Ansel Adams - known for his black and white landscape photography, his work popularized the idea of the "zone system" for controlling exposure and contrast in photography.
Dorothea Lange - famous for her Depression-era documentary photography, including the iconic image "Migrant Mother."
Henri Cartier-Bresson - considered the father of modern photojournalism and known for his candid street photography and photo essays.
Alfred Stieglitz - a pioneer of modern photography, Stieglitz was instrumental in promoting photography as a fine art and established the Photo-Secession movement.
Robert Capa - a photojournalist who covered many conflicts, including the Spanish Civil War and World War II, his work is known for its rawness and realism.
Edward Weston - known for his striking black and white portraits and nudes, Weston was one of the leading proponents of modernist photography.
Diane Arbus - known for her unconventional portraits of marginalized people, her work often challenged societal norms and conventions.
Cindy Sherman - famous for her staged self-portraits that explore the intersection of identity and representation, her work is often provocative and subversive.
Man Ray - a leading figure in the Dada and Surrealist movements, Man Ray's work spans multiple genres including portrait, fashion, and experimental photography.
Walker Evans - a documentary photographer known for his photographs of the American South during the Great Depression.
Irving Penn - a fashion and portrait photographer whose work is known for its elegance and simplicity.
Richard Avedon - another influential fashion and portrait photographer, Avedon's work often pushed boundaries and challenged conventions.
Berenice Abbott - a photographer who documented the changing urban landscape of New York City, her work is notable for its technical excellence and attention to detail.
Brassai - a Hungarian photographer who captured the gritty, nocturnal life of Paris in the 1930s.
William Eggleston - a pioneer of color photography, Eggleston's work explores the beauty in the everyday and mundane.
Nan Goldin - known for her intimate portraits of the queer and trans communities, Goldin's work is raw, honest, and often controversial.
Garry Winogrand - a street photographer known for his ability to capture the chaos and energy of everyday life.
Sally Mann - a photographer whose work explores themes of family, memory, and mortality through hauntingly beautiful images of the American South.
Cindy Sherman - famous for her staged self-portraits that explore the intersection of identity and representation, her work is often provocative and subversive.
Andreas Gursky - known for his large-scale photographs that capture the immensity and complexity of contemporary society, Gursky's work is both awe-inspiring and thought-provoking.
Each of these photographers has made significant contributions to the field of photography, and their work has had a lasting impact on the medium. While their styles and subjects vary widely, they all share a commitment to pushing the boundaries of what photography can do, and exploring new ways of seeing and understanding the world around us.