I want to allow others to reveal and celebrate aspects of themselves that are usually hidden. My camera is a witness. It holds a light up for my subjects to help them feel their own essence, and gives them the courage to collaborate in the recording of these revelations.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the power of photography to uncover and celebrate hidden aspects of individuals, highlighting their true essence.
Joyce Tenneson's quote emphasizes the role of the photographer as a facilitator who helps subjects reveal their innermost selves through the lens of a camera. It portrays photography not merely as an act of taking pictures, but as a collaborative process where the camera serves as a witness, illuminating and capturing the essence of the subjects, encouraging them to embrace their authenticity and share it with the world.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a photography exhibition to emphasize the emotional connection between subjects and the photographer.
Through a portrait, we can potentially see everything — the history and depth of a person's life, as well as evidence of a primal universal presence. I have dedicated my life and creative energy to capturing these transcendent moments in which a connection is made between the subject, the photographer, and the viewer.
Music at times is more like perfume than mathematics.
Poetry reveals that there is no empty space.
Sometimes I get the start of a story from a memory, an anecdote, but that gets lost and is usually unrecognizable in the final story.
Just as most of us prefer to watch a trapeze artist work without a net, we like to be absolutely sure that a virtuoso is giving us our money's worth, and a seemingly effortless performance, no matter how spectacular it may be, deprives us of that slightly sadistic thrill.
Tell the story as if it were only of interest to the small circle of your characters, of which you may be one. There is no other way to put life into the story.
To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.