I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul. Mary Ellen Mark directhonestimportant Change image and share on social
I'm just interested in people on the edges. I feel an affinity for people who haven't had the best breaks in society. I'm always on their side. I find them more human, maybe. What I want to do more than anything is acknowledge their existence. Mary Ellen Mark acknowledgeaffinitybreak share on social
I love dogs. I absolutely adore them. When I'm teaching in Mexico, I rescue dogs from the streets and make my students adopt them. Mary Ellen Mark absolutelyadoptadore Change image and share on social
If I'm in an unusual or extreme social environment, I always want to know what it's like to grow up there and experience it as normal, everyday life. And I want to know what sort of adults these children are going to turn into. Mary Ellen Mark adultchildenvironment share on social
If I hadn't become a photographer, I would have loved to become a doctor. I would have loved to have done something that actually helped people and changed their lives. Mary Ellen Mark changedoctorhelp Change image and share on social
I'm most interested in finding the strangeness and irony in reality. That's my forte. Mary Ellen Mark findforteinterest Change image and share on social
I knew from the first moment I picked up a camera, on my first school assignment, what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was going to find a way to travel the world and tell the stories of the people I met through photographs. Mary Ellen Mark assignmentcamerafind share on social
There are some people who become best friends with everyone they photograph. There are people that I really like and admire and respect, but in a way I think it's better to keep a distance. I think you get better pictures of people that you don't know very well. Mary Ellen Mark admiredistancefriend share on social
I respect newspapers, but the reality is that magazine 'photojournalism' is finished. They want illustrations, Photoshopped pictures of movie stars. Mary Ellen Mark finishillustrationmagazine Change image and share on social
I'm a street photographer, but I'm interested in any ironic, whimsical images, and there's something very romantic about a circus. Mary Ellen Mark circusimageinterest Change image and share on social
