André Kertész

I want to start one of those blogs about inspiring photographs and photographers.

I'll start now with André Kertész. If you don't know him, you should. In my history of photography class today we watched a video about him, and of him. He certainly spoke with the wisdom of a 90 year old man. Some interesting (paraphrased) thing he said.

"The most valuable things in life are a man's memories, and they are priceless."

"If I become too weak to work, there's no point in living any longer."

"I can't touch a camera without expressing myself. Anyone can make a picture, but making it speak is another matter."

"I dont photograph what I see, but what I feel."


This beautiful image of Kertész and his wife is stunning. Sentimental, genuine, and expressive. His work is not only sophisticated and complex, but is accessible and impactful for anyone. He worked in many styles, but is effectively considered the originator of modern photojournalism, and "the poet with a camera".

As I try to work on finding my own style, or philosphy, I'm finding appeal and similarity in the desire to photograph the ordinary but in photographing them make the subject extraordinary. Kertész is inspiring. He began working professionally at 17, and photographed until his death at 91. He intuitively reacted to the world around him but in doing so expressed his own feelings.


I've always heard the best way to master something is to learn about the history of it. So I'm going to try to absorb the work of the masters of photography, but also really look at the work of photographers right now. So let's see how this goes.