I love the light in this photo and the way that the wide angle lens distorts the building.

I chose this photograph because of the high contrast and dreamy quality.  I like the angled perspective and the balance between the sky and buildings.

I chose this photograph because it's a photo of musical technology.  Things are changing all around us and technology is the present and the future.

Sebastião Salgado

Gourma-Rharous

Mali, 1985

There is so much raw emotion in this photograph.  There is an aesthetic value that lends to the emotional aspect of it.

Emmet Gowin

Edith

Danville, Virginia

1970

This photograph is striking because of Gowin's use of contrast and light.  It has a dreamlike (or nightmarish) quality to it.

Lothar Wolleh

Josef Beuys

Stockholm, 1971

I like this photograph because of the composition and contrast.  It also contains very interesting subject matter.  This totally reminds me of something that Josef Beuys would be a part of.

This high contrast, brightness is something new for me and I like it in a way.  Yes, this records a certain time and place, but there's something about it that is not right.  Maybe this is what a raspberry lemon drop martini looks like through martini goggles.

 

I like this one.  It's totally GQ style.  I also like the lighting in this shot as well.

(Thanks for being a great model, Randall!) 

(I'm finding that I enjoy photographing people, but I like to set up certain places and have them wear certain clothes rather than candid shots of random people.)  

I like this photograph because of the action in the shot.  It's not an extreme action, but the way the pinwheel is moving is intriguing to me.

Irving Penn

After-dinner Games

New York, 1947

This photograph intrigues me because of the subject matter and colors. I'm interested to know what happened during the recording of this photograph.

Update:  Why do I think this photograph is amazing and deserving to be archived with the Masters of Photography?  It reminds me of a gritty Alice in Wonderland.  The subject matter is intriguing and the textures of the items are beautiful.  The colors all go very well together, and the bulls-eye composition works well for this "still-life".

William Klein

Candy Store, Amsterdam Avenue

New York

1954-55

This photograph has great movement yet the subject matter is very static. Although the composition is utilizing the bulls-eye effect, it is still very strong. There is a sense of street life that is depicted through this photograph that intrigues me.

Update:  This photograph deserves to be archived with the Masters of Photography because it is innovative for it's time.  This photograph looks Photoshopped, but it is obviously not.  Digital photography was invented way later than this was taken.  It looks solarized in a way, which is achievable in the darkroom, but how many people were actually solarizing their photographs during this time?  Not many that I can recall.

New week, new blog... Here are some more photos from Masters of Photography.

William Eggleston

Memphis, Tennessee

Early 1970s

I love the color and the raw subject matter. Eggleston is photographing something that we see everyday, yet there is a simplistic beauty to it.


Update:  This photograph is intriguing because of the subject matter and use of color.  Eggleston manages to capture a beauty to something that we would otherwise overlook.

Can you tell I like contrast? I like how this photo looks like it was from another time. Aesthetic documentary perhaps.

I like this photograph because it has a lot of head room and the main image is focused in the bottom third of the photograph. I also like the stark contrasts. It seems like this was taken in a different era.

I like this because it's a photo (or 2 rather) but it doesn't look like a photo. I like the fact that we can alter photographs to the point of abstraction where they look like paintings. This is just an experiment.

Edward Steichen

The Maypole

1932

This is such an interesting photograph in the fact that he sandwiched the negatives to show different perspectives of the same building. I love the use of line and the linear perspective.

http://masters-of-photography.com/S/steichen/steichen_maypole_full.html


Update: Edward Steichen really knew how to utilize line and form to create interesting compositions.  He had a superb eye for capturing the beauty in urban environments.

Edward Weston

Pepper No. 30

1930

Such a simple subject matter is utilized to create an elegant form. The movement and rich contrast of the pepper makes it almost an unrecognizable form.

http://masters-of-photography.com/W/weston/weston_pepper_number30_full.html


Update: Edward Weston can be considered a Master of Photography because he stresses the importance of knowing your equipment inside and out to be a good photographer rather than just buying the most expensive equipment thinking that'll make you a good photographer.

Ansel Adams

Mount McKinley,

Denali National Park, Alaska

1948

Ansel Adams is a very inspirational photographer. His use of the zone system provides very rich blacks, pure whites, and everything in between.

http://masters-of-photography.com/A/adams/adams_mckinley_full.html



 Update:  I think Ansel Adams is a good example of a "Master of Photography" because he was a genius when it came to all aspects of photography.  He developed the "Zone System" which is still taught today.  His use of light, composition, form, line, etc are all strikingly beautiful.

I like the use of depth of field in this photograph. The main focus is on the fishnet stalkings rather than the upper portion of her body, which is not usually the case in photographs of people.

I like the way this photograph looks because to me, it looks like she is not real, kind of doll-like. This was taken with a wide angle lens, and normally, wide angle lenses are not used to photograph people. I like to be different.

(From my first ever "Pin Up" Photoshoot. I don't usually utilize models or people in my photos, so this is something new for me.)
I like this photo because of the textures and contrast. I also like the angle that the photo was taken in.

This exhibition deals with sound art and I think that's a very interesting concept. I love the photograph because of the use of line and a vanishing point.

Francisco Lopez
Untitled #223

Nouvel Building, Floor 4 @ Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofí, Madrid, Spain
January 13, 2010 - March 29, 2010
http://www.museoreinasofia.es/

Laure Albin Guillot

La Cantate du Narcisse

1934
@ Jeu de Paume, Paris
from 14 January 2010 until 11 April 2010

I love the gradation of tones in this photograph. It feels like fog is taking over the face very slowly.
http://www.jeudepaume.org/

I love the vibrant colors and the simplicity of this piece. The way that the paint is applied to the canvas is also very impressive.

Kevin Sonmor
La Premiere Cache, oil on linen, 16x16

This is the Kevin Sonmor: Roadworthy Exhibit at the Addington Gallery in Chicago, IL

http://www.addingtongallery.com/

Image no. 3 "Dolls on Dope"
One of the things I absolutely love to do is walk the alleyways. I never know what I am going to find in them, therefore, I have a camera on me at all times when doing so. I love to aestheticize unpleasant looking things. Again, it's a trace of human life that I am capturing.

Image no. 2 "Tea For Two"
I also like to photograph real-life still life. I don't set things up, rather, I photograph them as I see them. I enjoy simplicity and femininity.

Image no. 1 "Once Upon A Time"
This is what I like to photograph. Landscapes, urban landscapes, traces of human life, etc. This is the first photo in my series titled Once Upon A Time. I had to scale a barbed wire fence to get into this house. (Scale, HAH! I jumped it, basically...)