Influential Photographers

Influenced? We are influenced in our life for good and bad reasons. If you are doing photography, it's very rare to start from scratch. You are kind of on the shoulders of giants. Even the simple fact to start photography, you are influenced. The first time you have a camera in your hand because someone decided to make a gift, a camera.

Brooke Hayward has offered a Nikon camera to Dennis Hopper for his birthday in 1961. So Brooke indirectly influenced Dennis to do photography... I mention Dennis Hopper because he was a photographer who influenced me. Some years ago in Amsterdam, I saw an exhibition where some photographs of Dennis Hopper and I was really touched by his work. I didn't know why I was touched by his work. It was quite standard black&white pictures nothing more but something touched me personally. It's not the only photographer who influenced me but that's the first who really change my way of doing photography.

Very recently, I found this quote from Dennis Hopper:

I think of that with my photographs. I think of them as ‘found’ paintings because I don’t crop them, I don’t manipulate them or anything. So they’re like ‘found’ objects to me. Dennis Hopper

That's how I feel when I'm doing photography. So it seems that's my initial interest in the Dennis Hopper photography. Even without knowing this quote, he transfers this feeling into his photographic work. Don't forget while reading photographic books, when going to exhibition and to the museum, you might be influenced for the best.