Tue, September 28th, 2004 by btezra
It's no secret that I favor shooting people rather than any other subject matter.
For me, meeting people on the street comes naturally, I feel no sense of being too shy or being alarmed by meeting someone I don't know...in introducing myself and getting to know a bit about the subjects I place in front of the lens. I am drawn towards people as subject matter, people with a lifetime of stories to reveal for the lens. It might just be an innate "thing" inside of me, but there have been major influences from the past that have caused me to be the person I am with the camera, and those who photograph images today who have brought me to this point.
Esther Bubley was a photographer who always made her subjects feel at ease, in most cases they barely recognized her standing in front of them with a camera pointed in their direction. Eugene Smith is a giant when it comes to photojournalism and reporting the human spirit in the form of a photograph, undoubtedly my hero of photography. Lastly, Dorothea Lange and her images from the dust bowl in the Mid West and of Japanese American citizens forced into internment camps completely grab my eye and interest, the subject matter driving the frame, the technicals not being of the utmost concern.
Now, in present day, I find myself uncovering new influences, worldwide.
One such photographer I'd like to note is Willem Wernsen.
Willem's images captivate me.
His images encompass all that I love about photography.
The book he published, "Beautiful People" is a must for anyone who admires portrait and street photography.
I continue to push myself when out & about, looking for new subjects to meet and photograph, to reach Willem's level of excellence. For me it's critical to have influences such as Willem, as well the masters of the past, to drive me forward, constantly improving and portraying my subjects with compassion and absolute objectivity.
Who has influenced you in the past, possibly the force that drove you to put a camera in your hand? Who influences and pushes you to continually improve today?
September 28th, 2004 at 2:31 pm
Great post. I'm a bit too new to the whole photo world to really have any influences just yet. I see some photos I like and I try to get something similar to that I understand how to technically take the photograph. Once I get all that down, I'll delve into more. I'm quite interested in photographing people, but am a bit timid yet.
Thanks for the great links.
September 28th, 2004 at 3:38 pm
I'll tell you who my biggest influence is, but it's going to be hard to point to a Web site where you can see some of his work. Thomas Roma is an incredible photographer, and he's done a lot of work in the NY subways ("Higher Ground") and in the criminal court buildings ("Enduring Justice"). I know Tom from the neighborhood. Anyone know where his photos can be seen on the Web?
September 28th, 2004 at 3:40 pm
Talking about influences is for me a bit presomptuous. Of course I have in mind photographers that obsesses me :
Duane Michals, Josef Kudelka or Henri Cartier Bresson.
But then at the end I take a look to my photoblog and, you know... I don't even see the influence!
September 28th, 2004 at 4:02 pm
Good question! I am influenced by so many people and things that I have a problem... I am learning, so I try and experiment. I read books, take a lot of photos. And with the time, I think that I will be able to define my own style (I suppose and hope so!).
Bernard
When you look at the history of photography, it's a bit discouraging because everything seems to have been done.
But to answer: Henri Cartier Bresson, all the formalists, and luck.
September 28th, 2004 at 4:08 pm
I've always been drawn to a more photojournalistic style, - although I must admit the world of photoblogging has kind of tweaked my eye in other ways. Still, using photos to tell a story is still my main motivation. One of my favourite photographers is Sebastio Selgado. His images of migration and workers are chilling. He oftens captures humanity when it is down and out, but he is motivated by a desire to make things better. I always try to remember that.
I also love the work of Elliot Erwitt. His eye was superb. He saw genuinely funny moments that probably would have been missed by most, but his capture of those moments allows them to be shared with us. I don't have that rare ability of seeing the "decisive moment" and acting instantaneously, but I aspire to it.
September 28th, 2004 at 4:14 pm
my influences include but are not limited to: an assortment of hallucinogens in my younger days, gabriel garcia marquez, tom waits, http://www.fourteenplacestoeat.com, aubrey beardsley, jim woodring, the pre-raphaelites (most notably leighton's 'flaming june' and waterhouse's 'hylas and the nymphs'), terrapin rye ale, the fin de sieclé poets who fell down stairs from too much opium and absinth, james kochalka, john lennon, flannery o'connor's short story 'revelation', shelby lee adams, willie nelson, khalil gibran, wes anderson, sally mann, red wine (merlots and cabs, mostly), richard grant's performance in 'withnail and i', david byrne, http://www.whytheluckystiff.net, william eggleston, curried butternut squash soup, haruki murakami, and bob dylan.
to name a few.
September 28th, 2004 at 4:47 pm
ian, without the squash your list would be perfect!
September 28th, 2004 at 5:04 pm
I'm a big fan of Eugene Smith too, but I also like Edward Hopper's paintings.
But my biggest influence is my camera: I find it slow and limiting, so I tend to shoot a lot of still lives. (It's an Olympus C3000.)
September 28th, 2004 at 5:17 pm
oh, erica, if you had this soup you would understand. we're planning an autumn dinner party for the end of october. you are welcome to come down. bring a bottle of wine.
September 28th, 2004 at 6:57 pm
I admire, among photographers, Duane Michals, William Eggleston, Lee Friedlander, Diane Arbus, Andre Kertesz, Richard Avedon, Emmit Gowin, Ralph Meatyard, Harry Callahan. I also get to be influenced by filmmakers, isn't that cool? Wim Wenders, Tarkovsky, Bergman, Ozu, Truffaut, Antonioni, Fellini. Black & White, slow, with subtitles? Bring it on!
All these folks have ways of seeing the world that astonish me. In a good way.
September 28th, 2004 at 7:25 pm
"I DEMAND TO HAVE SOME BOOZE!" hahaha! i love that movie ian.
as to photographers, there are so many but right now i'm enjoying a book called "life below" by french expat in nyc christophe agou. great subway photos, taken over the course of two years i think. http://www.nousyork.com/ and be sure to check out the "why photography" section. neat stories!
pixpop: wim wenders! wings of desire is another favourite movie of mine, right up there withnail and i
September 28th, 2004 at 7:26 pm
For landscapes and still lifes, my influences are Adams, Steichen, Weston, and Steiglitz. For people photos, there's Weegie, Winogrand, Arbus, Gene Smith, and Cartier-Bresson. And for the truly surreal, there's Michals, Brassai and Uelsmann.
However, my greatest influence actually comes from the painting world: Edgar Degas. Despite the fact that he was a thoroughly despicable anti-semite, I've always been mesmerized by his work. I'm fascinated not only by what's within the frame as much as what goes on outside of the frame. Although he's known as an French Impressionist, I consider him to be a documentary painter. I think he would have felt quite at home behind a 35mm camera.
September 28th, 2004 at 7:47 pm
~Pixpop...I only recently have become a fan of Diane Arbus and her photography...a good friend bought me, as a gift, the hardback "revelations" book of her work...I was completely BLOWN AWAY by her images and eccentric POV on life and the subjects she chose to shoot and document...she was and remains one of the greatest photographers of my generation (and I am a thirthysomething)...she inspires me because she chose to shoot those subjects most of the public would have ignored or never noticed, a trait I take with me till this day....I only failed to mention her in my post because I wanted to limit myself to those three individuals who have influenced me the most in the past, and the fact she has passed and left our presence is sad indeed~
September 28th, 2004 at 7:50 pm
Wow! Awesome links! That Willem Wernsen stuff blew me away. I REALLY admire photographers that shoot people, that can capture the human spirit in a face, the essence of life in a human form. Mostly because I can't, or don't... or won't. My key influences are painters, I guess. Klee, Kandinsky, Miro, Gorky, de Kooning...
Part of what put a camera in my hand was convenience. And magic. Convenience because it was difficult to incorporate growing numbers of large paintings into my life and photography offered a more manageable set of artifacts. Magic because there's just nothing like being in a dark room and watching all that silver gather on the page and turn into a masterpiece...
I'm driven by fear. Fear that if I don't continue to create I'll lapse into a defenseless funk and the corporate world will suck out what's left of my soul and leave me to rot.
I've never had that squash soup but I do like Merlots and David Byrne...
September 28th, 2004 at 8:18 pm
~Toma, Willem's stuff is inspiring, the reason I posted this blip, and I was hoping to gain insight, and linkage, to fotags of whose images have inspired & pushed others to produce...photography is a drug of sorts, addictive and all consuming, those who shoot in public, IMO, are propelled by what they see, experience and would like others to interpret and gain from their experience...people (as subjects that is) are the greatest escape and venture, the 'toughest' to produce & present in a single capture...thnx for your feedback and everyone's feedback (so far)~
September 28th, 2004 at 9:16 pm
I don't know if you see it in my shots or not. But I like the past works of William Eggleston, Garry Winogrand, George Tice, and Stephen Shore.
Current photographers I enjoy are David Perry and Jeffrey Brouws.
A few photoblogs influence me, A Walk Through Durham Township, fourteen places to eat, Mute, and Chicago Snapshot to name a few.
But my biggest influence of all are the countless number of amatuer photographers of the 50's and 60's who took vacation and travel photographs.
September 28th, 2004 at 9:23 pm
one of my favorite photographers, who isn't as well known as his famous friends is johan hagemeyer. he was born in amsterdam, and went to new york to find alfred stieglitz (my all time fave photographer), whom he asked how to become a great photographer. supposedly, stieglitz replied, take pictures!
hagemeyer then moved to san francisco where he took 'sweetheart' portraits for world war one soldiers. then he moved to carmel and was a close friend of edward weston's for many years. weston took several portraits of hagemeyer.
hagemeyer captured the artists (salvador dali, o'keefe, stieglitz, etc), scientists (einstein, lawrence etc.) and everyone else in carmel during the 20's and 30's. his entire collection is at the bancroft library at uc berkeley, and if you ever get a chance to see it, i can't recommend it enough. i briefly worked on the collection for the moac project there.
one other great thing about hagemeyer was the fact that he wrote and did some editing with pencil right on his negatives, a big no-no for other purists of the day.
hagemeyer's work is hard to find online but here are a few links:
http://www.scottnicholsgallery.com/dynamic/artist_artwork.asp?ArtistID=7
http://www.brucesilverstein.com/Vintage/Hagemeyer.JPG
http://www.geh.org/taschen/htmlsrc8/m198113010076_ful.html#topofimage
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/FindingAids/dynaweb/calher/portrait/figures/I0045239B.jpg
http://www.pbagalleries.com/search/item121803.php?
if you are interested in his work there are several books available.
September 28th, 2004 at 9:29 pm
a)My friend Ron Lent Jr. b)Godfrey Reggio and Ronald Fricke - the koyaanisqatsi trilogy. If you haven't seen Koyaanisqatsi yet, find a video store that has it and rent it (I think netflicks has it) The official site: http://www.koyaanisqatsi.com/
September 29th, 2004 at 2:31 am
I have many. Local influences have had the most influence on me. Larry Foster, Travis Caperton, my father, Andrew Strout, Angela Goodman, Amir Alavi, J. Pat Carter.
A few that are more well known are Edward Weston, David Ziser, Robert Capa, Margaret Bourke-White. Rembrandt, I.M. Pei, Bruce Goff. To name a few.
September 29th, 2004 at 3:04 am
hmmm, bits and bobs, william eggleston, stephen shore, jason fulford, mike slack, wim wenders, coen brothers, bill brandt, jacques henri lartigue, robert adams, martin parr, dan holdsworth, brian ulrich, tortoise, king tubby, lee perry, aphex twin, warp records and all things rephlex, boards of canada, tom waits, nick drake, papa M, hot dog stalls and ice cream vans
September 29th, 2004 at 3:33 am
I don't think they are an influence but I like the style of Anton Corbijn (http://www.corbijn.co.uk) and his lith prints, and the dark and gothic photography of Lasse Hoile (http://www.lassehoile.com) the photographer of that great band called Porcupine Tree (http://www.porcupinetree.com). As you can see, I'm more influenced by music than by photography itself.
September 29th, 2004 at 3:35 am
Sorry, wrong links above. These are the correct ones:
http://www.corbijn.co.uk
http://www.lassehoile.com
http://www.porcupinetree.com
September 29th, 2004 at 6:29 am
Amongst other types of subjects, I like to take photos of city lights - streets, signs etc.
One of my big influences in this area is Michael Mann, the film director - take a look at Heat, The Insider and Collateral - the way these three films are shot is something I find inspiring.
When it comes to people, although I wouldn't be familiar with a lot of his work, I'm amazed by how much influence Cartier Bression has over me. The subject, the moment you release the shutter...Anton Corbijn is another one.
And then there's my uncle - Alain Le Garsmeur, who won a World Press Photographers Award in 1986, has published several books and is a fantastic landscape photographer.
September 29th, 2004 at 7:17 am
Robert Frank
Jozef Sudek
Raymond Depardon
September 29th, 2004 at 7:22 am
Nestor Almendros and Terrence Malick for Days of Heaven, shot entirely at twilight, the most over-the-top beautiful movie ever.
Michael Chapman and Martin Scorsese for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.
Henri Alekan and Wim Wenders for Wings of Desire.
Those four movies often pop into my head when i'm out taking pictures.
September 29th, 2004 at 7:36 am
Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of the biggest influences for me. Mike Colón has been one of my other influences, as he's also my friend and employer.
September 29th, 2004 at 5:18 pm
Oh this is a good question. I only saw my first william eggleston photo the other day so while he's not an influence I like his pictures a lot. Film was definitely a motivation in purchasing a panoramic camera. I'm a huge fan of the Fistful of Dollars trilogy by Sergio Leone and think about certain scenes when thinking about panoramic images. I seriously doubt that comes through in my photos though. I'm also crazy for the films of Satyajit Ray!
Even though I don't photograph people I aspire to capture within my photos the emotional intensity of a Nina Simone song. There are beautiful poetic lines from Gil Scott Heron songs that inspire me... "Pieces of a Man" for example is a tender emotional narrative.
The colour brown, Lynda Barry ('Cruddy'), documentary films, paper ephemera, off-registration printing... these are all influences.
September 30th, 2004 at 5:42 am
Thank you very much for all that compliments about my work, I am a little bit blushing:-) I will do my best to keep the quality up but its very difficult !
However I am glad that I can give some people inspiration;-)
Greetings from the Netherlands
Willem Wernsen
March 12th, 2005 at 8:04 am
Welcome to my world..influences are many and wide.... but I respond to the beautiful uplifting music of Dionne Warwick, Eric Dolphy, Aretha Franklin, Billy Cobham!!! amazing photography by Diane Arbus, David Corio, Selgado, Pogus Caesar, Rankin, Gordon Parkes...and especially the writings of the man upstairs.