Do you have a term paper to write for photography class? Are you looking to impress a hot hipster with a lomography fetish? Do you suffer from attention deficit disorder? Then this is the article for you.
It’s nothing more than a mathematically-challenged baker’s dozen of my own personal photography quotes — unadorned with tedious explanatory prose and contextual verbiage. Each quote is something I’ve written, said or thought about photography in the past couple of years.
The reason I’ve gathered and presented them here in easy ‘copy-and-paste’ format is because either 1) I wish to perform a public service to the greater photographic community or 2) I’m too lazy to write a real article. I’m not telling you which.
“If a photograph’s success depends on its technical merits, then I’ve failed as a photographer.” -grEGORy simpson
“Good photographs reveal more of the viewer than the view.” -grEGORy simpson
“I’ve grown disenchanted with taking beautiful photos. I’d rather photograph beautiful things.” -grEGORy simpson
“Although many people label me a street photographer, I have taken very few photos of actual streets.” -grEGORy simpson
“There’s nothing wrong with loving a camera — as long as it remains platonic.” -grEGORy simpson
“Small stories attract me. There can be much significance in the insignificant.” -grEGORy simpson
“I’m not talented enough to take color photos.” -grEGORy simpson
“I want a photograph to ask more questions than it answers.” -grEGORy simpson
“If cameras were meant to have bells and whistles, they’d sell them at party supply stores.” -grEGORy simpson
“To say I photograph human beings is a gross generality. What I photograph is humans being.” -grEGORy simpson
“Focus, Schmocus.” -grEGORy simpson
“You can’t learn to be a good photographer until you first learn to recognize a good photograph.” -grEGORy simpson
“I’d rather take a photo people remember hating than one they don’t remember liking.” -grEGORy simpson
“Nothing is more arbitrary than a level horizon.” -grEGORy simpson
ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: “Eye Contact,” “Untitled” and “Sunday Sk8” were shot with a Leica M9 and a 28mm Summicron lens. “A Precarious Protuberance” and “Funkified” were shot with a Leica M9 and a 35mm Summicron lens (version 4). “Goal!” was shot on Tri-X film at ISO 400 using a Rollei 35T inside Rogers Arena during a third round Stanley Cup playoff game between the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. Developed in Ilfotec DD-X at 1:9.
This article (along with many of its associated comments) first appeared July 22, 2011 in my f/Egor column for the Leica Camera Blog.
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🙂
Amen!