[gwbrooks]

Weegee and W. Eugene Smith were my primary influences back when I was shooting as a hobbyist and, later, as a professional.

The former taught me the importance of simply being there and being ready to shoot in the moment, lighting and composition be damned. The latter showed me that you could compose art -- real, emotional and meaningful art, not just cookie-cutter photos -- by thoughtfully capturing emotional moments.

[madscphoto]

Wow, imagine having to do street work with a giant Speed Graphic camera like Weegee. Normally I try to be as stealthy as possible when photographing street, but that would be impossible with a camera of that size :-).

Both are very good, and shooting in the early to mid 1900's shot in black and white, which I really like.

What about you? Do you shoot color or b&w? Did you stick to street like Weegee and Smith or have you taken a different route?