We are all photographic thieves - Have your say about who are the photographic giants!

THIS VIDEO: The famous quote that has been attributed to Picasso goes like this “Good artists copy, great artists steal. It’s possible that he stole this too from TS Elliot who wrote, “Immature poets imitate, mature poets steal.” All aspects of human production follow this truism- so we are all thieves. The invention of the wheel allowed for the development of the horse and cart - then the car - then the high speed train. And I think that there are opportunities for learning and growing by really understanding and internalising what others have produced. I’m going to talk about copying, learning from and building on top of other photographers work.
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ABOUT ME: The conversations focus on topics related to different aspects of photography including: art, documentary and photojournalism. The discussions explore the personal experiences of photographers and artists and how their work reflects both their internal and external landscape. During the past 30 years I have photographed in over 50 countries for magazines including National Geographic, Time, New York Times and Newsweek. I have held solo exhibitions in New York, London and Paris and my work is showcased in private and institutional art collections around the world.
COPYRIGHT: The copyright for all images belongs to the photographer/s being discussed.
WEBSITE: www.graemewill...
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MUSIC: KZbin audio Changing by NEFFEX, Drifting at 432 Hz - Unicorn Heads,
VIDEO CLIPS:'In No Great Hurry13 Lessons in Life With Saul Leiter' Trailer Moviefone, Alec Soth - HOME Project Magnum Photos, Galileo, Copernicus, Newton Scientific Revolution Unveiled!, Good artists copy, great artists steal., Hiroshi Sugimoto 'My camera works as a time machine' Hayward Gallery, How acclaimed photographer Trent Parke gets the shot The Mix, Mark Power Picturing Place Course Trailer, Photographers in Focus Stephen Shore, Sally Mann Vinculum Artist Spotlight Gagosian, Steve Jobs on Picasso Good artist copy great artists steal, The 2016 Pirelli Calendar by Annie Leibovitz Behind The Scenes, The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down, The Invention of the Wheel - The Journey to Civilization #03 - The Worst Cover of Help! by The Beatles (The Circus, Live at The Canmore Hotel)See U in History, The Worst Cover of Help! by The Beatles (The Circus, Live at The Canmore Hotel)

[@pamelasmith8652]

AS artists we are all thieves to a degree, but once we steal it becomes ours. My husband JT Smith. As always great video.

[@PhotoConversations]

Thanks Pamela

[@desoriordan9515]

'Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief, all kill their inspiration, and then sing about their grief'. U2 'The Fly'.

[@PhotoConversations]

Nice one!

[@channamasala]

excellent reflections that allow the rest of us to jump off and swim deeper. thank you

[@lowe_h_seger]

Brilliant as always. I love this topic, I often bring this up with my students. Thanks for sharing.

[@nocommentnoname1111]

i would also add Gruyaert, Alex Webb and Koudelka for the soul in his images. But there are so many.

[@sonofoneintheuniverse]

The most important language in my life have been the photographic language. So different from spoken and written languages, from mathematics and other scientific languages like chemistry and physics. The photographic language is so different, based on inward bound councious experiences. What a wonderful world enriched by incredible photographers. 😊

[@simonbnyc]

I would add Bill Brandt, Lee Friedlander, Ernst Haas, Fred Herzog and Harry Gruyaert.

[@PhotoConversations]

Thanks Simon

[@hoagyguitarmichael]

Love it. I would add Todd Hido as an innovator. Epitomizes a kind of mystery in photography. Often imitated.

[@L.Spencer]

One of my favorites photographers is Eliot Porter. My understanding is that he was one of the early color users and he used it to promote appreciation for nature and landscapes. I also love Gordon Parks' photos, but I'm not sure if they're innovative technically, but socially I'd say so.

[@PhotoConversations]

Yes, I don't think that one has to be an innovator to be a great photographer, but the innovators are in a select club of their own.

[@carolwatts944]

Excellent, Graeme. I’ve been listening to a very experienced, long-time photographer who I understood to say that we must come up with our own niche - completely devoid of others’ work - to be unique, to stand out from the crowd. That depressed me; I feel I can only learn by appreciating & copying earlier photographers whose work I admire, ie Saul Leiter & Wm Eggleston, particularly. I also add the artist, Hopper, into the mix. I struggle to keep afloat emotionally & creatively. So thank you for setting things straight in my head. I don’t feel as depressed now. Well done. 🙂

[@PhotoConversations]

Hi Carol We are all wandering around in the dark to some extent...so best hold the hand of someone who might have found a path.

[@retropixer]

Another great episode! Thank you.

[@renatorampolla5649]

Great video! Add Ernst Haas, Fred Herzog? So many reasons to consider them.

[@paullesliehutson5818]

A really thought provoking and enjoyable video Graeme. Thanks!

[@DREES56_TRR-qw2vr]

As always a thought encouraging video Graeme, thank you. Your list was very comprehensive but I would add, for me, Erwin Olaf, Fan Ho, Michael Kenna, Sebastiao Salgado, Julius Schulman & Ezra Stoller...........BYW, I loved the soundtrack 🙂

[@PhotoConversations]

Hi Thanks for the additions to the list. As far as the soundtrack goes - some love it and some hate it?! Can't win them all.

[@40mmSummarit]

Ernst Haas... color and movement, and movement of color.

[@PhotoConversations]

He's on the list

[@menkassio]

I believe that it's practically impossible not to imitate some style of a time, place or person, not least because we've been immersed in a universe of images since childhood and this often happens unconsciously. A type of pose from a famous sculpture, vibrant colours like from ancient Egyptian scenes, the use of Da Vinci's sfumato or Turner's vagueness of forms, the use of Rembrandt's "triangle", Caravaggio's light... The artistic heritage is ever-growing and the arts unfold in various manifestations that are constantly cross-referencing each other, just as you showed about Fan Ho with ancient Chinese paintings.

[@rolandkuchling5786]

(coping/steeling) vs. (influence/inspiration)

[@ralf.mueller]

Great video again, thanks so much Graeme. Difficult to tell who the new masters are that are not copying from the old. Maybe Andreas Gursky and Gregory Crewdson because the technical innovations didn't exist in the time of Frank and Walters? I'd consider Alec Soth to be high on the list (as a modern version of W. Evans, R. Frank, and J. Sternfeld) and Deana Lawson (candid vision of everyday black life) to name just two.

[@PhotoConversations]

Hi Ralf Thanks I agree with Gursky, Crewdson and Soth. Lawson's work is certainly powerful...and probably innovative in the sense of the subject matter and her viewpoint. I need to look a lot closer.

[@thomaseriksson6256]

Thank you for the video. I have used the method to copy others photographing stiles to build a library of knowledge’s, but I did not think about why the photographers did what they did so that I need to explore more. I got stuck in learning the technical side. I took a course at university in technical photography that also included x-rays and some PS and general photo courses. After that I mainly concentrated on Nature photo. In later years I start learning about art and history of photography. So I don’t have a list of must see photographers. If I must put down a list its: Turner, Monet, van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Maxfield Parrish, Franklin Carmichael, Peter Hutchinson, Lawren S. Harris, Gustav Klimt, Tom Thomson, Keith Levit, Jeanette Leuers, Wolf Kahn samt Caspar David Friedrich, Terje Hellesø, Ansel Adams. Steglitz. Josef Sudek. Photographers that have help me develop as a Photographer: Herje Hellesø, Malin Hellesø, Jan Grahn, Bruno Helgesson Jan Gustafsson, Jan Pedersen, Olof Cardelus, William Neill och John Håkansson, Jim Zuckerman, Deborah Sandidge, Björn Abelin and Lars Nordström.

[@PhotoConversations]

That's a comprehensive list - some I'll have to take a look at. We all just muddle our way through and gain inspiration from multiple sources.

[@thomaseriksson6256]

@@PhotoConversations Some are local.

[@BWOOHAHAHAAA]

Usually the music you choose is more fitting to the video. And I think also more aligning with the taste of your audience. Despite this the video did still earn a like.

[@L.Spencer]

It's not my style and I didn't understand the lyrics, but I thought it was kind of cool sounding.

[@Stephen_Baker]

Thanks (again), especially with the crossover to art. Was all still life lit from the left, from Caravaggio’s “Still Life with Fruit” to the Impressionists; or is that nonsense and did any of that spill over to (Western) photography? That’s my personal theory but I still have looked at enough images to see if there’s any truth in this.

[@wotldpeace]

Agree with all on your list and those on the list of commentors; to meander a bit off the beaten path, would add Raymond Moore, Tom Sandberg, Keith Carter, and (based on "The Inhabitants") it appears Raymond Meeks is evolving into an innovator.

[@PhotoConversations]

Thanks - this has been useful for me to find new photographers that others have found inspirational.

[@iainmc9859]

Quite a list and of course so many could be added. I tend to see any art as made up of DNA, no individual is made of a singular DNA stream, some result in evolution, some in extinction, most just move up and down the beach with the tide. Can't say that the music fitted the theme ... but that's subjective !

[@PhotoConversations]

The music came with the video clips that I sampled....except for the beginning and end.

[@VideoBikerDude]

Jerry Uelsmann.

[@PhotoConversations]

Definitely an innovator...but not sure that he would describe what he does as photography...even though he uses it.

[@kemp13]

Cubism was derived from African art.

[@PhotoConversations]

It certainly was influenced by traditional African art.

[@rolandkuchling5786]

Quesetion: did Van Gogh copy or steal from the masters that preceded him? I have the suspicion that he willfully ignored everyone that came before him. If true, this suggests an alternate strategy to produce visual arts, too that of the "copy/steel" mindset?

[@rolandkuchling5786]

@@andras_ikladi I agree that Van Gogh had a deep knowledge and keen understanding of the predecessors you mentioned. Yet I have trouble applying the words "coping" or "steeling" to his creative technique. Admittedly, I stumble over the Japanese woodblock printing example you gave - but maintain my footing. Because Nietzsche advised a similar self-isolation technique for the creative process.

[@PhotoConversations]

I just went to the Van Gogh emersion experience in London. He was connected with many of the innovative artists in Europe and was 'friends' with Gauguin - until they had an argument and Van Gogh cut off his ear. So his work didn't come out of nowhere. He was also colourblind so his bright colours were the result of seeing everything in a flat way.

[@lenscap8925]

So you think your work is "from your soul". Displaying the work someone is overheard saying these are sooo like " " or they are " "esque... LOL GREAT!

[@oneeyedphotographer]

I stopped during the into music. It's gross.

[@PhotoConversations]

Some seem to like it...but it is only for about 20 seconds. Give it another go with the sound turned down. Cheers.

[@oneeyedphotographer]

@@PhotoConversations Then I typically can't hear the speech. Those who like it probably are not autistics with sensory dysfunction.