which photographer would you want to talk with?

So many people make it tough to choose just one photographer from the past, or present. I still have an interview in BlackBook magazine with Richard Avedon, just a few years before he died. I was impressed with his thoughtfulness, and explaining how his approach to photography changed over the years. It would be very amazing to talk with him in person
 
love to meet Suda Issei 須田 一政( 1940-2019 Japan ), ( may have to go thru Steve Huff to talk to the Dead )

rip Mr Suda, you are the Best

two photos from Mr Suda

Img by Taipei-metro

Panasonic G6,
Zuiko 14-42
 
p.giannakis said:
I'd like to speak to Erich Lessing about his experience of the Hungarian revolution and also his journey to the Eastern block in the 50s. Seeing some of his work in the mining towns of southern Poland when i was in my beginning of my photographic journey was really inspiring for me.
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I have two books on Lessing: Budapest 1956 (2006) and Reportage Photography 1948 - 1973 (2005). I don't think it's too difficult to find them.

Erik.
 
Erik van Straten said:
I have two books on Lessing: Budapest 1956 (2006) and Reportage Photography 1948 - 1973 (2005). I don't think it's too difficult to find them.

Erik.
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Yes you are right, I was aware of the "Erich Lessing Arresting Time: Reportage Photography, 1948-1973" but I remember it being out of stock. Plenty of them online now. I wasn't aware of "Budapest " though. Thanks for the info.
 
Like Bill Clark, I would love to talk with my mentor and good friend again. He passed away a few years ago and I miss him every day. My well know heros are Adams and Salgado. I have several of their books so that will have to do.
 
ddutchison2 said:
Kryn Taconis
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Not a name you hear too often. I suppose that was the price he paid for his insistence on covering the war in Algeria when the Magnum leadership thought this would undermine their organization. I assume he resigned after Magnum refused to publish or market his photos? He moved on and had a successful career as a photojournalist in Canada. Cheers, OtL
 
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Gordon Moat said:
Richard Avedon, just a few years before he died. I was impressed with his thoughtfulness, and explaining how his approach to photography changed over the years. It would be very amazing to talk with him in person
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The first time (ok, the only time) I had a private conversation with Avedon we were at opposite ends of a couch, me a 34 year old photography Instructor, he possibly the most famous fashion photographer in the world.

HE: "What courses do you teach?"
ME: "Intermediate Black and White, View Camera Technique, Studio Lighting and (with fingers intentionally placed in front of my mouth) Fashion Photography."
HE: "Sorry, I didn't catch that last one."
ME "Fashion Photography."
HE: "Tell me...how do you do that?"

Initially I thought "Oh no, please leave me alone" but he seemed genuinely curious and not at all condescending.
Later I told him that in that class we spend an entire week devoted to his work.
He seemed surprised.
I was surprised he was surprised.
 
Retro-Grouch said:
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of watching Meyerowitz shooting (anonymously) in a crowded farmers' market in Provincetown MA. He was interacting with many of the folks he was shooting, and I was struck by the openness, warmth, and gentleness he communicated and projected as he interacted with residents and tourists. I don't think those are qualities you can fake!
As an aside, he was not shooting with a Leica or the giant Deardorff that made his work synonymous with Provincetown. He had some little point-and-shoot, I think a Sony. I felt a little twinge of disappointment, but that's my issue!
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Huh, wow, really a Sony? I've only even seen him using Leica stuff on the street. That said, he does have a way with people.
 
Retro-Grouch said:
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of watching Meyerowitz shooting (anonymously) in a crowded farmers' market in Provincetown MA. He was interacting with many of the folks he was shooting, and I was struck by the openness, warmth, and gentleness he communicated and projected as he interacted with residents and tourists. I don't think those are qualities you can fake!
As an aside, he was not shooting with a Leica or the giant Deardorff that made his work synonymous with Provincetown. He had some little point-and-shoot, I think a Sony. I felt a little twinge of disappointment, but that's my issue!
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Meyerowitz would indeed be interesting. Very few photographers can become that eloquent in such varying fields as urban candid portraiture (I hate the term "street") and formal Large-format Landscape (for want of a better name, as that work really defies being labeled).
 
ddutchison2 said:
Meyerowitz would indeed be interesting. Very few photographers can become that eloquent in such varying fields as urban candid portraiture (I hate the term "street") and formal Large-format Landscape (for want of a better name, as that work really defies being labeled).
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Agreed. He seems to have drastically re-invented himself, professionally, at several points in his life. That in itself takes courage and self-awareness. Not to mention his being one of the small handful of photographers who, with their insistence and dedication, achieved acceptance and respect for color photography back in the seventies. Quite a career, and he's still going strong, at 85!
 
ddutchison2 said:
Meyerowitz would indeed be interesting. Very few photographers can become that eloquent in such varying fields as urban candid portraiture (I hate the term "street") and formal Large-format Landscape (for want of a better name, as that work really defies being labeled).
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I respect him for the same reasons. I took a class with him at ICP in NYC. He could be still doing something similar. He's approachable.
 
Masahisa Fukase had a traumatic brain injury in the early 90s and spent a decade or more in a coma before dying. Sad story.
 
Vittorio Sella, and Paul Strand (during his New Mexico days)
Still alive? War photographer Eddy Van Wessel.
I did get to spend a week including some darkroom time with Jay Dusard....always loved his style with an 8x10, as well as his printing expertise.
 
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