Studied artists:

Bernd and Hilla Becher:
Their easily identifiable presentation style of ‘typology’ makes their collections very attractive. Looking further into their individual images, there is strong use of line and form, which tie the typologies together.
Working in Black and White produced images with fine detail. Their style of ‘frontal symmetry’ make the overall shapes of the architecture almost simple but further examination shows so much detail which makes their collections so interesting to view.
Their photography was obviously used as to record the vanishing industrial architecture, but these record images when put together in their collections become fascinating, creative works of art.
http://www.designboom.com/history/becher.html

Larry Watts
His Black and White photography is all film based, but we can see how these images could have been made using digital enhancement. His high contrast images appeal to me with his use of line and shape. Composition is excellent and the variations achieved which I suspect are from the use of filters, could be equally attained using channel mixer.
http://www.visionlightgallery.com/gallery/category.cfm?SID=1&Category_ID=473

Ansel Adams
His photographs were predominantly high contrast images which showed off the light.
He appreciated the changing nature of light and its effects on the landscape and developed a zoning system for the different qualities of light for use in composing an image. In this system, he took light measurements of the significant areas in a scene – these were correlated with exposure and developing criteria to determine the whole range of tones which would be seen in the final print, taking the guesswork out of the photography.
http://www.anseladams.com/ - the Ansel Adams Gallery.

Hiroshi Sugimoto
I enjoyed viewing his site and reading his philosophies and experiments with cameras. I’m not sure I fully agree with some of his propositions – particularly his sense of ‘calming security’ which he associates with the sea. I associate the sea with many different faces and feelings from the calm professed by Sugimoto to total destruction in stormy conditions. I appreciate what he has produced as calm images, using the available light and often long exposures. These obviously translate into digital photography where the techniques (apart from the developing / printing methods) are relevant.
http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/

Robert Mapplethorpe
The way he used lighting in his images produced images which become real works of art. Some seem to be too dark at first viewing, but these grow on one and the viewer looks further into the detail and form of the subjects. I particularly like many of his flower images which are portrayed in often very subdued lighting and processed to keep the dark.
http://www.mapplethorpe.org/portfolios/

Fay Godwin
Here’s another example of well-produced, well composed images. Her landscapes show that she has a real feeling for the areas – she insisted on taking time to get to know an area before taking photographs and sometimes spent days waiting for the right conditions to occur. Again, it’s something we can learn in our search for the best images.
http://www.djclark.com/godwin/index.htm

John Davies
I was unable to browse his book ‘A green and pleasant land’ other than by a video at http://photobookstore.co.uk/photobook-a-green-and-pleasant-land.html but having seen this, the majority of images in the book can be seen in the image gallery of his website:
http://www.johndavies.uk.com/ His work as a documentary photographer is outstanding. He faithfully records the changing face of industrialised areas, often with contrasts in architecture and social standards, as well as capturing stunning landscapes of the Lake District. His powerful images are so well composed and often tell a story or make a statement of cultural differences. Working in predominantly black and white, his use of this media really suits his photographic style.

Chris Killip
He is a renowned documentary photographer, working primarily in black and white. With ‘In Flagrante’, he has recorded the cultural and social history of the North East following the de-industrialisation of the 80’s. I can relate very easily to his and John Davies’s images of the area – I’ve spent most of my life in the area and I’ve seen and suffered much of the discomfort seen here (I’ve been made redundant as an engineer four times and seen communities degenerate as Chris Killip has recorder). Using Black and White to record this experience is clearly the best medium for the topic.
http://www.chriskillip.com/

Bruce Gilden
His confrontational style has produced a huge body of powerful images that may shock or amuse the viewer. He is obviously very much at ease with his subjects who seem at their ease with him. The work he has produced almost hits the establishment in the eye with what seems to be a complete disregard for what’s ‘nice’. I particularly enjoyed the ‘Fashion Magazine’ essay with its slanted view on the industry.
http://blog.magnumphotos.com/bruce_gilden.html
Robert Adams
He seems to be very much in touch with the soul of a place. His images of the American West, in ‘The place we live’ convey sadness in what we have done to what was once beautiful. It causes some heart-seeking to justify what has been done in the name of progress and to what ends. If an image can convey these feelings then it must have been produced with this in mind, making this documentary powerful in its simplicity.
http://artgallery.yale.edu/adams/landing.php

Irving Penn
I really like the delicate tonal range of the platinum / palladium prints. The range is so much wider (particularly in the mid-range) compared to the usual silver prints. It’s understandable why these prints were favoured. Put the tonal range with the durability of the final print and it would have to be a winner. The price of both platinum and then palladium made the process less popular, but it’s still used occasionally now. It would be well worth looking into how the soft, high tonal range could be reproduced digitally.
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2005/penn/penn_ss1.shtm

Although all the studied photographers worked in film, their techniques and styles could be transferred into digital photography. It’s interesting to see how monochrome suits their individual reporting styles. Their images, in many cases, would not have had the same impact in colour.