Now one does not think during creative work: any more than one thinks when driving a car. One has a background of years — learning — unlearning— success — failure — dreaming — thinking — experience — back it goes — farther back than one's ancestors: all this, — then the moment of creation, the focussing of all into the moment. So I can make — "without thought" — fifteen carefully-considered negatives one every fifteen minutes, — given material with as many possibilities.

It's hard not to tell the truth with a camera. Artists are particularly good at that.

The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process.

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.

A photograph has no value unless it looks exactly like a photograph and nothing else.

Ultimately success or failure in photographing people depends on the photographer's ability to understand his fellow man.

No photographer is better than the simplest of cameras