Ian Furniss Photography » Blog Archive » The Inspirational World Pt2

The Inspirational World Pt2

First of all “Happy New Year!!” to everyone. This year has been a remarkable one for me that has seen some of the brightest highs imaginable, and equally some of the darkest lows. It’s been a year filled with hope, a year filled with sadness, but as the coming new year approaches I can only say “The best is yet to come!”. Happy New Year everyone and let’s make 2010 another year to remember!

Yesterday, I began by listing some of the greatest inspirations I have come across in the world of Landscape Photography and i’m continuing now with my ‘Top 5′ photographers from the world of … well .. World Photography. Is there a better name? Answers on a postcard please! It’s been tough deciding who to include here and not least because I feel like i’m cheating a bit with the first three. To me they’re inseparable. Not long after I started my journey into photography I was immensely fortunate to have a photo published by Digital Photographer magazine. As you can imagine, that fired my enthusiasm no-end and I set out devouring every possible bit of information I could find. I scoured websites and I read magazines at a rate that must have frightened my bank manager to death but once again it was Digital Photographer magazine that set me off on the next step. They started a masterclass series which took a reader to spend the day learning from a pro photographer and I was lucky enough to be a part of the first one. My instructor that day was the first of my ‘inseparable three’, Gavin Gough. It was through his expert tutelage that I shaved years off my learning process, and through his site that I came to discover the extraordinary work of David duChemin and Matt Brandon which shaved off a few more. So, my first three:

Gavin Gough | David duChemin | Matt Brandon
Ok, I confess. I have something of a tendency to be idealistic. It’s not always a bad thing, in fact most times it can be quite useful, but when I started out I firmly believed it was enough to just point your camera at something and then let God do his work. It’s not. To be a photographer takes more than an ability to capture great images and these guys taught me that. Each has an ability to make an image transcend its visual appeal, and each has the ability to do it in their own unique way. I could sit and look at their work for hours (and have) and learn more from that than through reading any number of books that grace the shelves of Waterstones. That would be recommendation enough perhaps, but these guys also write blogs! and damned good ones at that! To take photos is one of the greatest joys I can imagine, I can’t yet imagine the joy that must come from being able to pass that to another. I’m lucky in having a blog now that gives me the chance to put it out there and say “Thank You guys! for all that you’ve given” but i’m guessing from the readership I see that there are many who would echo those words. If any visitors to this blog haven’t done so yet, follow the links above and discover a new world!

I should emphasise that there is no particular order to this list but the next photographer i’d like to introduce you to, if you haven’t been already, is Tewfic El-Sawy, otherwise known as The Travel Photographer. I came across his work through his blog which in turn I came to through Gavin’s site. His blog was a revelation for me at the time because I was so wrapped up in learning about photography, that I had no idea it could be anything other than serious work. Tewfic El-Sawy manages to put humanity back into photography in a way that i’ve yet to come across anywhere else. His photography is nothing short of stunning and each image is captured with the same honesty & humanity you feel reading the words of his blogs. I’m sure there are many who could tell you all about the technical skill, but for me what is important is the feel of an image and these are images you feel right through to your bones.

Last but very definitely not least is Ami Vitale. In many ways I consider myself fortunate to have missed out on the whole Ansel Adams and ‘history of photography’ thing. For me it’s meant that my discovery of photography has been a natural path which is the way I prefer it to be. I come across things, I follow the ones I like using my heart as a guide rather than a teacher with a curriculum. Ami Vitale I came across after listening to an interview she did with Matt Brandon as part of his awesome Depth of Field series. She’s a lady who takes some incredible images that stand apart for me, because they are as beautiful as they are informative. It’s something I find rare in the world of photo-journalism. Many images I see from photo-journalists I feel could be taken by anyone with a camera who was lucky enough to be in the right place. Certainly not all of course and i’m not trying to put down the world of photo-journalism, but to transcend that ‘snapshot’ look is a rare quality that I think sets Ami’s work apart. Pretty much any of her images could grace a wall as fine art as well as at the same time telling a story that is as enthralling as any best-selling book. If being a great photographer’s not enough, then how about being a great teacher? I’ve never had the pleasure of learning from her directly, but have a listen to the interview I mentioned and I guarantee you’ll come away having learnt a great deal.

Have a wonderful New Year everyone and as the saying goes .. “May the best of your past be the worst of your future!” See you in 2010!