Reading

Excerpt from an essay by Nobuyoshi Araki, in Setting Sun: Writings by Japanese Photographers. I picked this book up at the de Young Sugimoto exhibit.

It's not possible to expose the subject with photography. But you can expose yourself. It's not necessary to take photographs in order to expose yourself, but having the intention to do so is necessary. Concretely put, over-explaining, you must plainly lay yourself bare. That is your duty to the subject. But even without that intention, the person who takes the photograph is exposed. Photography is frightening.