--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a camera, with its shutter open…" description: "\"I am a camera, with its shutter open. Someday, all of this will be developed, printed, fixed.\" — Christopher Isherwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/christopher-isherwood-2302_camera_i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-some_252532.png" --- # I am a camera, with its shutter open. Someday, all of this… ![“I am a camera, with its shutter open. Someday, all of this will be developed, printed, fixed.” quote by Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/christopher-isherwood-2302_camera_i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-some_252532.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/christopher-isherwood-2302_camera_i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-some_252532.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/christopher-isherwood-2302_camera_i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-some_252532.png) > “I am a camera, with its shutter open. Someday, all of this will be developed, printed, fixed.” [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator likens himself to a camera, suggesting future clarity and resolution of present experiences. **In simple terms:** He sees himself as a camera capturing life. Key Takeaway Embrace observation and patience. Themes self-awareness metaphor future reflection creativity Mood introspective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - personal growth - memory preservation Key Concepts philosophy psychology artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How can you actively shape your “developed” future? - What does “fixed” suggest about change? A Different Perspective The metaphor may imply passivity rather than agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Camera Shutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera-shutter-2500056/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Fixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixed/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Printed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printed/) [Printed Fixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printed-fixed-2500057/) [Shutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shutter/) [Shutter Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shutter-open-2500055/) [Shutters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shutters/) [Someday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/someday/) ## Related quotes > [I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking. Recording the man shaving at the window opposite and the woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-quite-passive-recording-not/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“I am a camera, with its shutter open, quite passive. Some day all of this will have to be will have to be developed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-druten/i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-quite-passive-some-day-all-of/) [John Van Druten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-druten/) > [I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-quite-passive-recording-not-2/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [Photographs aren't accounts of scrutiny. The shutter is open for a fraction of a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/photographs-aren-t-accounts-of-scrutiny-the-shutter-is-open-for-a/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [The TV camera has no shutter. It does not deal with aspects or facets of objects in high resolution. It is a means of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-tv-camera-has-no-shutter-it-does-not-deal-with-aspects-or-facets/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Hearing a camera shutter noise in a public bathroom can never be for anything normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hearing-a-camera-shutter-noise-in-a-public-bathroom-can-never-be-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sound of a camera shutter is music to my ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mckain/the-sound-of-a-camera-shutter-is-music-to-my-ears/) [Nigel McKain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mckain/) > [Photographs are like our children. We put the best of ourselves into them - the best of our vision, our minds, our hearts -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-steber/photographs-are-like-our-children-we-put-the-best-of-ourselves-into/) [Maggie Steber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-steber/) > [What is truth in photography? It can be told in a hundred different ways. Every thirtieth of a second when the shutter snaps, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/what-is-truth-in-photography-it-can-be-told-in-a-hundred-different/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [When I walk with a camera, I walk from shot to shot, reading the light on a calibrated meter. When I walk without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/when-i-walk-with-a-camera-i-walk-from-shot-to-shot-reading-the-light/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [There are only two hard things in photography; which way to point the camera and when to release the shutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-steiner/there-are-only-two-hard-things-in-photography-which-way-to-point-the/) [Ralph Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-steiner/) > [When your mouth drops open, click the shutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-feinstein/when-your-mouth-drops-open-click-the-shutter/) [Harold Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-feinstein/) > [If you look at most photography, especially the pictures that grab you, they are not objective at all. Sometimes gut wrenching and sometimes lovely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-filo/if-you-look-at-most-photography-especially-the-pictures-that-grab-you/) [John Filo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-filo/) > [Never boss people around. It's more important to click with people than to click the shutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/never-boss-people-around-it-s-more-important-to-click-with-people/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) > [ My mom had bought this camera to take classes herself and I remember working with her on it, understanding how the stop-motion \[worked\], having… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vespa/my-mom-had-bought-this-camera-to-take-classes-herself-and-i-remember/) [Jeff Vespa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vespa/) ## More by Christopher Isherwood > [“From his angle, the curtain seems to form itself into a shrouded, wavering figure, indescribably terrifying in its very indistinctness. Something waiting, hovering on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/from-his-angle-the-curtain-seems-to-form-itself-into-a-shrouded/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“If you really have talent, you know, you'll go on writing - whatever people say to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/if-you-really-have-talent-you-know-you-ll-go-on-writing-whatever/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [But seriously, I believe I'm a sort of Ideal Woman, if you know what I mean. I'm the sort of woman who can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/but-seriously-i-believe-i-m-a-sort-of-ideal-woman-if-you-know-what-i/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [If it’s going to be a world with no time for sentiment, it’s not a world that I want to live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/if-it-s-going-to-be-a-world-with-no-time-for-sentiment-it-s-not-a/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“By the time it has gotten dressed, it has become he; has become already more or less George — though still not the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/by-the-time-it-has-gotten-dressed-it-has-become-he-has-become-already/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“George feels that, even if all this double talk hasn't brought them any closer to understanding each other, the not-understanding, the readiness to remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/george-feels-that-even-if-all-this-double-talk-hasn-t-brought-them/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Now, for example, people with freckles aren’t thought of as a minority by the nonfreckled. They aren’t a minority in the sense we’re talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/now-for-example-people-with-freckles-aren-t-thought-of-as-a-minority/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of-it-their-masterpieces-are/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Here, in their midst, George feels a sort of vertigo. Oh God, what will become of them all? What chance have they? Ought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/here-in-their-midst-george-feels-a-sort-of-vertigo-oh-god-what-will/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“I put my genius into my life, not into my art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-put-my-genius-into-my-life-not-into-my-art/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us. At best, we are merely borrowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/we-must-remember-that-nothing-in-this-world-really-belongs-to-us-at/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [In the eternal lazy morning of the Pacific, days slip away into months, months into years; the seasons are reduced to the faintest nuance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/in-the-eternal-lazy-morning-of-the-pacific-days-slip-away-into-months/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Waking up begins with am and now. That which has awoken then lies for a while staring up at the ceiling and down into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/waking-up-begins-with-am-and-now-that-which-has-awoken-then-lies-for/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Like a long train which stops at every dingy little station, the winter dragged slowly past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/like-a-long-train-which-stops-at-every-dingy-little-station-the/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [Every writer has certain subjects that they write about again and again, and . . . most people's books are just variations on certain themes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/every-writer-has-certain-subjects-that-they-write-about-again-and/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) [Explore all 169 Christopher Isherwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "I am a camera, with its shutter open. 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