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.
It took a while for me to grasp that my colleagues believe I have made an impact on the history of cinema.
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.
In aptitude tests, I scored highest in music.
I was very happy sitting alone at a dining room table, writing a script.
I want to tell a story and shape it all the way through to the end.
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.
I suppose I would still be a communicator, maybe a musician.
I saw Tequila Sunrise as a romantic picture with complex, bigger than life characters.
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.
I hope I'm still shooting when I'm 80.
I don't think of myself as a director or writer. I think of myself as a filmmaker.
I can still recall the thrill of shooting my first film.
Every once in a while, when the audience is expecting to see one thing, you have to show them something else.
Every cinematographer I worked with had his own way of solving problems.
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.
But at heart, I am more than a cinematographer.
Billions of people have seen and been influenced by movies in the short history of this industry.
Photography is a very important part of my life.
Contrast is what makes photography interesting.
I realize that every picture isn't a work of art.
Cinematography is infinite in its possibilities... much more so than music or language.
There is a kind of beauty in imperfection.
You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.
Dad, wherever you are, you are gone but you will never be forgotten.
