Guy Tal | Photographer, Author
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Note: My upcoming book, Be Extraordinary, is now available to pre-order! Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language. —Aldo Leopold Art and nature have this in common: they affect some people more profoundly... 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 →
Please consider joining me for one or both of these upcoming virtual presentations: January 3rd: Be Extraordinary Kicking off the new year, I will rejoin Nic Stover's Nature Photography Classes Speaker Series to review themes from my upcoming book, Be Extraordinary: Philosophical Advice for Photographic (and Other) Artists. I will explain some of the ideas... Continue Reading →
But perhaps the great work of art has less importance in itself than in the ordeal it demands of a man and the opportunity it provides him of overcoming his phantoms and approaching a little closer to his naked reality. —Albert Camus Note: This article contains passages borrowed from various sections of the manuscript-in-progress for... Continue Reading →
Whether it be a painting or photograph, the picture is a symbol that brings one immediately into close touch with reality. . . . In fact, it is often more effective than the reality would have been, because, in the picture, the non-essential and conflicting interests have been eliminated. —Lewis Hine Ask most photographers about... Continue Reading →
To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life flowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future. —Bertrand Russell Based on some readers’ responses to... 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 →
I could have done lots more, put in much more work and developed more pictures, but I had also a desire to say what I felt about life. —Consuelo Kanaga I’ve had several conversations recently about the topic of legacy. In hindsight, I realized, this has been one of the most consistent topics of conversation... Continue Reading →
A casual phone call earlier this week became an on-the-spot decision to record a podcast episode with friends Jack Graham and John Pedersen. Tune in to hear my thoughts about the book I'm currently working on and a few other philosophical tidbits. I hope you enjoy it! Watch on YouTube, or listen to the audio... Continue Reading →
Dear readers, before continuing on to this month's article, please take a moment to consider these updates: I now offer on my website electronic versions of all my current books (including the out-of-print Photoshop book). For various reasons, I've had to scale back my public activities (including some writing assignments and public talks). Among other... Continue Reading →