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“You Are Here” is a running (5) five part series discussing a variety of contemporary philosophic questions about photography. If you missed the first entry you’re in luck. See here:
You Are Here (Part 1/5): The Ultimate Compliment
Enjoy Part 2…
Previously The Ultimate Compliment focused on what is art, but a more dynamic discussion is who do you think is an artist and who has influenced your photographic work?
This came up over lunch a few weeks back while talking to a couple of friends about photographers that have influenced our work. My friends were quite quick to name photographers including Ansel Adams, Ernst Haas, Eliot Porter, Art Wolfe, Galen Rowell, etc. I on the other hand struggled to pick out photographers by name. Yes most certainly I have been influenced by all those mentioned, but thinking back to when I used to look over my grandparent’s Life magazines and my family’s National Geographic magazines the names of the photographers went unnoticed.
For anyone that knows me this isn’t much of a surprise. Even today I’m more apt to remember a person or place visually than by name. It’s quite embarrassing, but telling of how my brain works. To identify the names of the photographers that have influenced me would take quite a bit of digging and is well beyond the degree of effort I want to take for this blog entry.
None-the-less floating in my mind are hundreds of photographs, some iconic and others less well-known, that have shaped my photographic view of the world. I wish it could be so easy to honestly list off a few photographers and be done with the question. In different combinations these photographs constantly float in the ether of my thoughts and to this day still influence my photographic outlook, goals and style. It’s a bit of a subconscious mechanism.
As I have time I’ll have to dig up images that are ingrained in my memory and research the photographer. It’d be a fun project and it will definitely shed light on who I am as a photographer. For now I’ll stick with the Big 5 previously mentioned and will eventually come up with others.
So with that being said what photographers have influenced your photography?
[tags]you are here, philosophy of photography, photography, philosophy, photographers of influence, photographer[/tags]
Adams and Rowell for sure along with many others. Some like you I don’t have names for. When a photo makes an impact on you it makes no difference who the name is. The work speaks for itself.
Richard identifying photographers of influence is tougher than it seems. It’s good to know I’m not alone on that. I agree a name isn’t as important as the image, but to answer the question knowing always helps. Ultimately I agree the power of influence is the photo not the name. The technique, subject, style, etc. all have a lasting impact. Names are essentially brands in this day and age. There’s nothing wrong with that but it needs to be called out. I’m not sure most people think of these things in such terms.
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Art Wolfe stands out as the single greatest photographic influence to me. Adams and Porter are certainly great and belong there, but used large format which I could never afford. Jim Brandenburg is another artist that influenced me.