Which Photographer(s) do you admire?

[ricktas]

As we head into the festive season, I thought it might be enjoyable to start a thread of positivity; who we each look up to in photography.

If you are new to Ausphotography and haven't met our 30 days/50 posts rule about posting links, please feel free to post in this thread, we will be ignoring that rule for the purpose of this thread.

Perhaps someone you have met, never met. Someone you hope to be able to be as good as, or someone who does work so far removed from your own that you just enjoy their photography. So here is your chance to post a link to another photographer's website or page, and please tell us why this person is someone you admire. Let's spread some positive light (pun intended) amongst ourselves this festive season.

[Jaded62]

Richard Green

http://www.richardgreen.net.au/pages/home

I had the pleasure of attending one of his exhibitions some years ago. A really interesting and talented guy who met a tragic end.

[Toddyh]

Richard Green

http://www.richardgreen.net.au/pages/home

I had the pleasure of attending one of his exhibitions some years ago. A really interesting and talented guy who met a tragic end.

Never knew a thing about this guy. Just spent the last hour scrolling through his website and reading about him. What a shame he's gone. Would have loved to follow his adventures.

[Geoff79]

Wow, I actually remember that crash. Happened not far from the area I live in.

As for this thread, I find it timely as I've been thinking about creating something similar, as I have a pretty strange journey regarding this question. Before July 2020 I could not have told you a single photographer's name. Well, only one and that's 'cause he's kind of local and a big name in Australia, and that is Ken Duncan. I've even visited his gallery, about 20mins from where I live. But apart from Ken Duncan, I couldn't have told you one single other photographer's name on the planet (well, apart from you guys and gals here). And this is from someone who bought his first DSLR over 10 years ago now. And I've been interested in landscape photography for even longer than that. But I just never saw any reason to get "into the scene."

Anyway, enter Covid-19 and about midway through this year I just quit the news. Couldn't be a part of it anymore, and I've not seen or heard the news since then, other than if/when my wife might have it on around the house. Just not interested anymore and see no reason to put myself through it.

So, I looked elsewhere for something to occupy these minutes. I listen to a lot of music (more than most would comprehend) and wanted to split the time up a little. I have never ever been a Youtube watcher, but at some point, and I still don't know exactly how or why, I stumbled across a Thomas Heaton video on Youtube in about July or maybe even August of this year. Well, that was it. Everything has just snowballed from there, and now I am familiar with a whole host of photographer's names. A lot of them, admittedly, are YouTube photographers, which if I understand correctly, get a bit of a bad rap and by some are not considered "real" photographers, but they're who I know and who I've been engrossed in over the last few months of my life. That said, they also led me to a few non-Youtube ones in my thirst for more awesome photographers.

Anyway, sorry for the super long story. To get to the point, my favourite photographers who are also "YouTubers" would be;

Andy Mumford
Adam Gibbs
Alister Benn (don't personally love all his stuff, but he has such a brilliant mind and his best shots are espectacular)
Gavin Hardcastle (genuinely love his photography and particularly his compositional eye - the fact that his channel is hilarious has nothing to do with my fondness for him as a photographer)
Joshua Cripps
Mads Peter Iversen
Michael Shainblum
Nick Page
Nigel Danson
Sean Bagshaw
Thomas Heaton

Non-Youtubers I discovered probably through the YouTube channels;
Ted Gore
Max Rive
Mark Metternich
Marc Adamus
Marlon Holden
Marco Grassi
Dag Ole Nordhaug
Kai Hornung
Kilian Schönberger
Heesoo Chung

And last but definitely not least by any means;
(Ausphtography's very own) Dylan Toh

Apologies for going from 0-100, but it's been a productive year in terms of photography for me. Seeing all this YouTube stuff makes me realise just how much I've been treading water for the last 10+ years, and just how many basic, simple things I wasn't aware of until a few months ago.

Sadly, my biggest issue always has been and is still with PP, which I just can't seem to get a decent handle on. Maybe one decade...

[bobt]

I'm afraid that I do not follow or identify with particular photographers or "names" in the industry. My admiration is fairly fluid in that I admire so many photographers for their creativity and their ability to capture or create powerful images. It makes no difference to me who they are, what matters is what I see and how an image makes me feel.

One of my Covid tasks has been de-cluttering my computer (the house is en entirely different matter!). In the course of sifting through files I came across an image I kept which won a Pulitzer prize back in 1994. Taken during the Sudan famine, the picture depicts a famine stricken child crawling towards a United Nations food camp. The child has collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Behind him is a vulture waiting for the child to die so that it can eat it. This picture shocked the whole world and continues to shock me now. The photographer Kevin Carter left the place as soon as the photograph was taken and three months later he committed suicide due to depression.

The image raises so many questions and creates so many mixed feelings, but it illustrates the power of the camera and how a picture does indeed paint a thousand words.

As a side comment, I have been editor of a couple of club's newsletters and have tried to promote the broader use of photography as a tool to reflect the world as it is rather than just a world of pretty pictures and pleasing landscapes. Earlier this year I wrote an article for my club newsletter (as Editor) which mentioned the fact that cameras can be powerful tools in the hands of we photographers, and that their use during Covid has been a vital element to convey the horror and seriousness of the global pandemic.

The reaction of our club President was to firstly ban publication of the article and then to terminate the newsletter altogether. Our club members no longer have a newsletter and political correctness reigns supreme.

So my favourite photographers remain those who produce compelling images and use their cameras to produce both uplifting, artistic and amazing images. However, I also include and embrace photographers who bring something deeper to the table and more meaning to our lives. Whatever their names or pedigree might be.

[ricktas]

... In the course of sifting through files I came across an image I kept which won a Pulitzer prize back in 1994. Taken during the Sudan famine, the picture depicts a famine stricken child crawling towards a United Nations food camp. The child has collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Behind him is a vulture waiting for the child to die so that it can eat it. This picture shocked the whole world and continues to shock me now. The photographer Kevin Carter left the place as soon as the photograph was taken and three months later he committed suicide due to depression.

There was a movie about Kevin and this photograph. The movie is called 'The Bang Bang Club'. It is well worth a watch.

[bobt]

There was a movie about Kevin and this photograph. The movie is called 'The Bang Bang Club'. It is well worth a watch.

Looks like it's on Netflix, so I'll give it a go (when I finish the multiple shows I'm already watching, that is!

[robz]

I admire a photo that captures my attention in an unexpected way and makes be look at it over and over. A story and purpose to the photo can also add to that and like bobt i don't care who takes it.
Bit of a traditionalist, but I can look at photographs from Ansell Adams and always see something new and learn something from them. The early images of the Dusseldorf school are also quite interesting and a reflection of the industrial age at the time.

[Geoff79]

There was a movie about Kevin and this photograph. The movie is called 'The Bang Bang Club'. It is well worth a watch.

https://youtu.be/y5HXXh7LEKI

Thanks for the heads up... Definitely want to see this one.

Sent from my MAR-LX2 using Tapatalk

[Glenda]

I couldn't find The Bang Bang Club on Netflix but it is on SBS on Demand.

[ameerat42]

I can't think of any particular photographer(s) off hand, but I find myself somewhat aligned with the first
part of Robx's idea - it's particular images.

I couldn't find The Bang Bang Club on Netflix but it is on SBS on Demand.

Thanks for the WARNING, Glenda. After Narcos and Fargo, and to a lesser extent Vikings, I'm a-hankerin
for some sunlight and butterflies...

[bobt]

I couldn't find The Bang Bang Club on Netflix but it is on SBS on Demand.

You are quite right! I Googled it and it had a Netflix link, but when I went there it just said "This title is not available in your country". So it seems we've been discriminated against ......

[Geoff79]

As we head into the festive season, I thought it might be enjoyable to start a thread of positivity; who we each look up to in photography.

If you are new to Ausphotography and haven't met our 30 days/50 posts rule about posting links, please feel free to post in this thread, we will be ignoring that rule for the purpose of this thread.

Perhaps someone you have met, never met. Someone you hope to be able to be as good as, or someone who does work so far removed from your own that you just enjoy their photography. So here is your chance to post a link to another photographer's website or page, and please tell us why this person is someone you admire. Let's spread some positive light (pun intended) amongst ourselves this festive season.

I was actually curious as to your answer to the question too, Rick, if we can spin it around onto yourself?

[ricktas]

I was actually curious as to your answer to the question too, Rick, if we can spin it around onto yourself?

Hmm. I think Ansel Adams, just to follow a common person who is looked up to. However Vivian Maier's work impresses me, her dedication to her street photography and her life story is just so unique. It also harks to an era now forgotten and photographing people in public places is getting harder and harder, especially for males. Quite sadly.

if you have not watched it, there is a documentary about her life and photography, called Finding Vivian Maier. Though were you can find it online to view, seems to be elusive at present.

[Hawthy]

I will work my way through Geoff's list, but honestly the first that sprang to mind was Dylan Toh. I am a sucker for a landscape but Dylan is generous with technical advice and has a great eye.

[Geoff79]

I will work my way through Geoff's list, but honestly the first that sprang to mind was Dylan Toh. I am a sucker for a landscape but Dylan is generous with technical advice and has a great eye.

Haha, great minds, or something like that. But yeah, agree regarding Dylan. Every bit as good as any photographer I mentioned in my lists, and very generous with his time here.

I hope you like the peeps mentioned on my list. I don't know if you're on Instagram or not, but that's also something I did for the first time in my life about one or two months back also. I follow all the people I mentioned, and as a consequence, I get similar "recommendations" in my feed which allows me to find new mind-blowing photographers frequently. If anything, it's kind of bad because it just emphasises how much I truly suck, lol, but it is great inspiration. If you are on Instagram, a username I stumbled across just tonight is whitemore_ who seems to go by the name of Miss White_? Either way, she appears to live in Indonesia and I was engrossed in her "feed" for an age tonight. An instant addition to my list above.

Anyway, happy searching. Like I said above, I never bothered with Youtube or Instagram or anything other than this forum in terms of photography outside of what I was doing, but there's definitely a whole world out there and it's been really interesting to discover.

[EMGonzo]

Paul Pichugin

https://paulpichugin.com/

I'm a little biased though as Paul is a friend of mine.

[ameerat42]

Paul Pichugin
...

I'm a little biased though as Paul is a friend of mine.

Yes. Pretty good stuff.

[landyvlad]

A few have already mentioned the new kid on the block - Ansel Adams.

He can't be very well off, as the colour sensor on his camera appears to have failed but he does OK anyway.


Seriously though I love his images especially the desert and grand canyon ones.

There are few things better than a B&W image with light used well.


He also had some very solid advice:

"You don’t take a photograph, you make it."

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."



Steve Parish is also an inspiration as a world class nature photographer.

[MattNQ]

Plenty of very good photographers out there, but some personal favourites are;

Landscape - Dylan Toh, Dag Ole Nordhaug, Marc Adamus, Daniel Kordan
Wildlife - Adam Brice, Morten Hilmer
Sport - Delly Carr
Infrared - Simon Marsden