10 Photographers You Should Ignore (Wired, via LPV magazine)

I should have mentioned that the point of the story was really not that you should ignore these photographers, but that you should not try to imitate them as it would not end well.

The article did expose me to some photographers I did not know yet, including, home state photographer Alec Soth [hang my head in shame] and I like some of the stuff. I am going to slavishly copy them now!
 
Interesting.

On the flip side of the coin, one photographer that I simply can't ignore is Vivian Maier. I've been looking at her stuff on the web, and was finally recently able to get a copy of the book that John Maloof put together. Her photos (if you like street photography) are nothing short of superb.

I can say without ANY hesitation, that I have enjoyed her photos more than any and ALL other famous photographer's photos.
 
"Thanks, Henri, but I haven't got all day. Can I have my life back now?". Cracked me up. May help explain why I got into street photography only after I DID have all day and didn't really want that other life back anyway. Kind of a funny article. But I don't love the tone - don't take B&W shots of nature because Ansel did it way better than you ever will is a terrible attitude to take through life - I'm sure everything I do everyday, and take great pleasure from, has been done lots better by somebody else at some point. No reason to stop trying to find your own way with it.

-Ray
 
That article made me grin thanks for sharing it.

Interesting.

On the flip side of the coin, one photographer that I simply can't ignore is Vivian Maier. I've been looking at her stuff on the web, and was finally recently able to get a copy of the book that John Maloof put together. Her photos (if you like street photography) are nothing short of superb. I can say without ANY hesitation, that I have enjoyed her photos more than any and ALL other famous photographer's photos.

Vivian Maier actually studied other well known photographers [speaking of the above] and tried to apply what she had learned to her photography, obviously developing her own style in time. Her greatest talent was capturing an era with a non-intrusive yet intimate approach. Not all of her photos are works of art but many of them are unforgettable and in a collection, an extraordinary visual time machine. I agree she is one worth taking note of.


"Thanks, Henri, but I haven't got all day. Can I have my life back now?". Cracked me up

That got a laugh out of me too!

All in all I think it is okay to study those before you, to even imitate them in the process of learning but eventually you need to follow your own muse because in the end if the culmination of your photographic efforts don't result in fame and following [or a lot of notoriety for being a copycat lol], you will at least have captured things that matter to you and yours and that is valid reason enough to carry a camera :)
 
Vivian Maier actually studied other well known photographers [speaking of the above] and tried to apply what she had learned to her photography, obviously developing her own style in time. Her greatest talent was capturing an era with a non-intrusive yet intimate approach. Not all of her photos are works of art but many of them are unforgettable and in a collection, an extraordinary visual time machine.

That's pretty much exactly how I think of her Kristin. It's funny, but when I see work by Wonogrand or Arbus (or Streetshooter or Michael Penn for that matter, closer to home), I can't even imagine doing work like theirs - I just don't SEE the world the way they do. But I generally see Vivian Maier as a great documentary shooter with only the occasional photo that really strikes me as art. And I can and do see myself seeing and shooting along those lines, just obviously not nearly as well. So in a way she's more of a personal inspiration to me, although I probably admire and am more moved by the work of Winogrand and Arbus, who truly were artists in nearly everything they shot.

-Ray
 
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