The one thing I love about quotes is that they help you express how you feel without thinking of the words yourself. I often add quotes to my photographs because I think it helps to develop a deeper meaning. It makes you think a little bit more about the photo. I am always looking for quotes on all aspects of life, whether it be quotes about happiness, summertime, or dealing with change. Quotes can have such a positive impact on a situation we are going through and give us hope and courage. In a later blog, I will discuss my technique on determining what quote to add to my photo. For now, I want to share my top ten favorite quotes on photography and why they hold so much meaning to me.
1. “Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” -Destin Sparks
Sometimes, it is hard to write about a specific topic, so photographing helps convey a much deeper message. Last October, when I was in Atlantic City, I was trying to photograph a Golden-Doodle walking on the Boardwalk. The dog was too fast for me, and I would up capturing an image of a homeless man sitting on a bench holding a sign. The pain in his eyes, his torn clothes, and words expressing his need for food or money are all you need to realize that homelessness is a growing issue we face in America.
2. “The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.”- Andy Warhol
Throughout our lifetime, people come and go. It happens to everyone. Pictures help us remember the good times we shared with that person, even if life had other plans. That is what is so beautiful about pictures. They will freeze that moment and allow us to remember how our life was.
3. “To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” -Elliot Erwitt
Two people are looking at a painting. Each takes something different away. The same is valid for photographers. Two photographers can be looking at the same flower, each seeing something different from the other. That is what makes photography so unique and powerful.
4. “I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.” -Diane Arbus
I love looking at photographs from travel photographers, especially Art Wolfe. They take me to places I know I might never visit. But it is because of these photographers that we can “visit” or see certain places. Without travel photographers, we wouldn't be able to see the various wildlife in the rainforests of South America or the inside of an Egyptian pyramid. And this is why I like to include many of the places I visit and photograph on my social media sites because I know there are people out there who may never get a chance to visit them.
5. “What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” -Karl Lagerfeld
Whether it be a natural phenomenon or a family portrait, photographs help us relive a moment that may never come again. I have many pictures like this—pictures of people who have passed or buildings in my town that have since been demolished. Looking at these pictures helps me to go back in time and relive that moment.
6. “When people ask me what equipment I use – I tell them my eyes.” -Anonymous
Without the right eye, you won’t get a good photograph. You can have the best camera, the best lens, all the new fancy gadgets, but without the ability that unique angle, you leave your viewers uninterested.
7. “My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” -Steve McCurry
As a photographer, I have an itching to wander and explore what is around me. And being that I have a reputation for capturing so many places, I feel that my camera gives me the ability to travel and wander.
8. “Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.” -Peter Adams
The true passion of a photographer is seen in his or her work. If you are truly passionate about something, people see and feel it. Photographers who are passionate about their subjects create the best images. They continuously focus on that subject, perfecting it, capturing it at all angles, and continually working to make it better. That is why the feeling is one of the most important aspects of photography.
9. “Once photography enters your bloodstream, it is like a disease.”- Anonymous
Once who are bitten by the “shutterbug”, that’s it! You keep on getting that urge to photograph and make yourself a better photographer. You begin to find yourself getting up very early in the morning to capture a fantastic sunrise or stay up late to edit pictures. You find yourself taking webinars and reading books or attending workshops. Photography becomes a part of you and begins to define you.
10. “Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” -Imogen Cunningham
A few years ago, I took a photo of a single raindrop on a leaf. I loved it, and it was my favorite. A few months later, I photographed a staircase at a local lodge, which became my favorite photograph. Last summer, I snapped a seagull flying perfectly between two beams of a pier, and that then became my favorite photograph. Since then, I have taken so many more pictures and have at least twenty more favorite images. Photographers are always perfecting their game, and their list of favorite photographs is forever changing.
Thanks for reading!
XO Gina