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Quote by Margaret Bourke-White

“As photographers, we live through things so swiftly. All our experience and training is focused toward snatching off the highlights... That all significant perfect moment, so essential to capture, is often highly perishable. There may be little opportunity to probe deeper.”

Quote by Margaret Bourke-White

Book:Portrait of Myself

Work

Portrait of Myself

This book is a collection of essays and musings that delve into the author's life, thoughts, and experiences, offering readers a glimpse into the author's personal journey and philosophy. more

Author

Margaret Bourke-White

Margaret Bourke-White was an American photographer known for her distinctive style and for documenting significant historical events. Her work spanned across various fields, including news, advertising, and art photography. more

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“We are in a privileged and sometimes happy position. We see a great deal of the world. Our obligation is to pass it on to others.”

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Author:Margaret Bourke-White

“But I did not always know just what it was I wanted to photograph. I believe it is important for a photographer to discover this, for unless he finds what it is that excites him, what it is that calls forth at once an emotional response, he is unlikely to achieve his best work.”

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Book:Camera in London

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“I am not very interested in extraordinary angles. They can be effective on certain occasions, but I do not feel the necessity for them in my own work. Indeed, I feel the simplest approach can often be most effective. A subject placed squarely in the center of the frame, if attention is not distracted from it by fussy surroundings, has a simple dignity which makes it all the more impressive.”

Source: Bill Brandt: Selected Texts & Bibliography

“By temperament I am not unduly excitable and certainly not trigger-happy. I think twice before I shoot and very often do not shoot at all. By professional standards I do not waste a lot of film; but by the standards of many of my colleagues I probably miss quite a few of my opportunities. Still, the things I am after are not in a hurry as a rule.”

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Book:Bill Brandt: Selected Texts & Bibliography

Source: Bill Brandt: Selected Texts & Bibliography

“My quest, through the magic of light and shadow, is to isolate, to simplify and to give emphasis to form with the greatest clarity. To indicate the ideal proportion, to reveal sculptural mass and the dominating spirit is my goal.”

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Author:Ruth Bernhard

“Light is my inspiration, my paint and brush. It is as vital as the model herself. Profoundly significant, it caresses the essential superlative curves and lines. Light I acknowledge as the energy upon which all life on this planet depends.”

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“One thing I would never photograph is a dog lying in the mud.”

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Author:Diane Arbus

“All the arts are based on the presence of man, only photography derives an advantage from his absence. Photography affects us like a phenomenon in nature, like a flower or a snowflake whose vegetable or earthly origins are an inseparable part of their beauty.”

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Book:What Is Cinema?

Source: What Is Cinema?

“I knew my destiny when I first experienced Yosemite.”

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Book:Ansel Adams: in the National Archives

Source: Ansel Adams: in the National Archives

“I photographed the entire thing in color because to photograph it in black and white would be to keep it as a tragedy. Because there is a tragic element to photographing, in this case not war, but the collapse. It was just destruction.”

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Author:Joel Meyerowitz