Don McCullin Quotes

Things that are complex are not useful, Things that are useful are simple.

I cut the labels out of my clothes because they scratch. Clothes are just little workhorses, aren't they?

I'm not an equipment nut. I tend to use whatever's to hand. I have several cameras, of course, but I'm not emotional about any of them.

Any item in your wardrobe should satisfy one of two criteria: utility and joy.

Always think of what is useful and not what is beautiful. Beauty will come of its own accord.

I'm always in flats. Jeans, jumper, flat shoes or a pair of trainers. It would probably surprise people, but I have to be comfortable. It's not about me dressing up and looking good. I've got to get stuff done.

I'm the opposite of a gearhead. I like simplicity. I use what works, and the only time I change it is when I have to.

A farmer's horse is never lame, never unfit to go. Never throws out curbs, never breaks down before or behind. Like his master he is never showy. He does not paw and prance, and arch his neck, and bid the world admire his beauties...and when he is wanted, he can always do his work.

Never do anything complicated when something simple will serve as well. It's one of the most important secrets of living.

A brute force solution that works is better than an elegant solution that doesn't work.

I think the simpler the better.

Simplicity is somehow essentially describing the purpose and place of an object and product.

Everything that I make I use.

Always run to the short way; and the short way is the natural: accordingly say and do everything in conformity with the soundest reason. For such a purpose frees a man from trouble, and warfare, and all artifice and ostentatious display.

Forget the camera, forget the lens, forget all of that. With any four-dollar camera, you can capture the best picture.

The design of everyday things is in great danger of becoming the design of superfluous, overloaded, unnecessary things.

The plain wooden toothpick, it may be argued, is among the simplest of manufactured things. It consists of a single part, made of a single material, intended for a single purpose-from which it gets its simple name. It is also among the most convenient and ready of things. It can be used directly out of the box-there being no instructions to read, no parts to assemble, no priming or booting required, and no maintenance expected. When it has served its purpose, it is simply discarded.

The main reason I went to digital was because I got time-lapse, video, and still images all in one camera. Having a minimal amount of gear is really important for someone who wants to walk around. That allowed me to have this flexibility to document things in different ways.

Everybody gets excited about technology, but it doesn't interest me in the least. I'm only interested in it if it makes my job easier or cheaper. They're tools.

There is a use for almost everything.

Reason is a bee, and exists only on what it makes; his usefulness takes the place of beauty.

I would say most of my style is driven by functionality and comfort.

Why bother with a cunning plan when a simple one will do?

I am always surprised when I see several cameras, a gaggle on lenses, filters, meters, et cetera, rattling around in a soft bag with a complement of refuse and dust. Sometimes the professional is the worst offender!

There are more useful systems developed in languages deemed awful than in languages praised for being beautiful - many more.