In the end, the only heritage we have is our planet, and I have decided to go to the most pristine places on the planet and photograph them in the most honest way I know, with my point of view, and of course it is in black and white, because it is the only thing I know how to do.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of preserving the planet and capturing its beauty authentically through photography.
Sebastiao Salgado reflects on the responsibility we have towards our planet as our most significant legacy. He expresses his commitment to documenting its untouched places, underscoring the purity of nature through his black and white photography, which aligns with his personal artistic skills and vision. This quote invites a deeper appreciation for the environment and challenges us to consider how we can contribute to its preservation.
In practice
This quote could be used in an environmental awareness speech to highlight the importance of protecting our planet.
I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a second. It's very instinctive. What you do is a fraction of a second, it's there and it's not there. But in this fraction of a second comes your past, comes your future, comes your relation with people, comes your ideology, comes your hate, comes your love - all together in this fraction of a second, it materializes there.
As in any person's life, there have been difficult moments: I have a son with Down's syndrome; through my photography, I have witnessed all manner of human degradation. But there have also been very happy moments.
There are moments that you suffer a lot, moments you won't photograph. There are some people you like better than others. But you give, you receive, you cherish, you are there. When you are really there, you know when you see the picture later what you are seeing.
So many times I've photographed stories that show the degradation of the planet. I had one idea to go and photograph the factories that were polluting, and to see all the deposits of garbage. But, in the end, I thought the only way to give us an incentive, to bring hope, is to show the pictures of the pristine planet - to see the innocence.
My way of photographing is my way of life. I photograph from my experience, my way of seeing things.
You photograph with all your ideology.
Nature forever puts a premium on reality. What is done for effect is seen to be done for effect; what is done for love is felt to be done for love. A man inspires affection and honor because he was not lying in wait for these.
Eventually, my eyes were opened, and I really understood nature. I learned to love at the same time.
All the world was before me and every day was a holiday, so it did not seem important to which one of the world's wildernesses I first should wander.
As one looks across the barren stretches of the pack, it is sometimes difficult to realise what teeming life exists immediately beneath its surface.
We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism. Land can be healthy or sick, fertile or barren, rich or poor, lovingly nurtured or bled white. Our present attitudes and laws governing the ownership and use of land represent an abuse of the concept of private property.... Today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see and nobody calls the cops.
Harvest moon: around the pond I wander and the night is gone.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.