--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The camera is no more an instrument of…" description: "\"The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.\" — Berenice Abbott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-p_46357.png" --- # The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the… ![“The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.” quote by Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-p_46357.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-p_46357.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-p_46357.png) > “The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.” [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. The camera has shifted from merely documenting reality to actively shaping how we remember and interpret it. **In simple terms:** Camera now creates images, not just records them Key Takeaway Photography defines memory Themes perception memory technology art culture Mood thoughtful reflective Type observation philosophical When to use this quote - documenting events - creating art - archiving history Key Concepts visual representation historical narrative Practical Applications - curating exhibitions - educational curricula Questions to Reflect On - How does this view change our trust in photographs? - What responsibilities do photographers have now? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/image/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) ## Related quotes > [It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-photographer-not-the-camera-that-is-the-instrument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches-people-how-to-see-without-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The camera is not the instrument. People are always the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stevens/the-camera-is-not-the-instrument-people-are-always-the-instrument/) [George Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stevens/) > [Photography through the camera is an instrument of detection. We photograph not only what we know, but also what we don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisette-model/photography-through-the-camera-is-an-instrument-of-detection-we/) [Lisette Model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisette-model/) > [You put your camera around your neck along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the body that shares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/you-put-your-camera-around-your-neck-along-with-putting-on-your-shoes/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The camera is the instrument that brings the inner passion and the outward event into harmony with one another, this linking, or, rather, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/the-camera-is-the-instrument-that-brings-the-inner-passion-and-the/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [“You put your camera around your neck in the morning along with putting on your shoes, and there it is, an appendage of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-meltzer/you-put-your-camera-around-your-neck-in-the-morning-along-with/) Milton Meltzer > [“As a camera is an instrument that teaches us how to see when we don't have a camera, writing is a process that teaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-agon/as-a-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches-us-how-to-see-when-we-don-t/) [Ted Agon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-agon/) > [“The camera is an instrument of detection…we photograph what we know and what we don’t know… when I point my camera at something I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-bosworth/the-camera-is-an-instrument-of-detection-we-photograph-what-we-know/) [Patricia Bosworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-bosworth/) > [“I can see better when i close my eyes; don't make much ado, that's my latest style of view.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/i-can-see-better-when-i-close-my-eyes-don-t-make-much-ado-that-s-my/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“Kamera ina athari kubwa sana katika maisha yetu. Inaweza kuharibu taswira ya mtu mbele ya jamii, na inaweza kuharibu maisha ya mtu hali kadhalika.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/kamera-ina-athari-kubwa-sana-katika-maisha-yetu-inaweza-kuharibu/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [A photocopier is a camera in its own right. I was fortunate to grow up in the time and culture that I did. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-tillmans/a-photocopier-is-a-camera-in-its-own-right-i-was-fortunate-to-grow-up/) [Wolfgang Tillmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-tillmans/) > [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/) > [The still image continues to have a ton of strength. An image taken out of context from one fraction of a second to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-greenberg/the-still-image-continues-to-have-a-ton-of-strength-an-image-taken/) [Jill Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-greenberg/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) ## More by 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/) > [I believe there is no more creative medium than photography to recreate the living world of our time. Photography gladly accepts the challenge because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-believe-there-is-no-more-creative-medium-than-photography-to/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Explore all 48 Berenice Abbott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) ## More Camera quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [When I made my debut as an actor in 'Rock On!' I was confident to get in front of the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farhan-akhtar/when-i-made-my-debut-as-an-actor-in-rock-on-i-was-confident-to-get-in/) [Farhan Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farhan-akhtar/) > [Since a camera is something too heavy for women and initially made for men, you need a good cameraman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitra-farahani/since-a-camera-is-something-too-heavy-for-women-and-initially-made/) Mitra Farahani > [To be honest, I don't know... something about the camera like turns me into such a diva. Like when it's on and I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bretman-rock/to-be-honest-i-don-t-know-something-about-the-camera-like-turns-me/) [Bretman Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bretman-rock/) > [When the camera is on, I am an actor; otherwise, I am an ordinary person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/when-the-camera-is-on-i-am-an-actor-otherwise-i-am-an-ordinary-person/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [“A camera is an opening in a box: that is the best emblem of the fact that a camera holding an object is holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-cavell/a-camera-is-an-opening-in-a-box-that-is-the-best-emblem-of-the-fact/) [Stanley Cavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-cavell/) > [It's such a weird thing, because you have a whole crew of people standing over there, on the other side. There's a camera pointing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/it-s-such-a-weird-thing-because-you-have-a-whole-crew-of-people/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [“The camera lets me see things in a different way. It's like I finally have perspective. I can't always say stuff right in words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/the-camera-lets-me-see-things-in-a-different-way-it-s-like-i-finally/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [I was so green, and my background was mostly in theater. The only thing I'd done in front of a camera, besides an infomercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-britton/i-was-so-green-and-my-background-was-mostly-in-theater-the-only-thing/) [Connie Britton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-britton/) > [As far as lighting and blocking, camera angles and facial expressions, all that stuff that has to be very specific in film, as opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-torres/as-far-as-lighting-and-blocking-camera-angles-and-facial-expressions/) [Eve Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-torres/) > [It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-photographer-not-the-camera-that-is-the-instrument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like to move the camera that much anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-tucci/i-don-t-like-to-move-the-camera-that-much-anyway/) [Stanley Tucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-tucci/) > [I feel like 'Preacher's Daughter' was my Trojan horse, in a way. I'm excited to pull back, be behind the camera instead of in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-feel-like-preacher-s-daughter-was-my-trojan-horse-in-a-way-i-m/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) [Browse all 2,026 Camera quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Berenice Abbott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-preservation-the-image-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Camera" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-preservation-the-image-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-p_46357.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-p_46357.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/berenice-abbott-14021_camera_the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-p_46357.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.” — 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": "The camera is no more an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-preservation-the-image-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-preservation-the-image-is/#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 } } ] } ```