Ruth Bernhard

To indicate the ideal proportion and reveal sculptural mass and the dominating spirit is my goal.

I'm no snapshot artist. I make very careful choices always, even if I'm using a 35mm camera.

I learned early on that if I was to get attention, I would have to be charming. Even the models I've photographed are often like that. Some of them are not beautiful. But, if you catch them in the right light, they glow.

Seeing comes from the inside, from the heart, from life's experiences.

I always say yes to everything because I always feel that whatever comes my way, life meant for me.

I allowed life to give me presents. And everything just sort of happened the way it was supposed to happen. I did not pursue anything. It more or less pursued me.

I feel that is more important than my work, the influence I have on my students.

If I have chosen the female form in particular, it is because beauty has been debased and exploited in our sensual 20th century.

I had a natural feeling for sculpture, and the nudes are my sculpture.

When I was young, anywhere I would go in Germany, I would see my father's posters. Everyone knew about him. And he had many friends who were artists who were also quite famous. So, for me, it seemed very natural to be an artist and be known.

The ground we walk on, the plants and creatures, the clouds above constantly dissolving into new formations - each gift of nature possessing its own radiant energy, bound together by cosmic harmony.

I've always photographed beauty, but I've never been beautiful myself.