If the man who paints only the tree, or flower, or other surface he sees before him were an artist, read more

If the man who paints only the tree, or flower, or other surface he sees before him were an artist, the king of artists would be the photographer. It is for the artist to do something beyond this.

Where there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with read more

Where there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us ro see.

Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but read more

Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.

Many pictures turn out to be limp translations of the known world instead of vital objects which create an intrinsic read more

Many pictures turn out to be limp translations of the known world instead of vital objects which create an intrinsic world of their own. There is a vast difference between taking a picture and making a photograph.

To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it read more

To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.

There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is read more

There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.

A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. read more

A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos.

I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do -- that was one of my favorite things about read more

I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do -- that was one of my favorite things about it, and when I first did it, I felt very perverse.

You know what a camera is? A mirror with memory.

You know what a camera is? A mirror with memory.