In The Frame 4-30-2023: Iconic Photographers
There are undoubtedly a great many wonderful photographers in the world.
These are a few of the ones I deeply admire.
I ask myself why I am so attached to some image makers and let other, some more famous and contemporary, be happy in the recesses of my photo brain.
I don’t have any idea.
Maybe because I am an old guy.
Maybe because I have been a photographer longer than some of the current stars have been sucking air and converting it to Co2.
Maybe because I seek patterns and strength and story in the work I love.
Today I will chat a bit about three of my absolute favorite photographers; Rodney Smith, Kurt Markus, and Herb Ritts.
Because I think they were bigger than life, and their work stands the test of time.
Time is the bitch, you know.
Time destroys everything it touches.
But great art perseveres beyond its scheduled expiration date and confounds the charlatans of age like a wizard in a tale of sadness and redemption.
Rodney Smith.
I can't say anything new or groundbreaking about this amazing photographer that has not already been said by louder voices, with more reach.
But I can tell you what his work meant to me. Little ol’ me in the big city of Phoenix, Arizona, where ‘fashion’ meant OTR sundresses for Goldwaters Department Stores.
I would see his work and smile. It was the sort of vision that would take me floating to a place of symmetry, design, and perfectly maintained gardens that seemed almost foreign to my desert existence.
His work was neat. Clean.
Manicured perfectly, like the grass in his garden photos or the hedges that stood between men in hats with binoculars and whatever spectacular thing they would gaze intently toward.
His images were designed. With a precision that, while not totally foreign to me, was not something encouraged in my work. I saw little of that here, so I emulated, borrowed from, and outright stole ideas from Mr. Smith whenever I was allowed to.
And sometimes, when I was forbidden to as well.
Fuck ‘em.
I have done videos discussing the major photographic heroes of my life. Rodney Smith was one of the first up.
“What Makes This Photo Great” #14: Rodney Smith.
You may want to take some time to watch the video. I still look to Smith as inspirational and when I am shooting I feel his ideas in my mind forcing me to look for the design in the scene. And to keep it simple.
There is a new book out about Rodney Smith entitled “A Leap of Faith”.
It is in my most treasured collection, and I would recommend it to each and every photographer who wants to see how an iconic reputation is earned. One photograph at a time.
I spent an hour this morning looking at images that force the viewer to collide with the unexpected and accept the truth that expectations met may make for lousy art.
Smith put no chains on his creativity, no boundaries, and created an incredible body of work.
See more of his images:
Kurt Markus
I remember sitting at my desk in the little studio on McDowell. In front of me was a copy of Vogue, or some other fashion magazine I devoured like a kid with a bowl full of colorful sugar demons.
I turned the page and stopped. Dead stop.
In front of me was an editorial of black and white fashion shot in the desert somewhere, and I was totally gobsmacked. I didn’t even know what being gobsmacked felt like until that moment.
I began to frantically scan the page for the name of the photographer and found it in the corner of the photo in tiny 8-point type: Kurt Markus.
It was a hot day in Phoenix, a rarity for summer… heh, but I headed out to the magazine rack that used to be downtown near Central and Monroe and began earnestly seeing what else I could find with this Markus fellow’s work.
It’s a hundred and something (hell, it’s always a hundred and something in the summer) and I am standing in the sun looking for tiny 8-point type.
I picked up my 10th or 11th magazine and there it was. Another shoot with that look… and I’ll be damned… Kurt Markus again.
Ya’ll have to remember that we didn’t have the internet to instantly look someone up. We had magazines, and … … we had magazines.
I began seeing his work, and it was so uplifting to see a shooter doing fashion, sports, and cowboys that it made me excited to go and expand what I was doing.
“Find your niche and never leave it” was the mantra of the day.
Sports.
Fashion.
And Cowboys.
Niche?
I’ll tell you what his niche was, it was amazingly engaging photography, mostly black and white, that ripped at the very notion that you even had a notion about what was going on anyway.
“Christy”, by Christie Turlington and Kurt Markus, is something every collector should own. It reminds us of the purity of a brilliant photograph, and the elegance of a model dedicated to bringing a photographer’s vision to life.
“Over the course of 25 years, a model and a photographer traveled the world for fashion assignments and adventure, forming a close friendship along the way. Christy chronicles their travels through reminiscences and portraits taken in Madagascar, Kilimanjaro, Greenland, El Salvador, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Long Island and Montana.”
“Christy: is available from Kurt Markus Books.
What Makes This Photo Great, #16B: Kurt Markus
Herb Ritts
The west coast’s answer to Richard Avedon.
Unique.
Innovative.
Clear in his vision.
Unpersuaded by fads and the popular, he somehow made a nice spot for himself in Hollywood, while all the while not doing “Hollywood” type photography.
He was out of the box. A classic.
His work looked like it should be hanging in a gallery instead of on a page hawking some fashion house’s latest overpriced pants.
Whether it was a simple portrait or a full-on ad campaign, the amount of craft and vision that went into each image made them instantly collectible.
He crossed the line between fine art and commercial art, and after he crossed it he stepped back a bit and obliterated the fucking line with a flamethrower.
His work is as fresh today as the moment it came out of the soup of his darkroom.
Ritts was an artist, a visionary with deep roots in the classical composition of the great photographers that preceded him.
Working mostly in black and white, the images seemed to be from another time, even another era.
Cindy Crawford on a ubiquitous beach, Madonna lifting her head to the sky, a guy holding two old tires and still looking like a god. These were the images that captivated us - and me so much - that we tried to emulate and create that magic we see in his work.
There is more to the image than just the subject.
In fact, all three of these photographers create images rich with story, narrative, and deep engagement.
Herb Ritts: L.A.Style at Amazon
What Makes This Photo Great #7: Herb Ritts
The thing that ties all of these photographers together is the story. Whether in a series like Markus’s Cowboys, or a single image like any of Smith’s bowler-wearing city folk, or the fit and trim tire-jockey of Ritt’s world, there is a story in every single image they make.
Story is important, of course. It moves an image from being a flat artifact of cold representation into a world of active engagement with the viewer. A narrative gives context to the imagery and can lift an image within the framework of other images.
In videos and movies, we have what is called B-roll to help establish the story and develop the narrative. These images do not usually stand on their own, but given the context of the images surrounding them, they take on a full meaning within the narrative.
The images we love are the ones that move us from the mundane to somewhere… else. And we love it.
There are many photographers who are iconic, so this is not meant to say these three are the only ones.
I’d love to hear which photographers you feel are iconic and why. Let me know in the comments.
NEWS YOU CAN USE.
24 FRAMES IN MAY
We start the “24 Frames In May” photo contest on Monday. I will send a link to the page sometime Monday, and you can decide to enter - or not. That’s cool.
It is a film shooter contest.
1 roll of 24 exposures.
2 rolls of 120 film
24 shots on Polaroid.
24 sheets of large format film.
This can be a “shot a day” or a project in an hour.
We look at the contact sheet and 4 images chosen for the show for judging.
We have real award items this year, including a softbox, and 360-degree table for product shooting, books, and more.
Watch for the whole shebang on Monday.
VISUAL STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
Ready for something extraordinary? We call it Visual Storytelling – it’s a language of photographs and few words. We’ll dive into a world of boundless possibilities, fueled by creativity, passion, and vision.
Storytelling takes us beyond the usual. Turn a single moment into an unforgettable tale. Turn a group of pictures into an elegant narrative that will captivate viewers everywhere. As photographers, we’ve got the power to show raw emotion, to uncover hidden truths, and to reveal beauty in the ordinary. Now’s the time to use it.
Picture this: an image that speaks to the very embodiment of the soul. Louder than words ever could. You have the power to stir emotions, spark curiosity, and ignite change. With this amazing power comes responsibility. Use it wisely, with purpose and grace.
Improve your skills, broaden your horizons.
Pros or passionate amateurs, we’ll challenge you, inspire you, and push you further in your craft.
The mission: empower you to tell soul-stirring stories. Stories that leave a mark. We’ll dive into composition, color psychology, and light and shadow. You’ll learn to read visuals, see the world through your lens, and create images that resonate.
And, of course, practice makes perfect. Hands-on exercises and assignments will sharpen your skills, and help you find your photographic voice.
This isn’t just a class. It’s a community. We’re united by our passion for photography and the desire to push ourselves further. You’ll collaborate and learn from your peers in a troll-free, supportive environment.
My brand new book is available for immediate download.
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On that note, probably an f#, I am outta here.
See you soon.
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Thanks.
You know these photographers can inspire everything from portraiture to landscape to still life. Subject matter can change, but the aesthetic can be at the root of the work.
Don,
Thank you for this wonderful article about your favorite photographers. I equally share the experience discovering Kurt Markus. One afternoon walking around Joseph aBeth Book store, and looking and browsing photo books, an image of a cowboy on the cover page appeared in front of me. I grab the big horizontal book, heavy, sat on the near by bench and started passing the pages. I quietly escaped from the store momentarily, I did not hear noises around me. I completely immerse in the book page by page. Kurt’s images were so elegant, clean, and truly mesmorizing. Darek found me eventually. At that point I couldn’t leave the book at the store it came with me. Still is one of my favorite photographers. Later on, I had the opportunity to meet him and take a workshop with him. It was an amazing week that change my photographic voice.