James Wong Howe Quotes

See, there were certain rules I'd always used, and people like Trane, they would break those rules.

The camera has always been a magic wand for me, giving me access to places where I could try new experiments.

Design is the courage and brilliance to cover an original and make it different.

I never tried to revolutionise photography; I just do what I do and keep my fingers crossed that people will like it.

Young photographers must experiment all the time and not be frightened of using light - freely-shooting straight into the light if need be - making an effort to get new angles on much photographed subjects, and also discovering chemical properties of film itself.

There are no rules in filmmaking

And no photographs taken with the aid of flashlight either, if only out of respect of the actual light—even when there isn't any of it.

The artist who uses the least of what is called imagination will be the greatest.

Artistry is to a large degree simplicity.

I work using the Brian Eno school of thinking: limit your tools, focus on one thing and just make it work… You become very inventive with the restrictions you give yourself.

You have to learn the rules to be able to know how to break them.

I think we definitely want to focus on the simplicity aspect because it's something that's built into the culture even here at Twitter. Constraints inspire creativity.

There's no map for being an artist.

Best wide-angle lens? Two steps backward. Look for the 'ah-ha'.

I think nearly every artist continually wants to reach the edge of nothingness - the point where you can’t go any further.

Originality implies a return to the origins, original is returning to the simplicity of the first solutions.

There are things that happen so quickly. A better cameraman can capture them, but if the light is not bright and you hoist up your camera by the time you've dialed in your settings. There are eye blink moments where you're like "Aaahhhh, I wish," but those are too many to catalogue. Nothing really sticks out.

The orchestra's an amazing instrument, but I don't want to just arrange my songs for it. I think that might be kind of boring and a little bit overdramatic, perhaps. I'm still just having too much fun doing it my way, for the time being.

Far more interesting than problem solving is problem creation.

Let's just shoot in black and white. Don't explain why. Have no reason for it. Just do it because it's interesting.

When I walk with a camera, I walk from shot to shot, reading the light on a calibrated meter. When I walk without a camera, my own shutter opens, and the moment's light prints on my own silver gut. When I see this second way I am above all an unscrupulous observer.

I love the idea of messing around with different mediums.

Photography is not a sport. It has no rules. Everything must be dared and tried!

Scheherezade is easy; a little black dress is difficult.