81 replies to this topic

[Drew]

After this last DEMA and perousing the photographers showing their pics, I'd have to add my 1 cent+

Doug Perrine: Gentleman photographer who didn't teach me a darn thing about photography but a lot about the diving world. Witnessing his dedication to his craft for 3 years, I am very respectful of his work ethnic and talent, and would very happily save his life again.

Doug Allan: Antarctica is his backyard and the man knows it well. His antarctic ice pics are a result of ingenuity and hardwork, and many have copied or being inspired by his work. He's more of a cinematographer than still shooter but his stills are still very cool.

I'm done with the D's for now.

One guy who inspires me as a human being trying to photograph people is Sebastiao Salgado. His works Africa Adrift, Megacities and Children is probably the most moving photos I've seen.

Some of Sebastiao's work can be seen here:
Sebastiao Salgado Patagonia shots

[Aguaysal]

The best spanish underwater photographer Carlos Minguell

One of the best european UP Spen Rekdal

[Cerianthus]

I would like to add Willem Kolvoort (Netherlands). I have only a link to a small 8 pic gallery

http://www.fotonatur...&a=lft&s=1&id=7

He specialises in fresh water in the netherlands. Vis there is often bad. Maybe he is more a " crawler" then a diver, but he is very dedicated to his work

Gerard

[ChrisJ]

manny librodo. his portraits show straight to the soul.

http://www.pbase.com/manny_librodo/

[Graham Abbott]

Wow, plenty of amazing underwater photographers to check out here. But hey, I know we all really love our diving and underwater photographers. How about we also take a look at some other kinds of photography. My friend sent me a link a while back to a site -- just amazing: Check out David Lachapelle
Let me know what you think of this non diving photography -- naughty but nice!
You may also want to check out this one too Zena Holloway I think she really creates her images well -- though not reef or fish!

I have to say that Norbert Wu has to be one of, if not the best underwater photographers I have ever seen at work. It is really rare to watch a photographer not even touch the bottom on black sand sites, even with no other marine life around. I watched as Norb turned himself upside down to shoot mimics, boxer crabs, ghost pipefish, rhinopias and other cool critters without once making any impact on the bottom.

Then we have to talk about the legend Stan Waterman. I felt like the luckiest fella alive to get the chance not only to meet Stan but to guide him. Doing 3, at times 4 dives a day coming up to his 80th brithday and hiking to the viewpoint in Wayag, north Raja Ampat -- What an inspiration this was for me, I only wish that I am still diving when I am his age!

I also agree with Anthony Plummer when he mentioned Tim Laman. Tim has to be one of the hottest NatGeo photographers... the thing is, he says he is not really an underwater photographer which winds my mate up so much. By the way most of those shots in this article were taken in Bali!

As for the comments about a few of these photographers having very poor websites -- come on -- if you saw the amount of effort that these pro's put in to their photography and their yearly schedules - some of these guys are non stop! These are true pro's who often don't have time to work on websites...

[DeanB]

Well to me there is only one...(thank god )

ALEX MUSTARD

Because hes a fluffy, friendly, cuddly little bear who eats all his greens and brushes his little pearly whites twice a day and tippy toes through the daisys without spoiling one of their pretty little heads....

Oh, and he takes some nice piccy wiccies..

Dive safe

DeanB

[whitehead]

I agree - additionally alex' work really stands out beacuase i think he is the only one who is doing things differently in addition to producing beautiful images, he is making new inroads on technicque that really set him apart from anyone else imho. doubilet is the only other who I think is stretching the envelope but I dont warm to his use of photographs with backscatter (just a pers thing).

I think Alex' work is both groundbreaking and insirational.

[anthp]

Oh, and he takes some nice piccy wiccies..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're a nutter Deanie Weanie

[Graham Abbott]

Gotta agree with all that has been said here about Alex. He really is a true cutting edge underwater photographer!

Just wait to see his latest mimic octopus and other critter shots from Bali they will drive you all nuts wanting to know how he shot them!

[peterv]

Nearly every photgrapher whose work I admire has already been mentioned above.
However, since you asked:

1. Matthew Brady (and staff) for Civil War era B&W photography.
http://memory.loc.go...ml/cwphome.html

2. W. Eugene Smith. Superb war photojournalism & essays.
Powerful and tragic image of mother bathing her deformed child, harmed by industrial pollution (mercury) of Minimata Bay, Japan. (Image removed from circulation.) I hope some of you recall it anyways.
http://en.wikipedia....W._Eugene_Smith

3. Two great living Florida photgraphers & darkroom craftsmen (also B & W) :

Clyde Butcher - large format master with wet feet. Suggest anyone visiting Florida see his huge magnificent prints of landscapes/waterscapes at his galleries on Tamiami Trail in Everglades, Venice, FL or in the Fort Lauderdale airport.
http://clydebutcher.com/

Jerry Uelsman - amazing imagination & darkroom craftsmanship.
http://www.uelsmann.net/

4. Ansel Adams, Edward Weston.
Ok, i think you know who these guys are.

hmm, my favorites are all black & white.

digital is cool & so powerful, but lacks some ... je ne sais quoi...
i miss seeing an image pop up out of the developer under the darkroom lights.
heck, i linger by the processor in Radiology departments for the nostalgic scent.

Edited by peterv, 17 November 2006 - 11:48 AM.

[Elli and Ted]

Sebastiao Salgado aaannndd ME

Ted

[timoma]

Sam Abell.

Just got his book "stay this moment" as a (40th) birthday present from my family. Absolutely fatastic! Also, the way he explains his photography in "The photographic life" is quite thought provoking. See for example http://digitaljourna...abell_intro.htm

Also, a guy called Shaun O'Boyle has made a series of photo essays called "Modern Ruins" that is quite interesting. Especially since I do a lot of wreck photography myself...


timo

[kthan]

For me , it would be 2 Singapore based photographers - Tony Wu and William Tan. It is not just their work I admire, but also their unselfishness in sharing their passion and knowledge in u/w photography. William sold me my first underwater strobe and both him and Tony started me on this long journey.

Subsequently, the digital revolution began and that's where i came to know Eric Cheng, from his own website. His images made me a digital convert and he helped in my re-learning of photography with plenty of email exchanges. And through Eric, i came to know Wetpixel and that's where i met James Wiseman. My first DSLR housing was bought from him, an Ikelite Fuji S2 Pro. Similarly, James has been unselfish in sharing his knowledge and I probably learnt the most from him.

There are many other wonderful people I met in this forum and others, but these are the fab 4 i'd like to give my personal thanks to.

Eric

[Dan Schwartz]

The question I like to ask photographers is, who inspires you? With the Internet, I then go to his or her online gallery, and look at their work, gathering valuable information along the way.

So, let's start a thread here: Who inspires you? When you post, it's helpful to have a link to their portfolio, so we all can see who/what inspires you.

[Dan Schwartz]

To get the ball rolling, the photographer who inspires me is the great photojournalist David Burnett: He's given me valuable advice as well, on shooting Congressional hearings... With a Speed Graphic.

And Yes, he's the guy who shoots Presidential campaigns with a Holga and Speed Graphic... Here's a two minute video clip of him on the campaign trail; and here is the NY Times article on him entitled Which Camera Does This Pro Use? It Depends on the Shot.

Also, Burnett has been featured in the Washington Post's Camera Works column. [NB: In the WaPo article, Burnett mentions Frank Cancellare.]

David's online portfolio is here.

Allow me to quote from the NY Times article; and you'll see why he inspires me:

...So with four decades of war, sports and politics at hand, it was easy for Mr. Burnett, one of his generation's top photojournalists, to engage the dozens of photo experts who packed the back room of a Manhattan restaurant last month for one of his guided slideshows.

Yet through the first 20 minutes of Mr. Burnett's presentation, the cognoscenti seemed less deeply moved by his work and more entertained by his banter ("These are some of the farmers," he said drolly about a picture of Secret Service agents in a pasture during the 1988 campaign).

With one transition on the screen, that changed. In an instant, the chatter stopped, replaced by gasps and a collective groan of appreciation.

Mr. Burnett was explaining why in this age of ever more plentiful megapixels, at this moment when the concept of "film" seems as old-fashioned as a rotary telephone, he has spent most of the last two years lugging around a 55-year-old 4-by-5-inch Graflex Speed Graphic camera, complete with tripod. [Note from Dan: He uses an f/2.5 178mm (7 inch) Aero-Ektar, removed from a WWII K-24 aerial camera.]

On the screen was a wide overhead picture of a John Kerry rally last fall in Madison, Wis., which Mr. Burnett shot with a Canon 20D digital camera, the same camera used by thousands of other professionals around the world. Not surprisingly, the picture looks like thousands of others that were shipped around the globe during the campaign.

The colors are bright. Every part of the image is crisp, so crisp that just picking the minuscule figure of Mr. Kerry out of the huge crowd takes a "Where's Waldo?" moment.

And then Mr. Burnett flipped to a photograph taken seconds later with the ancient Speed Graphic. Suddenly, the image took on a luminescent depth. The center of the image, with Mr. Kerry, was clear. Yet soon the crowd along the edges began to float into softer focus on translucent planes of color.

The effect is to direct the viewer's eye to Mr. Kerry while also conveying the scale and intensity of the crowd. In accomplishing both at the same time, the old-fashioned photograph communicates a rich sense of meaning that the digital file does not.

The digital picture pretends to display raw reality. The analog picture is a visualization of human memory.

At least for me, Burnett is quite an inspiration.

Edited by Dan Schwartz, 19 October 2007 - 07:37 PM.

[DeanB]

I think for me its the actual picture in most cases rather than the shooter...Although Alex (Mustard) has wowed me (rather than wooed me ) lately...

If a picture brings out any emotion then its to me an inspiration...

Some of our Bro's and sisters on here are very inspirational...But Just to actually get out there and bring back fantastic shots is an inspiration on its own..

Hope this makes sense

Dive safe

DeanB

[Dan Schwartz]

I think for me its the actual picture in most cases rather than the shooter...Although Alex (Mustard) has wowed me (rater than wooed me) lately...

I certainly agree on Alex's wonderful images.

If a picture brings out any emotion then its to me an inspiration...

True; however I seem to find that certain photographers' shooting styles (like Burnett) yield photos that are quite inspiring; while other photographers' and their styles (like his agency-mate, Annie Liebovitz) turn me off.

[tjgreen]

Well, if we're talking about inspiration, I'd mention Wes Skiles. His photographs of underwater caves and the Florida Springs got me cave diving. He was also one of the first to shoot in underwater caves, using open shutters and multiple strobe exposures. He's moved into underwater video in recent years, making documentaries to educate and inspire folks toward greater environmental awareness of the Florida aquifer. He's also a really, really nice guy (or faked it well when I met him).

[vincentkneefel]

Most inspiring u/w photographer a couple of years from now?

Most probably Dan Schwartz with his stunning MF pictures

For now (two fellow countrymen):
Dos Winkel - famous for his pictures of fisheyes
Hans Leijnse - great composition and colours

and of course all the other famous international u/w photographers that were already mentioned.

Edited by vincentkneefel, 24 October 2007 - 04:35 PM.

[scottleslie]

What a great topic! Of course I have to say Doubilet has been the most inspirational to me. But a couple of fellow Canadian come to mind:

Freeman Patterson- though he doesn't do u/w work, his natural scenes and landscapes contain a subtle, powerful beauty that is unmatched.

Paul Nicklen- I'm surprised nobody here has mentioned him (maybe I missed it), but he has elevated cold water photography (also does great topside work) in National Geographic to a new level . What's amazing is that the guy lives in landlocked and snow-locked Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon. You gotta give him kudos!