David Hurn Quotes

Life as it unfolds in front of the camera is full of so much complexity, wonder and surprise that I find it unnecessary to create new realities. There is more pleasure, for me, in things as-they-are.

These are the two basic controls at the photographer's command--positi on and timing--all others are extensions, peripheral ones, compared to them

For me photography is an excuse to be nosy about things I want to know about.

Learn from the best; the second raters have nothing to offer.

The destination of the photograph is to reveal what something or somebody looked like, under a particular set of conditions, at a particular moment in time, and to transmit the results to others.

There are many forms of photography. I consider myself simply a recorder of that which I find of interest around me. I personally have no desire to create or stage direct ideas.

The most important piece of equipment after the camera is a good pair of shoes.

I'm a photographer, obviously. My chosen tool for understanding life, and communicating the results of this search to others, is the camera.

You are not a photographer because you are interested in photography.

I think of myself as a reportage photographer. I like the word. It implies a personal account of an observed event with connotations of subjectivity but honesty. It is eye-witness photography.

My advice is: learn from the best or teach yourself. And do not bother at all if you do not have an exaggerated sense of curiosity.

...one day I was speculating on how I would like to look back on life and I decided I wanted to feel that I was a photographer rather than a teacher. As simple as that.

These are the two basic controls at the photographer's command--position and timing--all others are extensions, peripheral ones, compared to them