“I carried this little album of my work. I have three choices. If I see someone in this beautiful mood, I'll go up to them and ask them, I’d like to take a picture of that mood. If they say yes, I ask if they can get back into that mood. Not everyone can do that. Or, if the said no, then I took out the album and they saw the work. Or I took it, and ran like hell. I had those three choices in the subway." - Bruce Davidson
"Sometimes, I’d take the picture, then apologize, explaining that the mood was so stunning I couldn’t break it, and hoped they didn’t mind. Th ere were times I would take the pictures without saying anything at all. But even with this last approach, my flash made my presence known. When it went off, everyone in the car knew that an event was taking place- the spotlight was on someone.” - Bruce Davidson
“I’ve stopped hundreds of people and asked to make their photo. If it’s an upclose portrait, I always ask the person if I can take the photo. Often the answer is ‘no’.” - Zoe Strauss
“Despite my fantasies of being a hunter stalking a wild animal, I was still afraid. It was hard for me to approach even a little old lady. There’s a barrier between people riding the subway - eyes are averted, a wall is set up. To break through this painful tension I had to act quickly on im pulse, for if I hesitated, my subject might get off at the next station and be lost forever." - Bruce Davidson
“Oh people you’re a documentary photographer. I don’t even know what that means. Oh people say you are a photojournalist. I’m rarely publ ished in journals. Oh then yore a fine art photographer. Then I say I’m not. I aspire to be a fine photographer." - Bruce Davidson
“I’m just a humanist. I just photograph the human condition as I find it. It can be serious. It can also be ironic or humorous. I’m political, but n ot in an overt way.” - Bruce Davidson
“I find that young people tend to stop too soon. They mimic something they’ve seen, but they don’t stay long enough. If you’re going to photo graph anything, you have to spend a long time with it so your subconscious has a chance to bubble to the surface." - Bruce Davidson
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