Who or what inspires your photography...

[KeithM]

How about revealing and discussing what it is, if anything, that inspires us when we're taking pictures.

Other photographers are an obvious source but there could be many others from non-photographers to places, events, our own personalities and experiences, whatever.

So how about it. I'll begin with two photographers.

Keith.

[KeithM]

I'll start with Hugo Van Wadenoyen. He was born in 1892 and spent a lot of time in the South-West of England and South Wales ( he was based in Cheltenham ). He did industrial and illustrative photography, studio work with children and landscape photography. He wrote a number of photographic books and guides for the Focal Press - my Dad had a one of his Focal Photo Guides on landscapes which I read avidly when I started to take a serious interest ( it now sits on my bookshelf.. ).

He developed an attitude and approach to photography which I kind of identify with and try to use when looking through the viewfinder. It's about seeing how the camera sees and photographing what you get on the focusing screen. The camera always lies ( in a detached and technically cold way ) and we learn to control that lying - to produce the pictures we want.

I have a book of his entitled "Wayside Snapshots", published in 1947. The pictures span a period from 1921 to 1947. At the back of the book, under Technical Data, there is a discussion of Hugo's thoughts on cameras. To quote:

"His absolute ideal would be a camera with brains that would find the right exposure, set it's shutter and do all the necessary mechanical things in the right order at the right time, leaving only the choice of place and moment to the operator .... As an extra he would like a lens of infinitely variable focal length!"

I think he would like our cameras today.

The second photographer is Tony Mendoza of 'Ernie' ( the cat ) fame. My partner has a cat and I have yet to get a picture of him that in any way approaches the quality of Tony's work. I'm going to keep trying though ! :-)

Keith.

[CaptJR]

I think I can give an answer that you may not see often. My family pictures is what got me started taking lots pictures and videos.

I know that doesn't sound like anything unusual. The unusual part is why. For a long time now I've had memory problems. How long? You guessed it. I don't remember. Maybe 15 to 20 years. Sort of a funny thing when you can't remember when your memory started failing. Pictures can jog my memory a little sometimes, but I always enjoy looking at them whether they bring back the memory or not. Big events I remember a little and things pop into my mind from time to time. A lot of people have pictures and videos in boxes and closets that never get looked at. Not me. When you can't really remember much before

Well, I almost stopped the response here. It is kind of upsetting when you type a sentence like above and try to think 'how far back'. When I was typing the last sentence of the previous paragraph I was thinking I'd be saying something longer than 2 or 3 weeks. I remember a little about big events, if someone reminds me of them.

So you see why pictures are so important to me. Sitting here I'm really having trouble deciding whether to actually click the 'submit' button for fear of sounding like I was looking for sympathy. I'm not. The question was ask 'what inspires my photography' and I thought my response would probably be a little different so I think I will submit it.

This is also why digital was so important to me. With digital I could just keep taking pictures. I have thousands of pictures of my family since digital came along. Before digital, video was a better answer because there was no developing.

As far as remembering how to take a picture, I have a lot of notes on using the S2. They are in my camera bag. Numerous of the notes came from this forum. And I thank you all for that.

JR

[Tom Nolle]

Family pictures got me started too, JR. I used to sit and dig through an old cardboard trunk that my folks had, filled with old images (some tintypes) of people that not only I didn't remember, but no one else seemed to remember either. Most of the shots were portraits, in the style of the day. I knew what my relatives back to the invention of photography looked like, but I knew nothing of the people they'd been. I wanted to take pictures of life, to capture something that had really happened and was really a statement of the kind of world that was important to me. Sure, I wanted a "good" shot in a classical sense, but more than that I wanted a shot of *life*, life that didn't show up in all those sepia images of dead and forgotten people.

Tom

[StormChaser]

Funny enough, I've been interested in photography since I was a kid, but never came around to doing something with it, till about two years ago when I bought my S1. My interest grew even more after that, cause I could shoot, make a mistake, throw it out again and start anew without a hassle.

Digital was made for people like me, I can make a 100 shots and be happy with one good one and also happily chuck the other 99 in the trashbin.

And thanks to this site, I learnt a great deal and prevented a lot of mistakes for the future.

[HairyHaggis]

I am with Anthonie on this one. Been interested in photography for many years and only took it seriously when I got my Fuji 6900 Z ... and started to shoot more and more and felt I had out grown the model. I purchased my S2 after hunting around the UK for 3 months to find someone with one on the shelf and finally got one. With most of my resources gone, I am now saving for some quality lenses, but will suffice with what I have at present.

I feel that most of my inspiration came from a girl called Cheryl that I know. She modelled for a living before being struck down with MS and also passed the rip old age of 30 .. and told me she was to old after that.

Also .. sites like this and others people submissions keep me motivated to improve my skills and talents. I think that the best way to learn is to ready and even copy the shots people have done and try to recreate them.

So ... when I become famous, I will have people like you to thank ... hahahaha :rolleyes:

Here is an image of cheryl so you know who I am talking about


Steve

http://digitalplug.co.uk/gallery4/images/ch6.JPG

[S_Leeper]

My father got me started & provided me with a lot of inspirational books, time & equipment early on...
A bit funny, but for years the only thing we could politely discuss was photography & now we pretty much discuss everything but that, not that we avoid it, just doesn't come up.

Photography is for me much the same as what my boss recently confessed golf is him--a way to get out & enjoy the scenery. The shots I do for my self are usually of simple (and often small) landscapes, flowers, nature scenes, etc. that I have found interesting in their unique & often transitory presentation.

My wife tolerates it since I will take photos of the family & her friends, though she, my kids & most of my coworkers find most of my photos that don't fit the classic snapshot mold boring. The ironic part is that my wife's friends & her coworkers rave about my photos...

Again I ramble too long...
my inspiration: Nature's beauty...
plants, rocks, oceans, animals, children (is that a subconscious slip that I would list animals & children together???) clouds, etc.

[toners]

A sunny backlit snapshot portrait of my aunt, that glowed to me from among the more formal studio portraits hung in my grandmother's "rogue's gallery".

Ansel Adams.

The photo essays of W. Eugene Smith.

The humor of Eliot Erwit.

The intense alpenglow colors of Galen Rowel.

The crisp tones of a well-made black and white print.

Celebration of the beauty of the people I care about, and the magic and mystery of the natural world.

The beauty of the interactions of light and objects.

And some twisted need to capture all that and stash it away, like some mad squirrel.

---------------
Toners

[proberts]

For wildlife, it's the chance to capture an experience, view or feeling. Especially with close-ups of birds, where it's really an interaction with the bird (obviously, I don't shoot from blinds!)

Photographer-wise, I've only purchased one book recently for viewing, and that was a book of William Neill's photographs, Landscapes of the Spirit. His work can be found at www.williamneill.com.

Overall, I think I'm most inspired by my successes. When I look at a picture that I like, it makes me really want to go out and shoot more.

Paul

[GaryB]

I always wanted to take wildlife pictures. A trip to Tanzania last year gave me some pictures that I was fairly happy with (using a Nikon F65), but what really inspires me know is a Wildlife photographer called Andy Rouse. Now if I can learn to take images half as good as his.....

My new S2 Pro and a holiday in Tanzania in February are calling!

Gary

[sandman]

Gary
Andy Rouse is my favorite nature photographer to, seen hundreds of pics by him in various mags , and recently watched a documentary about him shooting bears in Alaska, boy does he take risks to take some great pics.
Enjoy yourself in Africa Gary............ Lucky sod.

[okidoki]

I find red wine, especially a nice Merlot to be highly inspiring...
Ocasionally a Cabernet or a few cold ones...

T

[Don65Stang]

My father got me interested in all things mechanical. One day he showed me how to work his camera and how apeture worked with the shutter, ect. My dad was always taking slides of us growing up and I remember that he very rarly didn't have his camera within close reach. Since then I've been hooked.

Right out of high school I took a job photographing children for a local studio. That led to bigger and better jobs. Now I work as an engineer, but am beginning a part-time photography business. My sister-in-law needed a wedding photographer, I volunteered. My wifes entire family didn't know about my photography background and was overjoyed at the wedding pictures. So that was the spark that launched the new business. I jumped into this with hopes to be purely digital since I purchased an S2.

[StormChaser]

Timo, I'm with you on the wines, but I'm a Shiraz lover myself.

[Smithcottage@ms]

I think My Photograghy (such as it is ) is a reflection of the affection I hold for the subject. Whether it is my family, friends, or te wilderness areas of the Northeast, Photography is a homage to what I hold dear. I am somewhat lucky that there are people who have similar affections who buy my work.