Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A Quote Out of Context

© Jacques Henri Lartigue

While reading Langton's book, Photojournalism and Today's News, he had a quote from John Szarkovski's The Photographer's Eye: "To quote out of context is the essense of the photographer's craft." And given everything that I've been reading lately, I said to myself, "Whoa. What is he thinking?" I don't like the idea that the pictures that I create aren't telling the true story of what I am seeing. Otherwise, what's the point?

So, I'm thinking that he's crazy. But I want to know where his 'authority' is coming from, so I did a little research...

Here's his obit from the Washington Post. It includes this really cool quote from an interview he gave in 2000: "The truth is that anybody can make a photograph. The trouble is not that photographs are hard to make. The trouble is that they are hard to make intelligent and interesting."

Other obits:
Obit Magazine
New York Times

And reading what people said about him, like that "almost single-handedly elevated photography’s status in the last half-century to that of a fine art," it gives me pause and wants me to know more. I guess I need to do some more research...

But I still don't like the idea that photography is quotes out of context, because to me, that says that you're twisting things or misunderstanding, and I want me and my message(s) be understood.

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