Research and Course Guides: Art & Art History: Photography

Reference works & go-to resources

Oxford Companion to the Photograph (2006)
Over 800 biographical entries, both on photographers and on others who have influenced photographic culture from the 19th century to the present. Stunningly illustrated, with many pictures published here for the first time.
In the Darkroom: An illustrated guide to photographic processes before the digital age
Kennel, Sarah.; Waggoner, Diane.; Carver-Kubik, Alice. 2010
ARCH TR287 .K46 2010
Looking at Photographs: A guide to technical terms
ARCH REF TR9 .B35 1991
From Adams to Stieglitz: Pioneers of modern photography
ARCH TR139 .N48 1989

Photography : researching its history, processes, and photographers
Compiled by librarian Karen Bucky, Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA.
Photography
The work of librarian Wendy Hall, Columbia College, Chicago

There are innumerable photo essays online. These should get you started:

9 Photographers Sharing Tales of Indigenous People
Vanishing indigenous groups from Indonesia, India, Norway, Mongolia, and Mexico,
The Bitter Southerner
Photo essays from the American South
The Phoblographer - Photo Essays

1000 Words
Online magazine of cutting-edge contemporary photography
Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes
A free online resource, in the form of videos and PDFs, for photograph conservators, from the Getty Research Institute. Excellent information on procresses.
George Eastman Museum & Archives
One of the world's oldest photography & film archives. Useful tutorials on photographic processes. Free resources on interpreting images, photographers, and history of photography. Check out their video series on photographic processes.
Graphics Atlas
A sophisticated resource that presents a unique, object-based approach for the identification and characterization of prints and photographs.
International Center of Photography
Offers curated exhibitions online, commentary, and an online collection of images browsable by artist.
International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum
Good resource for background on 'hall of fame' art photographers
LensCulture
Online magazine of modern & contemporary photography
The Phoblographer
A portal/magazine for serious photographers

Ansel Adams

Dorothea Lange

Imogen Cunningham

Lewis Hine

Walker Evans

Russell Lee

Gordon Parks

Roy Stryker

Garry Winogrand

Margaret Bourke-White

Richard Avedon

Annie Leibovitz

Diane Arbus

Robert Frank

Edward Weston

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Alfred Stieglitz

Man Ray

Cindy Sherman

Yousuf Karsh

Irving Penn

Sally Mann

Robert Mapplethorpe

Berenice Abbot

Edward Steichen

Julia Margaret Cameron

Weegee

Eadweard Muybridge

Paul Strand

William Eggleston

Brassaï

André Kertész

Thomas Ruff

and many, many more...