“Well, I do think, particularly the way I work, the better images occur when you're moving to the fringes of your own understanding. That's where self-doubt and risk taking are likely to occur. It's when you trust what's happening at a non-intellectual non-conscious level that you can produce work that later resonates, often in a way that you can't articulate a response to.” ThinkingWayWellsSelfMovingUnderstandingLevelsDoubtRiskProducePhotographyIntellectualHappeningsConsciousResponsePhotographerFringeRisk-takingSelf-doubt Author:Jerry Uelsmann
“There's no great mystique to photography. A lot of photographers like to put their hands up to their forehead and tell you how they've suffered and so forth. Well, I just rent a car and drive to the place and take the pictures.” WellsHandsCarPhotographyPhotographerForeheadsMystiqueHands Up Author:Elliott Erwitt
“To compose a subject well means no more than to see and present it in the strongest manner possible.” WellsMeanSubjectsPhotographyPhotographerStrongest Book:Edward Weston on photography Source: Edward Weston on photography
“More and more are turning to photography as a medium of expression as well as communication. The leavening of aesthetic approaches continues. While it is too soon to define the characteristic of the photographic style today, one common denominator, rooted in tradition, seems in the ascendancy. The direct use of the camera for what it can do best, and that is the revelation, interpretation, and discovery of the world of man and of nature. The greatest challenge to the photographer is to express the inner significance through the outward form.” MenWorldWellsUseSeemsTodayFormCan DoChallengesCommonStyleExpressionCommunicationApproachPhotographyDiscoveryTraditionDirectCamerasPhotographerMediumsCharacteristicsRevelationsSignificanceInterpretationAestheticRootedCommon DenominatorAscendancy Author:Beaumont Newhall
“People who wouldn't think of taking a sieve to the well to draw water fail to see the folly in taking a camera to make a painting.” PeopleThinkingWellsWaterFailingPaintingPhotographyDrawsCamerasFolly Author:Edward Weston
“To the vast majority of people a photograph is an image of something within their direct experience: a more-or-less factual reality. It is difficult for them to realize that the photograph can be the source of experience, as well as the reflection of spiritual awareness of the world and of self.” PeopleWorldWellsSelfRealitySpiritualDifficultRealizingAwarenessSourcePhotographyReflectionDirectMajorityPhotographFactualSpiritual Awareness Author:Ansel Adams
“A Ming vase can be well-designed and well-made and is beautiful for that reason alone. I don't think this can be true for photography. Unless there is something a little incomplete and a little strange, it will simply look like a copy of something pretty. We won't take an interest in it.” ThinkingWellsLooksLittlesMadeReasonBeautifulInterestStrangePhotographyBeing TrueCopiesIncompleteVases Book:Pictures under discussion Source: Pictures under discussion
“To me photography can be simultaneously both a record and a mirror or window of self-expression the camera is generally assumed to be unable to depict that which is not visible to the eye and yet, the photographer who wields it well can depict what lies unseen in his memory.” WellsSelfEyeLyingMemoriesRecordsExpressionPhotographyWindowMirrorsCamerasPhotographerVisibleUnseenSelf Expression Author:Eikoh Hosoe
“I seek what lies beneath surface beauty. What interests me are intimate human complexities - the darkness as well as the light. I cannot will this kind of transcendent communication into existence. I have to be open and truly present, and if I am lucky, grace descends. My best photographs are an honest collaboration, and when the viewer also connects, I feel the circle is complete.” IfsFeelsHumansWellsKindLightLyingInterestExistenceDarknessGraceHonestCommunicationLuckyPhotographyPhotographerPhotographSurfaceCirclesIntimateComplexityCollaborationViewersTranscendent Author:Joyce Tenneson
“Through a portrait, we can potentially see everything — the history and depth of a person's life, as well as evidence of a primal universal presence. I have dedicated my life and creative energy to capturing these transcendent moments in which a connection is made between the subject, the photographer, and the viewer.” WellsPersonsMadeMomentsEnergyCreativeSubjectsPhotographyEvidenceConnectionsUniversalDepthPhotographerDedicatedPortraitsViewersTranscendentPrimalCreative Energy Author:Joyce Tenneson