When you start out, you’re not really aware. I didn’t have a sense of photographic history. Herb Ritts Read Quote
What I particularly liked was that, coming from California and not being involved in the New York scene, I developed my personal way, in my own way, at my own pace. Herb Ritts Read Quote
That’s why I felt so at home when I went to Africa. It didn’t matter that I was halfway around the world in a foreign country, because all those elements are universal. And I think that’s one thing about my work: It’s universal. Herb Ritts Read Quote
I’m pretty selective. I generally edit the contact sheets and then do work prints. Because I have my own lab and printers, I can afford the luxury of going through the contact sheets for black-and-white, making up work prints, seeing them big, and honing them down. Herb Ritts Read Quote
I’d go down to the end of my street, to a garage that had a certain feeling about it, or a particular light; I’d take a picture of a friend who needed a head shot. That’s how I learned, instead of having school assignments and learning camera techniques. Herb Ritts Read Quote
I think a lot of the time these days people are so concerned about having the right camera and the right film and the right lenses and all the special effects that go along with it, even the computer, that they’re missing the key element. Herb Ritts Read Quote
Within two hours of where I live, you have mountains and desert as location. I like the natural elements that abstract into light, texture, shape and shadow. Herb Ritts Read Quote
For me, the most important thing I learned was just honing my eye. I think I had a good eye. Herb Ritts Read Quote
Actually, when I first started dabbling in photography, I was still working for my parents as a salesman. Herb Ritts Read Quote
The education, the cultural awareness, is different in Europe, especially in France, from that in the United States. So I think the public will be much more appreciative of many images. Herb Ritts Read Quote
