Lewis Baltz defined photography as “a profound corner that sits between literature and film.” Our core goal is to inspire the next generation of creators to get outside and use the natural world to interact and collaborate as much as possible to create memorable art, images, and stories as our world’s story continues to play out.
A portion of our store’s proceeds will be donated to youth art and after-school programs for the arts.
Resources For Photographers
Not sponsored content! We aim to make it easier for you to discover great websites and resources for education and exploration. If you spent a week studying each of these people and/or watching videos/workshops/online classes, you’d have more than a year of art school knowledge and be well on your way to understanding your style and absorbing insights into most genres of photography.
This list includes both traditional photographers and more experimental format artists to help new creators see and understand the medium beyond point-and-shoot and landscape/travel genres. Photography is just capturing light and time; how you use it to tell stories and art is up to you.
Industry News, Reviews, and Opinions
Teachers, Workshops, and Inspiration
In the ever-rising sea of “photo-influencers” on social media, a few living legends are doing their best work regardless of social counts, locations, or name recognition. We recognise and recommend them for outstanding work and for teaching others their skills. Some are YouTubers turned teachers, while others are industry gold standards and award winners that we should all know and follow. All are inspirational legends in their genre, and many offer workshops and classes, passing on their skills to others.
Adam Karnacz (landscape)
Albert Dros (nature, outdoors)
Angela Sanchez (wildlife, undersea)
Anthony Lamb (minimalist, landscape)
Brian Lackey (outdoors, travel)
Bruce Gilden (street)
Emanuele Satolli (war photojournalism)
Greg Mo (street, conceptual)
Frans Lanting (nature, wildlife)
James Popsys (outdoors, rural)
Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove (nature, outdoors, drone)
Jimmy Chin (outdoors, adventure)
Joel Grimes (studio, portrait, outdoors)
Mark Denney (nature, outdoors)
Mike Kelley (architecture, aviation, drone)
Mitte (wildlife, nature, + more)
Neil Burnell (nature)
Neale James (wedding with a photojournalist eye)
Nick Page (nature)
Olivier Robert (landscape, monochrome)
Paul Nicklen (wildlife, adventure)
Richard Tatti (nightscape)
Ronny Behnert (minimalist)
Simon d’Entremont (wildlife)
Thomas Heaton (nature, travel)
These are people I have discovered and followed over the years, not just those listed on a Google search or the most popular on social media algorithms. I have left off many fun and famous YouTubers I watch, as they were not as focused on a photography genre, or they also do a lot of video projects, or they just make photography-adjacent content.
Photomark is only about the craft of still photography. Each of these people has images that burn a hole in my soul that live in my memory long after viewing, regardless of genre or technical difficulty. That is my standard for a great photographer: great stories that make you think and stay with you.
Other Living Masters Worth Studying
Art Wolfe (wildlife, travel)
Alex Pansier (nature, minimalist)
Bob Kolbrener (nature, landscape)
David Alen Harvey (people, daily life)
David duChemin (nature, wildlife, teaching)
Harold Davis (flowers, abstract, teaching)
Jill Greenberg (celebrity, fashion, animals)
Joshua Holko (wildlife, travel)
Ken Duncan (nature, wildlife)
Onne Van der Wal (seaside, sailing)
Steve Parish (nature, wildlife)
Photo Critics and Study Resources:
Imitative Photography – Discover and recreate famous styles
Life Framer – Photo exhibits and contests
Magnum Photos – Legendary photography club/gallery
Photographic Inspiration – Historic photographer profiles
Photo Walk – Photographer interviews, image reviews
Street Snappers – Street photography how-tos
Tatiana Hopper – Case studies on famous photographers/gear
The Art of Photography – The OG online photography teacher/ content creator
The Crit House – Interviews with working photographers
The Darkroom Rumour – Documentaries about photographers
The Photographic Eye – Decoding famous photographers/styles
Unobtainium Photobooks – Glimpses into rare photobooks
Gallery Photographers Worth Studying
Alex Webb/Rebecca Norris Webb (street, documentary)
Ami Vitali (documentary, photojournalism)
Anouk Krantz (portrait, western)
Bill Hao (landscape, megaformat)
Gregory Crewdson (cinematic, surreal)
Harry Benson (celebrity, documentary)
Josef Koudelka (social documentary, landscape)
Lee Friedlander (street, social landscape)
Ming Smith (emotional, portrait)
Olga Karlovac (abstract, street)
Peter Essick (nature, urban, drone)
Phill Penman (street, urban)
Stephen Shore (documentary, daily life)
Steve McCurry (people, travel, photojournalism)
Tom Hido (contemporary, cinematic)
Trent Parke (street, documentary)
Photobook Legends
Amazon’s top 50 best-selling photography books list offers insight into what is currently selling best. Some are legends, but others are teaching and niche books. None of the people below are currently on this list; some are on one of the other lists on this page, but I have curated them for being clear, focused projects and examples of what a modern photo project could be.
Photo Editors
In this era of “self-publishing,” we often overlook the importance of photo editors. Just like with writing good copy, photo editors (used by large media outlets) are honed in with keen eyes for stories and are not as “married” to the image as the one who took it. This can provide invaluable feedback to the photographer and publisher, ensuring only the best, clearest, most impactful image is published. It is a skill that photographers can also develop.
Do you want to tidy up your portfolio, know what publications are looking for, or publish your own stunning photobook? Learn to look at your pictures with an editor’s eye and curate your own work. Here are some great editors in print media to learn from.
Anne Farrar (National Geographic)
Bill Shapiro (Life, Life.com)
Kathy Ryan (The New York Times Magazine)
Karen Mullarkey (Rolling Stone, LIFE, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated)
Greats That Left Examples
With photography in some form having been around for 200 years, many great photographers have come before us, advancing the art and science of photography and storytelling in this medium. These legends still have works in galleries, books, or web resources we can still learn from today, using today’s tools. These are some GOATs that I study and recommend others learn more about.
Ansel Adams (landscape, national parks)
Arnold Newman (portraits)
Bruno Barbey (documentary, photojournalism)
Bryan F. Peterson (people, travel, teaching)
Corky Lee (street, daily life)
David Muench (landscape)
Dorothea Lange (people, portrait)
Garry Winogrand (street)
Glen Rowell (landscape)
Henri Cartier-Bresson (photojournalism)
Jay Maisel (celebrity, people, urban)
Jim Marshall (celebrity portrait)
Julius Shulman (architecture)
Kolb Brothers (landscape, public lands)
Lewis Baltz (conceptual, industrial)
Martin Munkácsi (street, fashion, sports)
Mary Ellen Mark (photojournalism)
Raghu Rai (street, photojournalism)
Robert Capa (photojournalist)
Robert Frank (documentary, daily life)
Sabine Weiss (street, fashion, reportage)
Sebastião Salgado (portraits, environment)
Saul Leiter (abstract street)
W. Eugene Smith (photojournalist)
William Kline (street, experimental)