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Quote by Emmet Gowin

“I was going round the world searching for an interesting place, when I realized that the place that I was in was already interesting.”

Quote by Emmet Gowin

Author

Emmet Gowin is an American photographer known for his unique style and profound exploration of the relationship between individuals, nature, and the human condition. His work often focuses on the private and public aspects of family life and the connection between people and the natural world. more

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“I made 10 times as many images as the other students," he says of the early years. "I destroyed all those negatives except a few. I did it as a reminder that you can't afford to waste time: take it seriously.”

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“Every photograph that is made whether by one who considers himself a professional, or by the tourist who points his snapshot camera and pushes a button, is a response to the exterior world, to something perceived outside himself by the person who operates the camera.”

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“Photographs are believed more than words; thus they can be used persuasively to show people who have never taken the trouble to look what is there.”

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“I don't think it's necessary to put your feelings about photography in words. I've read things that photographers have written for exhibitions and so forth about their subjective feelings about photography and mostly I think it's disturbing. I think they're fooling themselves very often. They're just talking, they're not saying anything.”

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“I do not photograph for ulterior purposes. I photograph for the thing itself - for the photograph - without consideration of how it may be used.”

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“But before all else a work of art is the creation of love. Love for the subject first and for the medium second. Love is the fundamental necessity underlying the need to create, underlying the emotion that gives it form, and from which grows the unfinished product that is presented to the world. Love is the general criterion by which the rare photograph is judged. It must contain it to be not less than the best of which the photographer is capable.”

“My emotions, instincts, and interests are all with nature.”

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“Much is missed if we have eyes only for the bright colors. Nature should be viewed without distinction... She makes no choice herself; everything that happens has equal significance. Nothing can be dispensed with. This is a common mistake that many people make: They think that half of nature can be destroyed - the uncomfortable half - while still retaining the acceptable and the pleasing side.”

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“I have always been fascinated by the life cycle, the way skin metamorphoses over time. I am mesmerized by skin and that's why I've been attracted to the nude. I do think people show their soul when they are stripped down psychically. There is something wondrous that happens when we relate on that level - and I am interested in that depth.”

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“I try to neutralize my figures; I want them to be mythic and timeless. I want them to exist beyond time. I've used the skull caps or cowls to banish hair, which is distracting. I want to isolate the face and concentrate on what is really going on deep within my subjects.”

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