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Lee Friedlander

Lee Friedlander Biography

Photographer

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“The idea that the snapshot would be thought of as a cult or movement is very tiresome to me and, I'm sure, confusing to others. It's a swell word I've always liked. It probably came about because it describes a basic fact of photography. In a snap, or small portion of time, all that the camera can consume in breadth and bite and light is rendered in astonishing detail: all the leaves on a tree, as well as the tree itself and all its surroundings.”

WellsIdeasFactsLightWould BeTreeMovementPhotographyCamerasDetailsBitesPortionsCultConfusingSurroundingsAstonishingSnapsBreadthSnapshotsTiresome
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“When you take a picture you haven't a clue that it is going to be what it is. Maybe you have a clue but you don't really know. There are too many possibilities. Part of the game is how many balls you can juggle. It is to me. When you are 12 you can juggle two. Maybe when you are 50 you can juggle five. That is an interesting concept to me: how much I can put in and still make it pull together?”

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“I only wanted Uncle Vernon standing by his own car (a Hudson) on a clear day, I got him and the car. Ialso got a bit of Aunt Mary’s laundry and Beau Jack, the dog, peeing on the fence, and a row of potted tuberous begonias on the porch and 78 trees and a million pebbles in the driveway and more. It’s a generous medium, photography.”

WantedBitsMillionsClearTreeDogCarPhotographyStandingMediumsGenerousMaryUnclesFenceAuntLaundryPebblesPorchDrivewayUncle VernonClear Day
Author:Lee Friedlander
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“I suspect it is for one’s self-interest that one looks at one’s surroundings and one’s self. This search is personally born and is indeed my reason and motive for making photographs. The camera is not merely a reflecting pool and the photographs are not exactly the mirror, mirror on the wall that speaks with a twisted tongue. Witness is borne and puzzles come together at the photographic moment which is very simple and complete. The mind-finger presses the release on the silly machine and it stops time and holds what its jaws can encompass and what the light will stain.”

MindLooksSelfReasonMomentsLightTogetherSpeakInterestBornSimpleWallMachinesMirrorsCamerasPressesFingersPhotographTongueSillyReleaseWitnessMotiveSuspectsPoolPuzzlesSurroundingsTwistedReflectingSelf InterestStainsStop TimeMirror Mirror On The Wall
Author:Lee Friedlander
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