“In time I came to realize that good photography was not the result of good technique alone. The expressive print requires emotional depth and not merely dazzle, and can only be artistically effective if the soft-edged realm of emotion is united with hard-edged technical concerns. Much like the ugly duckling’s story, one need await beauty through maturity, and this transition takes photography from a medium of recording to one of transforming. I saw that light, chemistry, film and coated papers were all endowed with the power to release the feeling of magic within the silver print. While working in the field or in my darkroom, I often felt that a complete openness to my subjects and materials brought about the notion that I alone was not making choices, but that the subjects and materials were at times choosing me. The picture making realm has a voice of its own and my primary tool working therein would be the ability to listen to a very pregnant silence”
~ Paul Caponigro
Very few photographers are as articulate about their process as Paul is. It is not that any of his great great photographs need any explanation. They exist on their own but his words make them come alive even more. Some simple trees and an adobe wall near where he was living in the 1970’s become something truly mystical.
