If you’ve ever been interviewed as a photographer (I haven’t), one question they like to ask is - Who are your influences? In other words which photographers, past or present have shaped the way you approach your own work? Well I can say which photographers I like but they haven’t necessarily influenced my work. In many cases they exist in a different genre. If you’re into photography as art, and by that I mean if you aren’t necessarily trying to create perfectly toned or coloured images according to the expectations of most people and just using your camera as an artistic tool, then I’m going to recommend an obscure artist from last century that I find immensely inspiring. After seeing his work you might like to reappraise your own approach to photography and maybe take a few more risks.

Another question it raises is - Can you teach ‘vision’? It’s a great example of someone whose art was informed by his previous life - meaning that of a typesetter. A very black and white background. Looking at his work you can be forgiven for thinking you have been living under a rock or at least in a very small box. Here’s a guy who didn’t care who else was doing what. He had his own vision and followed just that. Definitely food for thought.

The Photographer Who Hated Reality | Mario Giacomelli's Black & White

Copy the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeEVhyjW8Ag