I think knowing people by first names, not by what they do sexually, is really what it's about. Not being afraid. Fear is the enemy. I've always been comfortable with being gay.

I'd go down to the end of my street, to a garage that had a certain feeling about it, or a particular light; I'd take a picture of a friend who needed a head shot. That's how I learned, instead of having school assignments and learning camera techniques.

Actually, when I first started dabbling in photography, I was still working for my parents as a salesman.

It's important to let your subjects be themselves.

It's always more comforting to know that in any given corner of any room or any location you're on, you can make a photograph that you'll appreciate.

Many people who excel are self-taught.

Today a lot of things are so celebrity-oriented; it's only because it's celebrity and the photograph is lost. To me it's important to have an image that is a photograph first, not about necessarily who that person is.