The Craft Of Photography Is The Key

I Have Often Thought That If Photography Were Difficult In The True Sense Of The Term - Meaning That The Creation Of A Simple Photograph Would Entail As Much Time And Effort As The Production Of A Good Watercolor Or Etching - There Would Be A Vast Improvement In Total Output. The Sheer Ease With Which We Can Produce A Superficial Image Often Leads To Creative Disaster.

Some Photographers Take Reality... And Impose The Domination Of Their Own Thought And Spirit. Others Come Before Reality More Tenderly And A Photograph To Them Is An Instrument Of Love And Revelation.

To Photograph Truthfully And Effectively Is To See Beneath The Surfaces.

The Dismal Half-baked Images Of The Average "reportage" And "documentary" Photography Are Self Dammning... The Slick Manner, The Slightly Obscure Significance, The Esoteric Fear Of Simple Beauty For Its Own Sake - I Am Deeply Concerned With These Manifestations Of Decay. Gene Smith's Work Validates My Most Vigorous Convictions That If The Documentary Photographs Is To Be Truly Effective It Must Contain Elements Of Art, Intensity, Fine Craft And Spirituality. All These His Work Contains And We May Turn To His Work With Gratitude, Appreciation And Great Respect.

I've Always Thought Photography Was An Art Form, But It Had Very Low Appreciation In The Beginning, Except For Some Europeans, And Of Course Stieglitz. Stieglitz Always Considered Photography To Be An Art Form And Is The "father" Of The Creative Concepts Of The Twentieth Century.