The charm, one might say the genius, of memory is that it is choosy, chancy and temperamental; it rejects the read more

The charm, one might say the genius, of memory is that it is choosy, chancy and temperamental; it rejects the edifying cathedral and indelibly photographs the small boy outside, chewing a hunk of melon in the dust.

I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do -- that was one of my favorite things about read more

I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do -- that was one of my favorite things about it, and when I first did it, I felt very perverse.

The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.

The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.

It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core read more

It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness.

A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. read more

A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos.

If the man who paints only the tree, or flower, or other surface he sees before him were an artist, read more

If the man who paints only the tree, or flower, or other surface he sees before him were an artist, the king of artists would be the photographer. It is for the artist to do something beyond this.

Photography is a major force in explaining man to man.

Photography is a major force in explaining man to man.

Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man read more

Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man.

Blessed be the inventor of photography! It has given more positive pleasure to poor suffering humanity than anything else that read more

Blessed be the inventor of photography! It has given more positive pleasure to poor suffering humanity than anything else that has "cast up" in my time -- this art by which even the "poor" can possess themselves of tolerable of their absent dear ones.