Garry Winogrand Quotes

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

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

Whenever I arrive on a real location, I have to move around and work out what the best angles are going to be. When I was moving around with the lens, I discovered things that the naked eye would not have.

I am a hobbyist photographer so I relate to the visual arts that way, but I'm not a painter.

I love a well composed shot. It doesn't necessarily have to be beautiful, but it must be well composed.

I love photography. I love the imagery. I love what I do.

Photography is my passion. Whenever I get time, I click.

Essentially, in photography, I think on two levels: one emotional and the other technical. The emotional impact has to do with looking for something dramatic happening in the photograph, something that reaches out and touches somebody in some way. And the technical is having to do with composition and framing - light and dark, light and shadow.

The game I play is a very interesting one. It's imagination, in a tight straightjacket.

I just walk around, observing the subject from various angles until the picture elements arrange themselves into a composition that pleases my eye.

My intention is to make interesting photographs. That's it, in the end. I don't make it up. Let's say it's a world I never made. That's what was there to deal with.

You wait until life is in the frame, then you have the permission to click. I like the adventure of waiting until the whole frame is full.

My theory of composition? Simple: do not release the shutter until everything in the viewfinder feels just right.

The artist is always concerned with a total view of the world. However, when the photographer takes a picture ... the edge of his picture is just as interesting as the middle, one can only guess at the existence of a whole, and the view presented seems chosen by chance.

There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.

Art is a game. Too bad for him who makes a duty of it.

Photography is 1% talent and 99% moving furniture.

...to photograph is to frame, and to frame is to exclude.

Drawing and composition are the same thing.

When you come to actually act, it's a game. It may be a very serious game, but it's still a game. If you lose that sense of play, the work suffers.

I enjoy photographing. It's always interesting, so I can't say one thing is more fun than another. Everything has it's own difficulties.

Photography is like fencing. You must keep your distance, wait, and then thrust.

Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera.

I found that the camera was a comforting companion. It opened up new worlds, and gave me access to people's most intimate moments. I discovered the privilege of seeing life in all its complexity, the thrill of learning something new every day. When I was behind a camera, it was the only place in the world I wanted to be.

Having all those demons makes it interesting, for me. Coming back now and being completely sober is okay, but I do like going back into the messy area. It's an empowering thing to play now, but at the same time, I do like to play the dirty side more. So, we'll see if she slips, or something. Wendy is always on the edge.