Duane Michals Thinks Most Photographs are Extremely Boring

I heard a snippet of this quote yesterday from photographer Duane Michals, and liked it so much, I found it online and will share it here.

“The best part of us is not what we see, it’s what we feel. We are what we see, we are not what we look at. We are not our eyeballs, we’re our mind. People believe their eyeballs, and they’re totally wrong. … That’s why I consider most photographs extremely boring–just like Muzak: inoffensive, charming, another waterfall, another sunset. This time, colors have been added to protect the innocent. It’s just boring. But that whole arena of one’s experience–grief, loneliness–how do you photograph lust? I mean, how do you deal with these things? This is what you are, not what you see. It’s all sitting up here. I could do all my work sitting in my room. I don’t have to go anywhere.”

I could not agree more with that middle section. I see lots of photos that show an excellent grasp on the technical aspects of photography or experience in post processing or, what I have before called, just another pretty picture. I look at it and think, “hm, that’s nice”, but the photo does not say anything, does not mean anything, does not emote, does not express, has no story.

And I am not just talking about art photography either. Documentary photography, my primary focus, is just the same. Open your local newspaper, and more than likely, you will find a wide variety of photographs that say absolutely nothing. “Well, this was my assignment, and there is the shot. Done.”

And as for me, sure, I take boring photos all the time. We all do. But I still strive to tell stories, to catch emotion in action, and to let life speak through my photos.

Cooper Strange Written by: