Gunner Stahl – Framing Photography

 

Gunner Stahl, photographs various musicians across the industry. Gunner Stahl takes detailed, up-close photos of all my favourite artists that I otherwise would never see outside of social media or at concerts. Gunner Stahl contributes a lot to the development of multiple musicians’ public images. When listening to music, you don’t have a visual of the artist. Gunner’s photos are several artists’ only visual representation (outside of music videos). Gunner Stahl grew up in the music capital of the world. He describe his photography as, “It was inevitable for me to do something in music.” He started photography because his friends were rappers and he had a camera so he said, “it just happened”.

Gunner Stahl use framing in many of his photos to draw the eye into a photograph. Framing refers to using elements of a scene to create a frame within your frame.

Photoshop – Bristol

Before

 

After

 

Alec Soth – Street Photography

Alec Soth is a photographer whose work I strongly admire. He is a member of Magnum, although he is not the typical “Magnum” photographer. He is generally identified in the “fine art”/documentary crowd– and certainly isn’t considered a “street photographer.”

“I started out with kids because that was less threatening. I eventually worked my way up to every type of person. At first, I trembled every time I took a picture. My confidence grew, but it took a long time. I still get nervous today. When I shoot assignments I’m notorious amongst my assistants for sweating. It’s very embarrassing. I did a picture for the The New Yorker recently and I was drenched in sweat by the end and it was the middle of winter.”

Jonathan Higbee – Street Photography

“For over a decade, photographer Jonathan Higbee has walked the streets of New York with a camera in-hand, spotting extraordinary juxtapositions and unusual moments when the world aligns for a split second in front of his lens. At times he manages to completely erase the boundaries between manufactured imagery found in billboards or signage that pollute the city streets and captures anonymous passersby who seem to live in an alternate reality.”

“Any creative pursuit, especially photography comes with anxiety and a whole lot of uncertainty. We all have our ways of dealing with them but for Jonathan Higbee, it is the impetus that is driving his work forward. Together with his keen eye on color and creative juxtapositions, he positions his work to counteract this anxiety by putting it front and center in his work. Check out our conversation and his visually arresting photos in this interview.”

Daido Moriyama – Street Photography

When I first looked at Daido’s work, I simply didn’t “get it.” His shots looked like a bunch of random and unintentional snapshots. The majority of Daido’s photos weren’t very interesting to me and seemed to be quite boring.

However over time, Daido’s work has grown on me. I still don’t think he is the best street photographer in the world, but I love his unique vision in photography.

Not only that, but Daido inspires me for his curiosity in life and only sees photography as a way to document how amazing the world truly is.

“[My] photos are often out of focus, rough, streaky, warped, etc. But if you think about it, a normal human being will in one day perceive an infinite number of images, and some of them are focused upon, others are barely seen out of the corner of one’s eye.”

Blake Andrews – Street Photography

He has been shooting for 20+ years, and is constantly pushing the boundaries of “street photography”. Based on a recent video interview and other interviews I have read about him online, he’s taught me a lot so to me he is very influential.

I sometimes bemoan the fact that nothing is interesting— and I have no motivation to shoot. But the reality is that if you spend enough time in public places and walking around— you will always find something interesting to photograph.

Andre Kertesz – Street Photography

Kertesz was certainly one of the most pivotal figures in street photography. If Henri Cartier-Bresson called him one of the most influential photographers, there must be strong truth to it.

“I think, if we all aspire to take photos with beautiful form and strong emotions (as Kertesz did), we will be on our way to someday becoming great photographers as well.”

Flickr

This is my Flickr link for my photos where I do a post a day.

 

Joel Sternfeld – Street Photography

Joel Sternfeld is one of the most important and influential photographers of this generation.

At the heart of Albers’s color theory is the notion that color is absolute, but the way we experience any particular color is necessarily relative to its surroundings.

What does that mean? Let me give you an example: the color pink in the shirt in the photograph above is the same pink all over, but we experience its pinkness differently relative to the other colors in the scene.

 

Blake Andrews – Street Photography

He is outspoken, speaks his mind, and delivers quality photography. He’s constantly pushing the boundaries of “street photography”.

Blake Andrews’ Guide-

This is a list of guiding principles that Blake wrote in the past, which is always good inspiration for me. He says he doesn’t care too much about the film vs digital debate anymore– but still this is a great list:

Camera in hand always unless asleep in bed.
Film is cheap.
Digital looks cheap.

Reality is stronger than imagination.
Form subjugates essence, yet requires it.
Bystanders will quickly forget you, but a good photo lasts forever.
Light should illuminate the subject matter but not be the subject matter.

Don’t fight light. You will always lose.

This is just a few from many.