The best photographs give us a way to connect with the world: they shatter the mundane, prompt self reflection and question reality. But what about, as Ansel Adams calls it, the “twelve inches behind the camera”?
Read next: An Interview with Elliott Erwitt
TIME takes you behind the lens with First Take, a new ongoing video series about the art and craft of photography. At a time when photo sharing is the new status update, we appreciate guides such as Elliott Erwitt, Donna Ferrato and Phillip Toledano who continue to help redefine the medium. Each of them share one trait: an obsession with finding beauty in the untidiness of life.
This week, the series launches with the legendary Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt, who offers a glimpse into his quest to make art through documentary photography. A master of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “decisive moment,” Erwitt says all photographers strive for that special moment that “transcends the subject and place, and can be looked at for years to come.
Here’s his take.
Elliott Erwitt is a Magnum photographer based in New York.
First Take is an ongoing video series curated by TIME’s photography editors.
- Can Birth Control Help Solve the World's Rat Problem?
- About That Devastating Tom-Shiv Scene in Succession's Premiere
- Why Humza Yousaf's Win Is 'Historic' for Scotland
- For Both Donald Trump and Alvin Bragg, the Central Park Jogger Case Was a Turning Point
- If Donald Trump Is Indicted, Here's What Would Happen Next in the Process
- Alison Roman Won't Sugarcoat It
- Why Not All Observant Muslims Fast During Ramadan
- It's Time to Say a Loving Goodbye to John Wick
- Who Should Be on the 2023 TIME100? Vote Now
- Column: Ozempic Exposed the Cracks in the Body Positivity Movement
