The closer the source of light is to a subject, the broader the beams are.

Every cinematographer I worked with had his own way of solving problems.

I knew exactly how I wanted it to play, but you are never sure until you watch the projected images reflect off the screen. That's when you know it worked.

But you know you haven't done it all because you know everything keeps evolving and changing; and you know you can evolve with it if you grow and develop as a human being.

There are infinite shadings of light and shadows and colors... it's an extraordinarily subtle language. Figuring out how to speak that language is a lifetime job.

I want to tell a story and shape it all the way through to the end.

I don't think of myself as a director or writer. I think of myself as a filmmaker.

There are a lot of directors who are knowledgeable about images, and others who aren't.

Billions of people have seen and been influenced by movies in the short history of this industry.

I realize that every picture isn't a work of art.

I suppose I would still be a communicator, maybe a musician.

You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.

Photography is a very important part of my life.

I was very happy sitting alone at a dining room table, writing a script.

My first semester, I got a D in creative writing.

Manipulating shadows and tonality is like writing music or a poem.

Painting and writing are solitary arts.

With today's fast films, you can light the way your eye sees the scene. You can abuse the film and create subtleties in contrast with light and exposure, diffusion and filters. That's what makes it an art.

Contrast is what makes photography interesting.

The closer the source of light is to a subject, the broader the beams are.

It is also difficult to articulate the subtleties in cinema, because there aren't words or metaphors which describe many of the emotions you are attempting to evoke.

You have to understand the nature of light.

Every once in a while, when the audience is expecting to see one thing, you have to show them something else.

But at heart, I am more than a cinematographer.

I saw Tequila Sunrise as a romantic picture with complex, bigger than life characters.

There is a kind of beauty in imperfection.

The sun is the most parallel light source because it is so far away.

I think one of the reasons people quit is because they're afraid they won't be able to get better and better; that they have to come to a zenith of some kind.

It took a while for me to grasp that my colleagues believe I have made an impact on the history of cinema.

I hope I'm still shooting when I'm 80.

It was 100 feet of 16 mm black-and-white film of a car coming to a stop sign, and driving off. I had to decide how to frame and light it. It was magic. There was a sense of mystery.

Cinematography is infinite in its possibilities... much more so than music or language.

In aptitude tests, I scored highest in music.

That's why I like fast film. It gives you more freedom to light more naturally.

My peers say I have made a difference. That means more to me than winning an Oscar.

It's important to know that if you are dealing with shadows.

I can still recall the thrill of shooting my first film.

Dad, wherever you are, you are gone but you will never be forgotten.

The audience has to understand that if the film is going to have any meaning for them. If they are going to empathize with the characters, they have to visualize the process of concentration involved in making every move.

There is a kind of beauty in imperfection

Christians should never fail to sense the operation of an angelic glory. It forever eclipses the world of demonic powers, as the sun does a candle's light.

The employee is regarded by the employer merely in the light of his value as an operative. His productive capacity alone is taken into account.

In like a dimwit, out like a light.

I don't like to hurt people, I really don't like it at all. But in order to get a red light at the intersection, you sometimes have to have an accident.

I like my coffee light.

So the thing that's beautiful about the Rolleiflex is that I open the camera up from the top and put my face in and that the camera's all about composition and all about light.

I'm looking forward to providing the men of Seattle with an evening where they can kick back, light up a cigar and enjoy a night to themselves. Women, we can't technically keep you out, but please stay at home.

The miracle of light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and slowly moving, the grass and water that is the meaning and the central fact of the Everglades. It is a river of grass.

Of all creatures in this visible world, light is the most glorious; of all light, the light of the sun without compare excels the rest.