True Solitude
True solitude is the boredom of hearing nothing but our own voice. That’s an increasingly rare occurrence.
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The Law of F*ck Yes or No
The Law of Fuck Yes or No states that when you want to get involved with someone new, in whatever capacity, they must inspire you to say “Fuck Yes” in order for you to proceed with them.
Replace “someone” with “hobby” or “project,” and it becomes a pretty helpful thought exercise.
Embrace Discomfort
Embrace the discomfort of going out alone, of putting the phone away, of talking to strangers, of existing through a time of rapid and overwhelming change. Remember that we are in a revolution, but that revolution itself is nothing new; it only manifests in new ways.
If you can get comfortable being uncomfortable, discomfort becomes the norm and is easier to process, while comfort becomes the exception to the rule. More importantly though, if you can get comfortable being uncomfortable, you can get in touch with the only thing that really matters in times of uncertainty and change: your humanity. Stay human. Talk to humans. Help humans out.
Ali’s Thoughts (Ali from One Month Two Cameras)
‘The Light Is the Story’
“Bad light can rob even the most incredible scenes of their visual interest, while good light can transform the most mundane subjects into a thing of beauty.” – Cameron Whitman (via Twitter)
Byproducts of Exploration
“For me, the pictures I make are the byproduct of my explorations, not an end in themselves.” – Stephen Shore
Your Own Voice
“Your favourite writers and works already exist. You can’t be them. But conversely, nobody else can tell stories in your voice. So do that.”
Close Proximity to Reality
“We can talk about the photographer as an author who – on the basis of facts and by means of a minimal shift in perception – creates in close proximity to reality.”
Thomas Weski, “Draft of a Presentation,” in William Eggleston’s Los Alamos.
Good Excuse
CJ Chilvers says he was wrong about landscape photography:
Landscape photography is healthy. You hike miles. You look at gorgeous things. It feels good. It makes others looking at the results feel good too. Few things create such positive results for all involved.
Amen. As always, photography can serve as the excuse to do something you already love.
How Learning Works
“How learning works: ‘you practice music scales so you can forget them when playing music.'” – Luke Wroblewski
Same goes for technique and photography, or color theory and design. Make the technical stuff muscle memory, then go out and do what you feel like doing.
(That’s The Neal Morse Band in Cleveland, Ohio. Great show, and great new double concept album.)
Art Requires You To Move On
“Making decisions about art based entirely on commerce is a recipe for regret.” – CJ Chilvers
Gateway to Art
“The gateway drug is not creating art, but experiencing art.” – Christoph Niemann in Abstract: The Art of Design
Indeed. I’m lucky, working at a museum, because I experience art every day. But even before this job, I made sure to visit museums and seek out good work.
Artists’ websites, photo books, small town galleries – there’s no excuse not to surround yourself with, and absorb, art. I’d argue, given everything else, that it makes you a better artist.
Work For Yourself
“Because they can’t publish you better than you can publish yourself.” – Seth Godin
Find the Light
“Find the light. Find it and harness it. It’s ours.”
Justin Nicole Melville, fellow Jackson artist and photographer.
A Search for Beauty
I may be old-fashioned, but I believe there is such a thing as a search for beauty – a delight in the nice things in the world. And I don’t think one should have to apologize for it.
Saul Leiter (via bijan)
…and really all you need to make photos. “A search for beauty.”
No Memory of Paradise
We Americans are permanently fallen creatures who possess no memory of paradise, only a fantasy of it. And the fantasy, unrealized, perhaps unrealizable, turns us violent.
Russell Banks, intro to Beneath the Roses
Be The Light
Photography allows you to be the light that shines onto someone so that the rest of the world can see them.
No Other Goal
Being an artist is simply about creating artistic stuff, for no other goal than the pursuit itself and a need to communicate.
LaRoque – in his new project, these kings. these subterraneans.
To Please Others
Realize that street photography is more about learning about yourself as a human being, rather than just trying to make good photographs to please others.
Eric Kim – The Art of Learning Street Photography
Question Authority
If we can’t think for ourselves, if we’re unwilling to question authority, then we’re just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power will work for us.
Carl Sagan, The Demon Haunted World
True to Your Roots
However I have discovered over time– the best photographic opportunities are in your own backyard (neighborhood, city, community) and staying true to your roots is really important. There are tons of photographic opportunities waiting to be shot where you already live.
Wandering, And Being Flexible
We never know when a great “decisive moment” will happen– so wandering and being flexible and open to ideas is important.