William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877)
“is regarded as the father of photogram. He created many of these images by the placement of leaves and pieces of objects like lace on photo-sensitive paper and later exposing them to the sun.”
Illuminated Negatives
Articles of Glass [on three shelves], June 1844Â 
The Open Door, [wide shadow], April 1844
He created first experiments of Lace with paper negative contact. There was issues with this process so he made the Lace wet to increase Lace’s density to form a creative solution to his failed attempts. During his experiments he discovered that using fine line objects rather than large objects created a more refined image.
Vivian Maier (1926-2009)
Vivian Maier took photographs throughout her life which John Maloof later went on to share with the world after buying her negatives at auction. This brings questions on the moral issue if she wanted her pictures to be exposed without her permission. She was described as the most remarkable photographer of the 20th century.
Yulia Artemyeva (1983-present)
Yulia Artemyeva created a series of works that focussed on the similarities between ballet dancers and flowers. Creating these comparisons from multiple samples to get the most accurate outcomes which are widely praised. She was inspired to create the project from her years, dancing as a child.
‘In creating the work, Artemyeva hopes that people will learn to appreciate the beauty that surrounds them and to stimulate them to look deeper during their daily lives for this beauty.’
My Modern Met Article
Richard Billiamham (1970-present)
Richard Billiamham documented his home life through photography. He took photos of his family members, showing reality, not shying away from his dad’s alcoholism. These photographs became popular for this reason and a film was even created from them called Ray and Liz.
“It’s not my intention to shock, to offend, sensationalise, be political or whatever; only to make work that is as spiritually meaningful as I can make it-whatever the medium.”
– RICHARD BILLINGHAM
Nan Goldin (1953-present)
This artist completed a series of work which focused upon identity. Within this she looked into ‘masks’ in which people physically put on themselves e.g. makeup, reflecting people’s need to hide behind a facade.
Personally, I like this artists work as I admire her ability to create imagery in difficult personal life circumstances.
Corinne Vionnet (1969-present)
“Conducting keyword searches of famous monuments in photo sharing web sites, Swiss /French artist Corinne Vionnet culled thousands of tourists’ snapshots for her series Photo Opportunities. Weaving together numerous photographic perspectives and experiences, the artist builds her own impressionistic interpretations”
Artist Website
This artist merges hundreds of images from tourists images and creates these amazing digitally manipulated versions. Personally, I really like the overall aesthetics of the images and the creativity to use other people’s photos and create an original version.
David Goldblatt (1930-2018)
David Goldblatt started his practise at the time of South Africa’s racially segregated society in 1948. He is generally viewed as an outsider to these issues as he was a white African man, meaning he was able to reflect the lifestyles of black individuals who were being penalised for their race at the time.
Personally, I like this artist’s work as the themes featured within the images are subtle but meaningful when contextualised as well as just striking in general.
References: http://www.illuminatednegatives.com/photogramhistory.html https://www.historyextra.com/period/in-pictures-the-photographs-of-william-henry-fox-talbot/ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/289186 http://www.vivianmaier.com https://mymodernmet.com/ballet-flower-photos-yulia-artemyeva/ https://loveexpands.com/quotes/richard-billingham-724919/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/gallery/billingham.shtml http://www.corinnevionnet.com/photoopportunities.html http://www.artnet.com/artists/nan-goldin/ https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/display/artist-and-society/david-goldblatt https://www.artsy.net/artist/david-goldblatt