I just wanted to be Patti's [Smith] messenger and get her word out there.

I never went to film school, so I just sort of learned on my own.

When I went to Detroit, I was very naïve, actually, and I think Patti [Smith] picked up on that quite quickly.

[Some] times I'd have sound but no image. When Patti [Smith] was singing with her guitar, or doing something amazing with her clarinet, I'd just mess around and record the sound. So we'd use those sounds as another layer in the film [Dream of Life].

I like not knowing too much about somebody I'm photographing, because the process also becomes an experience for me to learn about .

Sometimes my fashion pictures can look a little bit like documentary style pictures. So having a camera in my hand was normal.

She let me in during her tour, in London. Her band members - especially Lenny Kaye - were shocked at the fact that I was filming Patti [Smith].