David R. Ellis Quotes

What I end up shooting is the situation. I shoot the composition and my subject is going to help the composition or not.

With photography, I always think that it's not good enough.

I've learned to create a palette, a vocabulary of ways to take pictures.

I'm no snapshot artist. I make very careful choices always, even if I'm using a 35mm camera.

If your pictures are not good enough, it’s because you are not close enough.

There are a thousand ways to point a camera, but really only one.

Photography can be a volatile situation. It can be very potent.

A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.

I'm just interested in what makes a photograph.

The art of photography is all about directing the attention of the viewer.

We're trying to get good pictures. Don't worry very much about what I say.

A good photograph is knowing where to stand.

I fight to take a good photograph every single time.

The really simple approach to photography is a great balance to making the films.

I always wanted to be a photographer. While I was at school, I got a lab-monkey holiday job in the darkrooms at the 'Independent.' What they taught me there was: you need to get the whole story in one frame.

It's good that everyone has an opportunity to take pictures, the chance to be a photographer. Some are good, too. But the bad thing is that it's very, very difficult to take a great picture. Everyone can take a good picture - even a child - but it's hard to make a great one.

From the beginning, the camera and I were great friends. It loves me, and I love it.

In everything I do, the aesthetics are driven by the emotion. However I can do that with a camera, whether it's a long lens or a wide lens, I'll do.

I enjoy photography. It's a lot of fun. It keeps me on my P's and Q's and, when you think about it, most people think photography is just going to a game. But you start to think, dang, that would be a good picture. Or you're driving along and see something and think, 'that would be nice.'

I have a low-tech camera with one lens that I've shot everything in my life on. My subjects and my subject matter sometimes really are powerful, and so my job is to get it into focus.

Which is my best picture? The one I will do tomorrow.

[Photography] remains servile to a thoughtless vision of the world... As the term snapshot suggests, photography seizes the moment and exhibits it.

You can take a good picture of anything. A bad one, too.

My first priority when taking pictures is to achieve clarity. A good documentary photograph transmits the information of the situation with the utmost fidelity; achieving it means understanding the nuances of lighting and composition, and also remembering to keep the lenses clean and the cameras steady.

The job is trying to create movie shots that have depth, that have the meanings you need them to have, and then good enough so that they will add something to the final picture. They will make the picture; they'll get into the picture, and give them what they need. It's an interesting job.