MISH
Well-known
"Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long."
- Walker Evans
- Walker Evans
favourite photo quotes
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greyelm
Malcolm
“ Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow. – Imogen Cunningham
MISH
Well-known
"Isn't it amazing how photography has advanced without improving."
- Charles Sheeler
- Charles Sheeler
kingqueenknave
Well-known
"With a camera like that [a Leica 35mm rangefinder] you don’t believe you’re in the masterpiece business. It’s enough to be able to peck at the world."
—Lee Friedlander
—Lee Friedlander
airfrogusmc
Veteran
"When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches." - Edward Weston
telenous
Well-known
"At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect - a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us and is part of the biography by which we want to be known."
(Robert Adams, "Two Landscapes", Why People Photograph)
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(Robert Adams, "Two Landscapes", Why People Photograph)
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doolittle
Well-known
Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk. -Edward Weston
KoNickon
Nick Merritt
Gee -- what would Sontag think of this??
j j
Well-known
Haha! I had already copied “To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them that they can never have; it turns people into objects that can be symbolically possessed. Just as a camera is a sublimation of the gun, to photograph someone is a subliminal murder - a soft murder, appropriate to a sad, frightened time.”
Not because I like it particularly but because of the amusement it has given me recently.
airfrogusmc
Veteran
"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." - Ansel Adams
"Photography is not a sport. It has no rules. Everything must be dared and tried!" - Bill Brandt
"There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition. If there were we would be able to put all the information into a computer and would come out with a masterpiece. We know that's impossible. You have to compose by the seat of your pants." - Arnold Newman
"And in not learning the rules, I was free. I always say, you're either defined by the medium or you redefine the medium in terms of your needs." - Duane Michals
"Photography is not a sport. It has no rules. Everything must be dared and tried!" - Bill Brandt
"There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition. If there were we would be able to put all the information into a computer and would come out with a masterpiece. We know that's impossible. You have to compose by the seat of your pants." - Arnold Newman
"And in not learning the rules, I was free. I always say, you're either defined by the medium or you redefine the medium in terms of your needs." - Duane Michals
airfrogusmc
Veteran
Maybe you should read the book and find out.
craygc
Well-known
Two of my favourite...
"The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don't belong. It gives [] both a point of connection and a point of separation.", Susan Meiselas
"Colour is merely symbolic; the real truth is in luminosity!"
"The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don't belong. It gives [] both a point of connection and a point of separation.", Susan Meiselas
"Colour is merely symbolic; the real truth is in luminosity!"
Rick Waldroup
Well-known
While neither of these quotes come from photographers, I think they both perfectly describe the art of street and documentary photography. I use both of these quotes on my website.
There are all these moments, moments just like this one. There are all these moments, and how everyone lives in these short, all-too-short moments. There all these moments and what's so interesting, what makes them so beautiful, is that none of them last....
Joe Meno, from the novel "Office Girl"
Everything can change at any given moment, suddenly and forever.
Paul Auster, from the novel "The Book of Illusions"
There are all these moments, moments just like this one. There are all these moments, and how everyone lives in these short, all-too-short moments. There all these moments and what's so interesting, what makes them so beautiful, is that none of them last....
Joe Meno, from the novel "Office Girl"
Everything can change at any given moment, suddenly and forever.
Paul Auster, from the novel "The Book of Illusions"
doolittle
Well-known
“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”
― Dorothea Lange
― Dorothea Lange
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
"If you go out to shoot trees and trees aren't happening but clouds are...then shoot clouds..." Dewitt Jones, Outdoor Photography Magazine
I love that quote...it's allowed me to see what's happening when it's happening...
I love that quote...it's allowed me to see what's happening when it's happening...
kbg32
neo-romanticist
I’m always looking outside, trying to look inside.
Trying to tell something that’s true.
But maybe nothing is really true.
Except what’s out there.
- Robert Frank
Trying to tell something that’s true.
But maybe nothing is really true.
Except what’s out there.
- Robert Frank
filmfan
Well-known
I forget who said this, but I noticed it in someone's signature:
"That's called grain. It's supposed to be there."
"That's called grain. It's supposed to be there."
KoNickon
Nick Merritt
We have a winner!
KoNickon
Nick Merritt
No, thanks.
williams473
Well-known
Just posted this one on another thread, but still one of my favorites:
“Negatives are the notebooks, the jottings, the false starts, the whims, the poor drafts, and the good draft but never the completed version of the work. The completed version, a print, should be sufficient and fair return for a magazine’s investment, for it is the means of fulfilling the magazine’s purpose. The print and a proper one is the only completed photograph, whether it is specifically shaded for reproduction, or for a museum wall. Negatives are private, as is my bedroom.”
W. Eugene Smith
“Negatives are the notebooks, the jottings, the false starts, the whims, the poor drafts, and the good draft but never the completed version of the work. The completed version, a print, should be sufficient and fair return for a magazine’s investment, for it is the means of fulfilling the magazine’s purpose. The print and a proper one is the only completed photograph, whether it is specifically shaded for reproduction, or for a museum wall. Negatives are private, as is my bedroom.”
W. Eugene Smith
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