 which are the most influential photographs of all time, the images that have shaped and inspired photographers both past and present to create photography with the power to move us on a deep emotional level. Perhaps it might be one of Henry Cartier-Preson's photographs that managed to capture those moments that were hidden in plain sight. Or was it an Ansel Adams landscape which paints the world in glorious tones of black, white and everything in between? While these and other photographers of similar stature are indeed inspiring, they didn't create the most influential photographs of all time. I wanted to find out what were the photographs that helped shape them, that have moved them to create those images. And this is what you will discover today, an unlikely source of influential photographs and the secret to why some photography reaches out and grabs us in a way we can't actually explain. How's it, how's it? No doubt you have hoped to improve your photography by looking at the images of photographers who are considered to be influential. One of those photographers, you know, who might feature on those listicles that crop up occasionally, the 10 most important photographers of all time. You know the sort of thing. It's a worthy pastime to look at and enjoy the work of photographers. My bookshelves are croning under the weight of all the monographs that I have, which are testament to that. However, if we really want to discover what is at the heart of great photography and how we can capture some of that magic for ourselves, we need to find that unique attribute that all great photography shares. Pongtum. Oh, bless me. That's when you walk around an art gallery and out of the multitude of pictures on display, one jumps out of you and holds your attention, though you don't really know why. That is Pongtum at work. That's the secret source which creates great photography, and it can be found in abundance in the most unlikely places. The trick is to be able to actually recognize it and have it work for you in your own images. When you look at the work of a famous photographer for inspiration, the problem is that there are so many things that you are reacting to, the photographer themselves, the history and the background of the scene being photographed, and what other people are actually telling you about the image and why that image is so influential. It's extremely hard to strip away these layers which have built up like a varnish over time to obscure the subtle details of the photograph that are holding your gaze. Your mind is reacting to those details but your untrained eye can't really see them. What we need is some way to strip away all that varnish so we can reveal what is at the heart of the photo, to almost be able to see the images as a child would see them for the very first time. Luckily I had a child to hand. A while back I was sitting with my little boy, we were looking at some photographs. Now as you probably are well known, three-year-olds aren't, they're not great at keeping their attention, are they? So as we were flicking from photo to photo I was surprised that he was sitting there, he was engaged, he was looking, he was actually looking at the images in front of him. What was it that he was reacting to? It certainly wasn't the background story of the subject because for him he didn't know anything about it, he doesn't know anything about composition or lighting ratios. Now as I saw from the way with these things I didn't really think much more about it until I came across a monograph called mid-century memories and that triggered a light bulb moment. Mid-century memories is a wonderful collection of photographs that has given us the ability to see photography much like a child does, to explore what it is that holds our attention, to learn to see and to harness punctum. As I was flicking through the pages it struck me that I'd been looking in all the wrong places on which to draw influence from for my own photography, why it was lacking in that personal connection. The surprising thing was what had been holding my lad's attention wasn't a collection of Richard Avalon prints, but a humble collection of family snapshots. That former photography that has been looked down snootily since Kodak first told us that all he needed to do was to press a button and that they would simply do the rest for us. Once photography had gained a foothold and Kodak had made image creation available to the masses it's most likely that all of us were initially exposed to the alchemy of photography in a similar fashion. So right now you might be thinking of your own family photographs I know I certainly am and for the most part you'll know the people or the events in those images so they are still influencing the way that you are interpreting that photograph so you're not looking at the photograph itself you're looking at at Uncle Bob. When we take away that personal connection then those images really they cease to become treasured items and they are often consigned to the shelves of a goodwill and that's where a great number of the images in this monograph mid-century memories have come from. They are moments that once were deemed worthy worthy of a slide of Kodakro and now they were been simply tossed away. These are the images that form the basis of this monograph photographs are people whose names have been lost to history that were taken by anonymous photographers in completely unspecified places. It is one of my favorite monographs of the year not only because the images make me smile a lot which is quite rare in proper photography but they also invite me to think more about the image itself and the story they draw me in. Once again it's this punctum at work because the reasons behind their creation and the people in them have been lost to history it's this anonymization of the photographs that is opening up their true power to us. When the photo is free of any sort of personal identity both from the subject matter and the photographer we don't see Uncle Frank here asleep on the couch after one Tom Collins too many. What we are starting to see is an insight into that process that all great photographers harness to create images that are able of holding our attention across the decades despite the total commitment to amateurism in the photographs in this book a great number of these photographs have within them a soul a soul that is sorely lacking in a lot of photography that is crafted for a specific purpose you know art photography. The first step in understanding how the images can do this is to ask yourself no matter what photograph you're looking at is is why why did the person choose to photograph that moment and not another one. Sure some are pretty obvious universal themes a new baby an anniversary and also what is it with with parents and I include myself in this that makes us take pictures of our kids with their Christmas presents. The ambiguity in the photographs gives them a deeper meaning for me than images by off times recognized photographers I am a big fan of Walker Evans but quite often a Walker Evans photograph is crafted specifically just to convey a a single concept one single idea very few things within that image are left to chance or interpretation. This snapshot taken by Mrs X of some kids in the back of a foxy bus wasn't meant to be anything more than just that it's a snapshot of some kids most likely on holiday and yet it kick starts my imagination in a way that say Walker Evans doesn't. In this case it's fairly obvious why it kick starts my imagination because I have a strong personal connection to the image my first car was a Beetle so when I see this it reminds me of the taste of petrol from a clogged fuel filter but also the thrill of being truly independent for the first time sometimes though that the way that a photograph holds their attention is not quite as obvious in the whole monograph the photograph that holds my attention the most is this one it is safe to say that it's a pretty haphazard photograph of some kids playing out on the street during a summer cloud burst the photograph itself is not great it wouldn't win any awards there's no real focus there's no actual composition it's just three kids playing in a flood suburban street as a car drives past whoever took this photograph and from the way that the kids haven't been told to look at the camera going to hazard a guess that it was another kid they he was simply reacting to the scene in front of him in a sense there was a decisive moment that Henry Cartier-Bresson way of seeing things that the photographer discovered almost by accident I would genuinely have a print of this on my wall there isn't one single thing that moves me that I can put my finger on I don't know what it is exactly that's holding my gaze but I feel deeply connected to the image it's the vibe of it the person who took this photograph saw something in that scene that now probably you know some 50 or so years later is also resonating with me it takes my mind somewhere it intrigues me in a way that this famous photograph by Robert Frank just simply doesn't this picture of people on a bus doesn't connect with me or draw me in in any way it feels almost cold feels almost impartial that's a terribly fashionable thing to say but sometimes I just want to jump into a photograph I want to swim around in it I want to explore its uncharted waters without a map without any sort of guidance and you very rarely get to do that with well-known photographs punctum isn't a thing that you can consciously put into a photograph most likely because it is an act on behalf of the viewer that image of the street in the rain may have had all the impact of a damp flannel on you but like me it may have resonated with you so as a photographer all you can do is to start to help grease the wheels of the viewer's imaginations it is actually quite simple to do and it starts with you being true to yourself this quietly confident young man hasn't been asked to smile or say cheese but to simply be himself parents are often very good at recognizing this moment when they decide not to force their children to the camera every time they pick it up an artist like V Spears also uses those moments and she recognizes them and then channels them into her own photography so when you go seeking for it just be careful because if you try to grab onto it too quickly or too tightly then it's just going to slip through your fingers many of the photographs in this book have an air of someone like mud and par about them not because the original photographer was trying to be a world famous documentary photographer but because Martin Parr in his professional photography has managed to listen to develop and nurture that voice inside him that also spoke to that kid in the rain the voice that says to anyone who is willing to listen this is a moment photograph it when people talk about photographs they've had the most impact on them or who have influenced their photography it's extremely rare that photographs like these snapshots get mentioned it's strange because these images as far as I'm concerned have done more to influence photographers than any of the usual suspects the photographs here weren't created to be anything more than a record of a moment and a moment that simply pleased the photographer they are examples of listening to one's instincts in its most basic form great photographers are the ones who when they've been exposed to this idea use it as a foundation on which to build their own photography the holy grail for me would be to make the viewer feel like they are part of the moment Larry Burroughs spent days with combat units in Vietnam before photographing them and when we look at his images we feel that personal connection he took the time to to let that subtle voice whisper its siren song to him these random family photographs are so extremely influential because you can imagine the young Richard Aberdyn or Annie Leibovitz sitting with their parents being exposed to these random haphazard off times bizarre moments and it triggering something in their minds discovering that everything and nothing can be a photograph that sure you can polish and hone the technical skills in producing images but first and foremost you need to be willing to give yourself up to the process and just let your instincts run away with you without these photographs and the millions more that have been created over time these humble family snapshots evidently but and all the other photographers who enrich our world with their photographs would never have been likely to have tapped into that little voice in their heads and when they have listened to that prompt that this that this is the moment to be photographed they have passed some of their own personal connection into the images and they make it easier for us to read our own stories from their photographs forget for a moment about creating technically perfect photography or pushing compositional boundaries just pick up your camera and start listening to that voice again this is a moment photograph it when you do you will join those millions of anonymous photographers who have inspired and continue to inspire generations of bondage image makers with photographs that embody that line from an old Kodak commercial that line that says keep me share me and i will live forever