I hate cameras. They interfere, theyโre always in the way. I wish: if I could just work with my eyes alone. To get a satisfactory print, one that contains all that you intended, is very often more difficult and dangerous than the sitting itself. When Iโm photographing, I immediately know when Iโve got the image I really want. But to get the image out of the camera and into the open, is another matter.
Richard AvedonAnd if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.
Richard AvedonCamera lies all the time. Itโs all it does is lie, because when you choose this moment instead of this moment, when youโฆ the moment youโve made a choice, youโre lying about something larger. Lying is an ugly word. I donโt mean lying. But any artist picks and chooses what they want to paint or write about or say. Photographers are the same.
Richard Avedon