For those of you who follow me on twitter (@djgphoto), you know that I am a sucker for a good creativity or photography quote. I often times find inspiration in the words other use to describe their work and ideas. So as I was sitting in classes and events today at Photoshop World, I decided to write down some of the quotes that really stood out to me for one reason or another. Sometimes they really made me think and other times they made me laugh. If you are at Photoshop World and have a quote that stands out in your mind, I would love to hear it in the comments or on twitter with the #PSW hash tag.
These first quotes are from the evening event The Art of Digital Photography. This is one of the biggest reasons I come to Photoshop World every year. This event is a great battery charger and creative inspiration. For those of you who haven’t attended, some of the best photographers in the world each spend about 10 mins showing some of their latest work or projects that matter most to them and what inspires them to keep creating new work. This year we saw work from Jim DiVitale, Joe Gylda, Joe McNally, Jeremy Cowart, Jay Maisel, Greg Heisler, Julieanne Kost, Dave Black and Moose Peterson.
“To me, pictures are about memory.” — Joe McNally after sharing the images from his work over the past 10 years with the survivors and family members from 9/11 for the Faces of Ground Zero. Joe, the standing ovation to this work doesn’t do justice to the love in your heart and the people in those stories.
“I hope that I am always able to use my gifts to do great things” — Jeremy Cowart
“Love conquers all.” A message from a newly married couple shared with Jeremy Cowart in Haiti right after their marriage in the rubble of a their church days after the earthquake.
“Determining a subject to photograph is not always easy.” — Joe Glyda
“I guess that is why they call it the cloud instead of being called a bright sunny day.” — Julieanne Kost in response to computer issues with cloud hosted files not working.
“Never think that it can’t be done” — Dave Black
“You have to let creativity come to you and then run with it.” — Joe Glyda
The 2nd most asked question to Moose Peterson in email “What is the best f/stop?”
“I have learned a valuable lesson in the last 80 mins, try and go first” — Dave Black in response to following Jim, Joe, Jeremy, Jay, Greg and Julieanne
“It was fun to photograph people who never notice you because they are busy.” — Jay Maisel
“I was in this nondescript hotel and something caught my eye.” — Jay Maisel
I also had the pleasure of sitting in on classes with Joel Grime and Scott Bourne who also shared some words that I found inspiring.
“Generosity defines your work. Do something for nothing and expect nothing in return.” — Scott Bourne
“Ultimately, it is the creative process that defines us” — Joel Grimes
“Art is the explosion of self-expression” — Joel Grimes
“No matter where you draw the line, someone will always be on the other side” — Joel Grimes
“If you let photography be defined by the technical process then you are obligated to work with in the boundaries set by your definition” — Joel Grimes
And so I leave you with one last quote from Joe earlier in the week: “Put yourself in the service of the person looking at your photographs. You can’t be there to narrate your photograph.”