Quotations

"Today’s photographers think differently. Many can’t see real light anymore. They think only in terms of strobe – sure, it all looks beautiful but it’s not really seeing. If you have the eyes to see it, the nuances of light are already there on the subject’s face. If your thinking is confined to strobe light sources, your palette becomes very mean – which is the reason I photograph only in available light."

— Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-American photographer, born 1898

"People will never understand the patience a photographer requires to make a great photograph, all they see is the end result. I can stand in front of a leaf with a dew drop, or a rain drop, and stay there for ages just waiting for the right moment. Sure, people think I’m crazy, but who cares? I see more than they do!"

— Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-American photographer, born 1898

"At the core of every child is an intact human."

— Riane Eisler, cultural historian, born 1931

"The darkness declares the glory of the light."

— T. S. Eliot, American born British poet, born 1888

"The definition of hell is a place where nothing connects with nothing."

— T. S. Eliot, American born British poet, born 1888

"April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain."

— T. S. Eliot, American born British poet, born 1888

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

— T. S. Eliot, American born British poet, born 1888

"For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice."

— T. S. Eliot, American born British poet, born 1888

"You have noticed that the truth comes into this world with two faces. One is sad with suffering, and the other laughs; but it is the same face, laughing or weeping. When people are already in despair, maybe the laughing face is better for them; and when they feel too good and are too sure of being safe, maybe the weeping face is better for them to see."

— Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, born 1863

"It is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost."

— Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, born 1863

"And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being."

— Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, born 1863

"By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn't want your daughter to associate with."

— Duke Ellington, American bandleader, born 1899

"Music is my mistress, and she plays second fiddle to no one."

— Duke Ellington, American bandleader, born 1899

"I never had much interest in the piano until I realized that every time I played, a girl would appear on the piano bench to my left and another to my right."

— Duke Ellington, American bandleader, born 1899