What I Believe.

 

 

Photographs bind people to their past, their families, their lovers, and their dreams.

Photographs can be anything. History changing moments captured forever, or illusions that tell us lies. But there is no doubting the power of a photograph.

From the earliest photographs have shaped our world view.

Jacob Riis documented the squalor of the New York slums in the late 1800’s.
Robert Capa’s war photos brought combat into our living rooms.

From Avedon and Penn, who iconified fashion, to Sally Mann’s controversial photos in “Immediate Family” and the technical and artistic perfection of Albert Watson’s stunning editorial work, photographs have illuminated our existence and sometimes changed our hearts.

A photograph can transport you. It can make you smile or choke back the sadness of loss. It can take you back to places and people you long ago left behind, or to places you’ve never been. 

I photograph people because I genuinely like them. 

I think interesting people are beautiful, often when they don’t think so themselves.

 I think everyone should have a wonderful photograph, framed and handed down through generations.

Something you can hold in your hands and hang above the mantle.

I love photographing people who become collaborators in the process.

I don’t try to make photos to change the world. Just the way people see themselves.

Because just like every picture tells a story, every person has a story.

And they’re all good.

Kevin Starrett