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What, or who, led you to take up photography, and about what date ?_x000D_ George Bernard Shaw – I always wanted to draw and paint. I had no literary ambition. I aspired to be a Michelangelo, not a Shakespeare. But I could not draw well enough to satisfy myself; and the instruction I could get was worse than useless. So when dry plates and push buttons came into the market I bought a box camera and began pushing the button. It was in 1898.
George Bernard Shaw
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Interpretation

What this quote means

George Bernard Shaw reflects on his desire to create art through photography when he felt inadequate in drawing and painting.

In this quote, George Bernard Shaw shares his journey into photography, revealing that despite his aspirations to be a great artist like Michelangelo, he struggled with traditional forms of art such as drawing and painting. The arrival of photography technology provided him a new medium to express himself, showcasing how innovation can open doors for creativity in ways one might not have anticipated.

Themes

PhotographyArtCreativityInnovationExpression

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about creativity, you might quote Shaw to emphasize the importance of finding new mediums to express oneself.

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What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
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Marriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
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Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
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Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
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The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
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