During conversations about photography I find often I tend to fall back on the wise words offered by photographers whose talents I can only dream of. Ansel Adams' ooze both wit and wisdom in particular; my personal favourite, however, comes from Robert Capa and is often used as a mantra in certain circumstances.
“ Which of my photographs is my favourite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow." – Imogen Cunningham
"Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art." - Ansel Adams
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand" - Ansel Adams
"Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see it" - Elliott Erwitt
"A true photograph need not be explained nor can it be contained in words." -Ansel Adams
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” – Robert Capa
“A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into.” -Ansel Adams
“Taking pictures is savouring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” - Marc Riboud
“To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs,' I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.” - Ansel Adams
“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.” - Ansel Adams
“When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!” - Ted Grant
“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” - Ansel Adams
“If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough.” – Robert Capa
“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange
“There is a vast difference between taking a picture and making a photograph.” – Robert Heinecken
“Now, to consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravity before going for a walk.” - Edward Weston
“Film is cheaper than opportunity.” - Steve Silberman
“I find the single most valuable tool in the darkroom is my trash can.” – John Sexton
“I see something special and show it to the camera. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it is theirs.” – Sam Abell
“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer, and often the supreme disappointment.” - Ansel Adams
"One of these days I am going to publish a book of all the pictures I did not take" - Rene Burri
“I think all art is about control, the encounter between control and uncontrollable.” - Richard Avedon
“Maybe the judgment of whether something is art or not should come from the viewer and not the doer.” - Alan Babbitt
“Hardening of the categories causes art disease.” - W. Eugene Smith
“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.” - Lewis Hine
“Light glorifies everything. It transforms and ennobles the most commonplace and ordinary subjects. The object is nothing, light is everything.” - Leonard Missone
“The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.” - Ansel Adams
“If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” - Jay Maisel
“You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper.” - William Albert Allard
but when all is said and done ....
“Of course it’s all luck.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
"Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art." - Ansel Adams
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand" - Ansel Adams
"Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see it" - Elliott Erwitt
"A true photograph need not be explained nor can it be contained in words." -Ansel Adams
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” – Robert Capa
“A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into.” -Ansel Adams
“Taking pictures is savouring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” - Marc Riboud
“To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs,' I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.” - Ansel Adams
“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.” - Ansel Adams
“When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!” - Ted Grant
“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” - Ansel Adams
“If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough.” – Robert Capa
“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange
“There is a vast difference between taking a picture and making a photograph.” – Robert Heinecken
“Now, to consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravity before going for a walk.” - Edward Weston
“Film is cheaper than opportunity.” - Steve Silberman
“I find the single most valuable tool in the darkroom is my trash can.” – John Sexton
“I see something special and show it to the camera. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it is theirs.” – Sam Abell
“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer, and often the supreme disappointment.” - Ansel Adams
"One of these days I am going to publish a book of all the pictures I did not take" - Rene Burri
“I think all art is about control, the encounter between control and uncontrollable.” - Richard Avedon
“Maybe the judgment of whether something is art or not should come from the viewer and not the doer.” - Alan Babbitt
“Hardening of the categories causes art disease.” - W. Eugene Smith
“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.” - Lewis Hine
“Light glorifies everything. It transforms and ennobles the most commonplace and ordinary subjects. The object is nothing, light is everything.” - Leonard Missone
“The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.” - Ansel Adams
“If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” - Jay Maisel
“You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper.” - William Albert Allard
but when all is said and done ....
“Of course it’s all luck.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson