--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is my belief that the most challenging…" description: "\"It is my belief that the most challenging photographs are those that create a tension between what we refer to as the real and the imaginative.\" — Roge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/roger-ballen-34238_belief_it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challengin_153082.png" --- # It is my belief that the most challenging photographs are… ![“It is my belief that the most challenging photographs are those that create a tension between what we refer to as the real and the imaginative.” quote by Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/roger-ballen-34238_belief_it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challengin_153082.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/roger-ballen-34238_belief_it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challengin_153082.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/roger-ballen-34238_belief_it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challengin_153082.png) > “It is my belief that the most challenging photographs are those that create a tension between what we refer to as the real and the imaginative.” [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The most compelling photos balance reality with imagination, creating tension. **In simple terms:** Great images blend truth and fantasy. Key Takeaway Explore the space between fact and vision. Themes photography creativity duality Mood curious artistic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - exhibitions - personal projects - storytelling Key Concepts visual tension artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How can you harness tension in visual work? - When does imagination overpower reality? A Different Perspective Risk of confusing viewers if balance is off. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Tension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tension/) ## Related quotes > [There was as big a reaction after the revelations about Assad's chemical weapons. Nevertheless, that photograph did strike a singular chord. Which leads us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-franklin/there-was-as-big-a-reaction-after-the-revelations-about-assad-s/) [Stuart Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-franklin/) > [“I felt I should repeat it for the other slipper, in case there should be any bad feelings between the two. One should never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/i-felt-i-should-repeat-it-for-the-other-slipper-in-case-there-should/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [Alfred Hitchcock had to find ways to create tension without showing it, but now with computer-generated effects you can show anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-duley/alfred-hitchcock-had-to-find-ways-to-create-tension-without-showing/) [Giles Duley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-duley/) > [Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/just-as-socrates-felt-that-it-was-necessary-to-create-a-tension-in/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“Relaxing the shoulders is vital for relaxation in general. However, owing to the effects of gravity, relaxation is problematic unless we let the shoulders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-e-davey/relaxing-the-shoulders-is-vital-for-relaxation-in-general-however/) [H.E. Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-e-davey/) > [One should never create tension between one's footwear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/one-should-never-create-tension-between-one-s-footwear/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [And shooting things in a documentary style was a good way to create tension and energy without money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-patrick-jann/and-shooting-things-in-a-documentary-style-was-a-good-way-to-create/) [Michael Patrick Jann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-patrick-jann/) > [In the end, it's acting, it's not real. But every director will tell you that you have to create conditions that create tension, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-greengrass/in-the-end-it-s-acting-it-s-not-real-but-every-director-will-tell-you/) [Paul Greengrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-greengrass/) > [So what does a good teacher do? Create tension - but just the right amount.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-what-does-a-good-teacher-do-create-tension-but-just-the-right/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our instinct as human beings is to provide answers, to ease tension. As writers our job is the opposite, to create tension and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-stein/our-instinct-as-human-beings-is-to-provide-answers-to-ease-tension-as/) [Sol Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-stein/) > [There are other ways to create tension and drama than to have somebody stabbed through the back with a sword.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-waid/there-are-other-ways-to-create-tension-and-drama-than-to-have/) [Mark Waid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-waid/) > [There's something about a supernatural universe that you would think would actually make it easier to create tension and build conflict and have big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-plec/there-s-something-about-a-supernatural-universe-that-you-would-think/) [Julie Plec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-plec/) > [Any time you do action and horror, you've always got to try to find a way to make it fresh for the audience, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rodriguez/any-time-you-do-action-and-horror-you-ve-always-got-to-try-to-find-a/) [Robert Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rodriguez/) > [To create tension, dialogue needs to be stretched out. That is, characters should not be immediately responsive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-stein/to-create-tension-dialogue-needs-to-be-stretched-out-that-is/) [Sol Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-stein/) > [You have to create tension between reality and aspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumantra-ghoshal/you-have-to-create-tension-between-reality-and-aspiration/) Sumantra Ghoshal ## More by Roger Ballen > [I never think about a photo before I start it. I try to let my mind relax, and then when I get there I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/i-never-think-about-a-photo-before-i-start-it-i-try-to-let-my-mind/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [Life on the planet and in our galaxy is so complex, I don't hope to have any substantial effect in it, but if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/life-on-the-planet-and-in-our-galaxy-is-so-complex-i-don-t-hope-to/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [If an artist is one who spends his life trying to define his being, I guess I would have to call myself an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/if-an-artist-is-one-who-spends-his-life-trying-to-define-his-being-i/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [In the end, I believe that the most important influence on my aesthetic has been the photographs I have taken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/in-the-end-i-believe-that-the-most-important-influence-on-my/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [Nothing is staged. And nothing is already there. Everything is transformed through the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/nothing-is-staged-and-nothing-is-already-there-everything-is/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [I never prepare a speech. I never think when I give a speech, except for "don't embarrass yourself or others," meaning "remember the names…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/i-never-prepare-a-speech-i-never-think-when-i-give-a-speech-except/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [My best Pictures are the ones I don’t understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/my-best-pictures-are-the-ones-i-don-t-understand/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [ \[My\] goal as an artist is to create increasingly complex images with greater and greater clarity of form and intensity of vision. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/my-goal-as-an-artist-is-to-create-increasingly-complex-images-with/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [Black and White is essentially an abstract way to interpret and transform what one might refer to as reality. My purpose in taking photographs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/black-and-white-is-essentially-an-abstract-way-to-interpret-and/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [The pictures are of a psychological culture, a Jungian culture, if you will. It emanates from my own psyche... It's a hard place to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/the-pictures-are-of-a-psychological-culture-a-jungian-culture-if-you/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [ \[Photography\] tells you that every second in time is different from every other second. You want people to understand that the image in front… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/photography-tells-you-that-every-second-in-time-is-different-from/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [Black and white is a very minimalist art form and unlike color photographs does not pretend to mimic the world in a manner similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/black-and-white-is-a-very-minimalist-art-form-and-unlike-color/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) > [When you go searching, you never know what you will find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/when-you-go-searching-you-never-know-what-you-will-find/) [Roger Ballen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) [Explore all 14 Roger Ballen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is my belief that the most challenging photographs are those that create a tension between what we refer to as the real and the imaginative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roger Ballen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challenging-photographs-are-those-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challenging-photographs-are-those-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/roger-ballen-34238_belief_it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challengin_153082.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/roger-ballen-34238_belief_it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challengin_153082.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/roger-ballen-34238_belief_it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challengin_153082.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is my belief that the most challenging photographs are those that create a tension between what we refer…” — Roger Ballen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Roger Ballen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ballen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is my belief that the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challenging-photographs-are-those-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ballen/it-is-my-belief-that-the-most-challenging-photographs-are-those-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```