There are some people who become best friends with everyone they photograph. There are people that I really like and admire and respect, but in a way I think it's better to keep a distance. I think you get better pictures of people that you don't know very well.
Mary Ellen MarkThe subject gives you the best idea of how to make a photograph. So I just wait for something to happen.
Mary Ellen MarkThe obsessions we have are pretty much the same our whole lives. Mine are people, the human condition, life.
Mary Ellen MarkI want my photographs not only to be real but to portray the essence of my subjects also. In order to do that, you have to be patient.
Mary Ellen MarkI think you have to have a real point of view that's your own. You have to tell it your way. And, I think that it's a mistake to shoot for a specific magazine's point of view because it's never going to be as good. You have to shoot for yourself and photograph [ the way] you believe it.
Mary Ellen Mark