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Amateurs and Art
I wonder why we have come to use “amateur” as a pejorative adjective when applied to photographers. People tend to elide the gap between the trite definition of an amateur — somebody who doesn’t earn a living or much money taking pictures — and the more condescending definition — somebody who is inept at taking […]
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Simplifying quotation
Every photographer knows that a photograph simplifies.… A photograph quotes from appearances but, in quoting, simplifies them. This simplification can increase legibility. John Berger, Understanding a Photograph (2013), 74
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For the thing itself …
I do not photograph for ulterior purposes. I photograph for the thing itself—for the photograph—without consideration of how it may be used. Eliot Porter, Intimate Landscapes (New York, 1979), 11
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A Case for Postcards
Postcards are, in many ways, the opposite of snapshots. They are carefully timed, sometimes staged, usually aspirational scenes. I say aspirational because they project a longed-for and idealized experience. They also tend to homogenize our experiences of a place, produced as they are by a tourism industry that seeks to commodify and promote particular destinations. […]
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The details of nature …
The details of nature become more interesting, and the become more beautiful too, as one becomes more aware of them. Eliot Porter, The Color of Wildness (New York, 2001), 132
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In Praise of Snapshots
Snapshots don’t receive the love and affection they deserve. Snapshots, those quick photos dashed off with little thought or planning. They are often out of focus, not level, too bright or too dark, and poorly composed, if at all. Faded, bent, and torn snapshots fill equally faded albums and dusty boxes on the top shelves […]
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Documenting Covid-19
An article/interactive in today’s NY Times, “The Great Empty,” reminds photographers that they can play a role in documenting history. This is the first pandemic we’ve experienced since photography has become widely available and practiced. Sure, photography was around during the 1918-1919 pandemic, but only to a relative few. Today there are multitudes. I hope […]
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If on a Winter’s Afternoon…
You had been wandering the streets for a few hours looking for some scene, some storefront, courtyard, or back alley. Now and then you sought shelter from the drizzle, ducking into a café or standing in a doorway. The dreary sky and glistening cobblestones suited the city, which somehow seems to glow with its own […]
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Photos for a Good Cause
How can photographers help out at right now? Donating time and talent is certainly one way. But given the efforts to maintain distance between people, taking photos of and for others might not be the wisest activity at the moment. And I’m not sure how many people need or are even thinking about photos right […]
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Artist’s Responsibility
It is the responsibility of artists to pay attention to the world, pleasant or otherwise, and to help us live respectfully in it. Robert Adams, Art Can Help, 9