--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suppose we took a thousand negatives…" description: "\"Suppose we took a thousand negatives... combining the elegances, the squalor, the curiosities, the monuments, the sad faces, the triumphant faces, the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/berenice-abbott-14021_beauty_suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-com_1754804.png" --- # Suppose we took a thousand negatives... combining the… ![“Suppose we took a thousand negatives... combining the elegances, the squalor, the curiosities, the monuments, the sad faces, the triumphant faces, the power, the irony, the strength, the decay, the past, the present, the future of a city - that would be my favorite picture.” quote by Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/berenice-abbott-14021_beauty_suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-com_1754804.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/berenice-abbott-14021_beauty_suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-com_1754804.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/berenice-abbott-14021_beauty_suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-com_1754804.png) > “Suppose we took a thousand negatives... combining the elegances, the squalor, the curiosities, the monuments, the sad faces, the triumphant faces, the power, the irony, the strength, the decay, the past, the present, the future of a city - that would be my favorite picture.” [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A composite image that captures all facets of a city—its beauty, decay, history, and humanity—would be the most compelling photograph. **In simple terms:** A city’s full picture includes both its glory and its flaws. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity in storytelling. Themes photography urban life history Mood reflective inquisitive Type descriptive inspirational When to use this quote - city planning - museum curation - journalism - education - tourism Key Concepts visual narrative contrast depth Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance detail and cohesion? - What aspects of a city are often ignored? A Different Perspective May overlook individual stories within the whole. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Elegance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegance/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Monument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monument/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Sad face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-face/) [Squalor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squalor/) [Triumphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumphant/) ## Related quotes > [When I photographed Marilyn Monroe, I mixed up my cameras - one had black-and-white film, the other color. I took many pictures. Only two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/when-i-photographed-marilyn-monroe-i-mixed-up-my-cameras-one-had/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) > [This is my absolute favorite picture(: what do you all think?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coral-joseph/this-is-my-absolute-favorite-picture-what-do-you-all-think/) [Coral Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coral-joseph/) > [So far this is my favorite picture of me 0.0 got to say all the kids that said I will be ugly forever were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-far-this-is-my-favorite-picture-of-me-0-0-got-to-say-all-the-kids/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ok so I was trying to remember everyone for my collage below, and there are just soo many amazing people I accidentally left out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel/ok-so-i-was-trying-to-remember-everyone-for-my-collage-below-and/) [Rachel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel/) > [My favorite picture is a picture of American soldiers surrounding a guy in a foxhole, Iraqi soldier, and the American guy says, "We're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/my-favorite-picture-is-a-picture-of-american-soldiers-surrounding-a/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [Everyone has problems in their life big or small. But it doesn't give you the right to be sad. Face your problems with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/everyone-has-problems-in-their-life-big-or-small-but-it-doesn-t-give/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Rejoicing is the essence of genuine worship. A sad face (apart from remorse for sin or regret concerning the pain of others) is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/rejoicing-is-the-essence-of-genuine-worship-a-sad-face-apart-from/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [“And how sad it is that the last face someone makes at you is always the face you remember the most.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/and-how-sad-it-is-that-the-last-face-someone-makes-at-you-is-always/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [Now can you see the sad on my face!?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig/now-can-you-see-the-sad-on-my-face/) [Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig/) > [Ones Again,And Again the same way, the Some January , the sad face, then again, though life has JusT been an alarm Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/ones-again-and-again-the-same-way-the-some-january-the-sad-face-then/) Mak\_786 > [Sometimes we lose sight of life,it takes 42 muscles to make a sad face,but only 4 muscles to use your hand and BITCH SLAP…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden/sometimes-we-lose-sight-of-life-it-takes-42-muscles-to-make-a-sad/) [Jaden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden/) > [The face of the moose is as sad as the face of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-face-of-the-moose-is-as-sad-as-the-face-of-jesus/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Yes, the man said, I've often wondered why I impress people as being altogether sad, and yet I insist I am not sad, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hayes/yes-the-man-said-i-ve-often-wondered-why-i-impress-people-as-being/) [Alfred Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hayes/) > [“Sad face emoticon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mclean/sad-face-emoticon/) [Jay McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mclean/) > [Don't show them that you are affected.. Instead, show them that you are happy even without them.. To put a sad face on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharlene05/don-t-show-them-that-you-are-affected-instead-show-them-that-you-are/) Sharlene05 ## More by Berenice Abbott > [The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-preservation-the-image-is/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [The challenge for me has first been to see things as they are, whether a portrait, a city street, or a bouncing ball. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-challenge-for-me-has-first-been-to-see-things-as-they-are-whether/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind it. The photographer creates,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direction-in-reality-the-eye-is-no/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it certainly would not hurt to study composition in general. Having a basic understanding of composition would help construct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/self-conscious-artiness-is-fatal-but-it-certainly-would-not-hurt-to/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind it. The photographer creates,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direction-in-reality-the-eye-is-no-2/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [None. They should just go out and photograph and stop talking about it. That's the only way they are going to find themselves. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photograph-and-stop-talking-about-it/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [What the human eye observes casually and incuriously, the eye of the camera... notes with relentless fidelity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/what-the-human-eye-observes-casually-and-incuriously-the-eye-of-the/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [There are many teachers who could ruin you. Before you know it you could be a pale copy of this teacher or that teacher.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/there-are-many-teachers-who-could-ruin-you-before-you-know-it-you/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Abstraction in photography is ridiculous, and is only an imitation of painting. We stopped imitating painters a hundred years ago, so to imitate them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/abstraction-in-photography-is-ridiculous-and-is-only-an-imitation-of/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [I have yet to see a fine photograph which is not a good document.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-which-is-not-a-good-document/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Like every other means of expression, photography, if it is to be utterly honest and direct, should be related to the life of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/like-every-other-means-of-expression-photography-if-it-is-to-be/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [I wanted to combine science and photography in a sensible, unemotional way. Some people’s ideas of scientific photography is just arty design, something pretty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-wanted-to-combine-science-and-photography-in-a-sensible-unemotional/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/photography-can-only-represent-the-present-once-photographed-the/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [What the human eye observes casually and incuriously, the eye of the camera (the lens) notes with relentless fidelity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/what-the-human-eye-observes-casually-and-incuriously-the-eye-of-the-2/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Let us first say what photography is not. A photograph is not a painting, a poem, a symphony, a dance. It is not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not-a-photograph-is-not-a/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Explore all 48 Berenice Abbott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Suppose we took a thousand negatives... combining the elegances, the squalor, the curiosities, the monuments, the sad faces, the triumphant faces, the power, the irony, the strength, the decay, the past, the present, the future of a city - that would be my favorite picture.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-combining-the-elegances-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-combining-the-elegances-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/berenice-abbott-14021_beauty_suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-com_1754804.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/berenice-abbott-14021_beauty_suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-com_1754804.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e3/berenice-abbott-14021_beauty_suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-com_1754804.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Suppose we took a thousand negatives... combining the elegances, the squalor, the curiosities, the…” — Berenice Abbott", "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": "Berenice Abbott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Suppose we took a thousand negatives......", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-combining-the-elegances-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/suppose-we-took-a-thousand-negatives-combining-the-elegances-the/#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 } } ] } ```