watchmen Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Seems like we've got a tight photo group here, so who is your favorite photographers, could just be your favorite photo or one that makes you think, if it's just a photo than do some research and find out who it belongs to. Let's make this interesting and discus fields of photography too such as landscape, portraiture, fine art, documentary, etc. Genres of style even. This is not a competition mind you, this is a doorway to the wonderful world of photography, enjoy... So let's start this off right with an old favorite of mine, Ansel Adams. Grandfather of landscape photographers, creator of the zone system, and one of the most amazing black and white printers ever. What I found so amazing when I first got into photography was seeing two of Ansel's photos compared side by side; both photos were of the same subject, Moon Over Half Dome, but one was printed by Ansel with burning and dodging, local bleaching, selenium toning and all the tricks of the trade a printer uses, the other was a straight print with nothing done to it. In the straight print it looked very much bland, well exposed so the highlights, midtones and shadows were all there, but just not too impressive. The print that Ansel printed looked amazing and you could see right there, that is where the artist stepped in and took that particular image to another level. One of my favorite photographs from Ansel Adams, The Tetons--Snake River Link to comment
StevieT Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 dadofreefs :caugh: I mean noobofreefs Link to comment
Lalani Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Oh gosh, I could make a very long list, but I'll just say Frank Phillips and Blepharopsis. *sigh* Link to comment
watchmen Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Oh gosh, I could make a very long list, but I'll just say Frank Phillips and Blepharopsis. *sigh* Awesome insect photography, both photographers have very cool macros of insects. Have you ever used one of those Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens, wondering what the focasing distance of that is and how it might differ from the 100 macro. Link to comment
Lalani Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Frank has a whole review on the MP-E here. Ever since I saw his photos, I've wanted one of those lenses, but after seeing Blepharopsis' I can't make up my mind. Link to comment
dshnarw Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Geologists LOVE Ansel Adams - I use his landscape photos all the time in class to teach about meandering rivers, deserts, etc. And, in the truly bizarre...Salvador Dali, Man Ray, and Phillipe Halsman. Always been a surrealism fan, and bringing into photography just makes it spectacular Finding a photo by Dali seems nearly impossble at the moment Link to comment
phases Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I have to agree with watchmen Ansel Adams is amazing. I also like Christopher Anderson. He does a lot of conflict coverage etc. He has an amazing ability to capture emotion. Link to comment
watchmen Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Geologists LOVE Ansel Adams - I use his landscape photos all the time in class to teach about meandering rivers, deserts, etc. And, in the truly bizarre...Salvador Dali, Man Ray, and Phillipe Halsman. Always been a surrealism fan, and bringing into photography just makes it spectacular Finding a photo by Dali seems nearly impossble at the moment Right on, Halsman was The Photographer that got me into photography, when I was a kid wandering around the library I picked up a Halsman book, and before that moment, photographs were just that, just like family photos or vacation photos, something to give proof or record of an event. Flipping through the pages of movie star and celebrity photos was interesting until I got to the photos where Halsman collaborated with Dali, then photography got really interesting after that. Really eye opening for me since the use of Surrealism was more like an illustration where the photographer and the subject were working together to illustrate and idea. Soon after that I stole one of my dads old cameras and started snapping away. So yes Halsman's work has had a special place in my heart. Halsmans Jump photos are fun too. A little trivia, this image was used in the butterfly image in Silence of the Lambs, then later to be used in the Descent, another Dali and Halsman collaboration. Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I am just getting in to photography so I admittedly have not really explored the works of others though everyone knows about Ansel Adams and I do love his stuff. I need to start studying and looking at some other people's stuff though. Link to comment
jeremai Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Man Ray, Diane Arbus, David Muench and Peter Lik have always been at the top of my list. Link to comment
Lalani Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Eesh, I was looking up some of the old favorites and came across David Lachapelle's webpage. Interesting thing to stumble upon. One of my favorite b&w photographers is Fernand Domange. I can't seem to find much information on him, but take a look at his photos. They mainly consist of portraits of people, in a wide-angle shot, standing in front of a background which reflects their personality type. Or at least that is how I see it. Edit: Looks like he did a major update on his website and he's doing a lot of normal portraiture also, not nearly as good. Richard Avedon and Robert Mapplethorpe. Who doesn't know them? And Jan Saudek. His portraits are.... bizarre really. Just a warning: Lots of nudity. 2001-2005 have some of his most interesting images. Link to comment
jeremai Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Oh wow, I cannot believe I forgot David LaChapelle! I have a few other favorites, probably not appropriate in this forum though, lol. Of all my idols, Peter Lik is the only one I've had the pleasure of working with, not that I would call it work - I was all dreamy-eyed he whole time. Link to comment
filefish949 Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 my favorite is SL... anyone seen him? Link to comment
Lalani Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Oh wow, I cannot believe I forgot David LaChapelle! I have a few other favorites, probably not appropriate in this forum though, lol. Of all my idols, Peter Lik is the only one I've had the pleasure of working with, not that I would call it work - I was all dreamy-eyed he whole time. Seriously?? PM links to your favs. Link to comment
watchmen Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Oh wow, I cannot believe I forgot David LaChapelle! I have a few other favorites, probably not appropriate in this forum though, lol. Of all my idols, Peter Lik is the only one I've had the pleasure of working with, not that I would call it work - I was all dreamy-eyed he whole time. LaChapelle's work is awesome isnt it. He's getting a little composite crazy these days though. I preferred when he set up huge scenes with lot's of people. Made his photographs seem more like movie stills. Still think his work is great. In the same theme of Lachapelle is Gregory Crewdson, who's work is kind of the polar opposite of LaChapelle. He sets up situations in movie still fashion, but does it in a more somber night owl style, very haunting imigery, me likes His neighborhood accident scenes are really spooky and interesting. Link to comment
watchmen Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 I have to agree with watchmen Ansel Adams is amazing. I also like Christopher Anderson. He does a lot of conflict coverage etc. He has an amazing ability to capture emotion. Very impressive work, I have the utmost respect for Documentary Photographers and Photojournalists, Andersons work is very strong, Magnum photographers are very unique. I have always annotated documentary with black and white photography because of it's grit and rawness and one of my favorite in this feild is Sebastio Selgado, another grandfather figure of sorts when it comes to documentary black and white, and a Magnum alumn. His images are somewhat epic in scope, taking wide landscapes of conflict zones, migration, famine. His work in the gold mines of Brazil are amazing. The amount people digging in these mines and the scale and scope is mind boggling. Another Magnum photographer who I really like is Alex Webb, who uses color in a feild where black and white images dominate. His use of color is very much in the same vein as Henri Cartier Bresson in that he finds his location and then photographs the people within it, which makes for very dramatic compositions. Webb's most notable of his work is from Haiti. His work in Istanbul is equally as stunning. Use of color amazing. Link to comment
TheCuban1040 Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I heard that Ansel Adams photoshops all of his images. That really cheapens all his work in my eyes... unless it's not true Link to comment
watchmen Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 I heard that Ansel Adams photoshops all of his images. That really cheapens all his work in my eyes... unless it's not true Link to comment
TheFallofSidney Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 James Natchwey Ansel Adams Robert Cappa Edward Weston Link to comment
jokercykoe Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Dave Hill has some interesting photos with interesting effects. I also like automotive photography like Scott Dukes I don't really have a favorite photographer. Most have their own individual styles that you can learn something from. It's a great hobby. I can browse this gallery all day! It's a flickr gallery of Strobist's favorites http://www.flickr.com/photos/31454864@N00/favorites/show/ A lot of great stuff in there. Link to comment
dshnarw Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I should add in Ellen Morris Bishop. Not the greatest photog in the world, but she's got 3 things going for her: photographer, hiker/traveler, and PhD geologist. (always inspiring to know you can do it all...) Link to comment
jeremai Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I'd like to add Jack Dykinga, as well. And check out this month's issue of Outdoor Photographer. I got it in the mail yesterday - there's an article on using a tilt/shift lense to recreate Ansel Adams-type DOF, as well as an article on David Muench's new book Arizona. Hell, just get a subscription, already! Link to comment
Lalani Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I let my subscriptions to Outdoor Photographer and Popular Photography lapse.... I couldn't take the increasing ads anymore. Link to comment
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