My first reaction at the very idea of this interview was to refuse to talk about photography. Why dissect and comment a process that is essentially a spontaneous reaction to a surprise?

Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.

Photography cannot change the world, but it can show the world, especially when it changes.

Rather than a profession, photography has always been a passion for me, a passion closer to an obsession.

For me photography is not an intellectual process. It is a visual one.... Whether we like it or not, we are involved in a sensual business.

The eye is made to see and not to think.... A good photograph is a surprise. How could we plan and foresee a surprise? We just have to be ready.

Photography is about savoring life at 1/100th of a second.

Choice or freedom of choice is just an existential concern. But for photographers, it's a lifetime's preoccupation.

I'm often asked: Did you get what you wanted? But how should I know what I wanted? A photo is an encounter, a surprise.

Doubt always hovers nearby, but I take photographs the way a musician hums. Looking is like breathing. So when luck turns my way and offers me a good picture, joy is surely nigh.

Both the thoughts and the senses were pretty things, the ultimate meaning was hidden behind both of them... from both the secret voices of the innermost truth had to be attentively perceived.

May you find the grace and willpower to fulfil your dream.

Giving from the heart is supernatural, it manifests into blessings.

I like to be at a party and be a quiet observer, be in conversation. I wouldn't say I was a class clown growing up, but I would definitely sit back in class and take snipes at the teacher.

He that will forget God, will also forget his benefactors.

Men's eyes are in their heads; women's, in their hearts.

I meditate and do yoga. I sit cross-legged and try not to levitate too much.

Always remember this: 'A kiss will never miss, and after many kisses a miss becomes a misses.'

So, when I say 'match the hatch', if the fish are taking the nymph, and you're actually producing a replica of a flying insect, you'll catch fresh air.

There is nothing more alone than being in a car at night in the rain.