. . . Those commonplace and merely 'beautiful' pictures, which thrive mainly thanks to the charms of some actual object, are thrust into the background in favor of experiments and fresh solutions. Adventures into the realm of optics are still for the most part unpopular. But only that photography which enlists the help of the experimental will be able to lay bare al the technical and creative possibilities that are proper to the formation of the visual experience of our times.

— Otto Steinert, 1951

"Discrimination and self-discipline"

“Two of the most valuable assets of any photographer are discrimination and self-discipline. The first is the ability to distinguish between photogenic and unphotogenic subjects, to know what will make effective pictures. The second is the ability to have will-power enough to resist the temptation to “shoot” when a subject is graphically “hopeless”. Specifically, if the illumination does not seem right - as effective as it could be - and there is nothing a photographer can do (as often happens when working with daylight), he will forsake the shot rather than bring home a picture he can never be really happy with, because no matter what, he always has the choice to select or reject.”

Andreas Feininger