Having other people forge a path ahead of us, showing us what’s possible and inspiring us to try to do the same, is something I find greatly valuable. Not just with photography, but with life in general.
So here are three people who have inspired me in recent times, and why.
Please check them out, they might inspire you and your photography too.
Wouter Brandsma – https://wouter28mm.wordpress.com/
I discovered Wouter whilst looking for reviews of Ricoh compact digital cameras, and he was a significant factor in why I bought a GRD III and a GX100. Both are fantastic cameras, and Wouter showed what was possible with them.
Following this, over the next few months I went back to the start and began reading through every post of his blog. Wouter’s words are often as interesting and thought provoking as his photographs, and the conversations that ensue in his comments section are the kind I aspire to have (and do have, thanks to you!) here on 35hunter.
In more recent times (I would say from 2016 onwards) Wouter seems to have used a smartphone almost exclusively, yet his style and the power of his photography hasn’t missed a beat.
This has encouraged me to try finding ways to slim down my photography arsenal even further and consider whether I might make pleasing photographs with nothing more than the phonecamera in my pocket and a couple of apps.
Christos Theofilogiannakos – https://www.flickr.com/photos/deafburglar/
I found Christos on Flickr years ago, then soon after by chance bought a camera from him on eBay without initially realising it was the same person.
When I was in the midst of film camera explorations, it seemed that every time I found a new camera and wondered what it was capable of, Christos had got there first and made a beautiful image with one.
He has a magic touch, and like any great photographer (in my view), his work is easy to distinguish amongst a sea of others, even though he’s used hundreds of different cameras.
Christos is also hugely knowledgable about the technique of photography and a vast breadth of different cameras and lenses, which he shares in the description and comments of his Flickr images. I’ve learned plenty of the years.
I would recommend Christos and his expansive Flickr archive especially if you’re curious about film photography can look like, and which camera to start with.
Anthony Ongaro – https://www.breakthetwitch.com/
Anthony is a much more recent discovery for me, and he’s not known primarily as a photographer.
But his writing at Break The Twitch about making conscious choices about what we do and why we do it, rather than going through life on autopilot, has got me right back on the simplicity track.
Some six or seven years ago I followed many of the leading lights of the simplicity and minimalist movement and absorbed many of their philosophies and practical techniques into my own life.
Antony for me is one of the most straightforward and direct. His ideas like “lifestyle experiments” seem to tap into what I’ve already been doing. They just help me hone and sharpen them a little further.
This extends to many parts of life, and certainly my photography where I continue to streamline and simplify, photograph with purpose, and get to the essence of what really matters.
I hope you gain something from one or all of the inspiring individuals. Please let us know in the comments below, and feel free to share your own recent inspirations.
Thanks for looking. Please share this post with others you feel will enjoy it too. If you’re interested, this is what my photography life looks like right now.
35hunter 
Thank you Dan. Today I read a blog post by Seth Godin that stroke a chord with me. He said: “I know you’d like to reach more people, and most people don’t read.
But if you’re going to write, the only choice you have is to reach people who will choose to engage with you. Do it properly, and there’s a chance that those voluntarily literate people will tell their friends and colleagues.”
And this is exactly it. I really like your writing, and your post motivates and inspires me too to keep photographing, writing, and posting.
Wouter, thanks, you are most welcome, and I’m glad I’ve returned some of the motivation and inspiration. Like many of your readers I believe, I discovered you via a Ricoh camera view, then stayed for the excellent photographs, thoughtful writing and thriving conversation in the comments. All three of these elements have influenced me strongly, and how I’ve been building 35hunter.
On a selfish note, great to see you getting back into to a rhythm of regular posting on your blog again.
Although not a “recent” inspiration, my current photographic way of thinking is still strongly influenced by photojournalist Shawn Rocco. In 2009, I discovered his mobile photography, shot with a very simple (1.3 megapixels!) Motorola E815 camera phone. It inspired me to take pictures with my basic LG KC550 (not even a smartphone, only two settings – color and black and white – and still one of the best cameras I ever had). It sparked my strong love for mobile photography.
The NY Times wrote a story about Rocco in 2009 ( https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/shoptalk-4/ ), and the Motorola photos can still be found on his website ( https://shawnrocco.com/Cellular-Obscura/1 ).
Robert, thank you for the info and links, just started browsing the Cellular Obscura gallery and find them very interesting so far.
I love stripping stuff down to the basics. Even my current (but relatively old for digital) cameras seem too sophisticated sometimes. Just last week I remembered I had my old Sony 5MP phone from about 2011 so dug that out (cracked screen and all!) for a few photos. It was surprisingly capable still (this was my only camera for a while) and you’d struggle to tell much difference between the pictures made with it and any other camera I have.
I’m planning to do a post featuring some of those photos, just proving again that we don’t need 20MP+ monsters…
Dan, I have been taking pictures for more than 40 years now; and honestly, my favorite photos of all those years have been shot with Holgas or the above mentioned LG camera phone. So the two most simple and basic cameras that I have used. There is probably a lesson in this somewhere.
Looking forward to your Sony 5mp post.
Robert, I think there’s a lesson in there for all of us. I do sometimes wonder if people get bored of me keep banging on about simplifying and using fewer cameras, but there is such a refreshing joy in, especially coming from previously having far more cameras – and far more complex ones.
I did check them out, thanks for writing about other artists.
You’re welcome, I think when we have these kind of platforms it’s a great opportunity to share those people who are influencing and inspiring us most.