civilized ku # 99 ~ the thing

The Orient comes to the NYS Fair •
click to embiggenI've been mining the web for quotes about photography. That's because, of late, I have been struggling a bit for topics. We've covered a lot of ground, photography-wise, over the past 3 years here on SquareSpace and before that on blogspot.

What I've noticed most in my mining activities is that there a lot of quotes from a wide range of different people that address a small core group of photo topics over and over again. One of these days, I'll have to sort some of them out by category and then pick one quote from each category in order to make a list of quotes that "say it all".

I am reasonably certain that the whole of picture making wisdom can most probably be summed up rather thoroughly with about 4-5 quotes.

One of the topics that is addressed over and over again concerns the idea of the process of picture making - how'd ya do it? The overwhelming conclusion that I come to from wading through many quotes regarding this topic is that there is no "rule of thumb" regarding how one does it other than it is a very intensely personal process.

That said, one common denomination does emerge - the idea that, to make good pictures, one must learn to be mentally silent in order to look at and listen to the object of the camera's gaze with any degree of receptive intensity. One memorable quote addressed that idea by opining that one must stop thinking without falling asleep.

Very few quotes address the idea of how'd ya do with notions of the techincal type - gear, technique, etc. In fact, many warn against getting too wrapped up with those things. Therein lies the wisdom of this quote from Richard Avedon:

I've worked out of a series of no's. No to exquisite light, no to apparent compositions, no to the seduction of poses or narrative. And all these no's force me to the "yes." I have a white background. I have the person I'm interested in and the thing that happens between us.

IMO, making good pictures is all about the thing that happens between the photographer and the object of his/her camera's gaze, or, as another non-photography saying goes:

It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Zing!

Which, in this case, I would turn around to say:

If It Ain't Got That Zing, It Don't Mean a Thing!

Comments

[Andy Frazer]

You've probably already seen this site, but if any of your readers are looking for quotes about photography or by photographers, here is a great reference: Photo Quotes

I've contributed many quotes myself from my own collection of quotes by Avedon, Kenna, Winogrand, etc.

Andy Frazer

[Mauro]

I think that this of the look is a pretty complicated concept to grasp in all its consequences. "Truth" itself is in there. To cite another of my favorites (i know, too many !)

"Forms change. It is the essence that remains" from Boccioni's Diaries and Notes.

However sometimes it is quite difficult to not focus on the subject or start from it.