an even great knack of capturing the moment thant HCB

......And loads more, including many contributors to this forum!

Rob

[photomi7ch]

Horst Hamann
Charlie Waite
Ansel Adams
Michael Levin
Toney Mendoza

There are many more these came to mind first.

[Daud]

Ansel Adams
Edward Weston
Margaret Bourke-White
Larry Burrows – for his Vietnam work.
John Sexton
Micheal Kenna
Frank Meadow Sutcliffe
And many more…..

No particular order – just as they came into my head (did you say 5 :slap:)
Keep me away from Abebooks!!!

David.

[kennethcooke]

I bought the Taschen publication of Jean Loup Sieff yesterday and I do admire his work of which this large format book is a steal at £12.99 300 pages. I also love his french passion for the derrière, a passion I also share

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/382284439X/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=266239&s=books

[Peter Hogan]

There are so many that are inspirational, but the ones I admire most are;
Michael Kenna - enough said
Chip Forelli - wonderful eye
Bailey - amazing in the 60's and 70's
John Swannell - for his nudes
Nick Brandt - monochrome wildlife

[kennethcooke]

If one photographer has to stand out for me it would have to be Vittorio Sella

[wiesmier]

I don't have a top 5. I'm a image-tart and like particular images and styles rather than all the work of one particular person.
Having said that, I do love the work of our own Mr Sanderson with whom I had the pleasure of a great workshop some years ago.

[Argentum]

Michael Kenna (by a country mile)

Lots of other occasional images...

such as

http://normanrileyphotography.com/page1.html (the painterly looking images are my favourites)

http://normanrileyphotography.com/page5.html
http://normanrileyphotography.com/page6.html

not so keen on his other stuff.

[wiesmier]

Wow, that Norman stuff is just fantastic. Like this one (http://normanrileyphotography.com/page4012.html)

[Barry]

Fine t-shirt...

http://normanrileyphotography.com/pageshirt.html :D

[outremer]

5 photographers I admire, in no particular order are:

Martin Parr
Elliot Erwitt
Walker Evans
William Eggleston
Paul Strand

I've no idea why but there images aways grab my attention.

[brianrbird]

mine are, Robert Capa; George Rodger; Sergio Larrain; Rodger Mayne;Bert Hardy.

[smaloron]

My top five currently is

Andre Kertesz
Karl Blossfeldt
Edouard Boubat
Brett Weston
Don Worth

I first came up with a list of 25 names and downsizing this to only five was a very painful experience. I really hate you André for making me do this :D

Anyway, I can't resist the urge to write donw the names of those who did not make it to the top five.

John Blakemore, Josef Koudelka, Barry Thornton, Cece wheeler, Kenro Izu, Ryuijie, Michael Kenna, Bruce Barnbaum, Ion Zupcu, Paul Kozal, Roman Loranc, Charles Grogg, Ron van Dongen, Jean Dieuzaide, David Johndrow, Raymond Meeks, Tim Rudman, Wolfgang Moersch, Sophie Thouvenin

[Tony Marlow]

The photographer I most admire is Frank Hurley on Shackleton's Antarctic expedition. Seeing him perched up in the ships rigging with a large format camera and tripod is unbelievable. His photos are stunning in any context but what he achieved in those conditions is amazing. The tragedy is that so many negatives had to be abandoned in order to survive. These he had to rescue by diving into his flooded darkroom as the ship was crushed and sinking.
Tony

[Phil]

Coo - this is hard!

Clarence H White
Frederick Evans
Wynn Bullock
Ansel Adams
Fred Holland Day

but then it could all change by tonight, though I would say that I can always gain pleasure from looking at stuff by these guys.
Phil

[Martin Aislabie]

I have had a quick review of who got how many votes

Here is the list in descending order of votes then in alphabetical order of those on equal vote counts

Votes Photographer
10 Ansel Adams,
9 Micheal Kenna
6 Edward Weston
5 John Sexton
4 Fay Godwin,
4 John Blakemore
3 Bert Hardy
3 Brett Weston
3 Wynn Bullock
2 André Kertész
2 Bill Brandt
2 Charlie Waite
2 George Tice
2 John Davies
2 Paul Strand
2 Peter Hogan
2 Robert Adams
2 Sebastiao Salgado
2 Trevor Crone's
2 Walker Evans


Quite an interesting list - we are obviously quite a diverse bunch

Well done to both Peter Hogan and Trevore Crone for making it onto a list so full of distingished names :D

Martin

[TheoP]

Really difficult!
I'd probably have to say...


Eugene Atget - definitely the photographer that inspires me most, every time I look through his work I get a thrill making me want to go out with my camera

Uelsmann - similar effect to Atget, except his pictures make me want to experiment in the darkroom

Andre Kertesz
Fay Godwin
Rolfe Horn

Obviously Adams is a favourite, but instead of inspiring me, his work depresses me, making me think 'I could never go there, or have those skills, or be that good' whereas the other people I listed, though I doubt I'll be as 'good'/well known as them, they inspire me try.

[jfmatias]

I was thinking about my answer and finally my conclusion is ....... my admiration go for all photographers that have not a big name, but yes great photos. Go too for all "rara avis" who is working today in analogic, no good conditions, in a small and provisional darkrooms, but with a great ilusion for his job. I feel photography like an special way of life.

[gari]

Have to second the Colin Graham choice, great work.
Rolf Horne
Paul Wakefield
Christopher Burkett
Peter Dombrovskis

Sooo many to choose from really.

Gari

[Nabhar]

Perusing Eugene Atget's documentation of a 'disappearing' Paris is akin to time-travelling.

[raulpc]

Ansel Adams (http://www.anseladams.com/), of course...

Clyde Butcher (http://www.clydebutcher.com/), my inspiration to take my 8x10 Cambo Legend out there...

Joe Cornish (http://www.joecornish.com/), some of this days I will try my hand on the E6 kit world that is already over there waiting for some 4x5 Fuji Velvia positives...

Chip Hooper (http://www.chiphooper.com), living by the seashore as I do...

Alan Ross (http://www.alanrossphotography.com/), this I can only imagine to see on paper, for real, looking already fabulous on this poor computer screen...

This were just some names that came to my mind, the list would be endless...

[Neil Smith]

Another for Walker Evans I would also like to add Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Eve Arnold, William Eggleston, Cindy Sherman, Sebastiao Salgado the list could go on but many have been mentioned already


Neil

[PaulB]

Difficult to avoid a list dominated by USA but try these

James Ravilious
Edwin Smith
Marion Post Wolcott
Albert Renger-Patzsch
Paul Wolff

All well worth a look

[raulpc]

Yes, Paul, mine is american dominated also... are all our teachers and references from that country?...
:confused:

[Martin Aislabie]

Yes, Paul, mine is american dominated also... are all our teachers and references from that country?...
:confused:

No, but it does feel like it sometimes.

If you look at the summarised list about half the photographers are American, although a number of none US photographers ended up working in America (probably for sound business reasons)

Martin

[Neil Smith]

Difficult to avoid a list dominated by USA

The list of votes at the top of the page has quite a few British photographers who I would gladly have mentioned with the list I printed, but I just wanted to throw in a couple of new names, who happen to be American, I could just as easily added Philip Jones Griffith, David Hurn, Terence Donovan, David Bailey, Chris Steele-Perkins, Don McCulin etc


Neil

[Nabhar]

Man Ray:

** "Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask 'how', while others of a more curious nature will ask 'why'. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information."

** “I do not photograph nature. I photograph my visions.”

** "I have been accused of being a joker. :mob: But the most successful art to me involves humor."


** "With him you could try anything—there was nothing you were told not to do, except spill the chemicals. :wag: With Man Ray, you were free to do what your imagination conjured,
and that kind of encouragement was wonderful."

[DougHowk]

The list of photographers no longer living who have influenced my viewing/thinking is too long. Confining myself to those still living is more manageable.
Tillman Crane both as a person and as an instructor/photographer. Ian Leake for beautiful platinum prints and a very useful book. Bruce Barnbaum for gorgeous prints and technical insights. Michael Smith & Paula Chamlee for vision (& good people too). Ray McSaveney, John Sexton, Don Kirby, Michael Kenna, Kenro Izu, Linda Connor, Howard Bond, Ralph Gibson and many others for inspiring images. Abelardo Morrel, Tim Rudman, John Blakemore & Rob Kendrick for seeing differently. I'm probably missing some, but oh well...

[Paul Jenkin]

Ansel Adams
Don McCullin
Steve McCurry
Paul Strand
Edward Weston
Eugene Atget
Andre Kertesz
Bill Brandt
Charlie Waite
Joe Cornish
H Cartier-Bresson
Dorothea Lange

and too many others to mention. Usually classical style and mostly mono workers - with a few exceptions.

[stebec]

Ansel Adams
Steve McCurry
Cole Thompson
Lara Jade
Joe Cornish

[Richardmn]

Edwin Smith
Don McCullin
Frederick Evans
Jane Bown
James Ravillious
Edward Weston
Paul Strand
Eugene Atget

[Jim and dog]

I'll play;
Walker Evans
Lewis Hine
Alfred Stieglitz
Minor White
Paul Strand

[Neil Smith]

Here is one I just discovered,

Alec Soth

I can't believe I have missed his work till now, I notice on a search RoyH mentioned his book Sleeping by the Mississippi some time ago, his website is well worth a look.

http://www.alecsoth.com/

Neil

[johnmilner]

personally i'm a big fan of Anton Corbijns work, especially his album cover work, mapplethorpe gets a big thumbs up too, it doesnt seem to matter whether it's his flowers or erotica just about every shot of his i've ever seen looks amazing

not too sure about Ansel Adams, he took a good photograph, but i think a lot of his work is, dare i say, overrated, technically superb but sometimes lacking soul i feel

[jonogmun]

A few favorites:

Josef Sudek
Michael Kenna
Ragnar Axelsson
Dave Sexton

[JKaranka]

Tom Wood
Garry Winogrand
Kohei Yoshiyuki
Anders Petersen
Shomei Tomatsu
Antoine d'Agata
Jeffrey Silverthorne

[coigach]

Almost impossible to choose only five, but here are a list of photographers whose books have made a great impact on me:

Simon Roberts - 'Motherland'
Hiroshi Wanatabe -'I see Angels every day'
Andrew Nadolski - 'The End of the Land'
Catriona Grant - 'The Examination Room'
Jan Tove - 'Beyond Order'

Cheers,
Gavin

[DuncanC]

Seems that my list is very limited:

Matt Cardy
David Bailey
Ansel Adams

[Nabhar]

Oscar Marzaroli,

Not that famous, but well worth a mention.


http://www.oscarmarzaroli.com/home.html


''Golden Haired Lass'' - Gorbals 1964, is a favourite of mine.

[HopALong]

Well, let me see, so many to whittle down to 5..........

Robert Capa
Duane Michals
Ansel Adams
Don McCullin
Jerzy Wierzbicki

.............just to name a few.

[Jon Butler]

My Three favourites a Minor White, Man Ray and Ralph Gibson.
JON.

[JonathanC]

My list:

Lots of Japanese photographers;
Minor White;
Dorothea Lange;
W. Eugene Smith;
Michio Hoshino;
Roger Mayne;
Hazel Sanderson (The Dales of Yorkshire);
Leslie McIntyre (The Time of Her Life);
Elliot Porter;
Stephen Shore.

[Adrian Twiss]

In no particular order

Edward Weston
Imogen Cunningham
Don McCullin
Ansel Adams
Weegee (The Famous)

[cliveh]

Henri Cartier-Bresson
Eugene Atget
Andre Kertesz
Josef Sudek
Fox Talbot
But there are many others

[Nabhar]

Miroslav Tichy

I recently discovered this Czech ''photographer'' while perusing through a Glasgow bookshop....
Given his dubiously surrepititious approach to his subjects, I don't think admiration is the word, more a curious fascination with his modus operandi.

excerpt from wiki;

''Tichy made his equipment from materials at hand. A typical camera might be constructed from plywood, sealed from the light with road asphalt, with a plywood shutter with a window cut through, operated by a pulley system of thread spools and dressmaker's elastic.
A homemade telephoto lens might be constructed from cardboard tubes or plastic pipes. He made his own lenses, cutting them out of Plexiglas, sanding them with sandpaper, then polishing with a mix of toothpaste and cigarette ashes. His enlarger combines sheet metal, two fence slats, a light bulb and a tin can.''

Bizzarre, yet fascinating.....and I thought I was broke !

[Mark-NY]

I have just discovered David Plowden (http://www.davidplowden.com/) and really admire his work.

[bill spears]

Just thought I'd give a mention to a local Cornish photographer who's inspired me enormously, especially when I first got started.

His darkroom skill is awesome and seeing his 30"x40" toned silver prints left me speechless.

http://www.dp.talktalk.net/pages/FrameSet1.html

[Keith Tapscott.]

Just thought I'd give a mention to a local Cornish photographer who's inspired me enormously, especially when I first got started.

His darkroom skill is awesome and seeing his 30"x40" toned silver prints left me speechless.

http://www.dp.talktalk.net/pages/FrameSet1.htmlI didn't know that David Penprase was still around.
I remember seeing some of his prints some years ago and agree that he is a superb printer.

[Sam I Peek]

Theres shed loads of photographers who's work I like, but the handfull who's images really speak to me are:
Julia Margeret Cameron
Simon Marsden
Atget
Lady Hawarden
Irving Penn
Alexander Liberman
Not much colour in that group, but could look at their photos all day :)