My dad was in the Korean War. He got shot seven times. He had seven bullet holes in him. And out of his troop of 35 guys, he was one of nine guys that came back. And when he came back from that he had seven kids in seven years.

Just having the camera, being able to pull back from situations and be an observer, it saved my life... I realised I could find these intimate moments and that people trusted me. That, basically, my camera was magic.

I didn't have to be friends with people who were into pop music.

I have absolutely no interest in creating depressing images.

I don't want to be an artist that gets stuck doing one thing. I don't want to be an artist who people look back at and say, 'His early work was really great.

I'm going to put every aspect of myself out into the world and try to convey it through photography.

I think the driving force when I moved to New York was the fear of going home with my tail between my legs.