Dorothea Lange quotes

Dorothea Lange was an American photographer renowned for her powerful images documenting the Great Depression. Her work highlighted the struggles and resilience of marginalized communities in the United States. She became an influential figure in documentary photography, with her images shaping public perception and policy. Here are 21 of her quotes:

While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see. (Dorothea Lange)
A camera teaches you how to see without a camera. View quote
Dorothea Lange
One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind. To live a visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable. I have only touched it, just touched it. View quote
Dorothea Lange
Life, for people, begins to crumble on the edges; they don't realize it. View quote
Dorothea Lange
Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. View quote
Dorothea Lange
Seeing is more than a physiological phenomenon... We see not only with our eyes but with all that we are and all that our culture is. The artist is a professional see-er. View quote
Dorothea Lange
Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate. View quote
Dorothea Lange
It is no accident that the photographer becomes a photographer any more than the lion tamer becomes a lion tamer. View quote
Dorothea Lange
I many times encountered courage, real courage. Undeniable courage. I've heard it said that that was the highest quality of the human animal. I encountered that many times, in unexpected places. And I have learned to recognize it when I see it. View quote
Dorothea Lange
I believe in living with the camera, and not using the camera. View quote
Dorothea Lange
A documentary photograph is not a factual photograph. (Dorothea Lange)
It is not enough to photograph the obviously picturesque. View quote
Dorothea Lange
I believe that what we call beautiful is generally a by-product. View quote
Dorothea Lange
The visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable. View quote
Dorothea Lange
Surefire things are deadening to the human spirit. View quote
Dorothea Lange
No country has ever closely scrutinized itself visually. View quote
Dorothea Lange
I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. View quote
Dorothea Lange
One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind. View quote
Dorothea Lange
To know ahead of time what you're looking for means you're then only photographing your own preconceptions, which is very limiting, and often false. View quote
Dorothea Lange
The words that come direct from the people are the greatest... If you substitute one out of your own vocabulary, it disappears before your eyes. View quote
Dorothea Lange
You put your camera around your neck in the morning, along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the body that shares your life with you. The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera. (Dorothea Lange)

Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange - Image
Occupation: American Photographer
Born: May 25, 1895
Died: October 11, 1965
Quotes count: 21
Wikipedia: Dorothea Lange

Related authors

Walker Evans - thumbnail
Walker Evans  4 
American Photographer
Ansel Adams - thumbnail
Ansel Adams  54 
American Photographer
Diane Arbus  28 
American Photographer
Annie Leibovitz - thumbnail
Annie Leibovitz  49 
American Photographer
Edward Weston - thumbnail
Edward Weston  8 
American Photographer
Henri Cartier-Bresson - thumbnail
Henri Cartier-Bresson  44 
French Photographer
Lewis Hine - thumbnail
Lewis Hine  2 
American Photographer
Margaret Bourke-White - thumbnail
Margaret Bourke-White  4 
American Photographer
Imogen Cunningham - thumbnail
Imogen Cunningham  29 
American Photographer
Robert Capa - thumbnail
Robert Capa  11 
American Photographer