And I think that after nearly 85 years upon this planet that I have a right after working so hard at showing the desolation and the poverty, to show something beautiful for somebody as well.

You know, the camera is not meant just to show misery. You can show things that you like about the universe, things that you hate about the universe. It's capable of doing both.

Many times I wondered whether my achievement was worth the loneliness I experienced, but now I realize the price was small.

I have never known anyone important enough to consume me in anger beyond a few hours. Better to depart their existence before they poison your own.

I feel it is the heart, not the eye, that should determine the content of the photograph. What the eye sees is its own. What the heart can perceive is a very different matter.

Washington, D.C. in 1942 was not the easiest place in the world for a Negro to get along.

If you don't have anything to say, your photographs aren't going to say much.