Hi John,
Thanks for submitting your assignment. I was not familiar with all the photographers mentioned in your piece but I did know most of them.
What I like about what you’ve written here is that you’ve taken various bits from different photographers and learned from them.
Obviously Ansel Adams is a legendary photographer and there is a great deal that can be learned from him. Take a look at this documentary about Ansel Adams if you want to learn more about him.
In fact if you’d like here is page with more information about the masters of photography.
The photograph you mentioned is Moon and Half-Dome (attached) It is unquestionably one of his great works. Here is the story behind the photo.
I’m not familiar with Ken Rockwell’s photography but I do know that he has an absolutely fantastic website. His website is full of great photography resources.
I like your personal story about how Matt Cohen took a photograph that impacted your life. Never underestimate the power of a photograph. It reminded of this story by John Free.
This goal of this assignment is really just to get you thinking about what inspires you in photography. That way you can keep that in your back pocket when you’re on your journey of learning.
One thing is for sure you can learn from the masters, you can learn from hard practice, and you can learn through online resources. Just make sure you’re always learning from one or the other. There is always more to learn…
If you have any questions please just write back here or email office@photographyicon.com