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Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a sense of the past.
Susan Sontag
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Photography connects the present moment with the history and experiences that precede it.

Susan Sontag suggests that the act of photography is driven by a deep passion that transcends mere capturing of the present. This passion is intertwined with an awareness of the past, indicating that every photograph reflects not just a moment in time but also the broader historical and emotional contexts that inform that moment.

Themes

PhotographyPastPresentPassionArt

In practice

Example use cases

During a photography workshop, one might say, 'Remember, each shot you take reflects not only this moment but carries the weight of the history behind it.'

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Conventions vs. spontaneity. This is a dialectical choice, it depends on the assessment you make of your own times. If you judge that your own time is ridden with empty insincere formalities, you plump for spontaneity, for indecorous behavior even...Much of morality is the task of compensating for one's age. One assumes unfashionable virtues, in an indecorous time. In a time hollowed out by decorum, one must school oneself in spontaneity.
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