# Well we have to start somewhere (Possibly R18 - be careful)



## Hertz van Rental (Jan 1, 2005)

As the title says.
I think we should start where this forum was born:

Who are your top ten photographers.
Try to give your reasons and an indication of the type of things they do. I'm sure this will spark something off   

(And I think someone else can take the first crack at this)


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## tmpadmin (Jan 1, 2005)

Only two photographers stick out.  While I have had the privilege to view many I am very bad with names let alone artists' names.

Les Krims - Being that he was my teacher for 4 years I think this is a bit biased.  Some of his work disgusted me but only because I knew who the models where to him.  However, putting that aside I can still see the value in the messages he presented.  

Ansel Adams - or at finals we called him Smada Lesna - we got a bit bonkers trying to pump out all those prints, in the dark with the fumes.  I'm a big "crunchy granola" (some called me - Hiking boots with shorts) You couldn't tell now - and I like to babble.  Anyway I appreciate what he did when he did it.  the perfect representation of what he saw is something I probably will never achieve.  And the think he saw were just amazing.  

These may be basic reasons to like a photographer however, I tent to break everything down to its most basic elements - sometimes good sometimes bad.


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## MDowdey (Jan 1, 2005)

cartier bresson.

doxx's work reminds me of it. and i liked the idea of black and white street photography. 

lachappelle is another good one. i think thats his name. he does all the glamour stuff in hollywood. has an unusual style and air about him.


md


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## Jeff Canes (Jan 7, 2005)

I am a little shamed to admit it but I am not very familiar with a lot photographer by name. Personally I enjoy shooting landscapes and sports. Ansel Adams has been one of favorites but I dont know really why him a not others. Also Clyde Butcher he is the Ansel Adams of Florida.


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## ksmattfish (Jan 11, 2005)

My top 10 is probably always changing, but right now I guess it would be (in no particular order):

Sally Mann:  I love her earlier work, the large format photos of her family.  Some of it is just fantastic.  Her recent stuff bores me (body farm stuff).  

Harry Callahan:  He's just got the kind of weird eye I like.  I love that portrait  of the tiny guy at the far end of an alley.

Margaret Bourke-White:  Many classic images.  She had a slick way with composition.

Weegee:  I'm turned on by anybody who does LF hand held, and I love Speed Graphics.

Mark Citret:  A contemporary LF photographer.  I like his urban landscapes.  There is a great story on his website about how he got a poor critique on one of his photos, and later it was purchased by Ansel Adams.

Paul Caponigro:  A lot of my stuff looks like his stuff, at least the landscapes.  We have a similar eye.

Ansel Adams:  I know many folks find his stuff boring, but I've seen a lot of it in person, and I like it.  It may be sort of "calender work", but heck, it's some of the original calender work.  Also "The Camera", "The Negative", and "The Print" are my holy books.

The Bechers:  Large format industrial stuff that is made with amazing precision.  When I get to see their work in person it's stunning.  

Diane Arbus:  Some of her stuff is great, some of her stuff is kind of crappy.  I like the folks she chose to photograph:  freaks instead of the beautiful people.  For some reason I find her inspirational (you know, except for the suicide), and I love Rolleiflexes.

It's hard to limit the list to just 10.  How can I leave out Berenice Abbot, Edward Weston, Minor White, Huger Foote, and so many more.  That's why I say my list is always changing.

How about least favorite photographers?  My least favorite photog would be Annie Lebowitz.  I'm just bored to death with her stuff.  William Wegman would be a close second.  I actually like some of his stuff, but geez-louise!!!  Take a picture of something else besides Weimerreiners (spelling?)!!!  I could almost like Anee Geddes, until she did this Celine Dion thing.   

EDIT:  Whoops!  How could I forget Charles Jones?!  My favorite vegetable photographer.  He did his photography in the late 1800s, but wasn't discovered until the 1980s.  That pepper may be Edward Weston's most famous image, but Charles Jones was doing it decades before.  This guy makes fine art out of lettuce, cauliflower, and brocolli.


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## tachyon (Jan 31, 2005)

Since I've just started photography seriously for just about 2-3 years, I really don't have top10 photographers. What I can think of at the moment is Australian David Moore, Thai Duangdao Suwannarangsi, underwater photographer Nat Sumontemeya. And some others that saw their works years back and loved them but don't remember the name. Obviously, I have to get more inspiration.


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## Floyd (Feb 1, 2005)

In no particular order:

Trent Parke
Gary Winogrand
Osvaldo and Roberto Salas
Alberto Korda
Horst P. Horst
Mike and Doug Starn
Gunter Brus
Arnulf Rainer
Paul Strand
Lewis Hine

There are a few that would get shifted from this list and others bumped into it depending on my mood.  These are are all generally listed just because of innovation, skill, expression political observation.  I can't really say what they did/do as some say they do nothing and don't say they're work means anything all I say is name check them and their work and it will all tie in and make some sense, pass your own judgements but try too see that it's all cohesive and relative.


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## Soulreaver (Feb 3, 2005)

I have a lot of photographers whose work I respect.But I seem to remember them all now.
Among them are Henri Cartier Bresson, who had some great people photography.

Also I like Sebastiao Salgado, who may be unknown around here.These are some of his pictures : http://www.terra.com.br/sebastiaosalgado/

Yousuf Karsch for his portraits.http://www.masters-of-photography.com/K/karsh/karsh.html


Hmmm, have to get back to this topic later


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## KevinR (Feb 4, 2005)

Heres a few that I like and /or appreciate

1. Bresson-love his work
2. D. Arbus- Admire it
3. Man Ray-awsome
4. Helmut Newton-admire the work, kind of gives me the creeps though
5. Ansel Adams-big influence when I first started taking pictures
6. John Sexton-really good photographer
7. Galen Rowell-Another big influence at the begining
8. Sebastioa Salgado-Awsome
9. The Westons-just seems that I always enjoy their photos
10. Matthew Moore-my instructor, if he comes across this, he'll get a kick out of it


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## Time to Get Moving (Feb 4, 2005)

One guy I really like is Ralph Gibson. I love his pictures. I don't really know anyone else though.


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## doxx (Feb 8, 2005)

MDowdey said:
			
		

> doxx's work reminds me of it. and i liked the idea of black and white street photography.
> md



wow! I'm famous now - mentioned in one breath with Bresson and LaChapelle 

here are mine (obviously very street oriented):
Garry Winogrand
Henry Cartier-Bresson
Paul Strand
Lee Friedlander
Andre Kertesz
Robert Doisneau
Elliot Erwitt
Walker Evans
Margaret Bourke-White
Robert Mapplethorpe


William Eggleston scares the hell outta me,
therefore not on my list...


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## Hertz van Rental (Feb 8, 2005)

Nice list Doxx - I love all those, but especially Friedlander. That guy has an eye like no-one else. I have a number of his books.
Have you come across the work of Eugene Richards? Or Jacob Riis?


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## doxx (Feb 8, 2005)

Hertz,
Eugene Richards is great too - never heard of Jacob Riis,
but I will investigate


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## Hertz van Rental (Feb 8, 2005)

Riis was an early photographer - 1849 to 1914. He was one of the first to do reportage. Did a lot of work around immigrants in the US. _How the Other Half Lives_ 1890 was the first book of it's kind to be illustrated with photos.
I like to keep the old guys in the spotlight. People tend to be unaware of the pioneers and what they did for us.
I love the work of Hill & Adamson, Julia Margaret Cameron, Henry Peach Robinson, Rodchenko, John Thomson, Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, Emerson, Brassai and so many others who got there first.
Thinkinking about it - have you come across Brassai? Amazing stuff.


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## danalec99 (Feb 9, 2005)

This is my list, based on my interest in Photojournalism / street.

HCB
Sabastiao Salgado
Eddie Adams
Ami Vitale - powerful work!
Cornell Capa
Eugene Smith
Rene Burri
  Werner Bischof
Elliot Erwitt
 Margaret Bourke-White


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## doxx (Feb 9, 2005)

hmmm... somehow my last post got lost.
I was recommending the book
'Bystander' A History of Street Photography

a great read and visual inspiration including
many many famous and non-famous street
photogs including Brassai...


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## chroix (Feb 10, 2005)

Man Ray, Doisneau, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (I'm a bauhaus fanatic), Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Mapplethorpe, and I'm going to add Salgado after checking out the link from above... 

I've always liked looking at Ansel Adams work, but I've heard a lot of people talk about some of his works having been shot by his assistants.. if this is true I guess I l ike the works by Ansel Adams assistants...


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## Hertz van Rental (Feb 10, 2005)

If you like Bauhaus you should have come across Herbert Bayer.
As an aside, I recently read an article on Moholy-Nagy (but I'm damned if I can find it now) that casts some doubt on wether his work was all his own. His wife apparently did his printing, possibly produced some of his photograms, and now they are questioning if she had any input on his photographs...


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