davidwsumner's photostream  

"You have this weapon in your hands, it's a camera, and it's going to teach the world, it's going to record the world, it's going to explain to the world and the children that are coming, what this world was like. It's an incredible responsibility."

- Richard Avedon

"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life."

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

"Photographers — idiots, of which there are so many — say, “Oh, if only I had a Nikon or a Leica, I could make great photographs.” That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life. It’s nothing but a matter of seeing, thinking, and interest. That’s what makes a good photograph. And then rejecting anything that would be bad for the picture. The wrong light, the wrong background, time and so on. Just don’t do it, no matter how beautiful the subject is."

- Andreas Feininger


"Good photography is not about Zone Printing or any other Ansel Adams nonsense. It's just about seeing. You either see or you don't see. The rest is academic. Photography is simply a function of noticing things. Nothing more."

- Elliott Erwitt

"In order to educate man to a new longing, everyday familiar objects must be shown to him with totally unexpected perspectives and in unexpected situations..."

-Alexander Rodchenko

"Today we are confronted with reality on the vastest scale mankind has known [and this puts] a greater responsibility on the photographer."

- Berenice Abbott


"Every story doesn't have to be sell something (or make money), sometimes it's ok to give."

- James Nachtwey


Born and raised in Southern California, I began my professional career as an archaeologist and teacher. I was introduced to photography while working at the San Bernardino County Museum.

In 1988 I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, taking a job as a photo researcher at Mountain Light Photography. Since then, in addition to freelancing, I have worked as a studio/darkroom assistant, print finisher and in the late 1990s was Picture Editor at StageImage. I currently work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and live in San Francisco with my wife, the painter, Anna Conti.

To license use rights to images contact me at dave@bigcrow.com

My blog: photographynewsnotes.blogspot.com/