George Steinmetz: Nat Geo

Browsing through National Geographic photographs and the pages of photographers that work for National Geographic is something I do often. One of those photographers I have been following for a while now is George Steinmetz. Steinmetz began his photography career following 28 months spent hitchhiking around Africa after he graduated from Stanford University. He is a freelance photographer but has been recruited by Nat Geo many times to illuminate different parts of the world through his pictures and writing. His chosen transportation for the well known aerial photographs that he takes is his motorized paraglider which he flies over various landscapes to capture images. What a unique approach! Often referred to as an aerial and expedition photography pioneer, Steinmetz's work is definitely worth exploring. 

Joel Robison is Unique!

With the intention to find a photographer that creates truly unique work, I turned to one of my favorite websites for finding material of the sort: StumbleUpon. One of the first few results brought me to the page of Joel Robison. Robison describes his work as "conceptual portraiture" in which he creates "whimsical worlds where size, scale, movement and function don't play by the rules that we know". After browsing through his work and becoming intrigued, I came to the conclusion that Robison's description of his work rings true. Through the process of placing himself in fairytale-like worlds, he opens up to what appear to be his dreams, hopes, and outlooks on the world, but with a fictional take. 

Banksy: Known and Not

Anybody with even the slightest interest in the art of graffiti is probably aware of or has at least heard of Banksy. Banksy is a pseudonymous English graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. His satirical street art and subversive creations combine dark humor with graffiti executed in a distinctive technique. His creations raise questions in the viewers' mind about how our society operates and if our chosen methods in particular aspects are logical. Banksy's pieces are often not very large in size and do not display a lot of color or vibrant color like many other graffiti artists, but this is not the aim of his work. He attempts to convey a message and cause the viewer to think.

Subodh Gupta: A Brilliant Sculptor

Subodh Gupta is considered one of India's most well-known artists. I plan to take this post along with another one or two to briefly veer away from photographers and present a different art medium. Sculpture work is considerably fascinating and if the time is taken to browse for talented artists that have truly unique visions in their work, there are incredible people and pieces of work to be found. It would be a shame to not acknowledge these immensely mindful artists.
Gupta uses a range of materials to craft his sculptures, from copper and iron to aluminum and steel. He often creates everyday items from India, but with slight differences. His pieces that display motion frozen in time are incredibly fascinating and contain a certain appeal that is hard to overlook.

Trey Ratcliff - Landscape Photographer

Trey Ratcliff is a phenomenal landscape photographer that I have been following for a little over a year now. He travels all over the world and in doing so captures the landscapes and cultures that are a part of his travels. Ratcliff has captured images at festivals such as Burning Man, in the streets of cities, out in the middle of nowhere, and in well known landscape locations. It is obvious by looking at his photos that Ratcliff uses a wide angle lens and places his emphasis on color and capturing as much of the landscape as possible. He uses a nice variety of warm and cool colors across his work and a combination of both in some images. 

Joe McNally - Influential Portrait Photographer

Joe McNally Photography (follow link to the left to view the artist's site)

I found Joe McNally's work while searching for inspiration for portraiture work. McNally is considered one of the most influential photographers at this point in time. He captures crisp and clean images of people that appear to be "in the moment" and by including a wide view of the surroundings that he finds his subjects in, the viewer begins to feel that they are there in the landscape with the subject. A number of McNally's photos are captured in what would be considered extreme situations, ranging from near the top of one of the tallest buildings in the world to the waters of a Coast Guard rescue. The artist uses a deep depth of field and a wide angle lens in the majority of his photographs to capture as much of the situation as possible. 

Man & Camera

A friend of mine recently shared a landscape/portrait photographer's blog with me. Luke Gram is a Canadian based photographer currently residing in British Columbia. In the majority of his photos, Gram uses a deep depth of field to capture the vastness surrounding his subjects. When photographing people, it is clear that the photograph is not constructed, but rather "in the moment", similar to the approach that Annie Leibovitz took in her early days of photograohy. Gram lives amongst his subjects.

Influential Photograher

If you are interested in travel/street photography, check out one of my favorite photographers of this style. Chicago based photographer, going by the name of 'trashhand', the man has an eye for capturing the moment in all of its rawness and using colors mixed with phenomenal composition that pops. 

MMFAS Portrait Show

If anyone lives in or near Washington and you're interested in showing off a few of your prints, give this a look! 

Landscape Photography Inspiration

Hey friends! I wanted to drop in and share one of my favorite photographers with you guys. Chris Burkard (Instagram: chrisburkard) is a phenomenal landscape and travel photographer. His use of natural light and his ability to portray the vastness of the world throughout his photos is superb. Chris is an inspiration to the way I aim to shoot. If you're into landscape and outdoor travel photography, I highly recommend checking out his feed!