Who said “The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an…”?

Verified

Brooks Atkinson. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceOnce Around the Sun (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1951), "August 28" (p. 248)

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Authors A–Z
“The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking.”
— Brooks Atkinson
VerifiedOnce Around the Sun (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1951), "August 28" (p. 248) · evidencePhotography

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Once Around the Sun (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1951), "August 28" (p. 248).

APA

Atkinson, B. (n.d.). The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/22316-the-virtue-of-the-camera-is-not-the/

MLA

Atkinson, Brooks. “The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/22316-the-virtue-of-the-camera-is-not-the/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Atkinson, Brooks. “The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/22316-the-virtue-of-the-camera-is-not-the/.

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“I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term -- meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching -- there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.”
— Ansel Adams
Verified"A Personal Credo" (1943), published in American Annual of Photography (1944), reprinted in Nathan Lyons, editor, Photographers on Photography (1966), reprinted in Vicki Goldberg, editor, Photography in Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present (1988) · evidenceDetails & citePhotography

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