In all creative environments there are the few who have revolutionised and influenced the way in which the many perceive and approach their chosen art form. The art world has them, as does the music world. The field of photography is no different. Most practitioners of the photographic genre can rattle off at least a dozen or so famous names without breaking a sweat. However, for the purposes of this discussion I intend to look at not just a single photographer, rather a selection of photographers within a certain area. I have chosen to do this because when faced with the question "who inspires your creativity", I could not think of anyone who's imagery was evident in my own. It would be more accurate to say that there is a certain photographic style within my imagery. I"m not a bookish person. I"m the first to admit that my knowledge of past and present professional photographic imagery is somewhat limited. My own photography has evolved through simply taking pictures of what I think are interesting subjects. I feel there is an overwhelming opinion that in order to produce unique and original imagery in the future one must be mindful of what has already been achieved. This opinion is, to some extent, accurate. However, this eagerness to intricately research photographic history has repercussions. When educated in a vast array of photographic imagery, ones own enthusiasm for the picture taking experience diminishes through complacency. That is to say that when one is aware of what imagery exists, it is all too easy to say, "I won't take a picture of that because I've seen it elsewhere before". For this reason I have chosen to discuss the realm of documentary-style people photography. It is a subject that is the most common in my photographic archive, as I feel it is the most interesting, ever-changing and rewarding subject. In order to evaluate my own imagery, I have chosen to compare it to the work of four professional photographers.
