Inspiration in Photography

写真のインスピレーション

Once, when I was a beginning photographer, I came across the works by one globally known photographer David Hamilton, whose works were in those years exhibited in the biggest art galleries in Europe and the USA, and whose books were published in millions of copies.

His photos stand out for a soft focus, light graininess, and the spirit of Neo-Romanticism of the hippie generation. Hamilton's typical model is a very young lady or a teenage girl with long loose hair, almost no makeup, and, to be straightforward, often with almost no clothes. Soft draperies of long dresses, light sandals, refined silhouettes, natural light – all this creates amazingly harmonious images, which turn into the anthem to “the age of innocence” – an ephemeral period of awakening sensuality.

Even though Helmut Newton was criticized for being a "cold-flaming" photographer, his pictures were nevertheless much admired. He surpassed all others as the world's most renowned and influential fashion photographer. The term "Helmut Newton lady" really existed. He never abandoned his unwavering fashion philosophy. According to the works of the photographer, it is possible to notice that he liked tall and healthy girls, well-fed figures, and large backs. He filmed naked girls in high heels, believing that heels emphasize the muscles of the thighs and change the posture and shape of the body.

But even the world's photographers, like David Hamilton or Helmut Newton, have both solid works and, frankly, weak ones. That's why I know and admire many of the photographers' compositions. With some of them, I even tried to copy something when I was just starting out. The photographer's career may go up and down, but no matter what happens, he or she will always establish his or her own unique sense of style, prominence, and significance.