Favourite Photographers

M

modsoul

Guest
Hi all,

Who are u guys' most favourite photographers?

My favourite are Nan Goldin and Robert Doineau at this moment. How about you guys?

Actually I post this because I admire most of your photos and I hope that someday I can shoot like you guys. I am eager to know who you guys like so that I can look at those photographers' works and learn to take more nice pictures.

Cheers,
Max
 
hey max, welcome to the forum.
i've seen your shots in the gallery and wondered if you would post or not.
i also like doineau, especially after i learned how to pronounce his name.:)
i also like edward weston, his 'daybooks', a series of written journals, is a facinating read.
an old photographer, ralph steiner is also a favourite, along with david vestal. i like salgado too.
there are others but it's early and i just working on my first cup of coffee.

joe
 
Joe,

Thx for your advice. I'm so new to photography. Actually I only started taking photos like one and a half year ago. And I got my Bessa from a friend a week ago. Hope u guys can give more comments to my works so that i can try harder and take better photos time after time.

By the way, did anyone of u hear about this Australian guy called Christopher Doyle. He's the director of cinematopgrahy in most of Wong Kar-wai's films. I've seen his photos and I like them a lot. He got really saturated colour and very high contrast.

And do you know any young phtographer who's worthy looking at?

Max
 
Hi Modsoul! Great to see a fellow Bessa R2 user here! My favourite photographer is the recently departed Henri Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa. I am a great fan of B&W (I do not have an eye for colours! :p ). A good friend and mentor of mine always admonish me to practice as practice is your best teacher. So, what do you normally like to shoot? :)
 
I have a special fondness for Diane Arbus, Ansel Adams, and Robert Capa. They each have a very distinctive approach that tells a different facet of a story. But I think that it's more important is simply to have a camera with you at all times - keep looking; keep composing; everywhere and take as many shots as you can. I use my GSN for that now and want to buy a 6x6 folder to carry with me everywhere (too or instead - I haven't decided which :) )

William
 
Peter,

I like to take photos on street. I like to do some street portraits too. And recently I started to take more photos of my friends. Maybe it's a bit influenced by Nan Goldin. She's taken so many great pictures of her friends. I like her "Ballad of Sexual Dependency". By the way, I like Henri Cartier Bresson too. He's great.

Max
 
Depends upon what type of shooting. However, if we're talking about street & documentary work, nobody comes close to what Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado have done. (JMO) How is Douisnou pronounced? I once spent an evening with Brett Weston, discussing photography, and knocking down Guinness. He was way cool. A real nice and informative guy.

Russ
 
Ralph Eugene Meatyard!

Ralph Eugene Meatyard!

Ralph Eugene Meatyard - Masters of Photography Series

Man, the dude was creepy. But I grok the vision thing he had going on.

I find photographers whose work I like all the time - most of them are unfamous and I don't recall their names anyhow.

I find a lot of them in the pages of magazines such as "Black and White," (British mag), "Lenswork," and "Shots." Very cool stuff.

I also like a lot of my own work. Sorry, that sounds very pretentious. But I often find that I prefer photos of mine that others don't seem to care for. Dunno why.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
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Err...I think I'm weird. I have none! While I love going through photo magazines, photo sites, I've never been paying attention to the name of the photographers.

Where do you guys know all these famous photographers from?
 
Russ said:
Depends upon what type of shooting. However, if we're talking about street & documentary work, nobody comes close to what Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado have done. (JMO) How is Douisnou pronounced? I once spent an evening with Brett Weston, discussing photography, and knocking down Guinness. He was way cool. A real nice and informative guy.

Russ
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i love smith too!
read his bio, very facinating!

it's pronounced dwa-no, as told to me by a french friend.

joe
 
bill, i completely understand!

i too, at times, like my own stuff. the shot of the near empty street (in the gallery) is becoming one of my favourites.
i have it set as a screen saver or background (something like that) and i just like looking at it.
i can understand how others might not like it as much as i do though.
for me, it shows a part of town i quite like and have come to realize i prefer it more empty than crowded with people.

we're not strange, only different and honest about it.

joe
 
"Err...I think I'm weird."

this may be the case but what does it have to do with this post? lol!

talk about wierd, i used to read the movie credits to see who the stills photographer was.
kris, take yourself to the library or a really good book store and browse some of the photo books, pick up a bio of some famous shooter too.
i am facinated at some of the lives of some of these guys. some have given up everything just to shoot and shoot only.

joe
 
my favorite photographers are william klein, doisneau and gary winogrand. max-- that 'masters of photography' site is great for getting an idea about almost everybody listed so far, so take a look if you haven't already.

craig
therangefinder.org
 
Modsoul,
I like various photogs for various reason, Ansel Adams for developing the zone system, Robert Capa for his "ballsy" approach of going to where the shot was and putting himself in danger (which eventually led to his death by stepping on a land mine or bomb), recently I looked at Henri Carter-Bresson's portrait style (see here http://www.magnumphotos.com/c/Home_MAG.aspx?Stat=Menu_Home.). These photogs all have something in common to me, command over the photographic process, whether it's seeing the image or developing the film for the end product.
My advice for improving photographic skill is to shoot more, learn to develop BW film (if you shoot it), and have fun doing it. This is a great forum for asking questions and getting answers, use it, abuse it and put it to work for you! welcome to the forum ;)

Todd
 
It's not so much that I like a particular photog. It's much more a matter of liking a particular series or theme done by a photog.

So far I have read books on André Kertész, Weegee, Eva Besnyö (Dutch female photog), Garry Winogrand, Dorothea Lange, Brassaï, Tahiti Sylvain, Yevgeny Khaldei, Jacob Olie (Dutch photog), George Breitner (Dutch photog and painter), Bernard Eilers (Dutch photog), and father and son Soublette (Curacao photogs).
There's work of these photogs that I like much, and work that I don't care for. But by reading these biographies, and looking at their work, I've learned much about what I like to shoot, learned which compositions work best (often after trying to find a good compo by myself, and failing), and just got a general feeling for what makes a good/ interesting/ gripping photo.

Other photogs that I find interesting, thoug I've only seen a limited amount of their work, are Maki Kawakita, Horst Hamann, and David LaChapelle. There are more but I can't remember their name right of the top of my head.

Anyway, you've got quite a list now to get you started. :) And don't hesitate to check your local newspapers, photo magazines, book shops, and galleries for names, photo books and exhibitions. You'll soon find work of some local photogs, who perhaps have a book out or an exhibition nearby. Often they are more than willing to talk about their work.

Don't forget to check the photos by the members of this website. You can find some of my work on http://www.photo.net/photodb/member-photos?include=all&user_id=205060 .

(Sorry for the plug but I don't have any photos here on RFF) :)
 
A bunch of 'em influenced me. The LF guys: Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Minor White

35mm: HCB, Eugene Smith, Bruce Davidson, and more recently, Martin Parr.

Gene
 
Thank you'll for so many useful advices. A long list now. Thanks!

Todd, I'm probably taking a photography course next month and learn how to develop film then.

RML, Thx! Tell u what, I worked in a Designers' bookshop be4. So I know itz really great to hang around in the bookshop and looking for great photo. But one thing quite sad is that Hong Kong is really a cultural desert. Most photogs here suck. They only care about the pixels of DCs now. Those winners in local press photo contest can't beat anyone of you. I wonder what the hell I'm living in.
By the way, I have been hanging around in photo.net and here for awhile. There're so many nice pics. I'm so glad!

max
 
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Ok Guys here is my list of favorite photographers:

Monte Zucker for wedding and formal portraits.

Ron Kramer for senior portraits at www.portranet.com

Ansel Adams and Clyde Butcher for landscapes.

Scott Smith of www.Lightingmagic.com for learning the basics of light.

W. Eugene Smith and Dorthea Lange for Journalistic photos.

John Shaw for nature photography.

Wayne
 
modsoul said:
But one thing quite sad is that Hong Kong is really a cultural desert. Most photogs here suck. They only care about the pixels of DCs now. Those winners in local press photo contest can't beat anyone of you. I wonder what the hell I'm living in.
Click to expand...

well, thats a good niche! I don't think there are too many of us living/shooting in Hong Kong on this forum. Peter has some excellent examples of the culture where he lives, let's see some more of yours. Street scenes from the area are great as well as the open markets places, I've seen shots taken of the waterways and others areas that I love. Start there, load a roll or two and shoot things/areas that you know, I'd love to travel to Hong Kong someday so wet my appetite!

Todd
 
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