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I just listened to an interview with Paul Caponigro, a master of photographer, and this quote really resonated with me:

“In order to be a good photographer, you need to work more on your emotions than you do on your technique.”

Is this a new idea? Not really. When I was growing my vision as a photographer, and that hasn’t ever stopped – I studied with many photographers – legendary and contemporary – either by reading their books, attending workshops, or seminars, consuming their prints and learning from it all. One common thing stood out for me – there were all in touch with their emotions when they photographed. Maybe some of them didn’t express it that way – but Sam Abell, Freeman Patterson, Dewitt Jones all voiced this idea loud and clear – and I heard it. I think I heard it because I was already in tune with that idea. My photography experience began when my father gave me a camera, as a young child, and we went on camping and backpacking trips together, and traveled as a family to many places on the east coast. I saw wonderful things – from tiny seashells, to beautiful mountaintop vistas, to Ladyslipper flowers, to stunning sunsets. Those experiences filled my cup with awe and wonder, and that spilled over into my photography. It was how I felt about the world around me, how I saw it, emotionally.

Thanks, Paul Caponigro, for sharing such an important message with us all in this interview. I never knew you felt this way, too!