Favorite Photographer?

I don’t have a favorite photographer; I look at every artist regardless of medium for inspiration. I recently took a fashion photography course and was re-inspired by Richard Avedon. I admire his work because he blurs the line between fashion and art. Most critics receive commercial photography as something separate from “real art”. But I think regardless of the purpose anything can be done artistically well. I admire his conceptual ideas, creativity and tonality especially in his black and white photography. He had an amazing talent of being able to direct. Maggie Taylor is one who I have come to learn of. She is an amazing talented artist who I had the fortune of meeting at Modern Book gallery. Her illustrated Alice in Wonderland book, one of my favorite childhood stories, first intrigued me. I then was amazed at the type of photographer she was; one who used found images, scanning them, digitalizing manipulating them. To create these surreal beautifully animated pieces of art. The girl in the bee dress was one of my favorites. It is also interesting to compare her husband Jerry Ulesman, who does traditional photo manipulation – the old school way using enlargers to blend his images. Traditional meets digital. I’m not really sure where I want my art to go. I always considered photography a tool to express myself. I really admire mixed media artists who use a variety of artistic approaches to bring their ideas to life. I always said I wanted to do it all however to make a name for yourself you do have to have a type of work that is specific to you. Everyone knows who David Lachappelle or Ansel Adams or Sally Mann are because they have a specific style. I currently have been trying to figure out what my style is. I enjoy traditional black and white photography but at the same time love painting and manipulating and cyanotype photographs. I also equally enjoy the street photographer capturing the essence in the moment with staging photographs and creating a scene. I want to have an idea, a concept that drives my work. I want people to walk away feeling something whether it is positive or negative I want to evoke some sort of raw human emotion. How do I intend to do that? I have no idea… but I hope this class along with my own personal research helps me define this as I evolve as an artist.