“You put a camera in my hand, I want to get close to people,” he said. “Not just physically close, emotionally close, all of it. It’s part of the process.”
“It’s a very weird thing being a photographer.”
I think it is a kind of performance on my part
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Photography sometimes feels like performance art. There is that interaction, which is one of the things I really enjoy when working with people. I am in total agreement with Danny Lyon on this, and it reminds me of similar statements from Richard Avedon.
Thank you for this great post! I have been influenced by Danny LYON’s photographs before I picked up a camera and i think of his images when I think about what’s going on now on the border region and what I feel about prison and the spirituality even in the dark corners. I found this iconic photograph of the prisoner showering with the Guadalupe on his back.
I wish the news media would bring more of this truth and vision to the stands….but I love the internet for this dialogue and exchange for exactly this. It is a great interview and says so much about why we do what we do as photographers.
http://phomul.canalblog.com/images/LYON_Danny_new.JPG
It inspired me so much that I’m using it to start a blog for the Flagstaff Photo Center to spread the power of the message of the image and the word. I am always telling the photo students who I run into to check out your site…..so much for the collage education when no one is learning what you’ve got going here….
cool runnings from Chihuahua!