I am opening this topic about photography quotes hoping that it will be of interest to someone.

We all probably know these quotes, at least the main ones, but I think that rereading them every now and then can be a source of reflection. The more I visit 1X.com the more I am convinced of this.

If the topic is not of interest, I apologize and be patient.

I will start with four of my favorites.

-- “I’ve always thought that photography is like a joke; if you have to explain it, it’s not a good one.”    (Ansel Adams -Maybe)

-- "There are no rules for good photographs, tere are only good photographs."   (Ansel Adams)

-- "If I knew how to take a good photograph, I’d do it every time."   (Robert Doisneau)

-- "Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow."  (Imogen Cunnigham)

Greetings to all.

For me, it's almost always worse.

"Almost always worse" sounds better than "always worse".

"Almost always" sounds better than "always".

"I don’t have a philosophy. I have a camera."  Saul Leiter

Quotations . . . . how many would you like? :-)    I've collected quite a few - on photography, and on writing - because both those disciplines are about communicating ideas, feelings, and stories. 

"Photographers should follow their own judgment, and not the fads and dictates of others.” . . . Bill Brandt

“Don’t expect anything original from an echo” . . . . Unknown

“Don’t Tell Me the Moon Is Shining; Show Me the Glint of Light on Broken Glass” . . . . Anton Checkhov

“When you have said something, make sure you have said it. The chances of your having said it are only fair.” . . . E. B. White

“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill

"Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger." . . . . Franklin P. Jones

Steven, I love the Churchill Quote!

„Take your time.

We often rush our own work. We don’t let our photos sit and marinate long enough, and we often don’t spend enough time editing our shots. Therefore this leads us to uploading too much work on the internet, some which are good – but others which are only “so-so.”

So don’t feel the need to rush things – take your time with your work. The best projects take years, or even decades to finish. Take your time, and you will be rewarded.“ - W. Eugene Smith, photographer

"If you are out there shooting, thing will happen for you. If you're not out there, you'll only hear about it".  Jay Maisel

„I always thought I was good. That's why it was so frustrating when other people didn't agree.“ - Robert Mapplethorpe, photographer

That's exactly what happens to me too! ...or maybe not? :-)

"When I was younger, I'd buy a vinyl album, take it home and live with it, and I think that attachment is largely gone for the file-sharing generation." - Anton Corbijn, photographer

“After following the crowd for a while, I’d then go 180 degrees in the exact opposite direction. It always worked for me.” – Elliott Erwitt

“To photograph some things for what they are, and others for what else they are”  . . . Minor White

“The notion of making money by popular work, and then retiring to do good work, is the most familiar of all the devil's traps for artists.”

. . . . Logan Pearsall Smith

Thank you, Hans!   You have some good ones.  

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”  . . . Edgar Degas

“A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.”  . . .  Diane Arbus

 “What I like in an Author isn't what he says, but what he whispers”  . . . . Logan Pearsall Smith

“To me, photography must suggest, not insist or explain.”   . . . .  Brassai

“The Truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind” . . . . Emily Dickinson

"A camera is a tool to teach you how to see without a camera".......Pete Turner

Wow, I like it very much!

This is what I have followed throughout my photographic journey.

I was first captivated by photography when, as a schoolboy in the 1960s, I came across a photo album by the Hungarian writer and photographer Moholy-Nagy László. Here is a favourite quote of his:

The enemy of photography is the convention, the fixed rules of 'how to do'. The salvation of photography comes from the experiment.

'It is part of the photographer’s job to see more intensely than most people do.’  . . . Bill Brandt. William Mortensen

"Photography, like any other art, is a form of communication. The artist is not blowing bubbles for his own gratification, but is speaking a language, is telling somebody something." - William Mortensen

“If the viewer doesn’t get it, you’ve failed to communicate”  . . . .  Elliott Erwitt

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." ― Aristotle

Saint Thomas Aquinas - three characteristics of beauty . . . .

Integritas (wholeness), Consonantia (proportionality), Claritas (radiance)

"Aristotle wrote these words in “The Poetics”, and they are true for many artists. Most artists strive to use image, structure, composition, and all the elements at their command to convey depth of feeling and meaning in their creations. Indeed, this is the bedrock of their practice, the goal for which they strive.

However, these words - or rather the attitude they represent - can also be a club with which the academic art world beats perfectly adequate artists who create more decorative art and are focused on conveying image without worrying overmuch about meaning.

I think it’s important to remember that the very best thing about the art world is its marvelous diversity. It encompasses an enormous range of talent, accomplishment, energy and ambition. Any words that represent a narrowing of that diversity, or an elevation of one segment over the other are likely not optimally productive, imho."

Michelle Gaugy, gallery owner, author and art consultant