The Guy With a Camera Taking Pictures of Stuff

I've been thinking lately about the photographers and artists the have influenced me. Thinking about how I have incorporated the influence of other artists into my own work. Today, November 9th, the Guardian published an article about Elliott Erwitt. I met Mr Erwitt a few years ago in New York at an IPAD book signing. It was brief and not like I would have imagined but I did get to meet in person the very first photographer that inspired me as a teenager.

It was 1975 and I came across a series of books about photographers called the Masters of Contemporary Photography. Featured photographers included Mary Ellen Mark and Anne Leibowitz, and Elliott Erwitt and Bert Stern and others. These photographers were at the forefront of photography. The book about Erwitt was called "The Private Experience". I remember liking how quiet the images were. Even some of the more intense photos like Gorbachev and Nixon arguing felt calm despite the tension. The thing that really stayed with me was that there was always time for personal photographs while shooting assignments. It was often hard to tell the personal work from the assignment. When I read about his life I knew I wanted to be like him, the guy with a camera taking pictures of stuff.

Check out the the link to the Guardian article here https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/nov/09/elliott-erwitt-interview-photographer