--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a strict sense photography can never…" description: "\"In a strict sense photography can never be abstract, for the camera is incapable of synthetic integration.\" — Ansel Adams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/937/ansel-adams-2687_abstract_in-a-strict-sense-photography-can-never_2808215.jpg" --- # In a strict sense photography can never be abstract, for… ![“In a strict sense photography can never be abstract, for the camera is incapable of synthetic integration.” quote by Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/937/ansel-adams-2687_abstract_in-a-strict-sense-photography-can-never_2808215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/937/ansel-adams-2687_abstract_in-a-strict-sense-photography-can-never_2808215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/937/ansel-adams-2687_abstract_in-a-strict-sense-photography-can-never_2808215.jpg) > “In a strict sense photography can never be abstract, for the camera is incapable of synthetic integration.” [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography cannot be truly abstract because the camera captures reality, lacking synthetic integration. **In simple terms:** Photography is grounded in reality. Key Takeaway Embrace photographic truth. Themes photography reality abstraction Mood thoughtful instructive Type technical artistic When to use this quote - photojournalism - portraiture - landscape work - digital manipulation Key Concepts visual art theory technology limits Questions to Reflect On - How can abstraction be achieved? - What defines photographic art? A Different Perspective May limit creative experimentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-camera-3500815/) [Camera Incapable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera-incapable-3500812/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Incapable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incapable/) [Incapable Synthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incapable-synthetic-3500813/) [Integration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integration/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-abstract-3500814/) [Strict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strict/) [Synthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/synthetic/) ## Related quotes > [The person I love would never wear fur. Fur just makes me think of shallow women who have no conscience. 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It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/it-is-easy-to-take-a-photograph-but-it-is-harder-to-make-a/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Black and white photography is truly quite a 'departure from reality', and the transition from one aspect of visual magic to another was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/black-and-white-photography-is-truly-quite-a-departure-from-reality/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Wilderness is rapidly becoming one of those aspects of the American dream which is more of the past than of the present. Wilderness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/wilderness-is-rapidly-becoming-one-of-those-aspects-of-the-american/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/the-single-most-important-component-of-a-camera-is-the-twelve-inches/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [We make images to "honor what is greater and more interesting than we are."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/we-make-images-to-honor-what-is-greater-and-more-interesting-than-we/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Photographers and artists contribute a lot to the world and have a right to exist in relative security and comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/photographers-and-artists-contribute-a-lot-to-the-world-and-have-a/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [There are worlds of experience beyond the world of the aggressive man, beyond history, and beyond science. The moods and qualities of nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/there-are-worlds-of-experience-beyond-the-world-of-the-aggressive-man/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term-meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-have-often-thought-that-if-photography-were-difficult-in-the-true/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/yosemite-valley-to-me-is-always-a-sunrise-a-glitter-of-green-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [To visualize an image (in whole or in part) is to see clearly in the mind prior to exposure, a continuous projection from composing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/to-visualize-an-image-in-whole-or-in-part-is-to-see-clearly-in-the/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [To the vast majority of people a photograph is an image of something within their direct experience: a more-or-less factual reality. 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It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. 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