I have been working on the camera class curriculum that I will be teaching in early 2013 (dates released soon), and have spent a great deal of time thinking about my influences in photography. I am excited about revisiting the images, as they are a great visual aid whilst teaching camera mechanics and hopefully will provide the class with some inspiration. The decision took me a couple of days, with many iconic images running through my thoughts. So I sat down and made a list. It became a long list, but two favourites popped out. The first being Margaret Bourke-White. I was introduced to her work by my first photography teacher when I was 14. Bourke-White’s graphic black and white images are unforgettable, both as an image and as works of art. She was the first female war correspondent and photographed the first cover for Life magazine. I was immediately captivated by her ambition and her ability to create arresting images from normal daily life.
Another awe-inspiring photographer, is Arnold Newman. Newman’s portraits have been a pivotal influence in my work and to this day I still think of him whilst planning the lighting for a shoot. His photographs of Woody Allen and Igor Stravinsky are two of my favourites. Newman was a guest lecturer in my photojournalism class in university, and hearing him describe his various shoots will always remain with me.
Inspiration hopefully ignited – now onto planning the ISO, aperture and shutter speeds section. The Joys!
Watch this space for inspiring camera class dates…
