--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Photography, for me, is a lot like web…" description: "\"Photography, for me, is a lot like web surfing in real life.\" — Alec Soth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/alec-soth-20712_life_photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-sur_1629977.png" --- # Photography, for me, is a lot like web surfing in real life. ![“Photography, for me, is a lot like web surfing in real life.” quote by Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/alec-soth-20712_life_photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-sur_1629977.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/alec-soth-20712_life_photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-sur_1629977.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/alec-soth-20712_life_photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-sur_1629977.png) > “Photography, for me, is a lot like web surfing in real life.” [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography captures moments like browsing the web, exploring and discovering visual connections. **In simple terms:** Taking photos is like surfing the internet for images. Key Takeaway Explore visually with curiosity. Themes creativity exploration observation Mood inquisitive inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel - street photography - gallery curation - creative brainstorming Key Concepts visual culture digital metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What does “web surfing” suggest about your process? - How do you choose what to capture? A Different Perspective Not all visual experiences translate well to still images. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Surfing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surfing/) ## Related quotes > [Surfing is real private. It's a solo, loner sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/surfing-is-real-private-it-s-a-solo-loner-sport/) [Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/) > [Now that I finally have the time for it, this web surfing stuff turns out to be as interesting and fun and addictive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/now-that-i-finally-have-the-time-for-it-this-web-surfing-stuff-turns/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [If I leave my computer, I'm probably not going to get back for hours. If I take a few minutes to answer questions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-e-feist/if-i-leave-my-computer-i-m-probably-not-going-to-get-back-for-hours/) [Raymond E. Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-e-feist/) > [When you close a tab or when you finish an article on the web, it's gone unless you go back into your history or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/when-you-close-a-tab-or-when-you-finish-an-article-on-the-web-it-s/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [Getting new information through Web-surfing almost always feels more rewarding than having to generate new information in the work that is in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levitin/getting-new-information-through-web-surfing-almost-always-feels-more/) [Daniel Levitin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-levitin/) > [ \[Photography is\] very related to poetry. It's suggestive and fragmentary and unsatisfying in a lot of ways. It's as much about what you leave… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/photography-is-very-related-to-poetry-it-s-suggestive-and-fragmentary/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [An FBI agent ought to be able to surf the net and look for sites that instruct people how to make bombs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashcroft/an-fbi-agent-ought-to-be-able-to-surf-the-net-and-look-for-sites-that/) [John Ashcroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashcroft/) > [I believe that in music and in a lot of things it's kind of like surfing, you can have a really big wave sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delta-goodrem/i-believe-that-in-music-and-in-a-lot-of-things-it-s-kind-of-like/) [Delta Goodrem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delta-goodrem/) > [I really enjoy surfing a lot. It's an awesome sport. With surfing there are no mind games versus Peyton Manning, or versus anyone else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-polamalu/i-really-enjoy-surfing-a-lot-it-s-an-awesome-sport-with-surfing-there/) [Troy Polamalu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-polamalu/) > [You cant stop the waves but you can learn to surf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cant-stop-the-waves-but-you-can-learn-to-surf/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I used to not care if I died, but once I married and had children and became part of a big surfing community, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-mcnamara/i-used-to-not-care-if-i-died-but-once-i-married-and-had-children-and/) [Garrett McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-mcnamara/) > [To lose your everyday life of surfing and being creative on waves, enjoying the ocean - that's scary to me. It was essential to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-hamilton/to-lose-your-everyday-life-of-surfing-and-being-creative-on-waves/) [Bethany Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-hamilton/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) > [Surfing is simply the most fun I know how to have on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-garrett-lisi/surfing-is-simply-the-most-fun-i-know-how-to-have-on-this-planet/) [Antony Garrett Lisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-garrett-lisi/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More by Alec Soth > [If limitation spawns creativity, is the limitless resource of the Internet a good thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/if-limitation-spawns-creativity-is-the-limitless-resource-of-the/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [ \[Photography is\] very related to poetry. It's suggestive and fragmentary and unsatisfying in a lot of ways. It's as much about what you leave… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/photography-is-very-related-to-poetry-it-s-suggestive-and-fragmentary/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [I always say that photography's closest cousin is poetry because of the way it sparks your imagination and leaves gaps for the viewer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/i-always-say-that-photography-s-closest-cousin-is-poetry-because-of/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [I'm like the annoying guy in the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/i-m-like-the-annoying-guy-in-the-street/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [I find myself using music metaphors all the time, but this is too perfect, I feel like. Digital downloading is like photographs online. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/i-find-myself-using-music-metaphors-all-the-time-but-this-is-too/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [I admire photographers that don't need a destination. In some ways, street photography is like that. There's a quality of wanderlust for sure in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/i-admire-photographers-that-don-t-need-a-destination-in-some-ways/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [Whether you are Minor White or Robert Frank, almost every photograph starts with an act of pure description - a window. But every now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/whether-you-are-minor-white-or-robert-frank-almost-every-photograph/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [Nobody really wants to be alone. People need people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/nobody-really-wants-to-be-alone-people-need-people/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [In assembling this group of portraits of women, I'm aware that I'm treading on dangerous ground. When I was in college, I learned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/in-assembling-this-group-of-portraits-of-women-i-m-aware-that-i-m/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [Photography's future is infinite and bright. It's growing exponentially, so that's great, but for me as a practitioner, that exponential growth makes it even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/photography-s-future-is-infinite-and-bright-it-s-growing/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [Every once in a while I have this revelation like, "Wow, a hundred years ago the world wasn't black and white." It was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/every-once-in-a-while-i-have-this-revelation-like-wow-a-hundred-years/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [For me, the act of photography is all about discovery and finding new things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/for-me-the-act-of-photography-is-all-about-discovery-and-finding-new/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [Photography is a very lonely medium. There’s a kind of beautiful loneliness in voyeurism. And that’s why I’m a photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/photography-is-a-very-lonely-medium-there-s-a-kind-of-beautiful/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [In a world where the 2 billionth photograph has been uploaded to Flickr, which looks like an Eggleston picture! How do you deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/in-a-world-where-the-2-billionth-photograph-has-been-uploaded-to/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) > [You can photograph anything. You can be inside, outside, doesn't matter, you're controlling the light. It gives you great flexibility. That was a primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/you-can-photograph-anything-you-can-be-inside-outside-doesn-t-matter/) [Alec Soth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) [Explore all 30 Alec Soth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Photography, for me, is a lot like web surfing in real life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alec Soth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-surfing-in-real-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-surfing-in-real-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/alec-soth-20712_life_photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-sur_1629977.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/alec-soth-20712_life_photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-sur_1629977.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/alec-soth-20712_life_photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-sur_1629977.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Photography, for me, is a lot like web surfing in real life.” — Alec Soth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alec Soth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-soth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Photography, for me, is a lot...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-surfing-in-real-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-soth/photography-for-me-is-a-lot-like-web-surfing-in-real-life/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```