"FASHION IS SEX" sounds like a Tom Ford line

"There is only one thing worse than being a photographer and that is not being a potographer?"
I don't know which of the above is preferable do you?

So art repeats its self, as do lines from Oscar wild re inventing them selves, I say so art repeats its self, as do lines from Oscar Wild, re inventing them selves, I say etc.
My father was a hamster and my mother smelt of elderberrys, was that Oscar Wild also?

i love the recent photo for valentino ads, with jessica stam by steven meisel... the one where they touch up her eyes really big and some water colour painting like... it's beautifullllll

i personally like the works of miles aldridge, brilliant art direction towards a dark side of his wonderful well co-ordinated colors in his stories... oh such beautiful drama !! .....and i think he likes guy bourdin too hehe.

So, first off, I've haven't read every post so please keep that in mind. Guess I'm responding to the original question, and honestly to responses on the first and last page.
I think keeping a minimal take and shallow approach can sometimes prove rewarding. As for who I admire, I can't really point directly. If you were asking for my favorite band or song, it'd be equally challenging but quite a bit easier.
My favorite photographs these days are vintage snapshots and photos that can't be traced, most of which I find on eBay (oh shock shock horror horror).
I am also quite fond of Glen E. Friedman, at least the 80's stuff. Sort of similar to Nick Knight with the skinhead photos. I really like that period as well.
I think there's something there I identify with that is raw and spontaneous. In most of those photos I believe a spirit is caught and the viewer returns to the photo. Fashion photography is nice. Not knocking it and I'm sure that's where the pohotgrapher makes cash, but once you get a sense that a stylist and set have taken over, who then really is the artist? I may be damning myself, but what gets me fueled with photography right now has much more to do with unbundling myself and seeing expression through the eyes of a loner dying to break out of his shell.
Truth is, probably, that I'm not qualified to make this entry. I picked up a digital camera a couple of years ago and started to voyeur my life away. Then my friends encouraged me and said I had an eye, 'don't we all?'. So I took a class in film based photography to find out if I could actually take a picture. I'm at a true crossroads now because I don't want to lose the feeling I have right now for photography and the answers it brings me. If this is one more sellout art form then I'd rather stop now.
It hasn't totally surfaced yet but is starting to unfold.
The last thing I want to throw out there is Terry Richardson. What is the fuss? I mean really, isn't he just the male version of Nan Goldin minus the authenticity? I don't get his gig one bit because it's been done.
Peace, no hard feelings and genuine feedback is invaluable.