I am very conscious of taking an image and that does take some of the spontaneity out of it. Where the spontaneity comes back in is that I always leave room for luck (*) - the random occurrence that you can’t make happen. There is always an element of chance.via Arts Preview: Philip-Lorca Di Corcia, The Hepworth Wakefield to June 1 (*) at the yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk (*).
Every time you take a picture, you’re saying yes to what you see.From an Interview (*) with Olivia Bee (*).
There should be a degree of consciousness about who you are in the world at that moment, a kind of integrated consciousness.
It’s not blind luck, so if one can find what it is that makes you conscious, what gives you the pleasure of being alive at that moment, I feel that is what leads you to your own identity.
Because in the long run, your individual identity will be revealed by the strength of the photographs you make in one year, ten years, 15 years—there’s a string.
They’re like little jewels on the string and they carry all the messages that you were excited by when the world spoke to you.
Colin Pantall on Photography and Remembering:
It's strange how one remembers things without being aware on any conscious level of why one remembers or how one remembers. [..]Perhaps it might be good to reach elsewhere for our ideas on photography, outside the small, incestuous world of photo-theory so that we can add to and enrich our understanding of how images work with added engagement and added interest. Today, cognitive and social psychology might be good places to start. [..]
I can't help but feel that there is also an element of the false memory (more of which in a different post) and wish fulfilment in there as well.
The idea that when we see those happy pictures, we remember them and feel that those happy times will come again.
Tim Winton on Geography:
I’m very conscious of the specifics of geography and the way it shapes us, whether we recognise this or not.via From Tim Winton to Gail Jones: why writing matters in WA by Catherine Noske.
When I shoot (*), I focus (*) on what is in front of me. But when I edit (*), I concentrate on what I want to say or tell, and most of the time it ends up being different from what I thought it would be. I think I can say that shooting for me is an intuitive (*) process, but editing is a very conscious (*) one.via Talking Photographs with Chris Leskovsek (*) by Michael Ernest Sweet (*).
"teaching you how to think"is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea:
"learning how to think"really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think.
In bold are the qualities with an explanation, but those are just qualities. Underneath each item you see the word ACTION. [..] Over the years I have learned it is too easy to set goals or to talk about being the best, unless those goals are followed up by specific actions it just is a very temporary feel good process. Each individual needs to take control and decide on the they action they will take. They must establish ownership. Do not recommend or assign an action for them.
our influences are more than just what artists we've studied or admired. We all bring our own personal experiences, biases and values to our photographs, whether it's a conscious effort or not.via Finding the Story in Your Street Photography (*) by Joe Newman (*).
It's strange how one remembers things without being aware on any conscious level of why one remembers or how one remembers.via A Happy Post for Happy People (*) by Colin Pantall (*).
So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf
in good health and good time
When he is shooting on the street, there isn’t much time to contemplate each moment.[1] The light was just beautiful as the sun rose on our landing approach to Busan. Often just photograph a scene because of the good nature of the light. For me the scene has extra meaning as it represents the beginning of a long, challenging and, ultimately, rewarding trip to Busan, South Korea."Photography takes place in a fraction of a second"Meyerowitz says."There isn't a lot of time to think about things. You have to hone your instinct. You learn to hone that skill and timing so you’re in the right place at the right time."Although he has made images that have moved audiences for decades, that has never been his true motivation."I'm not out there to make another ‘great picture,"he says.I’m really out there to feel what it feels like to be alive and conscious in that moment. In a sense, the record of my photographs is a record of moments of consciousness and awareness that have come to me in my life"
