My "photograhy's golden age"

[craig]

I mentioned in another post my relationship with the incomprable Jay Maisel. I felt that it would be interesting to throw out my heroes. The time is 1940 to the present. The work of http://www.photo-seminars.com/Fame/irving_penn.htm and Alexi Brodovitch (and of course Jay) come to mind.

Of course the golden age of photography is now! But who are your "heroes and inspiration?

I trust that this is not an original thread. Let me know if this is a little redundant.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

In my opinion it's been a Golden Age of Photography for a good 160 years. So why limit influences to post-1940. There are so many great and influential photographers who were working before then and some of us know and love them.
Atget, Bayard, Cameron, Watkins, Thomson, Emerson, Sutcliffe to name but a few.
Hill and Adamson, Stieglitz, Clarence White, Holland Day, Demachy, Steichen, Annan to name some more.
Moving up.
Brandt, Lartigue, Callahan, Alvarez Bravo, Beaton, Bischof, C-B, Capa, Brassai, Kertesz, Doisneau, Evans, Rothstein, Shahn, Lange, Hine, Delano, Strand, Newhall, Weston, Sander, Moholy-Nagy, Renger-Patzsch, Caponigro....
All I can remember off the top of my head and I haven't really done the second half of the 20th C yet. There are many, many more. All have influenced each other and succeeding generations of photographers - often without it being realised. And many of them got there first.
In any given generation since the birth of Photography, there are more influential photographers who are still alive and practicing than in any other branch of the Arts.
And each and every one is worth checking out.

 

[craig]

Thanks for the detailed reply. No doubt that all photographers have a strong influence in our day to day work. As you said the list is too long for this thread.

I guess I should have said; What do you think of the work of Penn etc.? Limiting our thoughts to one photographer or time period probably is not the greatest of ideas. None the less; it could be effective to say: Who is the master that first comes mind. Provide a link of kicks.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Still finding that one a bit tricky. It's like a fashion show in my head, all these photographers elbowing each other to try and get to the front of the queue.
Whenever I take a picture I can feel them breathing down my neck - but I guess I'm funny like that.
The two most personally influential I guess would have to be Ed White and John Blakemore. Ed taught me a lot about seeing through the camera and JB showed me how to look at pictures and the landscape.

And as most people will probably never have heard of them: Ed was one of the top 3 advertising photographers in London during the 70's and 80's. Did a number of B&H ads and won a couple of AD&D's. John is one of the greatest living English landscape photographers - he re-invented Landscape photography several times. He used to lecture at Derby University.

 

[craig]

I had a trouble finding the work of Ed White. I found a bunch of links to John Blakemore's work. Fascinating to say the least. I found it interesting that that they listed Steichen's "Family of Man" exhibition as a major influence. I think we can all agree on that! Again; Blakemore did re invent landscape photography with his photomontages. I am also reminded of threads concerning "how much is too much pshop". I mean that photographers like Jerry Uellsman and John Blakemore were doing in the darkroom what we now do in photoshop. 60 years ago. We are far from inventing the wheel so to speak. As a matter of a fact I think it was you that brought this up before. Let me know; some times I am easily confused.