by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote
Sunday Photo/Art Quote – Ernst Haas
Pioneer in color photography.
Ernst Haas was born in Vienna in 1921. His early photographic work on Austrian returning prisoners of war brought him to the attention of LIFE magazine. Offered a job as a staff photographer he declined to keep his independence. At the invitation of Robert Capa, Haas joined Magnum Photographers in 1949, developing close associations with Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Experimenting with Kodachrome film. In 1953 LIFE magazine published a groundbreaking 24-page color photo New York City essay. This was the first time such a large color photo feature was published by LIFE. A 1962 retrospective was the first color photography exhibition held at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Needless to say, words of wisdom coming from an early icon have a bit of meaning son on to today’s Photo/Art Quote.
“There is only you and your camera. The limits in your photography are in yourself.” Ernst Haas
I believe these few words hold one of the secrets to becoming a better photographer. We need to look inside and learn what we want to create and how to do it. It goes back to something we talk about here in the Successful-Photographer blog, experimentation, and practice.
We also need to be forgiving of ourselves when we aren’t able to create the vision we have inside. Not having forgiveness leads to fear. Fear leads to lack of trying new things because we might not have success right away.
Lose the fear.
Experiment with new ideas and techniques.
Practice the new. Discard the old.
Learn your camera and its capabilities.
Look inside see what you can find to lose your limits.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
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by successfulbob | inspiration, people photography, photography, photography - art quote, photography creativity
Sunday Photo/Art Quote – Paul Caponigro
Funny how things work.
In looking for the Art quote for this week’s post, I came across these words.
“It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to create a portrait of who the are.” Paul Caponigro
But, strangely enough, this quote came from a photographer who is best known for landscape work that is imbued with mystical qualities.
Making portraits that capture personality and emotion is an art. No doubt about it. Paul’s quote got me to thinking about photographers who were able to tell deeply personal stories with their imagery in a single image. My name would not be on this list partly because I haven’t deeply worked at creating portraiture. Yes, I made photos of people for business and captured weddings and families over the years but not profound portraits. I think that’s because I don’t wish to share me with the world on too deep a level.
“What the heck are you talking about Bob??”
I believe that a great portrait is a combination of a photographer with deep empathy who is a passionate individual and not afraid to share that makes a great portrait photographer. A great portrait captures the subject but, I believe, is also a reflection of the photographer. And I just ain’t that deep. Still have some exploring to do on that front.
Anyway, I digress. Here are some of the names that came to mind. Yousef Karsch, Parker J Pfister, Tim Kelly, Richard Avedon, Mary Ellen Mark, Diane Arbus, Oscar Lazoya and Steve McCurry among many others.
© Tim Kelly – An exquisite portrait showing the love of a father & son. Emotion personified.
You may notice that all the portraitists I mentioned have varied styles. Apparently there’s more than one way to skin a cat! Maybe you can share some of your favorite portrait artists here. Be it those that are well known or unknown to the rest of the world. I’m curious to see the names on your list.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Are you creating portraits of your subjects? Or are you just taking pictures?
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Sunday Photo/Art Quote – Charles Maring
Met Chuck at a WPPI convention quite some years ago.
Impressed I was then. And even more-so now. He has grown and pushed his skills in tremendous ways. He has been at the forefront of creativity, and I have enjoyed watching his growth. He has leveraged technology to improve his photo and art imagery and expanded his skill set to include video production to rival pro houses. He is a great marketing person; I think you should take a look at the Maring’s website. Notice the plural. I would be remiss in not mentioning the Chuck is part of a team. As they say behind every successful man, there’s a strong woman. His wife Jennifer fulfills that role exceptionally well.
Can you tell I’m a fan of the Marings?
Here’s the quote that I grabbed from his art website that led to today’s post.
“The ability to observe and capture truth with eloquence is an art form that takes instinct. However, even instinct can be honed, and when the experience solidifies one’s sixth sense, it becomes intuition.” Charles Maring This quote continues
I often reference practicing your skills here on Successful-Photographer along with not being afraid to fail as that is one of the strongest ways to learn. I believe what Chuck is referring to in his quote is the ability to push and practice and study until you move to the place where your mind is working so well that you almost don’t even know all the thought that went into the creation of an image.
I’ll ask, to remind you once again, how much have you practiced this week? How much have you studied? Have you pushed enough to make your thought process in creating imagery intuitive?
If the answer is no, time to get on the stick.
Yours in creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | inspiration, photography - art quote, photography education
Sunday Photo/Art Quote – Robert Genn
Canadian Painter Robert Genn wrote a blog called The Painter’s Keys for many years before he moved on to the next world. I count myself lucky to have been a follower for some years. I learned many great ideas about painting, art, color and other tidbits that transfer over from painting to photography. Sometimes the correlation is not immediately obvious, but I must say I believe my photography has improved quite a bit once I started studying art and artists.
Robert may be gone, but The Painters Keys lives on through his daughter Sara, who reprises some of the ‘best-of’ letters from her dad and supplements them with letters and ideas of her own continuing the tradition. I think the art world is the better for it.
Today’s quote is a simple one from Robert, but one I believe needs to be seen on a regular basis lest we forget.
“The more you practice what you know, the more you know what to practice.” Robert Genn
We can all get into a groove that is comfortable when we work and even when we play. You may have heard the expression, if you spend too much time inside a groove you turn it into a rut.
Do your work. Don’t forget those personal projects that help you explore and practice new ideas. Find what works. Push it to the next level. Make some mistakes. Try again.
Practice more so you know what to practice!
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Check out The Painter’s Keys. Take a look at some of the letters and sign up for notifications of new letters. They come out about twice-weekly. You’ll be glad you did I think you’ll be surprised how much we photographers have in common with painters and other artists.
by successfulbob | art books, photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Sunday Photo/Art Quote is from Peter Gowland
Peter Gowland was a glamour portrait photographer and author who left us in 2010. He was credited with creating over a thousand magazine covers ranging from Rolling Stone to Modern Photography. In addition, Peter made his own photo gear. The quote that brings him to the pages of Successful-Photographer is one that has to do with light. We often talk about ‘Painting with Light’ in photography and here are some descriptive words I feel we should think upon.
“Light is an interpretive tool in the hands of a photographer. He can make it harsh or soft, revealing or concealing, flattering or libellous. The more he knows about the versatility of light, the easier it is to cope with any picture-taking situation he encounters.”—Peter Gowland
The language of light is one That requires study. After twenty-plus years as a photographer, I’m still finding new ways to express my thoughts on lighting. As I read these words the ones that captured my attention the most were the descrptors, flattering or libellous. I’m finding that being able to think with a deeper vocabulary makes it possible, no more probable, to create lighting situations that I would like to enhance the subjects before my camera.
Maybe I’m a slow learner, but I find as I study photography, light and color more in-depth there is so much more to learn. It is why photography has held my interest and attention over all this time. I believe that I will never totally master photography. The day that I feel I know it all it will be time for the next adventure.
How about you?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | inspiration, photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Sunday Photo/Art Quote from Sir Herkomer on Magic & Light
I’m always on the lookout for creative photography quotes & this week’s selection comes courtesy of Michael Colin Campbell. He’s a fabulous photographer and maintains an excellent photography FaceBook Group called On Photography. (check out On Photography here) Michael is a historian of photography as well, and I get great enjoyment from following his posts there. I recommend you drop by and check it out and become part of the conversation.
“It is by the management of light that we touch the true magic of our art.” Sir Hubert von Herkomer
This quote grabbed me because of its simplicity as most wonderful quotes do. It brought to mind that what we as photographers do when we do it well, is capture magic. While Herkomer is a painter, I feel many other arts inform our photography if we are open to it. When an image is created with well-executed lighting, it can bring out strong emotion in the viewer. Which leads me to the craft of what we do. Have you attempted to master your lighting skills? Do you practice and experiment pushing the boundaries of your knowledge of light? Or, are you a ‘Natural Light Photographer’?
Please don’t get me wrong. I can appreciate being able to find and see the fabulous light in any situation. But I believe we need to be able to use ‘available light’. And by that, I mean any and all lighting that is available which includes light from whatever source we can get our hands on to create the proper shadows that will make our images sing.
As if by Magic…
Here is an example of the stunning light and depth Herkomer has created.
Eventide: A Scene in the Westminster Union (workhouse), 1878
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – I’ve been at this as a pro for over twenty years. Maybe I’m a slow learner, but I’m still working on learning and experimenting with light. I don’t think I’ll ever master photography & lighting, but I sure enjoy trying!
