Excerpt from It's Not About the F-Stop:

I was attending a program at the new New York Times building. After it was over, as I walked out, I saw an elderly man with a wonderful face. I walked over to him and told him I’d like to take some pictures of him, would that be all right? He was very kind and obliging. I always make it a rule that if anyone is nice enough to let me take the picture, I try not to go click-click, thank you, and leave. Rather, I try to give the work and the people the respect they deserve. After all, if somebody lets you take their picture, they deserve your best efforts.

It’s tricky because the tendency is to try not to take up too much of their time. So, if you take a quick photo, you’re okay, you haven’t taken too much of their time. But, you may not get anything. You may not get what you want. I would rather keep shooting (trying to explain what I just explained to you, till I get what I want.)

I shot quite a bit on this gentleman. I thanked him and left (I knew I didn’t get what I wanted.) When I got out into the street, I looked back to wave goodbye, and there he was sitting with his back to me, small in the room. My original shots were all close-ups of him. 

This image was more of a complete photograph. A better image than I had gotten in all the close-ups before.

Some years ago, a seven-year-old daughter of a friend of mine sent me a note in which she said, “Keep clinking.”

From the mouths of babes…. Not a bad idea at that.

It’s not over until you quit.