Photography came as a substitute. I was painfully shy and found talking to people difficult; a camera in hand gave me a function, a reason to be somewhere, a witness, but not an actor.

I think everything can be painted because painting can change reality; but everything cannot be photographed and the photographer often comes home empty-handed, with images which (often) have a documentary interest, but which rarely go further than that. One has to be completely available, very tenacious and admit that many subjects won't give any results... and a miracle sometimes happens, without warning.

I was very ill at ease with people in social situations, and I realized that if I photographed I wouldn't have to chat.

A photograph is not necessarily a lie, but it isn't the truth either. It's more like a fleeting, subjective impression.

I feel concerned by what happens in the world.... I don't want to merely document; I want to know why a certain thing disturbs or attracts me and how a situation can affect the person involved.

My grandfather killed himself falling off the dike in Ostend while photographing my two cousins. This can happen so easily when looking through a lens: for a split second nothing else exists outside the frame.

Photography came as a substitute. I was painfully shy and found talking to people difficult; a camera in hand gave me a function, a reason to be somewhere, a witness, but not an actor.