Ruth Bernhard Photograph Quotations

Light is my inspiration. My photographic images search for dimensions that words cannot touch- the result of intense responses to personal experiences. I do not wish to "record," but rather to touch upon the illusive meanings which I perceive and try to comprehend in this limitless universe.

Photography is art when it's used by an artist.

Never ever say the word shoot when you are taking a picture with a camera because a camera is not a violent weapon.

My quest, through the magic of light and shadow, is to isolate, to simplify and to give emphasis to form with the greatest clarity. To indicate the ideal proportion, to reveal sculptural mass and the dominating spirit is my goal.

What the human eye sees is an illusion of what is real. The black and white image transforms illusions into another reality.

I expect photographs to find me. I never thought of looking for them. I instinctively put them there. My intellect had nothing to do with it.

You have to follow your instinct all the time. Otherwise you don't make it.

I never look for a photograph. The photograph finds me and says, I'm here! and I say, Yes, I see you. I hear you.

Every day I am aware of the flow and constant change; perhaps I am at the edge of discovering what more our bodies might be able to teach about the spirit of life. At least, I am always exploring and trying to understand our relationship to the whole universe.

For me, the creation of a photograph is experienced as a heightened emotional response, most akin to poetry and music, each image the culmination of a compelling impulse I cannot deny. Whether working with a human figure or a still life, I am deeply aware of my spiritual connection with it. In my life, as in my work, I am motivated by a great yearning for balance and harmony beyond the realm of human experience, reaching for the essence of oneness with the Universe.

If you can't make the image bigger or more important than what you see, then don't push the button

Woman has been the target of much that is sordid and cheap, especially in photography. To raise, to elevate, to endorse with timeless reverence the image of woman, has been my mission.

Light is my inspiration, my paint and brush. It is as vital as the model herself. Profoundly significant, it caresses the essential superlative curves and lines. Light I acknowledge as the energy upon which all life on this planet depends.

There is no such thing as taking too much time, because your soul is in that picture.

A person cannot learn to be a photographer. He can only cultivate what he already has. I try to make people aware that they have something very precious to cultivate.

If youre not interested in life, then photography has no meaning

Fall in love. Every day. With everything. With life. If you can fall in love, you can be a photographer. I think that is absolutely essential.

I never question what to do, it tells me what to do. The photographs make themselves with my help.

If you are not passionately devoted to an idea, you can make very pleasant pictures but they won't make you cry.