If you take pictures does that make you an art thief?

Evolution in action: First, God said, 'Let there be light.' Then, he created two nude models. Now we have photographers.

I'd like my coffin to be a camera obscura so I can see what's going on outside.

If you cannot think of anything to say that is useful or enlightening about your images, then don't say anything. There are plenty of other people who would love to put words in your mouth.

This is life. It is everywhere, and it is here for the taking. I am alive and I know this, now, in a more profound way than when I am doing anything else. These sights are ephemeral, fleeting treasures that have been offered to me and to me alone. No other person in the history of the world, anywhere in all of time and space, has been granted this gift to be here in my place. And I am privileged, through the camera, to take this moment away with me. That is why I photograph.

...the subject, the thing itself, is the genesis of all types of photography.

If it is not an interesting picture when in focus, it is not going to be a better picture out of focus.