James Nachtwey

James Nachtwey is a well known photographer that specializes in war time photos.  He is also widely known for his documentation of the World Trade Center tragedy.  I really identify with his work because he captures more than a photograph, he captures a story.  He gets right on the subject and takes a photo at point blank range.  I like how he leaves much information out of the photo, and just puts the pertinent information in.  He seems to be able to tie together the elements of design and human emotion.  In the picture of the wheelchair on the bottom left he takes a photograph of a deathly ill patient that has been starved, nearly to death.  I would strive to become more like him.

Kerry Oda

Kerry Oda lives in Hawaii and has made it a lifes work to photograph the islands in the south pacific. 

Kerry Oda is a fascinating and very talented yet little know tropical photographer that resides in the Hawaiian islands.  She has taken a bit of raw talent and mixed it with formal training and now has the exact life that I want.  Her online gallery is quite fascinating and is a living advertisement for the South Pacific..  My goal is in line with Kerrys-live on a beautiful tropical island somewhere and produce quality, in demand photography. The reason that I chose Kerry as one of my blogs, even though the artist is not widely known, is that I really identified with what Kerry has created.  You can order canvas prints online of floral, landscapes, scenes, panoramas and much more of the islands.  If anyone ever had any doubt about traveling to the islands, this photographer would seal the deal.  This is the artist that I would contact for my internship. 

richard misrach

Richard Misrach, on first glance, seems to be somewhat of a tropical photographer and I reeeeaaallyy like this aspect of photography, given my fascination with the beach! 


I think the most notable thing that he has ever done was take photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Ketrina with a 4 megapixal pocket camera.  He recieved a B.A. in Psychology and now resides in Berkley, California.  He has been in several notable shows and is widely known for his desert caddos work.  He shoots in the desert and he states that the desert is the last landscape untouched by humans.  In the 70's he also helped bring mainstream the large format print, whis is widely popular now. 
I really like his work because he depicts humans and human structure from an almost god-like observation point. 

Robert Glenn Ketchum

 Robert Glenn Ketchum seems to be more of a conservationist than a "for profit photographer".  He is currently assisting the EPA to save some land in Alaska that is threatened by a Pebble mine.    He has written a couple of books but it seems that he is doing it more for environmental change than profit. 

He has worked with the park director at a state reserve park in Alaska and produced a book depiction the need to conserve inholdings, which is an area of land that was transferred to state park reserve but still belongs to the native population. 
It is not so much that I love the work or Ketchum, it is more that I respect the message he is creating.  Preservation!   I love the outdoors and have seen first hand how people can trash beauty so I identify with him but I would get out of the helicopter and get up close and personal with the landscape and show, from a human perspective, what we are destroying. 

Chris Verene

     Chris Verene was born in a predominantly white town and began using his camera in his early teenage years.  He began by taking photos of his friends and family.  Some say that he posessed an alternate personality, which he dubbed himself, "The Great Vereni".  He seemed to have unlimited access to an esteemed "camera club" where the lines were blurred between art and erotica.
Vereni's photos were infamous for his depiction of small town relationships.  In a photo of a young woman in her wedding dress, she was accompanied by her groom and her two favorite customers from the local steak house.
     I can really identify with Vereni's style because I grew up in Odessa, and his photos seem to have been taken in one of the hole in the wall bars out in west Odessa, where time seems to cease.
His style seems dark and dreary, depressing yet hopeful, obsessive yet refined.
He also has a heavy interest in assisting the elderly in homes, and improving the living conditions in such nursing homes.

Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz found her love for photography at the age of fifteen while her dad was stationed in the Philipines during the Vietnam Conflict.  She then attended the Art Institute of Philidelphia where she ventured down several different paths artisticly.  She wrote songs and music and finally settled on photography.  
     I am really interested in her photography because the style is almost surreal, almost computer generated. Though the models and the content are real, the finished product screams CGI, or computer generated.  I really enjoy her use of color, or sometimes, the lack thereof.  Most of her pics have the "Victorian" feel to it, stressing the spectrum of Ivory and skin tones.  I would really love to attempt a reproduction of her work, as I might do that for part of my final.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Having a background in Zen, the art is passively conveyed throughout most of his work.  He began as an optometrist/camera salesperson.  When the eye clinic that he was employed at began selling cameras, he bought one to photograph his family.  He began by hanging his work in the entrance to the optometrist office that he was employed at.  He eventually graduated to more prestigious showings.  I like his images because they are risky with caution.  He seems to use mockery and provocative metaphors in his photographs.  In Romance, he pictured four subjects wearing masks, and though I am not sure as to the subject matter he is attempting to relay, the content is right on.  He was educated in Philosophy and I think that he was attempting to convey his disgust with the "clone" like structure of society.

I feel that this photo conveys a metaphoric mockery of high society, with the subject positioned closest to the number one appearing to be the most normal looking, while the one at the top, closest to the number five is the most abstract.

Gerry Winogrand

Gerry's work was known as part of the "Decisive Moment" movement as he shot from the hip with a wide angle lens.  He was known as a rambler, taking his camera everywhere he went and shooting everything he saw.  I think his work is interesting because he took chances and displayed controversial images.  I really appreciate the image of the bus bench because although the scene may be innocent and purely by chance it exudes the attitude of the sixties.  To me, he really creates the decisive moment technique and allows me to get a better grasp on the abstract idea.  We discussed seeing his contact sheet because his photos seem too good to be true, almost staged.  Sadly, he only had thirty years behind the lens before his untimely death.  In his time his work was not looked upon highly because it dealt with a subject that was not yet main stream.

I also have to mention the photograph of the African American male, White female and the monkey.  At first glance the photo seems to spark a racial tension that would explode to a nation wide movement.  I think his work was very cool due to his use of the environment to capture everyday things and arrange them in the photo so that they tell a story, or in some cases a bad joke.

Willikam Eggleston

William Eggleston is a well known photographer that is known for his work with bringing color photography into the mainstream. He began using a Leica camera, given to him by a friend.  He attended several universities.  While he recieved no formal degree, photography really set in.    A majority of his work revolves around the Mississippi Delta region, as his work resembles that of William Faulkner.   He is also know for shooting the vernacular and seems to have recieved inspiration from the photorealists.  I had no idea that he appeared in the movie Great Balls Of Fire, about Jerry Lee Lewis.  He has also been a model for a popular magazine and is also known for his work with record covers. 

Steven Shore

Stephen Shore seems to use depth and perception in ways that makes a person have to stare at his photos.  In the photo above, taken on the border of mexico and U.S, he makes us peer deep into his pictures.  There is an old truck, or maybe the mountain that he is leading us to, but he is leading us to look at something.  Manipulation through photograph is common, but few can do it like Stephen Shore.  He was one of the first of the pioneers of color photography, helping to make it popular.  Stephen recieved his first darkroom kit at age six as a present from his uncle, and that's all it took-he was hooked.  He experimented with several different formats and finally settling on the  8x10.  I think his photos are stoic, and predictable yet eerily attractive. 

John Pfahl

John Pfahl, a professional photographer know for his landscape prints has quite a reputation.  He has recieved an honorary Doctorine from a prestegious university and has been featured at the world's most infamous galleries.  His style, I believe, is popular because he puts a new spin on things we see everyday.  He seems to see things differntly than everyone else.  He somehow catches a unique perspective, using lines and texture variations to create an almost unbelievable scene.  The picture above is of a couple of ordinary trees, but with the right lighting, and the correct angle he makes an extrordinary photograph. 

Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz is a German Photographer that was born in the advent of color photography.  He graduated with a degree from Ohio State University in the Painting and Illustration area.  He was one of the first to begin using color photography and he began teaching that art in formal classes.  Starting on the street, with a large format, black and white camera, he began to make a name for himself a common name as far a photography is concerned.  Meyerowitz has been awarded the National Endowment of the Arts award and has published his most famous book called, "Aftermath; World Trade Center Archive."  He was also involved in the television documentary called "The Genius of Photography", aired by BBC.  I was able to catch some of this documentary and it was extremely informative.  To me, the message was very clear, a great photographer does not happen upon a great photograph, he creates the scene, then waits for the proper subject to pass by.

Muhammed Muheisen

 Muhammed Muheisen, a photojournalist that specializes in wartime photography, has made quite a name for his self.  His resume includes notable accomplishments such as working for the New York Times, the Palastinian Authority and many notable pictures of the Gaza Strip.  I relate to his photos because he mixes human emotion with color  to create amazing stories.  The picture above was taken at a bycicle vendor where the boy shown above was purchasing a new tire for his bike.  In this moment, seemingly meaningless to anyone else, he captures beauty.  The contrastting colors on the wall, coupled with the lifeless expression tell a story of hope. 

Susan Moore

Using nothing more than a red pencil, Susan Moore created an entire gallery of thought provoking drawings on canvas.  Ranging in size  and intensity Susan's artwork  creates an almost addictive feeling.  At first look, the work appears ordinary and monotinous.  But as you walk through the gallery you begin to notice subtleties and minute details that had avoided being noticed until just the right time.  It is then too late, you are standing there for what seems like two minutes, but in all actuality is an hour.  In my favorite peice, Pilgrim's Pride, Susan jabs the super company and attempts to create a slight sense of awareness of the brutality of animals.  She seems to use alot of negetive space to make the viewer choose what should go there, forcing the work to mean something different to each person. 
Susan does alot of sculptures and in sculpture, one does not usually include a head, and the influence is obvious in the work.  Susan more explained in the meet and greet that her work is simply her way of expressing memories and experiences in life, mostly concerning her role as a mother of four.

Andreas Gursky

I first learned about Andreas Gursky from my professor, Chad Smith at Texas A @M Commerce.  Chad showed us a few pictures, a couple of them are pictured above.  This print is called 99 Cent Diptychon and is on record for the highest price fetched at an auction, chiming in at over three million dollars. 
I like Gursky's work because it is such large scale yet remains detail oriented.  I attempted to recreate this image in the local mall in Dallas but just could not get hte same effect.  His prints remind me of the tricky pictures that change into something if you stare at them long enough, but unlike those, Gursky's prints do not change-they just reveal more and more detail the more I start at it.  He uses primary and passive contrast to create an eye catching, curiosity grabbing photograph that I will never forget. Born in Germany in the early 1900's, Gursky did not believe in post production of photos, until later in his career.  He is known for his vast scale and architecture photos.  His art includes skyscrapers, stores and buildings.

Bracketing Assignment

I learned many things during this assignment.  I think the most important aspect that I learned is that the content of the picture is not always what we photograph.  I thought that the photo that I took of the Echo Street intersection was self explanatory, but it was too much so.  The content was so obvious that it was not an interesting photo for the viewer.  I also learned to not take pics of things that you see every day, and if one does, make sure it is a new perception. 
The critique was harsh but informative.  I was told that my contrast was off and that I need to adjust it before printing next time.
Some of the other classmates had some great photos, but a few of them I did not perceive the color meaning that was intended.