This then: to photograph a rock, have it look like a rock, but be more than a rock.

Why limit yourself to what your eyes see when you have an opportunity to extend your vision?

"Only with effort can the camera be forced to lie: basically it is an honest medium: so the photographer is much more likely to approach nature in a spirit of inquiry, of communion, instead of with the saucy swagger of self-dubbed "artists"."

In common with other artists the photographer wants his finished print to convey to others his own response to his subject. In the fulfillment of this aim, his greatest asset is the directness of the process he employs. But this advantage can only be retained if he simplifies his equipment and technic to the minimum necessary, and keeps his approach from from all formula, art-dogma, rules and taboos. Only then can he be free to put his photographic sight to use in discovering and revealing the nature of the world he lives in.

When a photographer masters the tools and processes of the art, then the quality of the work is only limited by his creative vision.

I see my finished platinum print (in the viewfinder) in all its desired qualities, before my exposure.

Now, to consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravity before going for a walk.