Joyce Tenneson

"I started with an interest in all the arts - literature, painting, sculpture, design - but photography was the one that allowed me to use my creativity in the best way. I love people and I love being able to interact with them and to see some of what makes them work, their psychology. Photography is a fabulous way to study people."

"Critics do say my work has an ethereal, "otherworldly" quality. That just comes naturally, it is part of my personality. All my life I have been looking for a kind of transcendence, a desire to be whole, connected with the divine force. There is a desire for some form of transformation in my life, and that's a constant. Life is the path of transformation and gradual enlightenment, not that we ever get to it. Perhaps that is all reflected in the work, even though I did not specifically intend that to happen. Critics have seen it, and perhaps it happened because of who I am and what I deem most important."

"My best photos have such different interpretations to different people. I love having people tell me why it is important to them. It is so lovely to hear back, and surprising often, and it always feels good to be appreciated."

Quotes from Photo-wisdom, Master Photographers on Their Art, Lewis Blackwell.