Guy Tal | Photographer, Author
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What is a poet? An unhappy man who in his heart harbors a deep anguish, but whose lips are so fashioned that the moans and cries which pass over them are transformed into ravishing music. ... And men crowd about the poet and say to him, “Sing for us soon again”—which is as much as... Continue Reading →
Upcoming Ebook: Future Hindsights I am happy to announce that I am in the final stages of producing my next Ebook: Future Hindsights / Selected Writings on Photography and Experience. This will be the first in a series of 3 upcoming titles (the other two will focus on Photography and Art, and Photography and Philosophy). From... Continue Reading →
If we lose ourselves in contemplation of the infinite greatness of the universe in space and time, meditate on the past millennia and on those to come; or if the heavens at night actually bring innumerable worlds before our eyes, and so impress on our consciousness the immensity of the universe, we feel ourselves reduced... Continue Reading →
It’s always easier not to think for oneself. Find a nice safe hierarchy and settle in. Don’t make changes, don’t risk disapproval, don’t upset your syndics. It’s always easiest to let yourself be governed. There’s a point, around age twenty, when you have to choose whether to be like everybody else the rest of your... Continue Reading →
The idea of an art detached from its creator is not only outmoded; it is false. —Albert Camus In recent weeks, I was asked by two different people for advice on how to become a professional landscape photographer. One was an ambitious and precocious young teenager who, at age 13, had already decided that this... Continue Reading →
Dear reader, I can use your help. I have never been a good promoter of my work, but I've always believed that by making the highest quality of photographs and writings I can, I could (can) count on sufficient sales to make ends meet. Becoming a celebrity has never been my goal and is not... Continue Reading →
Some photographic movements have had a following in America, but none has ever held sway for any length of time. The Photo-Secession, documentary photography, photo-journalism, f/64, all made valuable individual contributions, but they all had to give way to the self-assertive individual photographer. Of course, individual photographers do bind themselves to certain limiting systems of... Continue Reading →
This incessant interplay between cognition and feelings [...] produces what we call consciousness. There obviously is a different feel to a wave of intense emotion versus an abstract thought, but each conscious form is an experience that gives us a unique perception of reality. The pattern in which these various conscious forms come in and... Continue Reading →
I would prefer by far to write music which has something fresh to reveal at each new hearing than music which is completely self-evident the first time, and though it may remain pleasing makes no essential contribution thereafter. ~Roger Sessions I love music. My musical taste is diverse, and I almost always have something playing... Continue Reading →
The following article is based on one originally published in On Landscape Magazine. It is my hope that readers who appreciate high-quality content, hand-picked by photography-savvy editors, and free of advertising, consider subscribing to independent, subscriber-supported publications of this kind. Unfortunately what we call progress is nothing but the invasion of bipeds who do not rest... Continue Reading →