Bottom Quote by 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 cone of vision, while standing in the right place at the right time. Like chess, or writing, it is a matter of choosing from among given possibilities, but in the case of photography the number of possibilities is not finite but infinite.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Photographer's Eye, John Szarkowski, 1966
Photography frames reality, offering infinite creative choices like a game.
In simple terms: Photography is selective framing.
Key Takeaway
Choose your perspective wisely.
Themes
art
perception
choice
Mood
inspirational
analytical
Type
artistic
educational
When to use this quote
- photography
- creative process
- visual arts
Key Concepts
visual framing
infinite possibilities
Questions to Reflect On
- How does framing shape perception?
- What limits exist in visual choices?
A Different Perspective
The analogy may oversimplify.
![“[N]o one ever eats an ice-cream cone at a funeral, or a fire. The Red Cross doesn't drop ice-cream cones into third-world countries. If you're eating an ice-cream cone, it's just very hard to believe things have gone completely to shit. That there isn't still hope.” quote by Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7eb/jonathan-tropper-1555_cones_n-o-one-ever-eats-an-ice-cream-cone-at-a_480551.jpg)
![“Trained as a musician, [photographer Ansel] Adams understood the richness of variation that could be unfolded from a simple theme.” quote by John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a07/john-szarkowski-20414_music_trained-as-a-musician-photographer-ansel_696021.jpg)
