1. I Love Photography Alice Russell

2. Arthur Tress The Actor, 1973 Part of the reason I love photography is because of Tress and his amazing, magical photos (I finally got a collection of his work this year for Christmas). I am continually inspired by the power his photography has to pull the viewer to a new and wonderful place. His work is diverse, and, honestly, not all of it is this amazing, but his approach to the world is.

3. Richard Avedon Russell Laird, Tammy Baker, seventeen year olds Sweetwater, Texas, 3/10/79 This photo is my favorite piece in Avedon’s collection “In the American West.” In a single, honest picture taken while travelling across the nation, Avedon captured the lives of two young people and the depth and nuances of their relationship. I feel like I know who they are and where they’re headed, and that’s pretty amazing.

4. Duane Michals Boogeyman “The magic is seeing people in new ways.” I like Duane Michals for his photography – he does a lot of amazing series work like this piece – but I’m really inspired by who he is and what he says. A lot of his photos are accompanied by handwritten comments and ideas.

5. Boogie When I first saw Boogie’s work from this drug series, I was overwhelmed by a sense of power in his photographs. His pieces become more than snapshots of people: they tell desperate stories of real lives with incredible composition. This is photography.

6. James Nachtwey A survivor from a Hutu death camp, 1994 Nachtwey is a world renowned war photographer whose work is incredible. Watching a documentary about him last year, I realized how difficult, and amazingly inspiring, it is to devote your life to capturing the horrors of the fighting world.