If you take a picture of a human that does not make him noble, there is no reason to take this picture... _x000D_ “If you take a picture of a human that does not make him noble, there is no reason to take this picture. That is my way of seeing things.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of capturing the dignity and nobility of people in photography.
Sebastiao Salgado's quote reflects his philosophy as a photographer, which prioritizes the portrayal of human dignity and noble qualities in his subjects. He suggests that photography should serve a purpose beyond mere aesthetics; it should convey a deeper truth about the humanity and worth of the subjects being photographed. If a photograph does not elevate the person portrayed or highlight their inherent value, then, in his view, it lacks significance.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about the ethics of documentary photography.
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.
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.
My way of photographing is my way of life. I photograph from my experience, my way of seeing things.
Generally, we use light to illuminate other things. I like the thingness, the materiality of light itself. So it feels like it's occupying the space, making a plane, being something that was there, not just passing through. Because light is just passing through. I make these spaces that seem to arrest it for our perception.
Doctors can heal the body, but it is music that uplifts the spirit.
I don't care about being a pioneer. People act like it would be cool to be a pioneer. I'm okay to be looked at as that, but it's just that we don't get transmitted our cultural heritage as women artists.
Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted.
I have fallen in love with the imagination. And if you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit. It will go anywhere, and it can do anything.
There are certain sounds that I've found work well in nearly any context. Their function is not so much musical as spatial: they define the edges of the territory of the music.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.