101 INSPIRING PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITES

There are some truly remarkable photographers out in the world right now; each one possessing a unique style unto themselves. From going through the photographers I've listed here I've been kept inspired and in awe of this art form, and of how it can be utilised to express oneself in what seems a near infinite amount of ways. And so I wanted to share with you some of these discoveries, to point you in the direction of these marvels, following on my my previous post 41 INCREDIBLY INSPIRING PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITES (with a single post to the ever humorous Martin Parr, taking it up to 42).  

1.     Pedro Alvarez

2.     David Balhuizen

3.     Anita Barratt

4.     Michael Bodiam

5.     Steven Brahms

6.     Laura Braun

7.     Thomas Brown

8.     Chris Buck

9.     Dan Burn-Forti

10.   Alejandro Chaskielberg

11.   Jesse Chehak

12.   Dusdin Condren

13.   Maja Daniels

14.   Tara Darby

15.   Lottie Davies

16.   Tim Davis

17.   Bruno Dayan

18.   Thomas Demand

19.   Philipp Ebeling

20.   Alinka Echeverria

21.   Mitch Epstein

22.   Glen Erler

23.   Joakim Eskildsen

24.   Brian Finke

25.   Charles Freger

26.   Robin Friend

27.   Julia Fullerton-Batten

28.   Julia Galdo

29.   Toby Glanville

30.   Marcelo Gomes

31.   Noemie Goudal

32.   Paul Graham

33.   Peter Granser

34.   Peter Guenzel

35.   Flora Hanitijo

36.   Steve Harries

37.   Jamie Hawkesworth

38.   Alice Hawkins

39.   Julian Hibbard

40.   Samuel Hicks

41.   Todd Hido

42.   Jason Hindley

43.   Pieter Hugo

44.   Orie Ichihashi

45.   Malia James

46.   Uta kogelsberger

47.   Paul Kranzler

48.   Shane Lavalette

49.   Alejandra Laviada

50.   Rebecca Lewis

51.   Reinaldo Loureiro

52.   Spencer Lowell

53.   Adam Magya

54.   Maleonn

55.   Sally Mann

56.   Ryan Mcginley

57.   Joss Mckinley

58.   Donald Milne

59.   Matthew Monteith

60.   Tara Moore

61.   Spencer Murphy

62.   Jim Naughten

63.   Mark Niedermann

64.   Deirdre O'Callaghan

65.   John Offenbach

66.   Garry Owens

67.   Ed Panar

68.   Sue Parkhill

69.   Georg Parthen

70.   Rob Payne

71.   Kate Peters

72.   Andrew Phelps

73.   Louise Porter

74.   Gus Powell

75.   Shawn Records

76.   Ben Roberts

77.   Irina Rozovsky

78.   Will Sanders

79.   Julieta Sans

80.   Jaap Scheeren

81.   Arimoto Shinya

82.   John Short

83.   Bharat Sikka

84.   Tim Simmons

85.   David Spero

86.   Amy Stein

87.   Luke Stephenson

88.   David Stewart

89.   Ben Stockley

90.   Klaus Thymann

91.   Tina Tyrell

92.   Ahmet Unver

93.   Poppy de Villeneuve

94.   Gabi Vogt

95.   Hiroshi Watanabe

96.   Christian Weber

97.   Stuart Whipps

98.   Hannah Whitaker

99.   Greg White

100. Vanessa Winship

101. Michael Wolf

JOAKIM ESKILDSEN: TIME MAGAZINE PHOTO ESSAY

Joakim Eskildsen has shot a stunning, yet sad and illuminating photo essay titled 'Below The Line: Portraits of American Poverty' showing the poverty of America right now, with some startling imagery and text to shine a light on some on the lower end of the American financial crises, and how it has effected the poor.

The following text was written by TIME: "In 2010, more Americans lived below the poverty line than at any time since 1959, when the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting this data. Last January, TIME commissioned photographer Joakim Eskildsen to capture the growing crisis, which now affects nearly 46.2 million Americans. Traveling to New York, California, Louisiana, South Dakota and Georgia over seven months, Eskildsen’s photographs of the many types of people who face poverty appear in the new issue of TIME. Eskildsen, who last visited America in 1986, says the poverty crisis was a side of the country he’d rarely seen in the media in Berlin, where he is based. “For Europeans living outside of America, it’s a mythical place because we’re breastfed with all those images of Coca-Cola and American culture,” Eskildsen says. “It was very heartbreaking to see all kinds of people facing poverty because many of these people were not only economically poor, but living in unhealthy conditions overall.”

Eskildsen was also surprised by how pervasive poverty is in America. “Once you start digging, you realize people in poverty are everywhere, and you can really go through your life without seeing them before you yourself are standing in the food stamp line,” he says. “So many people spoke about the disappointment of the American Dream—this, they said, was the American Reality.” In the accompanying magazine story, Barbara Kiviat argues that “there is no single archetype of America’s poor,” and that “understanding what poverty is in reality—and not in myth—is crucial” to efforts to erase the situation. Perhaps equally as crucial is the effort to put a face to the statistic, which Eskildsen has done here in haunting detail."

BURKE + NORFOLK: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

"In October 2010, Simon Norfolk began a series of new photographs in Afghanistan, which takes its cue from the work of nineteenth-century British photographer John Burke. Norfolk's photographs reimagine or respond to Burke's Afghan war scenes in the context of the contemporary conflict. Conceived as a collaborative project with Burke across time, this new body of work is presented alongside Burke's original portfolios."

- accompanying text

PHOTOGRAPHER VIDEO INTERVIEW: KLAVDIJ SLUBAN

A beautifully inspiring man, the French photographer Klavdij Sluban talks with Lens Culture about his journey of photographing the inside of prisons around the world, from France, Ireland, Salvador, Guatamala and the former Soviet Union, since 1995. Here, he guides juvenile prisoners into the world of photography, letting them go to the very boundaries of creation, where they "are pushed to their own creative extremes".

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION: MICHAEL WOLF

At the FLOWERS EAST GALLERY, in Shoreditch, is a collection of work from the photographer Michael Wolf. Primarily the images shown are from China and Japan, with these colossal prints of buildings, consisting of a seemingly uncountable amount of floors, all stacked up on one another. One instantly feels claustrophobic, which is a theme that seems to run throughout his work.     There are a number of images from his series 'Tokyo Compression', where we stand safely on the other side of subway doors, free to move about on the outside, whilst looking inside where bodies have been rammed together, and again packed tight like the apartments in his large-scale pictures. And yet, in these images, there are some beautifully quiet moments, as if some of them have been suspended in time, frozen; dream-like, ethereal, and held in place behind the condensation of the glass.

With Michael Wolf you are given the ultimate ticket of voyeurism, the chance to stand unseen, and to gaze at miniature, contained worlds, small pockets of living spaces encased behind glass.

there is also an interesting audio interview with Michael Wolf, at Lens Culture.

PHOTOGRAPHER VIDEO INTERVIEW: SIMON ROBERTS

An interesting video interview with the British photographer Simon Roberts, as he talks about the "anthropological study" of his pictures, and in particular the layers of history, time and the different classes that can be seen woven throughout many of his photographs, specifically from his book 'We English'. Within this series he documented how different types of people spend their leisure time, where he would elevate himself physically higher than what he was photographing in order to get a wide, clear view of the people within their chosen environments.

PHOTOGRAPHY SLIDESHOW, FROM THIS YEAR'S FOTO8 EXHIBITION

A little late, though well worth bringing up, is the photography slideshow from this years FOTO8 summer show. It is a powerfully stirring selection of photographs, from humour and wit, to fantastical, almost unbelievable events. We are confronted with photojournalism and the raw realism of so many stark, revealing moments in the people we're viewing. It is a wonderful insight into so many diverse types of photography right now, of its many, proliferating directions.

The show also includes a really good friend of mine, Nick Ballon, who I have been lucky to assist on numerous shoots. I have learned a great deal over the years from Nick, and continue to pester him even today, with many photography questions he always answers with the utmost patience.

INSPIRING JIM JARMUSCH QUOTE

ALEC SOTH: 'PORTRAITS, THE GROUND GLASS'

'DEAR AMERICA', A PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES CURATED BY ZARA

I took this photograph at Seaside Heights, in New Jersey, which was used as part of the 'Dear America' series, curated by ZARA for their launch into the U.S. The series consists of 50 photographs for the 50 States of America, a quiet and gentle series, full of texture and landscapes and peaceful sights that undulate across the country.

MAGNUM PHOTOS: 'TIME OF CHANGE', BY BRUCE DAVIDSON

"The period from 1961 - 1965 was the defining era of the American civil rights movement. As a participant and observer of this struggle for racial equality, Bruce Davidson chronicled the demonstrations, the protests, the aftermath of the bombings, and the social and political tumult that arose out of the conflict. "Time of Change" is a testament to the everyday lives of the people who fought against accepted social norms of segregation, poverty, and discrimination."

-Magnum

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION: DON McCULLIN

"Photography isn’t looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures."

Although best known for his war photography, there is a lot more to Don McCullin than his stirring B&W photographs of the Vietnam War. He shot strong, eye-opening pictures of the homeless in the East End of London, as well as the poor in the North of England, in the early sixties, giving us these stark, industrial landscapes where we can still see the scars of World War II; a battered, beaten country, a shadow of its former, colonial self. And now, at the Tate Britain, there is a collection of his British landscapes, capturing the changing seasons of England, as he explains in this short clip on TateShots..

This collection is on at the Tate Britain until 4 March 2012, admission is free.

PLUS ONE, TO THE MOST INSPIRING PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITES

A photographer I missed out on my list of inspiring photography websites was that of Martin Parr. From looking through some of my most recent photography series (from the Brighton Gay Pride, to the English American Car Convention, as well as the Street Party, USA and Beside the Seaside, UK) I seem to have gravitated, consciously or unconsciously, to observational photography of his kind. Throughout the summer I have taken myself to crowded spaces within America and England, to document what I see, whilst being constantly drawn to amusing moments or the little ironies I see within the world around me. In these environments, where people go to relax, I have attempted to juxtapose small details within the frame which I find playful.

Another reason I have been drawn to this type of photography is because of the spontaneous element to it - of just being able to pick up a camera and then going along to a free, public event. It is there that I need to orchestrate nothing, where I let the narrative of life, as it were, unfold before my eyes. It is within this stage that all I need to do is to be aware of what's around me and then, when a moment presents itself, I compose the shot and take the picture. It gives me an immense sense of freedom taking these types of photographs, and they can be taken whenever the whim takes hold of one.

As for the subject matter I choose... I think this may have been born out of the brilliant American photographer Phil Toledano when he wrote, in the introduction to his series 'The United States of Entertainment': "I’ve always felt that the very soul of a country is reflected in the way in which it entertains itself."

And so there I go, venturing into places where people relax, to enjoy themselves or to partake in a hobby, a lifestyle, or a way of life. It has been these places I have been drawn to, where people cut loose and have fun, to experience the outer world around them when the sun is out to shine, where people are at ease within their life, if only for a day, or even just for a few moments.

Now that I have become completely sidetracked from my original intention, I want to finish this where I begun, with Martin Parr. But I shall save my perspectives on his work, on the way in which his work effects me (I find him wonderfully humorous) and, instead, let him speak for himself in this short interview on TATE SHOTS.

41 INCREDIBLY INSPIRING PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITES

It is by no means a comprehensive list, and so I welcome the mention of any others I have missed out, but I have relentlessly searched for striking photographers. Photographers with a unique style, who put together interesting series that strike sparks inside my mind. I yearn to be moved, dazzled, wowed, and so over time I have bookmarked these in the hope to share them with others, to give people some of the delight I have found with the following list of photographers at the forefront of this art form today (with just a couple of older photographers slipped inside the list).  

1.   Christophe Agou

2.   Nick Ballon

3.   Jeff Bark

4.   Celine Clanet

5.   Dyland Collard

6.   Charlie Crane

7.   Doug Dubois

8.   Max Farago

9.   Vincent Fournier

10. Daniel George

11. Jim Goldberg

12. Yulia Gorodinski

13. Yann Gross

14. Adrienne Grunwald

15. Mattias Heiderich

16. Nadav Kander

17. Henrik Knudsen

18. Kalpesh Lathigra

19. Vivian Maier

20. Edgar Martins

21. Kiran Master

22. Michel Mazzoni

23. Nick Meek

24. Zed Nelson

25. Anders Petersen

26. Alex Prager

27. Richard Rowland

28. Denis Rouvre

29. Stefan Ruiz

30. David Ryle

31. Viviane Sassen

32. Lina Scheynius

33. Steffen Schragle

34. Aaron Schuman

35. Shaw and Shaw

36. Mike Sinclair

37. Alec Soth

38. David Stewart

39. Larry Sultan

40. Phil Toledano

41. Massimo Vitali

PHOTOGRAPHY DOCUMENTARY: IN THE REAL WORLD

William Eggleston, inspiration to many, and without a doubt the main photographer, along with Stephen Shore, to make colour photography accepted as a serious contender to the B&W photography that had dominated the field for so long. He has given us a long line of sumptuous shots, and has captured a time in America that only colour photography could ever show us. 'In the Real World' follows William closely, intimately, out in America, with his son, and assistant, Winston. His voice has an echo of that other great Southerner, William Burroughs, with a wonderful, drawn out drawl, his sentences spoken slowly, his answers as aloof as he appears to be. But this is compelling viewing, and a rich experience to catch a glimpse of this master at work.

VISUAL ACOUSTICS, MODERNISM OF JULIUS SHULMAN

Without the photographer Julius Shulman how known, or how iconic, would the architecture of modernism be in the in the consciousness of the masses? He was a true pioneer of this type of photography, paving the way in a manner the world had not yet seen. He captured the greats, from Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Charles Eames, Pierre Koenig, John Lautner and Frank Gehry, in what was to be the perfect marriage between two different disciplines - a building and a photograph.

Julius Shulman gave architects a way to be seen, to have their work showcased and put into magazines from the 1930's onwards. He was a true artist in his own right, a kind of curator, a bridge that lead the eyes of a much larger audience to the works of some of the most exciting architecture of his day.

From this wonderful documentary, about Julius Shulman's life and career, we are given a fascinating insight into this brave new world of design, with stirring photography in a time when history gave us some of the most awe-inspiring buildings modern man has ever conceived.

LOST IN NEW JERSEY

HOLY GHOST have just published a few of my photographs from my LOST IN NEW JERSEY series.

From Lens To Photo: Sally Mann Captures Her Love

There is a really interesting article and interview about Sally Mann, over at NPR.

PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO INSPIRE, No.3

Vivian Maier, she seemed the ultimate outsider (one of the watermarks of a great artist), moving on the outskirts, aware of all the kinks and queerness of society, rapt with awareness. There is a subtle feel of Cartier-Bresson in her pictures, though they are quintessentially American, as seen through the eyes of one who has lived in Europe in their formative years. I get the feel of her as a kind of zoologist; studying, observing, documenting people in their unnatural environments. She stood on the outside, looking in, with few friends and few people who knew this intensely private person. And yet she had an eye for those brief moments of beauty, of the extraordinary and of humor, which can burst out before one, like a firework, in the most brilliant of ways.

Between these pictures are some of the most interesting self-portraits I have seen - her reflection in a mirror, or her self caught in a shop window, leaving a fleeting imprint on the reality around her, the outline of her being photographed as her real self seems hidden, behind a mask, alone.

Photography seemed her life, her everything, as she left over one hundred thousand negatives behind, most of which are still being processed and scanned. I cannot recommend the photography of Vivian Maier enough, as she left us the chance to gaze into an enthralling world of yesteryear.

SALLY MANN PHOTOGRAPHY DOCUMENTARY

A documentary I would love to shed some light on is the profoundly beautiful 'What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann'. It is a tender, insightful film into an incredible photographer with an enthralling, poetic eye. Last year I saw her work at the Photographers Gallery, in London, and was mesmerized. The collection included 'Immediate Family' (1984 – 94), a series, shot over ten years, of her children (which caused controversy amongst conservative Americans). 'Deep South' (1996 – 98), which consisted of a collection of ghost-like, haunting images shot at different battlefields in the American Civil War. The exhibition finished with 'What Remains' (2000-04), a series of decomposing bodies, at a research centre, in Tennesse. But these pictures are not there to shock, that is evident in the huge prints. What instead happens is that we, the audience, is confronted with the reality of death, of what happens to our physical bodies when we pass away, dissolving back into the land in which we lived in.

Throughout her work is the recurrent theme of life and death, where she has an unflinching eye, and a huge amount of courage in focusing her life's work on this.  Uncomfortable to some, though utterly essential, I believe, as it makes me think of what Henry Miller wrote in his book 'The Wisdom of the Heart':

"Life has to be given meaning because of the obvious fact that it has no meaning. Something has to be created, as a healing and goading intention, between life and death, because the conclusion that life points to is death and to that conclusive fact man instinctively and persistently shuts his eyes. The sense of mystery, which is at the bottom of all art, is the amalgam of all the nameless terrors which the cruel reality of death inspires. Death then has to be defeated - or disguised, or transmogrified. But in an attempt to defeat death man has been inevitably obliged to defeat life, for the two are inextricably related. Life moves onto death, and to deny one is to deny the other."