A recent article I read somewhere got me thinking about who the photographers are that I admire, and why? What makes their photography enjoyable to me? What draws me in to their images on a regular basis? What is it about their images that causes me want to pick up my camera and shoot?
Top of my list, without a doubt has to be Joe McNally. Simply put, this guys images tell a story, and to me that is what photography is all about – telling a story. Taking an emotion or an event and capturing it in one slice of time. Conveying a feeling. Nobody does it like McNally does. I can look at his images, read his blog articles, and study his books all day long, over and over. Click on the link, check out his work, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed.
I first fell in love with Joe McNally’s photography back in July of 1990. In May of that year, puppeteer Jim Henson passed away, and the July issue of Life Magazine ran Joe’s photo of Kermit the Frog on the cover. That photo touched me in a way that very few photos ever had before, or have since. Never did I imagine that a photograph could convey such a powerful feeling. I still cannot look at that photo without a tear welling up in my eye. Kermit’s pain at the loss of his maker is as visible a part of that image as the directors chair itself.
Do I do the type of photography that Joe does? Nope. Do I WANT to do the type of photography that Joe does? Nope. Well at this point you must be wondering how he inspires me, and it is really simple. I see his images and I feel, and THAT is what I want to do. I want my images to invoke an emotion in my viewers, I want them to look at my image and have the same feeling that I had when I snapped the shutter. That is how Joe inspires me.
So fellow PSRI members, tell me – who inspires you, and why?
Mike Dooley
President, PSRI
