Photographers
Ansel Adams (I have admired his works since I was in my teens)
André Kertész
Jacques Henri Lartigue
Alexander Rodchenko
August Sander
Eugene Atget
William Eggleston
Tony Ray Jones
Lewis Hine
Techniques to look into:
1. Creating multiple images
2. Building panoramas
3. Digital composites
4. Using filters (get some ND filters and a polorizer for my wider angled lens)
5. Infrared - I have a contact on Flickr who I have admired for a while, he does quite a few shots using this style.
6. Re-touching
7. Digital toning
8. Abstracts