December 13th, 2013
"The challenge of photography is to show the thing photographed so that our feelings are awakened and hidden aspects are revealed to us." ~Emmet Gowin
December 12th, 2013
"Photography is a constant search, a creative imperative to record own insights and to express own emotions." ~Barbara Gorniak
December 11th, 2013
"I wake up. I know what to do. I will photograph dreams." ~Misha Gordin
December 10th, 2013
To me photography is not a contest, it's my life.. so don't bother challenging me, I already won!" ~Ewlises Gonzalez
December 9th, 2013
"...photographs also can preserve, comfort, inform, and clarify. They can provide esthetic pleasure of the highest order and enlarge our vision of the universe." ~Arthur Goldsmith
December 8th, 2013
"Photographs change nothing but spread their influence everywhere." ~Vicki Goldberg
December 7th, 2013
"The most difficult thing is what is thought to be the simplest; to really see the things which are before your eyes." ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
December 6th, 2013
"My favorite photographs speak eloquently, both about and to us." ~Matei Glass
December 5th, 2013
"A good photograph, like a good painting, speaks with a loud voice and demands time and attention if it is to be fully perceived." ~Ralph Gibson
December 4th, 2013
"The hardest thing in photography is to create a simple image." ~Anne Geddes
December 3rd, 2013
"Observing and photographing nature makes me realize who is truly in control, and believe me, it's not us humans." ~Michael Garth
December 2nd, 2013
"My goal is, with each use of the camera, to strengthen my intution and deepen my insight." ~Richard Garrod
December 1st, 2013
"Remember... light is your crayon, and there's always another color in the box." ~Tedric A. Garrison
November 30th, 2013
"Movement and playing with perception are continual threads in my imagery as I question what is real in space and time." ~Ani Garrick
November 29th, 2013
"A photograph that has not been shared or at least printed is almost an unexistent photograph, is almost an untaken picture." ~Sergio Garibay
November 28th, 2013
"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers." ~Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
November 27th, 2013
"What I want to do is move people as deeply as I can on as many levels as photography can." ~Paul Fusco
November 26th, 2013
"Photography is simply the art of seeing." ~D. Keith Furon
November 25th, 2013
"A picture must not be invented, but felt. . ." ~Caspar David Friedrich
November 24th, 2013
"You don’t have to go looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out and the pictures are staring at you." ~Lee Friedlander
November 23rd, 2013
"Above all, I know that life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference." ~Robert Frank
November 22nd, 2013
"I was very ill at ease with people in social situations, and I realized that if I photographed I wouldn't have to chat." ~Martine Franck
November 21st, 2013
"A still photograph is simply an isolated frame taken out of the infinite cinema." ~Hollis Frampton
November 20th, 2013
"It's a lovely way to communicate and it's a true, universal language." ~Bill Frakes, on photography
November 19th, 2013
"The best photographs can be incomprehensible at first sight but something draws us back to them." ~Julian Flynn
November 18th, 2013
"A photograph does not speak, it does not smell, it makes no sound, it does not move, it is just a two dimensional piece of paper, but a good photograph can do at least one if not all of the above!" ~Eryk Fitkau
November 17th, 2013
"Photography ... teaches you the discipline to work on you." - José Miguel Ferreira
November 15th, 2013
"When your mouth drops open, click the shutter." ~Harold Feinstein
November 14th, 2013
"This world is full of things the eye doesn't see...The camera can see more, and oftentimes better." ~Andreas Feininger
November 13th, 2013
"When the visual tools are used just right, the design, lighting, mood, and emotion come together to just the right point, and that point hits you and you know what the photographer meant – that’s a good picture." ~Ed Feingersh
November 11th, 2013
"Photography is often the only means of giving shape to an idea and saying the unspeakable." ~Charles-Henri Favrod
November 10th, 2013
"If you want to make good photographs, a camera has to be second nature to you. Devoting too much attention to technical decisions can interfere with your creative processes. ~Robert Farber
November 9th, 2013
"One of the reasons I love to take photographs is that people don’t have to speak any particular language to understand what I want to say." ~Michal Fanta
This is one of my favorite photography quotes!
November 8th, 2013
"I used to try to figure out precisely what I was seeing all the time, until I discovered I didn't need to. If the thing is there, why, there it is" ~Walker Evans
November 7th, 2013
"Photography is essentially analogous to literature and speech and it covers about the same range from the depths of banality of casual greetings to the heights of the best poetry or prose." ~Ralph Evans
November 6th, 2013
"Photography is Photography; And in it's purity and innocence is far too uniquely, valuable and beautiful to be spoilt by making it imitate something else." ~Frederick Henry Evans
November 5th, 2013
"After following the crowd for a while, I'd then go 180 degrees in the exact opposite direction. It always worked for me, but then again, I'm very lucky." ~Elliott Erwitt - on getting a different picture.
November 3rd, 2013
"I think what makes a picture is a moment that is completely spontaneous and natural and unaffected by the photographer." ~Bill Eppridge
November 2nd, 2013
"The finished photograph is an extension of the photographer's mind, a window to the heart, soul and values within him." ~Justin Au Eong
November 1st, 2013
"To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before and which shall never be seen again." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
October 31st, 2013
"The true photographer...must have his camera ready... and when he sees his model in an unconscious and beautiful pose, he must snap his shutter." ~Peter Henry Emerson
October 30th, 2013
"Photography is indisputably the most powerful visual art form ever devised by Man." ~James Elliott
October 29th, 2013
"A great photograph contains a mystery, an elusive and haunting nucleus that makes us return again and again to probe its depth, hoping to winnow yet another insight." ~Martin Elkort
October 28th, 2013
"Most people try to include too much in the picture. If you are photographing a child playing on the lawn, photograph the child, not the trees, the house, and everything else in sight. Photography is really a simple statement and the clearer it is the better." ~Eliot Elisofon
October 27th, 2013
"When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear." ~Alfred Eisenstaedt
October 26th, 2013
"Photographs arrest time and it is a good thing because time is a criminal." ~Melanie Einzig
October 25th, 2013
"Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift." ~Albert Einstein
October 24th, 2013
"You are a big part of your picture. Even when you are trying to blend in and be invisible on the scene, you are still behind that lens. You own that frame, that fragment of reality, so claim it." ~Rena Effendi
October 23rd, 2013
"What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are." ~George Eastman
October 22nd, 2013
"Fear... keeps thousands of pictures from passing through the lens." ~John Dunia
October 21st, 2013
"Often the biggest thing blocking the light is your own shadow." ~Ken Duncan
October 20th, 2013
"The most important attribute a photographer can have is enthusiasm." ~Arnold Drapkin
October 18th, 2013
"The medium of photography adapts itself to whoever you are." ~Nell Dorr
October 17th, 2013
"Life is short; this is why I make pictures." ~Carlos Dominique
October 16th, 2013
"If you take photographs, don’t speak, don’t write, don’t analyze yourself, and don’t answer any questions." ~Robert Doisneau
October 15th, 2013
"One thing to be careful of is trends... Buy what you like; the worst thing that can happen is that you will enjoy the photograph for years to come." ~Penelope Dixon
October 14th, 2013
"The absolute worst thing a person can say about your pictures is, 'That’s nice.' It’s the kiss of death." ~Joe DiMaggio
October 13th, 2013
"Behind the camera, I was invisible. When I lifted it up to my eye it was like I crawled into the lens, losing myself there, and everything else fell away." ~Sarah Dessen
October 12th, 2013
"I attempt to capture with my camera the extraordinary resonance humming within lives most ordinary." ~Monica Denevan
October 11th, 2013
"The world is one huge canvas, find your location and expose your film passionately!" ~Steve Denby
October 10th, 2013
"To put it bluntly, photography is a live conversation with a moment, and painting is a series of conversations within our sphere of life." ~Seyda Deligonul
October 9th, 2013
"You should be able to look at me and see my work. You should be able to look at my work and see me." ~Roy DeCarava
October 8th, 2013
"Words fail to express the passion within my heart for what I do. Allow me to show you. May you then discover why I see, therefore I am." ~Michael Davis
October 7th, 2013
"My pictures are not escapes from reality, but a contemplation of reality, so that I can experience life in a deeper way." ~Bruce Davidson
October 5th, 2013
"Photography is like fishing. You go out in the morning with no idea of what the trip will bring. Sometimes luck is on your side and all your crab pots are full of prime Lobsters. Other times you get nothing." ~Bob Croxford
October 4th, 2013
"Ideally the photographic image [is]... a means of sharing individual perception with others." - Suzanne Camp Crosby
October 3rd, 2013
"No matter what camera you use, it is not the camera but your artistic eyes who makes the photograph." ~Taga Creekside
October 2nd, 2013
"Remember, not everything is a picture. A good eye can edit before the shutter opens." ~Craig Coverdale
October 1st, 2013
"A painter works with color as the medium, a photographer works with light." ~Carlotta M. Corpron
September 30th, 2013
"Using a camera is a way of being a part of an event that isn't directly part of my life." ~Martha Cooper
September 29th, 2013
"You sepia tone a bad print, and what you get is a bad sepia toned print." ~Linda Cooley
September 28th, 2013
"The man who lives in his eyes is continually confronted with scenes and spectacles that compel his attention or admiration and demand an adequate reaction. To pass on without pause is impossible and to continue after purely mental applause is unsatisfying: some real tribute must be paid. Photography, to many of its addicts, is a convenient and simple means of discharging these ever-recurring debts to the visual world." ~Olive Cook
September 27th, 2013
"Our best shoots are placed in our memory. They are simply there, somewhere ... and they represent our private archive... Nobody can touch ... nobody can see." ~Massimo Conti
September 26th, 2013
"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it." ~Confucius
September 25th, 2013
"The intention of a photographer is to capture the beauty in places, obvious or hidden, in which modern age and technology cause us to dismiss." ~Kassadi Collins
September 24th, 2013
"Rules are't any good if they don't work! The only real rules are the laws of physics and optics." ~Dean Collins
September 23rd, 2013
"If you stop photographing things, and start to photograph light, you will amaze yourself." ~Steve Coleman
September 22nd, 2013
"I often find photos in the most ordinary places. Many of the subjects are nothing special either. They are just the beautiful things all around us that we don't make the effort to see truly." ~Jim Coe
September 20th, 2013
"Why should not the camera artist break away from the worn out conventions... and claim the freedom of expression which any art must have to be alive." ~Alvin Langdon Coburn
September 19th, 2013
"You hang out until you become invisible. But you’re always looking for the telling moment." ~Jodi Cobb
September 18th, 2013
"When I take a picture, it takes a piece of me.' ~Jason W. Cline
September 17th, 2013
"The photographer's palette [is] a thousand shades of gray." ~H. E. Clark
September 16th, 2013
"Even now, I still love holding a camera, looking through the lens to see what I can see." ~Ed Clark
September 15th, 2013
"I can teach technique, but I can't teach vision." ~Mike Cindric
September 14th, 2013
“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.” ~Oscar Wilde
September 13th, 2013
"Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light." ~Jennie Jerome Churchill
September 12th, 2013
"Photography is the beauty of life, captured." ~Tara Chisholm
September 11th, 2013
"The more one looks, the more one sees. And the more one sees, the better one knows where to look." ~Tielhard Chardin
September 10th, 2013
"Even today with digital images, I marvel at the magic of photography. To look at a subject, visualize its potential in your mind, then squeeze out an exposure and capture what you’ve seen to be preserved forever—on film or digitally—is instant gratification." ~Walter Chandoha
September 9th, 2013
"You have to hurry up if you want to see something, everything disappears." ~Paul Cezanne
September 8th, 2013
"To see in color is a delight for the eye but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul." ~Andri Cauldwell
September 7th, 2013
"Photography is more than a hobby for me. It's a constant companion, a passion in a world I can't touch. It gives me solace." ~Dan Case
September 6th, 2013
"Sharpness is overrated." ~Keith Carter
September 5th, 2013
"It [photography] is my one recreation and I think it should be done well." ~Lewis Carroll
September 4th, 2013
"Photography has increased my awareness." ~Andreas Carl
September 3rd, 2013
"A photographer never tries hard to achieve his desires. A photographer does not need to show off his art because it will speak for itself. A photographer expresses art through his camera and not by his mouth. A photographer is humble and not self centered. A photographer never puts a value on his art because it is priceless. A photographer brings your imagination to reality." ~Mark Cariaga
September 2nd, 2013
"Photography’s potential as a great image-maker and communicator is really no different from the same potential in the best poetry where familiar, everyday words, placed within a special context, can soar above the intellect and touch subtle reality in a unique way." ~Paul Caponigro
September 1st, 2013
"The idea that any photography can't be personal is madness! ... I see something; it goes through my eye, brain, heart, guts; I choose the subject. What could be more personal than that?" ~Cornell Capa
August 31st, 2013
"Seeing well often means realizing special feelings about unspecial events, and the camera enables me to 'touch' what I see. The print enables me to share the 'touch' later on." ~Joe Cameron
August 30th, 2013
"I longed to arrest all beauty that came before me, and at length the longing has been satisfied." ~Julia Margaret Cameron
August 29th, 2013
"I do believe strongly in photography and hope by following it intuitively that when the photographs are looked at they will touch the spirit in people." ~Harry Callahan
August 27th, 2013
"It's a third eye. I see things that were never there before." ~Ross Caligagan
August 26th, 2013
"A big shot is a little shot that kept shooting." ~Amanda Caldwell
August 25th, 2013
"There are two distinct roads in photography -- the utilitarian and the aesthetic, the goal of the one being a record of facts, and the other an expression of beauty." ~Charles H. Caffin
August 24th, 2013
"Photography is not a bad past-time for people who can't paint." ~Sydney Cabbie
August 23rd, 2013
"Photography is the proof of imperfection of words." ~Jakub Byrczek
August 22nd, 2013
"Your legs will take you where others dare not. Save the money not for the equipment but for a good pair of shoes." ~Vittore Buzzi
August 21st, 2013
"I am very happy with the equipment I have. All I need is time and patience to use it to the fullest degree, plus God on my side to help with the lighting problems – to move the sun, the moon and the stars to the positions of my choice." ~Larry Burrows
August 20th, 2013
"The satisfaction comes from working next to 500 photographers and coming away with something different." ~David Burnett
#photography #quote
August 19th, 2013
"Photography. The best cure for a bad memory." ~John E. Burkowski
August 18th, 2013
"A photograph is an opportunity to glimpse the interior of its creator." ~Christine Burgoyne
August 17th, 2013
Today's photography quote is also a collecting tip.
"You don’t want to store prints in an attic or basement, or in a humid or hot environment. Generally the rule of thumb is if you’re comfortable, the photographs are too." ~Dan Burge
August 16th, 2013
"The medium of photography can record not only what the eyes see, but that which the mind's eye sees as well. The camera is not only an extension of the eye, but of the brain. It can see sharper, farther, nearer, slower, faster than the eye. It can see by invisible light. It can see in the past, present, and future. Instead of using the camera only to reproduce objects, I wanted to use it to make what is invisible to the eye, visible." ~Wynn Bullock
#photography #quote
August 15th, 2013
"My eyes are a camera, wherever I go, anywhere I turn, my mind is capturing beautiful images. In landscapes, people, animals, things that sometimes because the hustle and the monotony of life itself we fail to appreciate." ~Enrique Bueno
#photography #quote
August 14th, 2013
"Every good photograph is an opinion; it says something revealing about the subject." ~Joe Budne
August 13th, 2013
"If you put very few things on a page, you leave lots of room for imagination." ~Dick Bruna
August 12th, 2013
"It just doesn't feel right leaving the house without a camera." ~James B. Potts III
August 11th, 2013
"The joy of creative landscape photography comes from encapsulating the soul or spirit of the location and communicating that captured perception to the viewer of the final print." ~Pete Bridgwood
August 11th, 2013
"Photography? I don’t see any reason why not." ~Andre Breton
August 9th, 2013
"When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best - that is inspiration." ~Robert Bresson
August 8th, 2013
"A photographer's main instrument is his eyes. Strange as it may seem, many photographers choose to use the eyes of another photographer, past or present, instead of their own. Those photographers are blind." ~Manuel Alvarez Bravo
August 7th, 2013
"..the thing that is magnificent about photography is that it can produce images that incite emotion based on the subject matter alone." ~Brassai
August 6th, 2013
"I am not interested in rules or conventions. Photography is not a sport." ~Bill Brandt
August 5th, 2013
"I realized the most important part of a photo was not the subject matter. Vision--or how you viewed things--was the most important part." ~James Brandenburg
August 4th, 2013
"Failure is not an option! Get the picture." ~Tom Braid
August 3rd, 2013
"Results are uncertain even among the more experienced photographers." ~Matthew Brady
August 3rd, 2013
"As a photographer, I’m primarily interested in things I can’t see." ~Carl Bower
August 3rd, 2013
"Where light and shadow fall on your subject - that is the essence of expression and art through photography." ~Scott Bourne
July 31st, 2013
"For my part, I may say that before I commenced photography I did not see half the beauties in nature that I do now, and the glory and power of a precious landscape has often passed before me and left but a feeble impression on my untutored mind; but it will never be so again." ~Samuel Bourne
July 30th, 2013
"If anyone gets in my way when I’m making a picture, I become irrational. I’m never sure what I am going to do, or sometimes even aware of what I do—only that I want that picture." Margaret Bourke-White
July 29th, 2013
"There are certain pictures I can never take. We turn on the TV and are smothered with cruelty and suffering and I don't need to add to it. So I just photograph peaceful things. A vase of flowers, a beautiful girl. Sometimes, through a peaceful face, I can bring something important into the world." ~Edouard Boubat
July 28th, 2013
"There are two types of photographers: those who take pictures and those who make pictures." ~Camille Bonzani
July 27th, 2013
"Photography is the ideal medium in which to challenge assumptions, because of all art forms, it is one people most expect to represent reality... The creative photographer grapples with these expectations, shaping or altering reality by the way he or she approaches a subject." ~Keith A. Boas
July 26th, 2013
"My native language is Dutch, my second is photography." ~Lieve Blanckaert
July 25th, 2013
"I see through my eyes, not with them." ~William Blake
July 24th, 2013
"A good photograph has a direct simplicity without recourse to dazzling technique." ~Isra’’elis Bidermanas
July 23rd, 2013
"You can observe a lot by just watching." ~Yogi Berra
July 22nd, 2013
"You have to follow your instinct all the time. Otherwise you don't make it." ~Ruth Bernhard
July 21st, 2013
"Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does." ~John Berger
July 20th, 2013
"Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure." ~Tony Benn
July 19th, 2013
"The camera introduces us to unconscious optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses." ~Walter Benjamin
July 18th, 2013
"Photography is a great excuse for seeing things you ordinary wouldn’t." ~Chirstopher Beirne
July 7th, 2013
"To spot the difference between an average picture and an excellent picture, you have to look at a lot of pictures. And to see an opportunity that others would miss, you have to take a lot of photos that miss the moment, too." ~Jim Beecher
July 6th, 2013
"Photographs are moments eternally flabbergasted." ~Shayna Bauchner
July 5th, 2013
"The art of photography is to make that which seems unbeautiful, beautiful." ~Jennifer Barton
July 4th, 2013
"No matter how sophisticated the camera, the photographer is still the one that makes the picture." ~Doug Bartlow
July 3rd, 2013
"Does it interest the eye, excite the brain, move the mind to reflection, and involve the heart?" ~Julian Barnes
July 2nd, 2013
"A photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you." ~Brigitte Bardot
July 1st, 2013
"I don't know what too much film is, but I do know what's not enough. Not enough is when there are images you want to capture and you're out of film. I never want that to happen to me again." ~Forrest H. R. Bard
*I can completely relate to this quote, except changing 'film' to batteries/battery charge.
June 30th, 2013
"Working at the scene of the action, I have adopted Robert Capa's saying: 'If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough.' But in retrospect I add a corollary: if you're too close to events, you lose perspective." ~Micha Bar-Am
June 29th, 2013
"The moon develops the imagination, as chemicals develop photographic images." ~Sheila Ballantyne
June 28th, 2013
"Art is man's nature. Nature is God's art." ~James Bailey
June 27th, 2013
"It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter, because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the ordinary." ~David Bailey
June 26th, 2013
"Quit trying to find beautiful objects to photograph. Find the ordinary objects so you can transform it by photographing it." ~Morley Baer
June 25th, 2013
"Jesus would have been one of the best photographers that ever existed. He was always looking at the beauty of people souls. In fact Jesus was constantly making pictures of God in people's life by looking at their souls and exposing them to his light." ~Francis Bacon
June 24th, 2013
"And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible." ~Richard Avedon
June 24th, 2013
"After 40 years of ingesting every aspect of photographic science and composition, I still find the camera to be an endlessly intriguing partner that challenges my imagination and knowledge. All that with only 3 variables of shutter speed, aperture and focal length." ~Ralph Auletta
June 22nd, 2013
"The ear tends to be lazy, craves the familiar and is shocked by the unexpected; the eye, on the other hand, tends to be impatient, craves the novel and is bored by repetition." - Wystan Hugh Auden
June 21st, 2013
"Time will never stand still and those moments that bring us such joy become memories in an instant. To capture such a moment and record it forever is truly monumental." ~Joshua Atticks
June 20th, 2013
"The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking." ~Brooks Atkinson
June 19th, 2013
"There's only one rule in photography - never develop colour film in chicken noodle soup." ~Freeman Patterson
June 18th, 2013
"The Earth is Art, The Photographer is only a Witness." ~Yann Arthus-bertrand
June 17th, 2013
"Photography’s greatest gift is its ability to render three dimensional reality in a two dimensional form and that photography’s greatest weakness is its ability to render 3D reality in 2D form." ~Rudolf Arnheim
June 16th, 2013
"Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies." ~Diane Arbus
June 15th, 2013
"Photography teaches that how well you see has nothing to do with how well you see." ~Anonymous
June 14th, 2013
"Photography is my ally, my medium of speaking non-verbally." ~Omolara Aluko
June 13th, 2013
"To shoot poignant pictures we only need follow the path of our enthusiasm . I believe that this feeling is the universe's way of telling us that we are doing the right thing. The viewing public will always disagree over the intrinsic merits of a particular photograph, but no one can deny the enthusiasm that originally inspired us to capture and offer that image to others." ~Timothy Allen
June 12th, 2013
"It was hard being between photographs and not knowing when or how another image would reveal itself." ~William Albert Allard
June 11th, 2013
"It is a peculiar part of the good photographer's adventure to know where luck is most likely to lie in the stream, to hook it, and to bring it in without unfair play and without too much subduing it." ~James Rufus Agee
June 10th, 2013
"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." ~Scott Adams
June 9th, 2013
"Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn't make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel." ~Peter Adams - Sydney 1978
June 8th, 2013
"The visual image is a kind of tripwire for the emotions." ~Diane Ackerman
June 7th, 2013
"Life is about capturing the moment in its beauty, and telling a story to every beautiful moment." - Blanca Acosta
June 6th, 2013
"It matters little how much equipment we use; it matters much that we be masters of all we do use." - Sam Abell
June 5th, 2013
"I agree that all good photographs are documents, but I also know that all documents are certainly not good photographs. Furthermore, a good photographer does not merely document, he probes the subject, he 'uncovers' it." ~ Berenice Abbott
June 4th, 2013
As a child through young adulthood, I took many photographs using different types of cameras and film. I remember using 110, 35mm, slide film, and instant Polaroids. These were all fine but between buying the film, flashbulbs, and the cost of developing, it became quite expensive. There was no way that I could afford to take hundreds of shots of the same thing in order to get the "perfect" capture (see blog entry: http://tara-potts.artistwebsites.com/blogs/how-important-is-the-perfect-shot.html ). There was a lot of "hoping for the best."
The advent of digital photography opened up a whole new world. First of all, there was the elimination of purchasing film, flash, and developing (except for those photographs deemed print-worthy). Then, of course, is the fact that I can go for the "perfect" shot. It is empowering to be able to delete the bad shot, or crop the picture with random people strolling into it. Not to mention the perk of instant gratification. There is no more "I think I got the shot." I know right then that I am still about 500 shots away from the photograph I want. I know right then that I did indeed capture that incredible shot and if I keep snapping, I could possibly get an even better one!
An aside: Meanwhile, I just sent my daughter to camp with a disposable camera. Poor girl!
June 4th, 2013
"Our job is to record, each in his own way, this world of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today." ~ Edward Abbey
June 2nd, 2013
"The art of looking at pictures can only be properly acquired by constantly looking at pictures." ~ S. D. Jouhar
June 1st, 2013
"The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance." ~Ansel Adams
May 31st, 2013
At times, like any time I am using my camera, I can be a bit obsessive about capturing just the right image. I will take the same "basic" shot repeatedly if I believe there is a better version to be had. By repeatedly, I mean HUNDREDS of shots. I may not get the absolute perfect image, but when I am persistent, I get some amazing captures. I sometimes even surprise myself by the result.
The photograph posted with this blog entry is an example. I took hundreds of shots of this heron in the hope that I would capture at least one good image of him in flight.
May 31st, 2013
"Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be." ~Duane Michals
May 30th, 2013
"Photographs that transcend but do not deny their literal situation appeal to me." ~Sam Abbel
May 29th, 2013
"If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera." ~Lewis Hine
May 28th, 2013
"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." ~Henri Cartier-Bresson
May 28th, 2013
"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." ~Henri Cartier-Bresson
May 27th, 2013
"The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box." ~Henri Cartier Bresson
May 26th, 2013
There are two main reasons why I take so many photographs.
Photography is the most effective destresser for me. I find it to be relaxing and it has the power to take my mind completely off of everything else. Put a camera in my hand and all the stressful events of the day melt away.
I feel DRIVEN to photograph. I seem to have an irresistable urge to capture the scene, freeze the moment, and catch something with the camera that my eye cannot even process (see the photograph I've uploaded for this blog entry for an example of this). I am constantly scanning my surroundings for the next photo opportunity...even when I do not have my gear with me.
May 26th, 2013
"The photograph itself doesn't interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality." ~Henri Cartier Bresson
May 25th, 2013
"Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man." ~Edward Steichen
May 24th, 2013
"It pleases me to take amateur photographs of my garden, and it pleases my garden to make my photographs look professional." ~Robert Brault
May 23rd, 2013
"I never question what to do, it tells me what to do. The photographs make themselves with my help." ~Ruth Bernhard
May 22nd, 2013
"A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety." ~Ansel Adams
May 21st, 2013
"Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop." ~Usman B. Asif
May 20th, 2013
"Buying a Nikon doesn't make you a photographer. It makes you a Nikon owner." ~Author Unknown
May 19th, 2013
I have recently been looking at the sky and thinking, "Wow, the sky looks enormous today." I've been wondering why the sky looks so big to me lately. I don't live in Big Sky country. I'm in Georgia, so I guess that's Average Sky country. Despite that, it's seemed extra big to me which in a way is great, because it's phenomenal to look at, but in another way, not so great because I tend to notice it while I'm driving. I'm sure you can see the problem there. I'm also really good at noticing it when I don't have my camera with me. Now that I've noticed the big sky, my mind keeps trying to figure out how to capture the bigness on camera. At least I can capture the clouds...
May 19th, 2013
"There will be times when you will be in the field without a camera. And, you will see the most glorious sunset or the most beautiful scene that you have ever witnessed. Don't be bitter because you can't record it. Sit down, drink it in, and enjoy it for what it is!" ~DeGriff
May 18th, 2013
"The goal is not to change your subjects, but for the subject to change the photographer." ~Author Unknown
May 17th, 2013
"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." ~Ansel Adams
May 16th, 2013
"The camera can photograph thought." ~Dirk Bogarde
May 15th, 2013
"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away." ~Eudora Welty
May 14th, 2013
"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it." ~Author Unknown
May 13th, 2013
I feel the need to rearrange furniture in my house, paint the walls, and even (gasp!) clean. Not for the betterment of the house, mind you. Not to make it neater and more pleasant for those of us living in it or for possible visitors. No, not at all. This would be strictly to improve the background in potential photographs. Yes. Really.
*This would also be related to: "Did you really just post that picture on Facebook? ... Look what's in the background! ... You have to delete that right now. ... At least let me crop it!"
May 13th, 2013
"No place is boring, if you've had a good night's sleep and have a pocket full of unexposed film." ~Robert Adams, Darkroom & Creative Camera Techniques, May 1995
May 12th, 2013
"When I am asked how I see myself, (as in terms of artist) I say 'a mother with a camera' quite a lot." ~Deborah Parkin
Happy Mother's Day!
May 11th, 2013
When I see something that is beautiful, unusual, or eye-catching, my first thought is: "That would make an awesome picture"; or "That's an amazing photograph!" Have I ever REALLY thought that, you wonder? Yes. Yes, I have. Seriously.
May 11th, 2013
"While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see." ~Dorothea Lange
May 10th, 2013
"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it." ~Author Unknown
May 9th, 2013
"Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art." ~Ambrose Bierce
May 8th, 2013
“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” – Steve McCurry
May 7th, 2013
“All the technique in the world doesn’t compensate for the inability to notice.” – Elliott Erwitt
May 6th, 2013
“Photography is the only language that can be understood anywhere in the world.” – Bruno Barbey
May 6th, 2013
“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham
May 4th, 2013
“Patience is the essence of clicking great photographs!”
― Abhijeet Sawant
May 3rd, 2013
“It's often about the simple things, isn't it? Painting and photography are first about seeing, they say. Writing is about observing. Technique is secondary. Sometimes the simple is the most difficult.”
― Linda Olsson
May 2nd, 2013
“Good photographs are taken not with the camera. Good photographs are taken with Mind, Soul, Eyes, and Imagination where Eyes like a shutter, Mind like a lens, Imagination like an object and Soul like a canvas.”
― Parveen Sharma
May 1st, 2013
“The picture that you took with your camera is the imagination you want to create with reality.”
― Scott Lorenzo
April 30th, 2013
“I tend to think of the act of photographing, generally speaking, as an adventure. My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.”
― Diane Arbus
April 29th, 2013
“It is no accident that the photographer becomes a photographer any more than the lion tamer becomes a lion tamer.”
― Dorothea Lange
April 28th, 2013
“Don’t pack up your camera until you’ve left the location.”
― Joe McNally, The Moment It Clicks: Photography Secrets from One of the World's Top Shooters
Let me add to that: Have your camera unpacked and ready BEFORE you get there!
April 27th, 2013
“The Earth is Art, The Photographer is only a Witness ”
― Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Earth from Above
April 26th, 2013
“To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs,' I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.”
― Ansel Adams
April 25th, 2013
“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.”
― Marc Riboud
April 24th, 2013
“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
― Ansel Adams
April 23rd, 2013
“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”
― Dorothea Lange