Fire In The Sky

Sunsets seem to capture everybody’s attention, and this one did for me. I will usually make sure that there is an interesting foreground, or even a silhouetted subject, but sometimes the clouds themselves can be the subject. Alfred Stieglitz did it in his series that he called Equivalents, so it must be alright! This is definitely no Stieglitz, but it does have its own merit. The color in the sky was incredible, and that alone became the subject here.

On the subject of Stieglitz, I too have a series of cloud images. I love Stieglitz’s work. Other photographers who I like and who have influenced me in my photographic journey are:
1. Paul Caponigro. He is my all time favorite. His images have feeling. I could look at them all day, every day and not tire of them.

2. John Sexton. Another master of black and white. He really knows and understands light. You can learn a lot from just studying his images.

3. Edward Weston. His series of peppers shows that you can find beauty in the ordinary.

4. Ruth Bernhard. I met her while in school. Interesting philosophy of photography. She taught me to stay at home and photograph there. You don’t have to go to exotic places to create meaningful images.

5. John Paul Caponigro. Very different style than his father, but very good. His thoughtful, philosophical approach to image making is incredible. He once reviewed my portfolio and I learned more in that half hour about meaningful photographs than I had in the previous year.

6. Joel Meyerowitz. His use of color is unrivaled. His conscious use of light and color are inspiring.

7. Yousuf Karsh. My favorite portrait photographer ever. His simple style and elaborate use of light made portraits that were simple in style yet very complex in meaning. He taught me how important it is to get to know your subject before photographing them.

8. Ansel Adams. Ansel has to be on the list. The zone system came from him. Zone system taught me about light and how to find quality light in nature.

9. Craig Law. Master Carbon Printer, and his silver prints were nothing to be ashamed of either. I endured many a critique under his tutelage at Utah State University. In my four years at USU he became a great friend as well as mentor.

10. R.T. Clark. Another Professor at Utah State. He taught me the importance of near perfection. I did more “reshoots” for him than any other instructor. I don’t regret it. I learned more by breaking down an image and rephotographing than I ever could have learned in a critique.