Who inspires you?

I've just been perusing all the great shots and galleries on the site, and I've come to the realization (duh!) that there are a lot of very talented, creative folks here at wetpixel.

Being a relative newcomer to the world of digital, I'm always looking for inspiration as to composition, use of color, shooting angle, etc when I'm ready to depart on a trip. Looking at the image galleries always gives me that pre-trip inspiration.

So...with that in mind, I'd like start the discussion by saying that this by no means is a popularity contest, but I'd like to mention a few folks who have inspired me on the past few trips I've done.....namely, Alex Mustard, Rocha, duikees, Mike Veitch, Eric Cheng, among others.

As far as other inspirations, I guess just the idea of being able to bring back pictures and images of the underwater world with all it's colors, textures, and sights is what drives me to photograph underwater.

Of course, being inspired doesn't always turn out fantastic photos, but it sure helps!

Anybody care to chime in?

Colin.

Hi Colin,

We have another post here called "Your Favorit Photographers" that you may want to check out.

Cheers

James

I am glad you like my pix Colin. I get inspiration from looking at so many people's UW photos here on Wetpixel. In it is often the ideas that beginners come up with that give me ideas for things I can do with my shots.

My telephoto Snapper Shot that is doing the rounds at the moment, was actually germinated from seeing the capabilities of little point and shoot compacts used in the hands of first time UW photographers.

The discussion James is referring to is here:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...=60entry66171

Alex

I'm honoured to be on your list Colin, thanks.

One thing i tell my students is that far and away the best way to improve composition is to pore over as many photos is possible. Magazines, coffee table books, photo sites like Seapics.com, and wetpixel galleries are a fantastic way to see what other people are doing and how there is no end to the creativity that people can capture of the same subject. I always pour over every magazine that comes my way and gain inspiration from those photos, then i try to do something a little different...

One thing i tell my students is that far and away the best way to improve composition is to pore over as many photos is possible. 

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I completely agree Mike, I always take a quick look at all my books right before I travel to keep things fresh im my memory.

As for inspiration, other than many wetpixel members (BTW Colin, thanks for including me in your list), I really like the work of Doubilet. He is not on the top of many people's list now, but I think it is just because he has been copied way too much, so his work looks kind of normal. You will find a lot of inspiration among the names in the best photographers thread that James and Alex mentioned.

Luiz