Photography as inspiration

I love photography. I’ve been slowly learning about it more and more in the course of the past few years. It started by me getting interested in a few fashion photographer’s work like Paolo Roversi, Tim Walker and Billy Kidd. They in turn opened my eyes to a whole new world of fashion photography and through that fine art and documentary photography. It is a great source of inspiration for me and not surprisingly I let it seep into the way I think when I do comics.

Especially with black and white photography, when I approach it with inking in mind, I tend to think of it as an instructor on great ways to work with only two values. Obviously, that’s not strictly the case in most photography, but it can give me an idea on simplifying shapes to silhouettes, only indicating detail when there’s almost none drawn and creating a strong mood by hiding and revealing elements, all just with black and white.

Just a few amazing examples:

Eugène Atget – a French photographer who documented the streets of late 19th- and early 20th century Paris.

5 Rue Grenier St. Lazare passe dans le quartier - pour au ancien Hotel Buffon, 1908

George Brassaï – a Hungarian photographer, worked in 20th century Paris.

Peter Lindbergh – a German photographer, in the late 70s he started working for Vogue amongst other publications. He’s also known for his countless portrait photography.