It's important to let your subjects be themselves.

Coming from California and growing up where I did, I've always had a fondness for and innate sensitivity to light, texture, and warmth.

Well, I liked it - that was the main thing. I liked it, but I didn't think of it in terms of a career. I didn't really know; I didn't really think about it. One thing just led to another until finally I quit my job as a salesman and found myself working as a photographer.

I abstract it in my photographs: I like large planes and spaces, areas of texture and light, like deserts or oceans or monumental places.

And what excites me most is the type of public, the fact that the Parisian people have a broader cultural understanding than many Americans do.

To me it's just going for the moment that counts. Sometimes, I'll have all the elements there, and I like to play and push something, and to me, in the end, you do achieve things that you're not aware of in the beginning, even though you're there trying to get them.

Each time I did assignments or editorials, I realized that I wanted to do something more. I saw that it wasn't just about the clothes.