An Introduction to collecting

Dear Friends,

The Power of Photography project was born out of a time of incredible global sadness and pain and unprecedented world anxiety.  A forced lockdown allowed for a time of self-reflection for many of us. This stillness gave me time to think about what these images meant to me and, almost for self-therapy, I started to share them on a daily blog. 

I thought I would do a week’s worth and then stop because no one else would really care. To my complete surprise, I received feedback that the images and recollections seemed to be helping people, complete strangers, navigate these surreal times. It was a truly humbling experience. So, I continued and then found I couldn’t stop...

One hundred and twenty have now been published in a beautiful hardback book, which I am delighted to share. The online archive continues to grow and is fast approaching seven hundred entries. We now begin a further dimension: a series of curated pathways through the collected works.

Because these are all photographs that I have collected, they are all personal to me. Whether you discover them online, in print or in person I hope they will give you a moment of pleasure, of contemplation or inspiration.

I have to pinch myself every time the word “collector” enters my orbit. To me, to become a collector one had to be born into a gilded age or be part of a distinguished heritage of enormous wealth: The Fricks, The Mellons, The Rockefellers. Nothing in my background could have prepared me for this life. When I look at many of these images, first and fore most, they evoke memories of my relationships with their makers; I am so fortunate to have known and collaborated with so many talented photographers. Then there are the memories of the time I first discovered a special image and the profound effect it had on me: overcome by a compulsion—what the French so beautifully call  L’amour fou, crazy love—to find a way to acquire it regardless of whether I had enough money to do so.

My collecting mantra is very simple: always be open and receptive, and only collect something that moves you or changes you in some way. Collecting is like reading a great novel; you are one person before and one person after. That’s the litmus test on whether or not you should acquire an image. Does it haunt you?

Photography, for me, has deep meaning and passion. It has educated me. I’ve learned so many things through images that otherwise I may not have encountered. Go on your own journey of self-discovery. Open your eyes and say yes to other people, other cultures. We are all connected.

Peace and love,

Peter Fetterman