ANDREAS FEININGER
[1906 - 1999] American photographer

No one can do inspired work without genuine interest in his subject and understanding of its characteristics. - Andreas Feininger

Two factors thus emerge as requisites of success in the field of creative photography. First, the subject must be photogenic. Second, its re-creation in a photograph must be based upon technical knowledge, guided and supported by artsitic inspiration. - Andreas Feininger

"Feininger on Photography" by Ziff-Davis, 1949

Realism and super-realism are what I’m after. This world is full of things the eye doesn’t see. I mean even the eye of a senesitive person. The camera can see more, and oftentimes better. - Andreas Feininger , The Best of Popular Photography by Harvey V. Fondiller , ISBN: 0871650371 , Page: 69

"Feininger as I Know Him" by Wilson Hicks

Unless a subject intrest me, I’ll pass it over and save my film for better things. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 21

The first impression of a new subject is not necessary the best. Seen from a different angle or under different condition it might look even better. Always study a three – dimensional subject with one eye closed. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 64

The camera can push the new medium to its limits – and beyond. It is there – in the “beyond” – that the imaginative photographer will compete with the imaginative painter. Painting must return to the natural world from time to time for renewal of the artistic vision. The key sector of renewal of vision today is the new vistas revealed by science. Here photography, which is not only art but science also, stands on the firmest ground. - Andreas Feininger , The picture history of photography: From the earliest beginnings to the present day by Peter Pollack , ISBN: 0500271011 , Page: 161

With a short lens I can reveal the hidden things near at hand, with a long lens the hidden things far away. The telephoto lens provides a new visual sensation for people: it widens their horizons. And, conversely, the things under our nose invariably look good when blown up really big. - Andreas Feininger , The picture history of photography: From the earliest beginnings to the present day by Peter Pollack , ISBN: 0500271011 , Page: 161

Before you shoot an irrestible subject, mute all your senses except sight to find out how much is left for the camera to record. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 129

Don’t look for “depth” but instead search for subject aspects which prove the presence of depth. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 135

What matters is not what you photograph, but why and how you photograph it. Even the most controversial subject, if depicted by a sensitive photographer with honesty, symphathy, and understanding, can be transformed into an emotionally rewarding experience. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 246

Know – how is worthless unless guided by know – why and know – when. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 246

Any good photograph is a successful synthesis of technique and art. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 246

The difference in "seeing" between the eye and the lens should make it obvious that a photographer who merely points his camera at an appealing subject and expects to get an appealing picture in return, may be headed for a disappointment. - Andreas Feininger

Light is the photographic medium par excellence; it is to the photographer what words are to the writer; color and paint to the painter; wood, metal, stone, or clay to the sculptor. - Andreas Feininger

I believe that photography at its best is an Art, and photo-technique is but a means to an end: the creation of the picture. Today, even a fool can learn to operate any of our modern foolproof cameras, and produce technically perfect pictures -- but is this knowledge really all he needs for taking purposeful and pictorially exciting photographs? Naturally, as in any other art, there are artists and there are dabblers. If photography really were nothing but the simple and purely mechanical reproduction process the majority of people still think it is, why are there so many dull and meaningless photographs around? - Andreas Feininger

The photographer has almost as much control over his subject matter as a painter. He can control light and shade, form and space, pattern and texture, motion and mood, everything except composition. - Andreas Feininger , The Best of Popular Photography by Harvey V. Fondiller , ISBN: 0871650371 , Page: 71

A technically perfect photograph can be the world’s most boring picture. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 247

Human vision is untrustworthy, subjective and selective. Camera vision is total and non – objective. - Andreas Feininger , Total Photography by Andreas Feininger , ISBN: 081743531X , Page: 129