INSPIRED BY: Joy Newell

I've been following Joy Newell since the days of MySpace photography pages. Aka when I was in high school. Aka when she was in middle school. She is now a student at Art Center.
What I liked about her early work was that she showed a sense of familiarity. What I like about her recent work is how she keeps pushing herself. She also doesn't allow her primary medium (film photography) to be her crutch. She experiments with concepts and composition instead of allowing herself to fall into a safe complacency.

INSPIRED BY: Tim Walker

"I know the world that I am painting is not a reality.
It is a whim, an entertainment to provoke something in people,
whether as escapism or relief. I think that is very valid."
--Tim Walker

INSPIRED BY: Mary Ellen Mark

Why do I love Mary Ellen Mark? Because Mary Ellen Mark taught me that photography could be art.

I was a junior in high school with no art classes on my transcript when I joined the photo club and some fellow yearbook members on a trip to Ball State University to hear Mark lecture.
Honestly, I don't remember much of what she said. I remember she said that everyone has a story and that some people's are just harder to find.
Mostly, I just remember thinking, "I can't believe you can do something like this with a camera."
Sure. I had seen photos taken by professionals before. Senior portraits. Some Ansel Adams. Stuff in newspapers.
But I had never seen photographs like this. Photographs that were as eloquent as my favorite novels. Photographs that were more honest than my best friends. Photographs that were as well-done as famous paintings and sculptures.
Photographs that were art.