A photograph must, in an instant, create enduring beauty out of
transient activity.
Clarence H White (Photo Secessionist and early teacher of Dorothea
Lange)
There are no ordinary moments
Dan Millman
What the right words can do for some images is enormous
(Not sure who said this; I read it in a bio of Lange)
Let truth be the prejudice
(Ditto as above)
The contemplation of things as they are without error or
confusion, without substitution or imposture, is in itself a nobler thing than
a harvest of invention.
Francis Bacon
(adopted by Lange as a lifelong guiding principle for her
photography)
' ... a photography that confronted social issues and tried to
better man's [sic] condition by exposure of the truth.
(taken from a quote from Dorothea Lange and of course we can
substitute 'humanity's' for 'man's')
There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment
Photography is simultaneously and instantaneously the recognition
of a fact and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that
express and signify that fact
Not sure but I THINK this is from Henri Cartier-Bresson
'... to testify with a quicker instrument than a brush'.
Cartier-Bresson on why he turned
from painting to photography
'It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make
others care about them by revealing the core of their humannes'
Paul Strand
'You don't take a photograph. You ask quietly to borrow it'
Unknown
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
There is one thing the photography must contain: the humanity of
the moment. This kind of photography is realism. But realism is not enough;
there has to be vision, and the two together can make a good photograph.
Robert Frank
What is [your] work about? To what does it refer, either
concretely, metaphorically, formally, allegorically, or representatively? In
what sense are [your] photographs documents - either of the world or of his
true perceptions? [Are] you confronting us directly with our perception of
reality - or merely an abstract, ultimately barren non-reality? Is [your] work
an allegory for [your] view of civilization and humanity - or is it only about
the medium in its narrowest sense? Is it a series of facile formal manoeuvres
Gerry Badger from his amazing essay on Lee
Friedlander
I've never made any picture, good or bad, without
paying for it in emotional turmoil.
W
Eugene Smith
Your photography is a record of you living, for
anyone who really sees.
Paul
Strand
There are always two people in every picture; the
photographer and the viewer.
Ansel
Adams
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday
life.
Pablo
Picasso
Photography is, for me, a spontaneous
impulse coming from an ever attentive eye which captures the moment and its
eternity.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
A photograph isn't necessarily a lie, but
nor is it the truth. It's more of a fleeting, subjective impression. What I
most like about photography is the moment that you can't anticipate: you have
to be constantly watching for it, ready to welcome the unexpected.
Martine Franc
I have seen more if the world around me through street photography than through living in it. It has allowed me to see what was really going on while I missed it despite being right there.
Chris Barrineau
A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.
Irving Penn
It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness.
