James Nachtwey Quotes

Just as Renaissance artists provided narratives for the era they lived in, so do I. I'm always looking beyond the surface. I've done that ever since I first picked up a camera.

It doesn't matter if you use a box camera or you use a Leica; the important thing is what motivates you when you are photographing.

There are an awful lot of people in the world and it's going to be terribly hard to photograph all of them... It was my teacher Lisette Model who finally made it clear to me that the more specific you are, the more general it will be.

If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given.

Photography must be integrated with the story.

I'm not a politician or a scholar or political historian. I'm just a photographer who's trying to capture a spirit. It's not an intellectual process; it's an intuitive process.

It is not altogether wrong to say that there is no such thing as a bad photograph - only less interesting, less relevant, less mysterious ones.

I wanted to go to acting school, and I did a few modeling jobs to pay for acting school. I never aspired to be a model. I met lots of photographers, and I learned a lot about light - as a source of love and illumination, light as a gift of love. On film, that's a massive contribution.

All I need is a camera and I'll make things happen.

I became obsessed with the storytelling of photography and going on little adventures.

I always thought that's the wonderful thing about filmmaking: people see things differently.

The camera's a ballpoint pen, an imbecile; it's not worth anything if you don't have anything to say.

It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium.

A lot of photographers think that if they buy a better camera they'll be able to take better photographs. A better camera won't do a thing for you if you don't have anything in your head or in your heart.

Photography is the first art wherein the tool does most of the work.

The camera is for us a tool, not a pretty mechanical toy ... people think far too much about techniques and not enough about seeing.

People think photography is about photographing. To me, it’s about relationships.

On digital photography: It's fantastic, but it's not a freebie for anything. You still have to have this (he points to his eyes), and this (points to his heart), and feet.

Photography is better than art. It is a solar phenomenon in which the artist collaborates with the sun.

Photography is the easiest thing to make, and one of the hardest things to make well.

The only thing emanating from my pictures should be emotion.

This thing called the camera, that takes everything in equally, taught me a lot about how to see.

I'm just trying to tell a good story and make thought-provoking, entertaining films. I just try and draw upon the great culture we have as a people, from music, novels, the streets.

I shoot people in a way that makes the audience feel equal to them. And it's hard to express and it's hard to execute but I think it works on every level - the choice of the material the choice of the actor, my relationship with the actor, and so on.

I get to work with great photographers, wear lovely clothes, be part of the creative process.