R
Rich Silfver
Guest
What photographer have influenced you the most - or that you simply admire the most?
Personally I have five 'House Gods';
* Sally Mann
Love her family photos. They often walk the thin rope between reality and dream. I think I come back to her books more often than any other pure photo-books I have.
* August Sander
German perfection His portrait photos showing 'reality as it is - not the way it should be' captivates me. I saw the exhibit in San Francisco as well a few months back and the prints were beautiful. His 'Family of Man' project is just unbelievably good.
* Yousuf Karsh
Another amazing LF portrait photographer.
He eternalized most influencial personalities in the last 40-50 years. His photos of Churchill and Einstein are still amongst my favorite photos ever.
* Michael Kenna
The master of b&w square landscape/city-scape photography - often with the 'touch of man'. Many nocturnal images as well.
Beauty in simplicity.
* Henri-Cartier Bresson
Can't leave HCB out of this. His street photography reached a level most of us can only hope to ever come close to.
Finally - to quote Karsh:
"Within every man and woman a secret is hidden, and as a photographer it is my task to reveal it if I can. The revelation, if it comes at all, will come in a small fraction of a second with an unconscious gesture, a gleam of the eye, a brief lifting of the mask that all humans wear to conceal their innermost selves from the world. In that fleeting interval of opportunity the photographer must act or lose his prize."
What are your favorite photographers - and why?
Personally I have five 'House Gods';
* Sally Mann
Love her family photos. They often walk the thin rope between reality and dream. I think I come back to her books more often than any other pure photo-books I have.
* August Sander
German perfection His portrait photos showing 'reality as it is - not the way it should be' captivates me. I saw the exhibit in San Francisco as well a few months back and the prints were beautiful. His 'Family of Man' project is just unbelievably good.
* Yousuf Karsh
Another amazing LF portrait photographer.
He eternalized most influencial personalities in the last 40-50 years. His photos of Churchill and Einstein are still amongst my favorite photos ever.
* Michael Kenna
The master of b&w square landscape/city-scape photography - often with the 'touch of man'. Many nocturnal images as well.
Beauty in simplicity.
* Henri-Cartier Bresson
Can't leave HCB out of this. His street photography reached a level most of us can only hope to ever come close to.
Finally - to quote Karsh:
"Within every man and woman a secret is hidden, and as a photographer it is my task to reveal it if I can. The revelation, if it comes at all, will come in a small fraction of a second with an unconscious gesture, a gleam of the eye, a brief lifting of the mask that all humans wear to conceal their innermost selves from the world. In that fleeting interval of opportunity the photographer must act or lose his prize."
What are your favorite photographers - and why?