During the year, I became ever more involved in the local photography scene, and helped the MIPP, one of the local photography organisations, to get through a pretty tough year after some radical changes. It was hard work but greatly inspiring. I can now start giving back some of what I have received, helping those who love photography immerse themselves into the art.

Throughout this period I was working on a new set of architecture images which eventually were presented for the Associate qualification. I was greatly encouraged by the judges’ comments which I will treasure for a long time to come. This was a goal I needed to achieve, and it helped me gain more confidence in my abilities.

I am now ready to move to the next step – a step further into the direction of art. It is important for the artistic community to understand that photography is not about creating technically perfect images. Photography is just another medium for the expression of art. It is a very particular medium in itself. It is a tool which allows us to manipulate reality, and show only what we want to show, the way we want to show it. No wonder it was, and still is, a favourite medium for the surrealists. When looking at a photograph, viewers cannot help but associating what they see with what they know, and that is a very strong manipulative tool in the hands of the artist. It takes time to master this technique of distorting reality, but when we manage, the whole world flips upside down. It becomes a dream – rooted in reality, but free of reality’s constraints. I look forward with excitement to the moment I will manage to master that. This is the path I will be taking throughout the coming years.

This coming year, I also plan to participate in some exhibitions. It is time to expose myself once again to the world. I will be doing this through a few collaborative exhibitions – at least that is the plan. I will not reveal details as yet, since they are still on the drawing board, however I can say that there will be some experimentation involved.

The coming year promises to be a very exciting one ahead. I plan to make it so. I have been encouraged greatly throughout the past years, and it is thanks to this continuous encouragement and support that I am able to keep ploughing through. So I keep ploughing through – one day there will be a harvest to collect.

Finally, I wish you all a successful year ahead, full of joy, success and unrestrained creativity.

Moving just a few positions down the list, we find possibly one of the most famous female American photographers, who made her mark photographing people at the edge of society. Diane Arbus’s popularity may have been boosted through the recent cinematic interpretation by Nicole Kidman of the eccentric photographer, however, one still needs to recognise that she has certainly given a valid contribution to the world the documentation of an aspect of society which was at the time an unexplored taboo.

Cindy Sherman, at 50th place, has certainly got a unique style of photography. Since she was young, she has turned the camera onto herself, making her by far the main theme of her work. However, she definitely is not into self portraits. Her work is an elaborately made up scene, with one of her characters usually being the subject of the image. To create these, she uses high tech tools such as make-up, prosthetics, and digital scenography.  “Sherman uses herself as a vehicle for commentary on a variety of issues of the modern world: the role of the woman, the role of the artist and many more” (ref).

After a considerable gap, we find one of America’s “witnesses of change”. Alfred Stieglitz was there when America changed – when New York transformed itself into an economic giant booming with skyscrapers. His documentation of this change as it was happening is a priceless treasure to humanity. His fellow photographer, Edward Steichen described his work as “like none ever made by any other photographer.” His work also included a number of portraits, most famous are the ones of Georgia O’Keeffe, who was both his wife and a great artist in her own right – in fact she can be found in this same list at the 40th position. Stieglitz was one of the most passionate photographers of the beginning of the century, and he is recognised not only for his photography, but also for the extensive work he has done towards bringing photography to the forefront of the artistic community.

At position 114, we find the most expensive photographer of the moment – Andreas Gursky. He is best known for his enormous prints, sometimes in the form of collages and usually with a very wide point of view. He mainly treats cityscapes and landscapes, although his work is certainly very distinguishing from the work we are accustomed to in these fields. His use of repetitive patterns, combined with the sheer size of his prints, tend to create a sense of dwarfing in the viewer, and thus the complimentary sense of awe towards the images themselves. Andreas Gursky holds the record for the highest selling single print at auction – his print 99 cent II sold for $3,346,456, in February 2007 at a Sotheby’s Auction!

One might be surprised to see a photojournalist in a list of well known artists. However, coming to think of it, photojournalism is in itself a form of art, when the photojournalist treats it as such – and Weegee certainly did. It is the ability to make a statement and portray reality with impact that distinguishes the artist from the photjournalist who simply conveys what everyone else sees. It is also one of the most difficult and challenging of all photographic fields, so by all means, this is art. And Weegee was damn good at it. His work did not only centre around photojournalism. He created a series of portraits using lens distortions, which he called caricatures. “While Weegee’s intent was simply to photograph ‘the soul of the city I knew and loved,’ his unflinching eye set the trend for young, edgy photographers in the 1960s, most notably Diane Arbus who was a great admirer.” (ref)

Finally, we arrive to one of photography’s greatest contributors in terms of written technical knowledge. Ansel Adams remains an inspiration to this day, although in the digital world, things have changed a little. He was also an avid conservationist and a protector of nature – his greatest passion and the subject of the majority of his work. His prints are a total joy to view, and are still very difficultly rivaled by today’s photographers, even though things are arguably much easier with today’s technology. He was a master of the technique, and a pioneer who laid the ground for most of us who followed.

But what is it that makes these photographers stand out amongst the crowd? What is it that makes them artists? These are questions which have got many answers (or none at all). Every one of us will have a personal opinion and definition of art. I certainly subscribe to the philosophy that ”not all artists are artists”, although a comprehensive description of art is somehow difficult to come by, possibly due to its very subjective nature. The best description I have come across is very simple, yet powerful and meaningful. “Art has something to say,” puts all these names, together with the others in the list, into a new perspective. One can easily understand that these artists had something new to offer to the world, whether it be a political statement, the exploration of a new technique, or a recurring emotion. They are all artists who in some way or another left their mark in the world and the artistic community. They all inspired successive generations of artists, and some of them inspired also their contemporaries.

Many people look at photography as a craft – something to use for mainly commercial purposes. However, it is clear that these people have used photography as their chosen means to express their art. Cindy Sherman, for example, started studying painting, but turned to photography because she found it a better and more effective medium to convey what she wanted to express. Turning full circle, however, we end up back at the photographer – it is the photographer who needs to consider him or herself an artist before anyone else will. As photographers, we must decide what we have to say, and then use photography to say it. This is obviously easier said than done. I, for one, struggle often to find a direction, and I am starting to think that I never will really stop looking for one. Then again, that is how artists evolve, isn’t it? All I know is that I need to keep looking. Although it can sometimes feel like an impossible task, it helps to read about these great artists, and how difficult their struggle often was. It puts things into perspective.

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