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Hello, .

One of my most appreciated books is a book of photographs by Helen Levitt titled A Way of Seeing.

If you're interested, look her and the book up online; maybe you'll be inspired by them as I am.

It's one of the books on my bookshelf by photographers who've inspired me to do the work I do.  

André Kertész, Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lee Friedlander, Robert Frank, and Stephen Shore are some other photographers who have inspired me.

There's more, but too many to mention.

The ones I've mentioned are well-known in photography. 

They've all cultivated their unique visual voice based on their unique way of seeing.

By the way, visual voice is a term that refers to the distinct visual expression with a camera that each photographer brings to their work.

However, many photographers who've inspired me are not so well known.

These sources of inspiration are varied, ranging from teachers who've taught me and friends who've shared their work with me to students who demonstrate an appreciation for photography and want to learn how to do it better.

We can all improve our skills no matter where we are skillfully. 

What all these people have in common beyond their appreciation of photography is that they've all inspired me to be a better photographer and photography teacher. 

Inspiration is essential, but where we draw our inspiration is just as important as the inspiration. 

For example, all the photographers I named above take a photojournalistic approach to their work.  

And even though they do a similar "type" of work, each has a unique visual expression. 

But it goes beyond seeing because their photographs show us their unique way of thinking about what they're seeing. 

One of my teachers always reminded me that it's one thing to make a picture of what we see; anyone can do that.

However, it's another thing to make a photograph of how we think or feel about what we see. 

It's our unique minds that create amazing photographs. 

We need to understand how to use the camera to create a unique image and rely on our minds more than the machine (camera) we use to make the picture.  

When we're inspired to make pictures, we need to know what we're doing with our cameras and what we want to communicate visually through our unique minds.  

Remember, cultivating our unique visual voice is essential to creating photographs that express our unique way of seeing.

The Introduction to Photography class or a series of Private Lessons will help you cultivate and express your unique way of seeing, like the photographers mentioned.

By studying and practicing photography with me, you'll learn how to be a better photographer. 

More ways to study and practice with me are below.