What started as a little dream to bring together the movers and shakers of photography – both old and new – was made a reality for us this week at Luminance 2012. We are grateful to all 25 speakers who came out to share their viewpoint on the future of photography with hundreds of attendees.

While just reading the speakers’ descriptions was enough to get us pumped, we couldn’t have anticipated just how exceptional they all would be. At different points the speakers were everything from uplifting to educational to humorous to shocking – and every other emotion in between.

In recap, here are the the 14 most memorable quotes from the Luminance 2012 speakers.

“I don’t want recognition. I just want to be treated fairly and not like a robot or a magician.” – Amy Dresser, Retoucher & Illustrator

“Shooting film is not for everybody, but if you’re crazy enough it might be for you.” – David Burnett, Photojournalist

“Taking and sharing photos makes us more social, and therefore does improve quality of life.” – Cory West, Engineering Manager, Facebook Photos

“Every two minutes we snap as many photos as humanity as a whole took in the 1800′s.” – Lucas Buick, CEO & Co-Founder, Hipstamatic

“Hard drives tend to fail in space.” – Donald Pettit, NASA Astroanaut

“Stick to what you’re good at – hire a designer or writer when you need it. Avoid making crappy books!” – Eileen Gittins, CEO & Founder, Blurb

“Long term documentary work is often a dark and lonely journey.” – Barbara Davidson, 2011 Pulitzer Prize Winner

“If you don’t have any ideas, taxidermy will make your picture 50% better.” – Peter Yang, Commercial & Editorial Photographer

“Follow your gut. Follow your heart. Don’t follow the dollar signs.” – Michael Muller, Commercial Photographer

“I’m a photographer because that’s all I know how to do.” – Zack Arias, Editorial Music Photographer

“Factors that affect value of photographs are uniqueness, provenance and scale.” – Sara Friedlander, VP Post-War & Contemporary Art, Christie’s

“Writing checks to artists when they’ve sold a print is one of my favorite things to do.” – Jen Bekman, CEO & Founder, 20×200

“Photographers can create moments that will never happen again but last a lifetime.” – Tyler Shields, Photographer

“When you see something in slow motion you see it again for the very first time.” – Rick Robinson, Division VP of Marketing, Vision Research

We can’t thank everyone enough for making this event such a success! Continue sharing your thoughts and photos on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #luminance. Also be sure to check out all our photos from the event at luminancephotos.photoshelter.com and share you feedback! Email us at feedback@photoshelter.com.

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