John Szarkowski

To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer's craft.

— John Szarkowski

Because we see reality in different ways, we must understand that we are looking at different truths rather than the truth and…

— John Szarkowski

Whatever else a photograph may be about, it is inevitably about photography, the container and vehicle of all its meanings.

— John Szarkowski

Photography's central sense of purpose and aesthetic: the precise and lucid description of significant fact.

— John Szarkowski

The central act of photography, the act of choosing and eliminating, forces a concentration on the picture edge - the line that…

— John Szarkowski

One of the leading uses of photography by the mass media came to be called photojournalism. From the late 'twenties' to the…

— John Szarkowski

It isn't what a picture is of, it is what it is about.

— John Szarkowski

Photography is choosing where to point your eye-cone.

— John Szarkowski

The photographer’s vision convinces us to the degree that the photographer hides his hand.

— John Szarkowski

In practice a photographer does not concern himself with philosophical issues while working; he makes photographs, working with subject matter that he…

— John Szarkowski

Trained as a musician, [photographer Ansel] Adams understood the richness of variation that could be unfolded from a simple theme.

— John Szarkowski

Pure photography is a system of picture-making that describes more or less faithfully what might be seen through a rectangular frame from…

— John Szarkowski

A photographer's best work is, alas, generally done for himself.

— John Szarkowski

The invention of photography provided a radically new picture-making process - a process based not on synthesis but on selection. The difference…

— John Szarkowski

“There is a terrible truthfulness about photography. The ordinary academician gets hold of a pretty model, paints her as well as he…

— John Szarkowski

They were ... pure and unadulterated photographs, and sometimes they hinted at the existence of visual truths that had escaped all other…

— John Szarkowski

A skillful photographer can photograph anything well.

— John Szarkowski

The very best pictures adapt themselves to many changes in meaning.

— John Szarkowski

What's happening is that people are making a billion photographs a year of their cats, frequently with the cats wearing costumes. Do…

— John Szarkowski

Photography was not invented to serve a clearly understood function. There was in fact widespread uncertainty, even among its inventors, as to…

— John Szarkowski

The simplicity of photography lies in the fact that it is very easy to make a picture. The staggering complexity of it…

— John Szarkowski

A camera has interesting ideas of its own.

— John Szarkowski

The basic material of photographs is not intrinsically beautiful. It's not like ivory or tapestry or bronze or oil on canvas. You're…

— John Szarkowski

Photography is a system of visual editing. At bottom, it is a matter of surrounding with a frame a portion of one's…

— John Szarkowski

The goal is not to make something factually impeccable, but seamlessly persuasive.

— John Szarkowski