 “There are two kinds of photographers: those who compose pictures and those who take them. The former work in studios. For the latter, the studio is the world… For them, the ordinary doesn’t exist: every thing in life is a source of nourishment.”
– Ernst Haas
Although I can appreciate studio photography I find this quote by Ernst Haas to really resonate with me. One of the most attractive elements of photography is that the camera becomes your license to explore the world. Where has your license taken you recently?
[tags]Ernst Haas, quote, photography, picture, photograph, photo, photos[/tags]
In either case, being a photographer is learning to see in certain ways, and to express in certain ways, so that others can see in new ways.
I guess that if you stay in a studio, your expression is going to be more introspective and focus on seeking intensity found in small things and the unknown through the familar; whereas if you go out into the unknown, you are going to be encountering all sorts of unexpected stimuli and be flooded by the sheer flood of stuff around you.
Haas was one of my first favorite photographers (“The Creation” might have been my first photography book), but this quote sorta baffles me…. I wonder if something was lost in translation.
One thing I like about Haas is that his camera wasn’t just a license to explore the world, but to explore his relationship to it. He has a cool story about the impossibility of conveying a mystical sensation he felt while contemplating an apple. He got nourishment from that apple in a couple of different ways, neither of which involved a camera. 😉
By the way, check out: http://www.ernst-haas.com for much material, quotes, etc.
Jonny1964 well my intent wasn’t to put the quote out there to differentiate studio versus field photographers. I just found the notion of getting out to explore an interesting concept particularly given the source.
John the quote is attributed to Lacouture, 1989:49. I’m sure you might be able to find the entire quote at a library. I didn’t mean to put words in his mouth. It’s easy to interpret the quote to the concept of being out in the world and living what you photograph. In that regard to me it is a license to explore. Thanks for the clarification and the link to his site.
Incidentally, that quote is attributed to Jean Lacouture, a Frenchman, so there might be some translation snafus. It looks like the quote appeared in Lacouture’s biography of Robert Capa, which was published in 1989, three years after Haas’ death.
That was fast 🙂 Glad you were able to track down the specifics behind the quote. I’m sure it did lose something in the translation, but either way its good food for thought.
Photography puts me in an almost meditative like state that helps me to figure out my personal connection to the subject. It also is an outlet to push my own agendas, such as having cars banned from (anonymous historic location). 🙂
Thanks for that quote, Jim.
I’ve found that getting out and photographing the world around me is exhilarating. I free and satisfied, capturing a vision of existence.
My first photographic mentor printed with/for Haas the last 6 months of his life….
They did NOT discuss photography but the universe and life. First you must be willing to internallySEE…..