Camera Work

That Times obit of John Morris is absolutely must-read. A giant of not just photography but of journalism. Hard the imagine how so many of history's most famous pictures passed through his hands and into our consciousness.

I never knew that anecdote about him piercing Capa's D-day myth.

And this kicker:

“Timing is all important in photography,” he said. “Not just the timing of the shutter itself, but knowing when to work and when not to work. When to photograph and when not to photograph.


“Great photographers have to have three things,” he continued. “They have to have heart if they’re going to photograph people. They have to have an eye, obviously, to be able to compose. And they have to have a brain to think about what they’re shooting. Too many photographers have two of the three attributes, but not the third.”





 
RIP John G. Morris.

When we go through a photo book or visit an exhibition we oft forget the importance that the editing has in the selection of the pictures. And how important is the cooperation between the photographer and the editor to get a positive result. Thanks for posting.
robert
 
Thanks very much, PXR! The New Yorker article clarified questions I've had about Burtynsky's pictures.

And the interview in the Globe and Mail had these great tips on evaluating pictures: " ... is there an intelligent vision? Is there a rigour in the work? Let’s face it, we’re awash in images, we live in a world where billions of images are produced on a daily basis, endless selfies. So when somebody’s working with the medium and exploring ideas with depth to them, and pursuing their own way of seeing, developing their own kind of language – that, to me, is what makes an artist, and what makes a body of work rich."
 
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