"Down stretches of modest road from Phoenix to Düsseldorf, the approach of the New Topographics photographers has come to define a rigorous, serious, removed strain of photographic practice. And as with many mass movements, its place in the public imagination has only a little to do with the intentions of its founders. I found some comments in the guestbook at the Eastman House that come close to defining a commonly held New Topographicsism. 'BORING :),' one complicated visitor wrote. 'I understand why this show is ‘important’ but why do I feel so depressed and uninspired?' asked another. 'Intentionally boring,' 'engaging the mundane,' 'dry,' 'restrained,' 'cool,' and 'critical' are the standard lexical palette describing NT. And in the hands of its many followers, these taglines ring true. But walking through these sets of intimate, hand-printed photographs, it is easy to hear strains of whimsy, irony, and great affection set against the Sousa march of conceptual remove."

From Tim Davis's essay, The New New Topographics.