My best work is often almost unconscious and occurs ahead of my ability to understand it. — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
Photographs that transcend but do not deny their literal situation appeal to me. — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
A mad, keen photographer needs to get out into the world and work and make mistakes. — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
My father taught me photography. It was his hobby, and we had a small darkroom in the fruit cellar of our basement.… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
Life rarely presents fully finished photographs. An image evolves, often from a single strand of visual interest - a distant horizon, a… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
[In the late 80's] that's the first time I heard about that astonishing idea [that most photographs would be taken on telephones].… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
I had luck, but I worked hard and I suffered. It's not just photography I'm talking about. It's about whatever dream you… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
It actually has transcended my career at the Geographic, so that when my career there ended, I had momentum as a teacher,… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
Typically I see it with photographers who go to a place like India or Nepal, and everything's so colorful and exotic and… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
I'm very involved in photographing America now, so I don't think of faraway places, as I did when I was young. — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
My connection to Santa Fe is very closely, and continuously a connection with Reid. I believe in him and his philosophy of… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
I was a consultant for Kodak back in the late 80's. There were engineers there who told me that in the future,… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
First of all, I appropriate photographs.In presenting the Richard Prince photograph I tried to be as neutral as I could be. I… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
I can't speak for other photographers, but the photographers who went forward strongly when the so-called "official" part of their career ended,… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
I was asked by a student what my most significant accomplishment was at National Geographic, after thirty years, and I said that… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
Exotic novelty. My statement to [people] is always, well, set this picture in your home town, is it still an interesting picture?… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
The class that I teach is called "The Life of a Photograph." It takes up the question, of the billion photographs that… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
When assignments were over, photography continued. One of the primary reasons it did was that I wanted and needed to have fresh… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
I was giving a lecture and I said, that's enough about The Photographic Life, meaning my biography, now let's talk about the… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
One of the things that I most believe in is the compose and wait philosophy of photography. It’s a very satisfying, almost… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
You know you are seeing such a photograph if you say to yourself, "I could have taken that picture. I've seen such… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
In the last workshop I taught, a woman flew in from Thailand. She's a medical doctor in Bangkok. I asked her in… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
There are a lot of ways to talk about the life of a photograph. You can talk about the afterlife of a… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
And that desire-the strong desire to take pictures-is important. It borders on a need, based on a habit: the habit of seeing.… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
But there is more to a fine photograph than information. We are also seeking to present an image that arouses the curiosity… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
For spiritual companions I have had the many artists who have relied on nature to help shape their imagination. And their most… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
[ My time and our common culture] it's what I'm photographing, and I'm very involved with that. — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
It's more difficult now, to be a Geographic photographer, than it was when I came along. And it wasn't easy at that… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
We know that photographs inform people. We also know that photographs move people. The photograph that does both is the one we… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
My least favorite photographer to have would be myself. Someone who wanted a career at National Geographic. Because it's almost mathematically impossible… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment - this very moment - to… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
It matters little how much equipment we use; it matters much that we be masters of all we do use. — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
People say to me, "Who's your favorite kind of photographer?" Or "Who would be your favorite photographer to have in a workshop?"… — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
That's who comes to my workshops. I jokingly tell my students that the class could be called "Your photographs: Better." — Sam Abell Copy Share Image
Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment - this very moment - to stay. — Sam Abell Copy Share
I did it once, and National Geographic recruited me. I did it primarily out of curiosity. A lot of legendary photographers had worked on… — Sam Abell Copy Share
I can't speak for other photographers, but the photographers who went forward strongly when the so-called "official" part of their career ended, to me,… — Sam Abell Copy Share
Actually, ambition won't get you that far. You'll shift gears. You'll see something that's shinier. But if you believe... then you're the long-distance runner. — Sam Abell Copy Share
A mad, keen photographer needs to get out into the world and work and make mistakes. — Sam Abell Copy Share
I have this awareness that the more dynamic the situation is, the more on guard I need to be that the dynamic isn't controlling… — Sam Abell Copy Share
What I'm interested in is modern American history. I'm taken with the changes that have occurred in America in my lifetime. — Sam Abell Copy Share
Life rarely presents fully finished photographs. An image evolves, often from a single strand of visual interest - a distant horizon, a moment of… — Sam Abell Copy Share
Photographs that transcend but do not deny their literal situation appeal to me. — Sam Abell Copy Share
I wanted life to be episodic. I wanted to be a magazine photographer and I was willing to do what it took to become… — Sam Abell Copy Share
That statement [ Stephen Ambrose:'You, Sam, have the hardest job, which is, pretend like nothing has happened in the last 200 years.'] woke me… — Sam Abell Copy Share
Even though I teach with 35mm, my method takes people by surprise, because it isn't fast, and it isn't about hardware or software, or… — Sam Abell Copy Share
The class that I teach is called "The Life of a Photograph." It takes up the question, of the billion photographs that were taken… — Sam Abell Copy Share
![“[In the late 80's] that's the first time I heard about that astonishing idea [that most photographs would be taken on telephones]. And now I've been watching the tsunami of images.” quote by Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/sam-abell-7768_astonishing_in-the-late-80-s-that-s-the-first-time-i_650129.png)
![“Exotic novelty. My statement to [people] is always, well, set this picture in your home town, is it still an interesting picture? Or is it just exotic? Would I care about this same picture minus its exoticism?” quote by Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/sam-abell-7768_care_exotic-novelty-my-statement-to-people-is_1058392.png)
![“[ My time and our common culture] it's what I'm photographing, and I'm very involved with that.” quote by Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/sam-abell-7768_common_my-time-and-our-common-culture-it-s-what_1436602.png)
