June 27, 1997
Famous Photographers on the Web
Part 2: Famous Contemporary Photographers
Surprisingly few of the really well known names in contemporary photography are represented on the Web. Certainly, by definition, these are the people who are already very successful, and therefore they have little pressing need to promote their own work in this new medium. Indeed, because it is new they may well distrust it, if they think of it at all. For those who have made their names through published books and exhibits in prestigious galleries, there may be little about the Web that is immediately appealing. Perhaps they are concerned about the unauthorized use that could be made of their works if they were available with a few mouse clicks. Perhaps they don't care for the inability of this medium to reproduce the resolution and tonal scale of their works nearly as well as a fine print. Or perhaps they just don't have the time to oversee the work of putting up a Web site of a quality they wish to associate their name with. For whatever reason, most of the big names aren't here. But some are, and it's interesting to see what use they choose to make of this medium. To begin with, consider David Muench's site. Muench has made his name by publishing several dozen impressive books of color landscape photography, mostly of the American West and the country's National Parks. The site has a list of all the books, and the cover photos for many of them. A photographer as celebrated as Muench makes his living not only off of books, but from selling prints and licensing stock images as well. His site showcases a selection of available prints, while the stock gallery is very extensive. (But then, Muench has more than 500,000 images in his stock collection.) All in all, the site is simply and tastefully designed and makes quite effective use of the Web, A name at least as well known in landscape photography is Galen Rowell, whose site (as well as his business) is known as Mountain Light. Rowell's first love is mountains, but his landscape work only begins there. Geographically it covers the whole world, from the Himalayas to the Sierra. Mountain Light has a gallery (prints available for sale), and merchandise like books, calendars, posters. There's a very large stock image department (300,000 images). And Rowell also does many workshops, information on which is provided. In case you aren't in a spending mood, you can find travel stories here, and over a year's worth of the monthly columns that Rowell writes for Outdoor Photographer magazine. These columns alone justify a visit to Rowell's site - you will understand some of the reasons for his success. Interestingly enough, the site has a casual, informal, straightforward, and not over-designed feel, like a good personal home page. You'll find a very different sort of experience at the Jerry Uelsmann Home Page. Uelsmann has been a teacher of photography at the University of Florida since 1960. Although he has published several books and many of his works are in permanent museum collections, his motivation is artistic, with none of the commercial aspect of Muench and Rowell (which is not to belittle the considerable artistic merit of their work). The difference is apparent in the totally noncommercial slant of this Web site, which was created by an admirer, Greg Anderson, rather than Uelsmann himself. To describe the work in words as photomontage created by "post-visualization" in the darkroom does not begin to convey what it is like. Fortunately, you can see this surrealism, sometimes reminiscent of the painter Magritte, just by visiting the site. Returning somewhat to "real" world where commercial and artistic purposes commingle, consider The Photography of Jeff Dunas. Dunas explains right away that in the commercial world he's an editorial and advertising photographer specializing in portraits, beauty, and reportage. Since this is not a retail market, there's little "sell" at the site (though prints are available). Instead, Dunas proudly presents many examples of the different facets of both his commercial and fine art work for the viewer's enjoyment. The fine art images cover a diversity of themes, such as "Disappering America", "Blues Legends", "Mountain Men", along with street photography and some nude/figure work.
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Philip Greenspun's Photo.Net
Photo.Net is a treasure trove of photographic resources. In addition to hundreds of Greenspun's own images, there are discussion forums, technical articles, and equipment reviews.
Apogee Photo Magazine
In addition to traditional technical articles, Apogee has regular contests, interactive discussion groups, a page for your own links, and databases of schools, tours, and workshops.
New York Institute of Photography
The Institute offers in-depth home-study photography courses. Their Web site promotes the course in the best way, by offering a healthy sample of what they do,including technical articles, photo critiques, and news.
PhotoForum Home Page
This is the home page of the PhotoForum mailing list. There is a massive ollection of information here, including many FAQ lists, photography articles, links to other Web sites, news, travel tips, course information, history of photography, and directions for joining the mailing list.
Kodak Home Page
This is a commercial site, but is anyone surprised it's good, given Kodak's vested interest in promoting the idea of photography itself? The product information is worth seeing, given the company behind it - it gives a lot of clues as to where the whole field of photography is going.
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Photography
