PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNAL: Minor White famously advised, "One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.” It’s an idea I’ve found especially useful because photography usually leads me to places where my interest is in part on what it is or was, and I’m always aware that many who view my pictures are there for “what it is.”
These coastal waters around Cape Cod are different. Here, place, time and history dissolve, subjects are accidental, and composition becomes everything. Photography becomes a kind of dance partnered with a fluid landscape.
Minor White later commented on his own formulation: "When you try to photograph something for what it is you have to go out of yourself, out of your way, to understand the object its facts and essence. When you photograph things for what 'Else' they are, the object goes out of its way to understand you.” - Minor White
