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Quote by Chris Killip

“I don't like smiley pictures. A smile is a defense mechanism. It says, You can't have the real me but here's my smile. You get closer to the real person when they stop smiling.”

Quote by Chris Killip

Author

Chris Killip, a British photographer born on July 11, 1946, is renowned for his profound insights into the social and cultural landscape of Northern Ireland. His work, particularly his documentation of the social changes during the periods of industrialization and deindustrialization, is characterized by its unique style, black and white photography, and strong emotional expression. more

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“I wanted [photography] to be more than a document, to be something that is as close as you could possibly be to the subject.”

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“The moment you make a photograph you consign whatever you photograph to the past as that specific moment no longer exists, it is history. The photography that I practice takes place in a specific time and place, depicting real moments in people's lives. In some ways I think of myself as a historian, but not of the word. History is most often written from a distance, and rarely from the viewpoint of those who endured it.”

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“I take what isn't mine and I covet other people's lives.”

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“I have always loved the amateur side of photography, automatic photographs, accidental photographs with uncentered compositions, heads cut off, whatever. I incite people to make their self-portraits. I see myself as their walking photo booth.”

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“Sometimes, I'd take shots without aiming, just to see what happened. I'd rush into crowds - bang! bang! ... It must be close to what a fighter feels after jabbing and circling and getting hit, when suddenly there's an opening, and bang! Right on the button. It's a fantastic feeling.”

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“I have always done the opposite of what I was trained to do... Having little technical background, I became a photographer. Adopting a machine, I do my utmost to make it malfunction. For me, to make a photograph is to make an anti-photograph.”

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“I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in the balls. When I returned to New York, I wanted to get even. Now I had a weapon, photography.”

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“Anybody who pretends to be objective isn't realistic.”

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Book:Cinema outsider: the films of William Klein : a nationally touring retrospective

Source: Cinema outsider: the films of William Klein : a nationally touring retrospective

“So much of what we know, and what we think we know, about the land has first passed through someone's lens. The interesting thing is to make use of this history, not merely to be absorbed into it. For me, landscape photographs begin as the artifacts of personal moments. They get interesting when they become cultural commentary.”

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“The most prevalent way of working in photography right now is project oriented: you go after an idea. I like the old way, the intuitive approach. You follow your nose and take pictures and see what emerges. It happens after the fact.”

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