Your five favorite photographers

[cd thacker]

If you had to come up with a list of five names - your favorite

photographers - in descending orders, what would they be? Would you

have trouble listing that many? Or difficulty limiting it to so

few? Would they all be Leica users? Or only some of them?<P>

 

My list of favorites keeps changing. But certain names remain, a

pantheon of immutable influences and transcendent images.<P>

 

1) <a href=http://www.cosmopolis.ch/eggleston7.jpg>William

Eggleston</a><P>

 

The little bit of his work that I saw in the seventies is what led me

to believe in the possibilities of photography. It still does.<P>

 

2) <a

href=http://www.geh.org/ne/str090/htmlsrc2/m199007010056_ful.html#topo

fimage>Ralph Gibson</a><P>

 

Rich and lush. An acquired taste. Having acquired it, I find

looking at his work to be like bathing in an effervescent pool in the

middle of a country glade. In a word, refreshing.<P>

 

3) <a href=http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/infima/frank.html>Robert

Frank</a><P>

 

Also an acquired taste for me, I enjoy the fact that his view of

Americans, made in the 50's, has lost none of its edge and bite and

honesty today (no wonder he met with hostility). I also admire the

way he kept transcending his work, if not himself.<P>

 

4) <a href=http://www.masters-of-

photography.com/W/winogrand/winogrand_new_mexico_full.html>Garry

Winogrand</a><P>

 

It's amazing to me how contemporary looking these images remain. <P>

 

5) For me, spot number five is a toss up between <a

href=http://www.terra.com.br/sebastiaosalgado/>Sabastiao Salgado</a>,

<a href=http://www.porto.art.br/bresson/>HCB</a>, and <a

href=http://www.artland.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-

store/scstore/meyerowitz/0217A.html?

L+scstore+nnnn4435ff1df61d+1024144634>Joel Meyerowitz</a> (which, I

suppose, is just a way of turning my five name list into a seven name

one).<P>

 

What about you? Who's on your list?

[cd thacker]

Sorry - couple'a these links are cracked - dunno what happened - anyway, you get the idea. it's late - I'm off to bed.

[nesrani]

I find it hard to like _all_ of a photographer's work, so I don't really have favourite photographers as such, but I would list the following five:

 

Mary Ellen Mark - for Falkland Road. The greatest loss to colour photography, her black and white is formulaic and sterile IMO.

 

Robert Frank - for The Americans.

 

Luc Delahaye - for Winterreise.

 

Joel-Peter Witkin - his work is an extraordinary investigation of corporeal reality as destiny.

 

Lee Friedlander - for his shadows and reflections series.

[ramy_sadek]

Normally, we talk Leica talk. However, I'll play along because I'm curious what other people like. I won't stick to 5, but I'll say no list of mine could be complete without Eggleston, Nachtwey, Elliot Erwitt, Eugene Smith, Ansel, or Weston.

 

Elliot Erwitt is an M user, and he takes great M-style photos. I can't figure why he isn't more popular. The man's photos are fabulous. If you can, go buy his new book "snaps". It's great!

 

-Ramy

[nesrani]

Ramy - what is an M-style photo?

[pcg]

Kudos to Rob on many of his choices. But regardless, I'd vote:

 

1) Joel-Peter Witkin, consistent genius who cd care less about public opinion;

2) HCB for his half dozen seminal images;

3) Bravo, humble academic w/ an exquisite eye;

4) Edward Weston, whose middle work was dead-on for endless shots; and

5) A grab bag of Kertesz, Koudelka, Gibson, John Brownlow, Meatyard & Man Ray.

[ramy_sadek]

Rob, by "M-style photo" I mean one that seems most easily taken with a rangefinder. Erwitt's pictures are a great example of this. Of course, they could be taken with anything, but I look at them, I see what was happening before and during the shot, and it seems that in that situation, a rangefinder would be perfect. I should think it was self-explanatory, but perhaps it wasn't.

 

-Ramy

[fotografz]

Five, in no order of preference one above the other.

 

Most chosen for their specific influence and impact on my own

personal vision, especially when I was first starting out.

 

Arnold Newman... for his inventive portrait work. As a young

artist/painter/designer, I gravitated to his sharp, design oriented

insights about the artists, writers and composers he

photographed. I own his rendition of Stravinsky, and editions of

his books that he signed for me.

 

Duane Michals: For his psychological story telling. "Alice's Mirror"

significantly impacted me, and played a role in my own ability to

tell a visual story using more than one picture. I use that to this

day when shooting candid wedding sequences, or concepting

TV film. I also have his work in my home, as well as signed

books. (Psycologically speaking, Ralph Eugene Meatyard is

right up there with Michals).

 

Robert Doisneau: For his sense of humor. Proving that

photography need not take itself so seriously to produce

seriously great images. His "Picasso and the loaves" sits on top

of my "fridge" as a constant reminder to "lighten up". ( Lartigue

would be my second choice for this category).

 

HCB: blah, blah, blah, etc. etc., for all the obvious reasons. He 's

the reason I own a Leica. I've owned and sold many of his prints

over the years, but I'll never give up my print of "Mattise with the

doves" which is one of the best renditions of light I've ever seen.

A very close second in this period is Andre Kertesz, who's "Satiric

Dancer" also graces my wall.

 

Gee only five huh?

 

Sarah Moon and Stanley Kubrick: in a dead tie for their influence

on me right NOW concerning color work. IMO, Sarah Moon is the

freshest, most inventive color photographer in the world today.

Kubricks' available light film technique totally changed how I

shoot candid color images. To achieve the look in "Barry Lyndon"

and "Eyes wide shut" requires very fast lenses and extremely

slow shutter speeds ( thus my need for Nocti and Lux lenses, as

well as some Contax,Canon and Nikon speedsters). Digital

imaging has played a significant role in my color work due to it's

instant feedback when working at such border line shutter

speeds and DOF. I do not own a piece of Sarah Moons' work but

would sell one of my beloved Ms to do so. A real possibility in the

near future, after seeing her book "Concidences".

[pcg]

Marc, how extraordinary. I too have HCB's "Mattise with the doves" on the wall (11x14, I think).

What a wonderful moment he's shared with us. It is not a common or particularly well known

print...

[bds1]

5 maybe not so well known ones..

 

1.Jan Grarup

http://www.unicef.de/foto/foto12.html

 

2. Jan Dago

http://www.dago.dk/

 

3.Paulo Pellegrin

http://www.magnumphotos.com/portfolio/pep/images/kosovo/12

h.jpg

 

4. Tom Stoddart

http://www.tomstoddart.com/

 

5. Gilles Perres

http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/

[fotografz]

I agree Patrick. One has to look beyond all the "over exposed"

HCB images ( pardon the photo pun). One of his later images of

a person behind a textured glass doorwall is a print I'd love to

aquire in future. However, I don't want to come off as a "Collector

Snob" here. I also aggressively support local unknown

photographers who's images strike me. And I've also

purchased images from forum members. Given the financial

choice between a print and gear, the print always wins. I recently

even gave up an expensive watch to get a picture I wanted. I'm

wearing a cheap Timex now. One has to feed ones' soul you

know.

[ned_learned]

HCB, Margaret B. White, Gene Smith and the Capa Brothers were the "Founding Fathers" of the vast majority of the pictures we see today. The many other greats built on what they started.

[oliver_s.]

Elliott Erwitt, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Regina Schmeken, Teiji Saga, Jeff Spirer.</p>And Herlinde Koelbl, Margaret Bourke-White, Inge Morath, Art Wolfe, Fritz Pölking, Volker Derlath, William Eggleston, Wolfgang Tillmans, Michael Nichols, Boris Brecelj,...

[Troll]

Edward Weston. Sorry, but I can't whittle it down to only 4 others. How does one choose between Carter-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, and Larry Clark? Between Sudek and Avedon or Paul Strand (picket fence, blind woman, and wall street period)? There are just too many -- Gene Smith, Walker Evans, Lartigue. Perhaps the greatest of all at two of photography's cornerstones Karsch (portraiture) and St. Ansel (landscape). And that's only B&W. If you consider color one must add Ernst Haas and Marie Cosindas. No, it can't be done.

[jay_.]

In no particular order: Galen Rowell, Arthur Morris, David Muench, Phil Borges, Me. Hey, an ego's a good thing in the arts ;>)

[h._gurung]

Robert Frank, early Cartier-Bresson, some Giacomelli, Ray K.

Metzker, Callahan, Brandt and many others...

[msitaraman]

I agree with Bill, so the following list is merely the first five that come to mind. Please pardon my trite adjectives; I struggle to verbalize my reactions.

 

Cartier-Bresson - For his sense of geometry and internal equilibrium. Andre Kertesz and/or Willy Ronis, if HC-B did not exist.

 

Graciela Iturbide - for her symbolism, and sense of atmosphere. How do you do that in photography on the fly? Josef Koudelka as an alternate. Or a primary.

 

Daido Moriyama. A choice perhaps colored by having lived in Japan. No question of the very powerful sense of place, time, immediacy, milieu and the Japanese quality of sparse beauty. Copied a thousand times to much lesser effect.

 

Yousuf Karsh - Old hat and hardly anyone sees the innovation now; he is much copied and improvised upon. But no less powerful and masterly for that, to me. Had a hard time choosing him over Arnold Newman though.

 

The grab bag of great PJs. Anthony Suau. Raghu Rai. Luc Delahaye. James Nachtwey. And on and on.

[paul_chefurka1]

James Natchwey - I think "Inferno" is the fines book of committed documentary photography I've ever seen.

 

Jim Marshall - because I lived throught the times.

 

Dave Harvey - for some reason his pictures just resonate with me.

 

Gene Smith - because he's Gene Smith.

 

Steve McCurry - for his sense of colours and cultures

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

Doug--

GOOD question.

I wrote down 16 names then stopped.

How to manage?

I decided to go to a desert island and take along only five photographer's

books. These are all books I own, btw. They are all Leica photographers, too.

1)Josef Koudelka--Exiles.

2)Larry Clark--Tulsa.

3)Cartier-Bresson--Decisive Moment.

4)Garry Winogrand--Women are Beautiful

5)Robert Frank--Americans

[mark_rutledge]

At first this sounded like a loaded question and I was hesitant to

even read this post expecting the same names of the most

famous (Leica) photog's over and over and over....

What a surprise and great example of the depth and diversity of

interest this list attracts versus others to see names few

"photographers" I know ,outside of my art school days, have ever

even heard of!

Meatyard,Witkin,Bravo,Iturbide etc. for example.

As for me, most names mentioned hear strike a chord, but I'm

extremely partial to Rodchenko. Kratochvil and Pellegrin have

held my interest most recently.

[philip_paul_woodcock]

HCB, Anton Corbijn, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ansel Adams and a bit off topic... Freddie Young (David Lean's Cinematographer)

[bobflores]

I like the irony of Diane Arbus, The compassion of Dorothea Lange, The playfulness of HCB, The mission of Sebastio, and The colors of Eggleston.

 

Of course, every time I trip the shutter, I imagine the perfection of Ansel Adams.... but I rarely, if ever achieve it.

 

b~

[Niels - NHSN]

<P>This is my list as of today (it tends to change)- no specific order.<br> I am sorry -but

I don't think any of the photographers used/uses Leica.

 

<P><A HREF="http://www.arakinobuyoshi.com/">Nobuyoshi Araki</A>: His

combination of poetry, and raw playful curiosity continues to

fascinate and disgust me.</P>

 

<P><A HREF="http://www.yale.edu/amstud/inforev/riis/title.html">Jacob

A. Riis</A>: Because his photographs actually made a social

difference and caused political change. Something which I doubt is

possible today (to the same extend).</P>

 

<P><A HREF="http://www.geh.org/fm/amico99/htmlsrc2/moholy%5Fsld00001.html">Laszlo

Moholy-Nagy</A>: He made many photographic experiments, and not all

were successful, but when he succeeded he was great. And many images still looks unbeliveable fresh and modern. (Laszlo and Man Ray should have been for photography what Duchamp became for modern art. The 'gang' around MOMA's dept. of photography became IMO way too powerful in defining 'art photography')</P>

 

<P><A HREF="http://www.lartigue.org/">Jacques-Henri Lartigue</A>: He

happened to live in a wealthy eccentric family which made great

photographic subjects. You may argue weather he in fact was a great

photographer or not, but his early photographs are so full of life

and healthy curiosity. I love to watch his photographs.</P>

 

<P><A HREF="http://members.lycos.nl/fotoworks/index-15.html">Sally

Mann</A>: Her universe (both her landscapes and people photography)

just totally absorbs me. </P>

[poetprince]

once again Doug, you have inspired me to think a little deeper

and a little longer....like many here, i am finding it difficult to

name but five of my favourite photographers and so, like others, i

reserve the right to ammend and extend my list. whether or not

they are Leica users is a mystery to me, but their influence on

me is akin to the feeling i get when i myself use a Leica. most of

my favourites were black and white photographers whose works

were of an era where modern photography was relatively new

and some even pioneered styles and perspectives that are today

considered common. of course ansel adams and edward

weston epitomize mastery of the art, and so naming them as 'my

favourites' doesn't say alot. so i will name each photographer in

my list as a 'favourite type' of artist, and in so doing my list

reflects my varied interests and tastes and is in no way a

sequential list of importance. each one is important and stands

alone in my reverence for them.

 

1) david hockney...his juxtapositioning of many images to depict

a singular scene and convey visual perception had the most

influence on me as a teenager in the 70's and i often adopt his

style to do larger works that otherwise would not have the same

effect as a single framed print...see "Camera Works"

 

2) ilse bing (i know she used a leica) because she was just

sooOOOoo curious and her camera was her vehicle to the realm

of self-expression..mine is as well

 

3) albert renger-patzsch who made beautiful pictures..glowing

images of the most mundane industrial objects which taught me

that technical ability is indeed an art unto itself and i am

continually learning from his works as some are embedded in

my memory and come running to the forefront of my mind each

time i raise a camera to my eye.

 

4) toto frima...who constantly reminds me what it takes to be an

artist in this day and age with her polaroids and her clean

understanding of the parameters of a photgraphic frame and

how everything outside that frame is covered by the concept of

individual imagination.

 

5) gordon parks who struggled with american prejudice and

worst of all racism on a professional level. who in spite of these

cultural afflictions that our entire world seems to suffer from

persevered and through the production of potent imagery

affected (and still does) everyone who viewed his photos

regardless of their gender, race or creed.

 

most of the others have already been mentioned, such as

alexander rodchenko and yousuf karsh but i feel that i have to

add to the list margaret bourke-white who helped humanize the

subjects of her photos whether they were public figures or

everyday folks.

 

thanks again doug, for making me think.

 

~poetprince

[Spearhead]

Daido Moriyama, Flor Garduno, Luis Gonzalez Palma, Debbie Fleming Caffery, and Bravo. Not sure what value there is in knowing who I like, but that's today's list. Tomorrow, it might include Clarence John Laughlin and Graciela Iturbide. Other than Palma, I consider all of them influences in one way or another.