Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in.  ~Amy Lowell

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I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.

I was reading an article by Dewitt Jones in the latest Outdoor Photographer last night.  I always enjoy reading him; he is so positive and full of enthusiasm.  The title of the article was Don’t Prove…Improve!  He was recounting his experience when he got hired on as a National Geographic Photographer.  Dewitt was a little intimidated.  His new boss, Bob Gilka, gave him some advice that applies to us all.  He told Dewitt, “You don’t have to prove yourself, not to me or to the other photographers.  What I do demand that you do is improve yourself.  Every day….”

Dewitt goes on to write,

“[Gilka] understood that when we shoot from our own unique vision, there’s no reason to ‘prove’ ourselves…. There’s only one person on the planet who can do what we do, see as we see.

“Improve ourself?  That’s a different story.  There’s so much for all of us to learn to make our vision clearer, stronger, sharper.  And Gilka knew that the fastest way to learn is to trust and share rather than compete.”

Yep, I always enjoy reading Dewitt’s comments.  He is so positive.  And right on.

I was just an enthusiastic mountaineer of modest abilities who was willing to work quite hard and had the necessary imagination and determination.  I was just an average bloke.  It was the media that tried to transform me into a heroic figure.  But I’ve learned through the years, as long as you don’t believe all that rubbish about yourself, you can’t come to too much harm.

I don’t know if I particularly want to be remembered for anything.  I have enjoyed great satisfaction from my climb of Everest.  But my most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and medical clinics.  That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain.

Sir Edmond Hillary, 1^st to stand atop Mt Everest along with his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay

As quoted by David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortenson in “Three Cups of Tea”

Whether in the classical darkroom or the digital darkroom, I think alterations to the image should only be made when it’s necessary to achieve your visualization about the photograph.  I have particular concern for photographers that approach image making with the cavalier attitude of ,”it really doesn’t matter… I can fix it in Photoshop!”

I have never had a great deal of interest in the grand landscape.  I am more strongly attracted to quieter, more intimate details of the natural environment.  I can only hope that the quite solitude that interests me is visible in some of my  images.

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. ~ Colen Powell

“I am not interested in shooting new things – I am interested to see things new.”

~Ernst Haas

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When I start out for a day, I usually have something in mind, but I don’t fixate on it.  Finding subject matter is the process of narrowing down the possibilities.  I’m always open to whatever nature provides me.  I can be driving in the middle of nowhere and see something that attracts my eye, something that makes it special, and I have to listen – even if it’s not on my list.

…, it is our contention that the self is more emphatically emphasized by ignoring it and concentrating on the [subject] itself.  Personal knowledge is gained by objectification, looking outward not inward. Life itself is the mirror in which the personal image is reflected.