Saul Leiter Quotes

I spent a great deal of my life being ignored. I was always very happy that way. Being ignored is a great privilege. That is how I think I learned to see what others do not see and to react to situations differently. I simply looked at the world, not really prepared for anything.

I'm just someone who observes a lot.

There are some people who can receive a truth by no other way than to have their understanding shocked and insulted.

When K. looked at the castle, often it seemed to him as if he were observing someone who sat quietly there in front of him gazing, not lost in thought and so oblivious of everything, but free and untroubled, as if he were alone with nobody to observe him, and yet must notice that he was observed, and all the same remained with his calm not even slightly disturbed; and really - one did not know whether it was cause or effect - the gaze of the observer could not remain concentrated there, but slid away.

Normally I didn’t see a great deal. I didn’t hear a great deal either. I didn’t pay attention. Strictly speaking I wasn’t there. Strictly speaking I believe I’ve never been anywhere.

People never notice anything.

If you feel like an outsider, you tend to observe things a lot more.

I was an outsider, never quite part of what was going on, always looking in. It turned out to be great preparation for writing fiction.

I have seen all, I have heard all, I have forgotten all.

Your whole life is on the other side of the glass. And there is nobody watching.

See into life, don't just look at it.

Who is richer? The man who is seen, but cannot see? Or the man who is not being seen, but can see?

The splinter in your eye is the best magnifying-glass.

I guess I'm a very keen observer, and I'd like to think I have a good imagination.

I have definitely had experiences where I can feel the shift from simply living my life to being slightly outside of my life and taking notes.

I was always an outsider, always standing outside, observing and trying to figure things out. Which is exactly what you need to do as a writer, I suppose.

People who know, know. The others, it really doesn't matter.

The hardest thing to see is what is in front of your eyes.

I'm the kind of person where I always digest everything around me.

People often ask me how I get so many unique experiences while they get none. I tell them the difference is in the sensitivity. I can observe those small emotions, which may look trivial to others.

We make patterns, we share moments. Sometimes, I think I'm the only one to see it.

The hardest thing is to see what's under your very eyes.

Vipassana: looking into something with clarity and precision, seeing each component as distinct, piercing all the way through so as to perceive the most fundamental reality of that thing.

He who is invisible sees more clearly, hears more clearly, and is better able to read the thoughts of men.

It's you who are telling me; opening my eyes to things I'd looked at so long that I'd ceased to see them.