Jump to content

Which photographer living or dead would you most like to spend a day with, and why?


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 87
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Cartier-Bressson, without a doubt, just to watch him work.

 

He was famous for his diatribes against the work of others who presented him their portfolios, so I wouldn't attempt to show him my work.

 

He was adamantine in his hatred of his own color work to the point where he not only scolded loudly in a fancy Parisian restaurant the editor of French 'Photo' (an erstwhile friend) who brought him some of his older color work to consider, to the point where he tried to rip it up, then went around to all the other diners to let them know his opinion of that editor and the 'sin' he had committed in resurrecting what he considered his failed 'art'.

 

Obviously a man of great conviction and passion in everyhthing, a Communist/socialist sympathizer for much of his life because he (wrongly) thought it would make the world better, a surrealist because he knew, just knew, that life is indeed surreal, and a man with an unerring knack for following history around, probably just to experience it himself. (He seemingly lost interest in photography when that part of his life was over, and he turned to painting/drawing. Did his legs give out? Had he seen everything?)

 

I'd like to have followed him around, probably without talking, just to see how he approached his subjects, how long he waited for those shots called 'waiters', how he dealt with irate subjects (did the farmer really chase him with a shovel?), the tons of tricks he must have accumulated over a lifetime for concealing his photography from the unknowing subjects (famously including hiding his Leica under a napkin --serviettte-- in restaurants, etc.), and in general to see how that man's mind worked in creating compositions where most would see none, and mainly to have watched him interact with his subjects, camera in hand, while following him in his peregrinations.

 

And finally to find out if what a fellow PN member told me is true, that he was capable of (and filmed) shoving parade spectators out of his way in NYC so he could get 'that shot'.

 

(I don't shove, but truly a man after my heart; you're not much of a photogtrapher if you can't get that photograph).

 

Alive: Elliott Erwitt, a great photographer with a vast, full lifetime of experience and a tremendous body of work; also a man of great humor.

 

John (Crosley)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You've described HCB as a sort of sportsman. Somehow it is not natural or comfortable to

think of a still photo as the culmination of a moving interaction or dance bt'ween the 'stalker

and the prey', but if you substitute the pre-visualized photo in the mind as the prey you've

got a good analogy. Viewing contact sheets as reverse-storyboards can be enlightening

about my specific behaviors and approaches to getting the shot I

wanted?...expected?...settled for?

 

A friend of mine on the Boston Globe photo staff tells young aspirants to shoot as much

sports action as they can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"A friend of mine on the Boston Globe photo staff tells young aspirants to shoot as much sports action as they can."

 

Pinball is also surprisingly good training especailly on a machine like the old classic Bally Fireball where you can have up to 3 balls in play at a time and the grooved spinning disk in the center of the playing field adds quite a bit of randomness to the action.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Margaret Bourke White. Because she knew what was the right proportion of truth between human greatness and human evil in creation. She seemed to know what she was doing although being in (many) times of trouble, and she had an inner strength to share.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Without a doubt, Erich Salomon, who essentially invented candid photography and managed to crash just about every international

diplomatic conference of his era, 1920s-30s. He is also credited with taking the only shot of the US Supreme Court in Session.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I was reading and reading, and wanted to say - hey, did you forget Henri Cartier-Bresson :) the best is left for the end :)

 

Always and forever - Henri Cartier-Bresson -

 

and I would spend my day with a Serbian photographer, unfortunatelly dead in 2003 - Branibor Debeljkovic :) please look at his photographs at : http://www.digital.nbs.bg.ac.yu/eng/fotodokumenta.php?

 

Thank you :)

 

 

All the best to today`s Photographers, alive ones : )

Biliana

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

I think I would love to spend a day with "Sally Mann" .

 

Her b&w work are amazing , I love the way she deal with the subject , A unique approach full with emotion . her family old work are one of the best in the world of photography .

 

Even the way she deals with Death I find fascinating , It's a subject that not many photographers will ever dear to work with .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...