Well Seen Images (and other sources of Inspiration)

I’ve just taken a big step. I’ve launched a new photo workshop series, the Big Shot Workshops, to offer workshop events with some of the best photographer/educators in the business. Planning and developing the workshops called for some serious thinking about how people learn new skills and become better photographers. What I realized is that perhaps the biggest part of learning is inspiration.

Sure, we all need practical instruction, starting with the lesson about how to get the meter in the middle by adjusting f/stops, shutter speeds and ISOs. But to get us to that instruction, we need motivation and inspiration that energizes our passion and ignites our vision.

Inspiration also keeps us going, as there’s always more to discover and no one ever completes the learning process. The great benefit is that making better pictures at each level is rewarding. Our own accomplishment is inspiring in itself.

I think the best, most effective and lasting learning happens when we are passionate to discover something new. For me, that passion can come from seeing strong images and hearing accomplished photographers speak about the creative process and their motivations. Essentially, that’s why the Big Shot Workshops were born.

What inspires me is the “well-seen image,” the previsualized picture that’s perceived in the mind before it happens. I saw Lee Friedlander, the legendary photographer of the urban landscape, speak at Harvard Square in 1971. He showed a shot of a cloud strategically placed by his movement and lens choice on top of a triangular yield sign, making a perfect ice-cream-cone shape. A simple, well-seen image, and it compelled me to wander the streets with my rangefinder Nikon SP, hunting out social landscape moments.

Another “I’ll do that or die trying” inspiration came from George Hurrell, whose masterful portraits of Hollywood stars marked the 1930s and ‘40s. His influence stayed with me over the years, and when I photographed Margaret O’Brien, the Academy Award-winning actress who has appeared in over 70 films, I realized where the spark and the validation for one of my lighting styles came from. My lighting inspiration also comes from classic movies, and I’ve watched Casablanca andSchindler’s List for their lighting.

I look at Guy Bourdin’s images for his bold, blatant fashion attitude. My inspiration can be music, too. Jeff Beck’s version of Cause We’ve Ended As LoversandBeethoven’s Für Elisestill stop me every time. Inspiration can come from dance, from visiting new places, touring museums, finding a muse, a mentor, a collaborator, or trying something new that I always wanted to do; or from taking a class.

I still love Edward Weston’s peppers, and his Daybooks are handbooks of inspiration for any photographer. Richard Avedon’s Dovima with Elephants led me to think the coolest thing ever would be to become a fashion shooter; I’m now inspired by Markus Klinko’s flashy outrageousness. I stalk the internet and have felt the charge of inspirational fashion shooters like Chen Man, whose work encourages me to push my Near Future collection further into fantasy.

Along the way in my career I’ve had inspiring chance meetings with heroes of mine like Minor White and Arnold Newman. I’ve run into Duane Michals at the deli, Jay Maisel in the park and Chris Callis in a workshop and had a chance to chat with all three about inspiration.

Ultimately, though, I’d guess that the greatest inspiration is when we push ourselves and exceed our own expectations—and even our own inspiration.