A biography for Antony Armstrong-Joneshasn’t been written yet.
“I can tell you what I personally use a camera for. Basically, it is to record a moment. A moment that is vital to give the viewer a sensation of liveliness, sadness, joy and so on.”
“Photography is not a fine art at all.”
“I love Russian faces. The only difference between them is beautiful and more beautiful.”
“I don't have a digital camera. I don't understand it - and I don't want to.”
“I really think the more talent people have, the more polite they are: Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness always arrived on time and were impeccably behaved. It's only the gutter snipes who leave their lipstick on the studio floor - and that's just the men.”
“Photographs are things that should be pinned on a wall, and when you stop liking them - just tear them up!”
“I'm not a great one for chatting people up because it's phoney.”
“First of all, I am not royal... and lastly, I am not royal. It's not appropriate.”
“You have to strip people of their poses and disguises.”
“I always liked taking photographs.”
“I try to photograph with love and sympathy.”
“My job is very simply that of a photojournalist. I want to stop people's eye on the page, I want to move the viewer to laughter, to sadness, sometimes to wince - not to impress other photographers.”
“I didn't fall in love with boys - but a few men have been in love with me.”
“If you recognize a photograph by me, I'm a failure.”
“A camera must be part of me - an extra limb capable of freezing a situation without complicated preparation.”
“I draw badly. Photography's much easier than drawing.”
“Young photographers must experiment all the time and not be frightened of using light - freely-shooting straight into the light if need be - making an effort to get new angles on much photographed subjects, and also discovering chemical properties of film itself.”
“I mean, taking photographs is a very nasty thing to do. It's very cruel.”
“A still photographer is a mechanic. He's not an artist, despite all you read.”
“The thing is, when you take photographs, you meet a lot of people but you don't actually know anybody. It is very quick, in and out, in a concentrated way.”