I write in order to express what the photo itself cannot say. A photograph of my father doesn't tell me what I thought of him, which for me is much more important than what the man looked like.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
In my work, as a writer, I only photograph, in words, what I see.
From an early age, my father stressed the power of the image, and he encouraged me to carefully control my own. He advised me, for example, never to be photographed from below, an often unflattering angle for women.
In my mind, I always knew what my father looked like.
Growing up, I didn't give my grandfather's photography a second thought. I wasn't involved in his work, except that I helped my dad print his negatives.
There's no question that photographs communicate more instantly and powerfully than words do, but if you want to communicate a complex concept clearly, you need words, too.
My photographs are not planned or composed in advance, and I do not anticipate that the onlooker will share my viewpoint. However, I feel that if my photograph leaves an image on his mind, something has been accomplished.
I guess I knew my dad was into photography, so a part of me was interested in picking it up to understand him a little better.
What I can't tell with a photo I will tell with a painting, and what I can't tell with a painting I will tell with a video or text sometimes, et cetera.
A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.
I barely remembered my father; I'm confused between genuine memory and the few photographs that survived.