Life wanted faces that would express what we wanted to tell. Not just the unusual or striking face, but the face that would speak out the message from the printed page. I am always looking for some typical person or face that will tie the picture essay together in a human way.

Nothing attracts me like a closed door. I cannot let my camera rest until I have pried it open.

The very secret of life for me, I believed, was to maintain in the midst of rushing events an inner tranquility.

As photographers, we live through things so swiftly. All our experience and training is focused toward snatching off the highlights... That all significant perfect moment, so essential to capture, is often highly perishable. There may be little opportunity to probe deeper.

Utter truth is essential...and to get that truth may take a lot of searching and long hours.

Even while you're in dead earnest about your work, you must approach it with a feeling of freedom and joy; you must be loose-jointed, like a relaxed athlete.

I have always thought that if I could turn back the pages of history and photograph one man, my choice would be Moses.