Any photographers that have influenced you?

The "hero" thread ... like some who have posted in that thread, to me the word "hero" is a loaded word.

But there are a number of photographers who have influenced why, what, and how I shoot. They range from the near cliche (Adams) to the counter-example (Lik - rhymes with yuk - OK, too strong, but I really, really dislike his over-processed images).

And there are plenty of photographers I admire.

I'll list several who influenced me early on as a college student as I was starting with my SR-T 101 and 50mm 1.7 (should give you a hint on when that was). These helped me figure out vision and composition.

Ansel Adams (as already noted)
Edward Weston
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Dorothea Lange

These "historical" greats were an early influence on me. Anyone influence you?

Two motorsports photographers, John Mahoney and the late Steve Snoddy, both as much from the images they created as from the respect they generated over the decades. Watching them at work was a free, yet priceless education in how to be effective as a photographer.

Clyde Butcher - the Ansel Adams of our times

http://clydebutcher.co​m/

Sacha Dean Biyan, of Eccentris fame

Ansel Adams, because I'm a sucker for landscapes

Garry Gibson wrote in post #14976705
Clyde Butcher - the Ansel Adams of our times

http://clydebutcher.co​m/

Dude.....holy crap I need to check him out, he's like an older, fatter and larger format version of me

Adams for the zone system

Bresson for the moment

Gibson for the negative space

Arbus for her honesty

Weston for his vision

Siskind for the shapes

Newman for the real portrait

j-dogg wrote in post #14976754
Dude.....holy crap I need to check him out, he's like an older, fatter and larger format version of me

Check out Michael Johnson
give it a minute to load. I particularly like his midwest landscapes
http://www.michaeljohn​sonphotography.com/

Here are my Top 10 Photographers that have greatly influenced me along with links to their portfolios.

I'm a big fan of photographers who have used their images to say something, but without being preachy along with it. If an image needs to be explained, then it's not really doing its job.

Edward Burtynsky is a particular favourite, as is Diane Arbus.

onona wrote in post #14980549
I'm a big fan of photographers who have used their images to say something, but without being preachy along with it. If an image needs to be explained, then it's not really doing its job.

Edward Burtynsky is a particular favourite, as is Diane Arbus.

Thanks for passing on Edward Burtynsky name. Great works.

I'm not certain that It would be a compliment to him if I said that he influenced me, but I would have to say that Ansel Adams has inspired me. His precepts on visualization, anticipation, and execution should be inspirational to any photographer who attempts to make his craft an artistic endeavor. You don't have to be a landscape photographer to incorporate his ideas into your work. He was even a fan of the snapshot, saying in essence that if all the snapshots ever taken were gathered together, you would have a comprehensive image of the world from the late 19th century to the present day - a historical, financial, political, scientific and social history of the last 140 years in photographs.

While I will never have his patience and vision and dedication in pursuing the art which he saw in everything around him, Ansel Adams has still been my inspiration when my search for ideas has flagged. I am reading his autobiography right now for the third time, and I'm enjoying it as much now as I did when I first read it some 20 odd years ago. It doesn't hurt that like him I prefer photographing the natural world to any other form.