Photographers that Inspire Me

Creatives inspire creativity. My very first creative medium was music. I started playing saxophone when I was ten years old, and by the time I was a senior in high school, I had come a long way. I was first-chair in our high school concert band, and even made first-chair All-European concert band. I was also really into jazz, incredibly inspired by David Sanborn. Jazz and performing on saxophone was a major part of my life for many years. Unfortunately, one of the last times I played live was as a young adult, over thirteen years ago at a little jazz club, sitting in with a Bossa Nova ensemble. I used the iPhone 3G to record a selfie of a solo I took - mistakes and all!

As I got older, I started playing guitar much more. It was just way more communal. Hard to be communal with a saxophone. I still get the saxophone out occasionally, but I fear my best days are far behind me. And if I’m honest, music has diminished quite severely in my life over the last three years or so. Photography has become a much bigger part of my life. Much more on this in a future blog, but to sum it up - photography has been better for me during this season. It includes my family in ways music can not.

In the same way David Sanborn greatly influenced me as a jazz musician, I look to various photographers for inspiration. I’m going to jump into the list of those who inspire me, in no particular order. If you follow the links, you may even see their influence on my work - from their compositions to their edits.

And before I go further, let me clarify being inspired vs. being a copycat. Creative work can (and should) be as unique as the timbre and tone of your voice. Each voice is different, quite literally and symbolically. So is the art of a creative.

Jack Harding

I found Jack early on, and loved his colors. I love the saturated oranges and desaturated blues. His style of shooting and his editing has been a major influence on me. Even better, when I’ve ever chatted him up with questions on Instagram, he’s always been really responsive and helpful. He’s also one of the reasons I switched from Canon to Sony in 2019. Now he and others are making me want a Leica. But no… no, Dave. You. Do. Not. Need. A. Leica.

Berty Mandagie

I found Berty’s work because I was researching locations in the PNW several years ago and stumbled upon the blog that he and his wife Emily run. Their blog is 100% goals. It’s amazing, from the content to the info, and especially the photography. I hit up Berty’s photography website often just to get inspired. Even better, I met them earlier this year at a conference and they’re two of the nicest and coolest people I’ve ever met. I can’t tell when he shoots film and when he shoots digital, and if that doesn’t speak to his skills both as a photographer and editor, I don’t know what does.

Garrett King (aka, Shortstache)

He’s probably one of the most well-known photographers of our time, and has inspired thousands with this cinematic tones and unique and creative compositions. In 2019, Amanda & I attended Socality Camp in Banff, and Garrett was there for the week leading sessions and shooting with everyone. While his photography is definitely awesome, what impressed me the most about him was actually the first night at Socality. When it was dinner time, it was lightly raining as we all stood in line outside the dining hall. Garrett held the door for every single person to go through, and he came in and ate last. Character > creativity always, and he rolls with a double dose.

Forrest Mankins

Forrest was one of the first photographers to inspire me. His film work and film-like edits were exactly what resonated with me. As I was first getting serious about learning how to edit, I bought one of his Lightroom preset packs. I have actually never used it in any of my photos, but I studied it. I studied every bend in the curve and every number in the sliders. I was more interested in the how than using the product itself. Further confession: I actually buy all of his preset packs when he comes out with new ones, and do the same thing. His Vintage and Film packs helped me dial in my own look. Like the other guys, he’s super cool and responsive, and has always responded to questions or comments.

Ben Sasso

Ben’s work is so interesting. I’m not really certain how to put his work into words. It’s not epic travels or landscapes, but it kind of is. It’s not overly commercial, but it kind of is. His tones are beautiful. The way he poses is breathtaking. Every photo in his feed looks like gallery art. I was able to chat with him on a video call earlier this year and he walked me through some editing and shooting techniques he uses, and it was really cool hearing his process. Super nice guy, and one of the most interesting photographers I follow. I also grabbed his Bright preset pack a while ago to study and see how he edits. Again, I find the education of studying other people’s presets to be one of the best things I’ve done to learn and grow.

Honestly, I really struggled to just choose five. I really wanted to be honest about who inspires me, and this is a very honest (yet incomplete) list. There’s Charley Savely, Jeff Brenner, Victoria Stever, Brent Whaley, Scott Bakken, Christian Watson, Benjamin Hardman, JK Winders, and of course my partner-in-crime, Jenn Buxton. You can check out any name on this list and see how they’ve inspired me.

Who inspires you? Drop a comment and tell me!