--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think when you practice photography or…" description: "\"I think when you practice photography or observation, you're on high alert. You polish up your antenna and stick up your head, and you're out there. Yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/debra-granik-4495_alertness_i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or_943922.jpg" --- # I think when you practice photography or observation… ![“I think when you practice photography or observation, you're on high alert. You polish up your antenna and stick up your head, and you're out there. You're receptive, appreciative of details. It heightens reality. You're trying to step into your alertness.” quote by Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/debra-granik-4495_alertness_i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or_943922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/debra-granik-4495_alertness_i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or_943922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/debra-granik-4495_alertness_i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or_943922.jpg) > “I think when you practice photography or observation, you're on high alert. You polish up your antenna and stick up your head, and you're out there. You're receptive, appreciative of details. It heightens reality. You're trying to step into your alertness.” [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Heightened observation sharpens perception, allowing creators to capture richer details and deepen engagement with reality. **In simple terms:** Observation sharpens perception. Key Takeaway Practice mindful observation daily. Themes mindfulness observation creativity perception Mood curious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - photography - journalism - film directing - field research Key Concepts sensory awareness visual storytelling detail orientation Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance focus with relaxation? - What details have you missed before? A Different Perspective Constant alertness can lead to sensory overload. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alertness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alertness/) [Antenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antenna/) [Appreciative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciative/) [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Observation High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation-high-1634253/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Photography Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography-observation-1634251/) [Polish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polish/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Practice Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice-photography-1634252/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Receptive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/receptive/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Think Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-practice-469381/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [Literature especially has an interesting relationship to photography - to observation, to description, to fiction: taking something that you see and elaborating, jamming, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-sultan/literature-especially-has-an-interesting-relationship-to-photography/) [Larry Sultan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-sultan/) > [The practice of photography is no longer a means for recording reality. Instead, it has become reality itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/the-practice-of-photography-is-no-longer-a-means-for-recording/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I only think of my practice and running as fast as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/i-only-think-of-my-practice-and-running-as-fast-as-i-can/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [I think practice preparation is always an indicator of game performance, not necessarily 100 percent, because there are still a lot of variables there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-belichick/i-think-practice-preparation-is-always-an-indicator-of-game/) [Bill Belichick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-belichick/) > [To think is to practice brain chemistry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/to-think-is-to-practice-brain-chemistry/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I think the more you practice any craft that you take up in life, the better you get at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika-chawla/i-think-the-more-you-practice-any-craft-that-you-take-up-in-life-the/) [Bhumika Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika-chawla/) > [This question, Is loving your enemy a life practice?, I like that question. It is a life practice, certainly, for everyone. It relates to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/this-question-is-loving-your-enemy-a-life-practice-i-like-that/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [I think I practice pretty close to game speed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-crawford/i-think-i-practice-pretty-close-to-game-speed/) [Brandon Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-crawford/) > [I think with practice, you can being whatever you want to be, and with a goal you can go in any direction that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-phelps/i-think-with-practice-you-can-being-whatever-you-want-to-be-and-with/) [Michael Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-phelps/) > [I think playing is the biggest thing for me. I don't think practice can help me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dion-waiters/i-think-playing-is-the-biggest-thing-for-me-i-don-t-think-practice/) [Dion Waiters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dion-waiters/) > [Obviously if you want to get good at something which is competitive, you have to think about it and practice a lot. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/obviously-if-you-want-to-get-good-at-something-which-is-competitive/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Think practice is hard? try losing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar/think-practice-is-hard-try-losing/) [Skylar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar/) > [Always think about practice... theory is not the endpoint of work, it is the work along the way to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gonzalez-torres/always-think-about-practice-theory-is-not-the-endpoint-of-work-it-is/) [Felix Gonzalez-Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-gonzalez-torres/) > [ Yeah, playing anywhere from three to five gigs a week definitely \[helped\]. I think all the practice throughout the years and doing what I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-bice/yeah-playing-anywhere-from-three-to-five-gigs-a-week-definitely/) [Bo Bice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-bice/) > [What I want you to do is just take it as it is. Don't think too much. If you get involved with thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaaki-hatsumi/what-i-want-you-to-do-is-just-take-it-as-it-is-don-t-think-too-much/) [Masaaki Hatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaaki-hatsumi/) ## More by Debra Granik > [I have, obviously, a very complex relationship with the more industrial side of filmmaking and the machinery that can take an actor or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-have-obviously-a-very-complex-relationship-with-the-more-industrial/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I feel like reality TV has thrown a difficult wrench in the system - on the programming and making side, and on the curating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-feel-like-reality-tv-has-thrown-a-difficult-wrench-in-the-system-on/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I'm someone who's always looking for hope - if there's a ray of hope, a shrapnel, shred, a flake of hope - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-m-someone-who-s-always-looking-for-hope-if-there-s-a-ray-of-hope-a/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [In documentary, mostly, people are going to say untoward things; people are going to have gnarly beliefs. People aren't perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/in-documentary-mostly-people-are-going-to-say-untoward-things-people/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [For documentaries, I think streaming plays an amazing role, but it's a problem when the one service you initially relied on to have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/for-documentaries-i-think-streaming-plays-an-amazing-role-but-it-s-a/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [In documentary, you are sometimes burdened, or you feel very responsible for dealing with - I want to say - more complicated themes. Fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/in-documentary-you-are-sometimes-burdened-or-you-feel-very/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [#TimesUp is you can't hold it in anymore: Time's up! The doors have to give way. It can't be that every 27-year-old born into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/timesup-is-you-can-t-hold-it-in-anymore-time-s-up-the-doors-have-to/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [My first narrative films developed out of a documentary process - finding someone who was willing to be filmed, watching, listening, taking copious notes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/my-first-narrative-films-developed-out-of-a-documentary-process/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [It's funny: your happiness is contingent on a bigger picture besides just yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/it-s-funny-your-happiness-is-contingent-on-a-bigger-picture-besides/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [You gotta call it out first; it always has to be called out when we need social change, but this is how social change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/you-gotta-call-it-out-first-it-always-has-to-be-called-out-when-we/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [There has to be a continuation of the communal experience of filmgoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/there-has-to-be-a-continuation-of-the-communal-experience-of-filmgoing/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I'm always searching to learn more about our large and diverse country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-m-always-searching-to-learn-more-about-our-large-and-diverse-country/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [The struggle to have a living wage doesn't come easy. You're ready to work, you want it, you seek it... but it's not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/the-struggle-to-have-a-living-wage-doesn-t-come-easy-you-re-ready-to/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [It's been a pleasure to see female comedians be prominent and flourish - like Kate McKinnon's Rudy Giuliani impressions, which are uncanny in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/it-s-been-a-pleasure-to-see-female-comedians-be-prominent-and/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I swing with a lot of torque from non-fiction to fiction, and I really like that place in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-swing-with-a-lot-of-torque-from-non-fiction-to-fiction-and-i-really/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) [Explore all 110 Debra Granik quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) ## More Alertness quotes > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Jesus Christ does not teach us a spirituality “of closed eyes”, but one of “alertness”, one which entails an absolute duty to take notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/jesus-christ-does-not-teach-us-a-spirituality-of-closed-eyes-but-one/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Sailing a boat calls for quick action, a blending of feeling with the wind and water as well as with the very heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-matthew-adams/sailing-a-boat-calls-for-quick-action-a-blending-of-feeling-with-the/) [George Matthew Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-matthew-adams/) > [Shoulda, coulda, and woulda won't get it done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-riley/shoulda-coulda-and-woulda-won-t-get-it-done/) [Pat Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-riley/) > [The same is the case when you enter a womb, enter into a fresh body, and start the journey of desires. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-same-is-the-case-when-you-enter-a-womb-enter-into-a-fresh-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Quick naps improve your senses, alertness, decision making, and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/quick-naps-improve-your-senses-alertness-decision-making-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe that every person, male and female, needs to be in a protective mode at all times of alertness to potential danger. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-believe-that-every-person-male-and-female-needs-to-be-in-a/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Forgiveness feels most dramatic when some ancient pattern of self-punishment collapses in a torrent of tears. But it is just as effective when practiced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-patrick-miller/forgiveness-feels-most-dramatic-when-some-ancient-pattern-of-self/) [D. Patrick Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-patrick-miller/) > [Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/alertness-is-the-hidden-discipline-of-familiarity/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [When you take your attention into the present moment, a certain alertness arises. You become more conscious of what's around you, but also, strangely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-take-your-attention-into-the-present-moment-a-certain/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“•To become more expert at anything, the community needs to encourage and support the brain/ mind principle of relaxed alertness. Fear can hinder the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-a-flores/to-become-more-expert-at-anything-the-community-needs-to-encourage/) [Kelly a Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-a-flores/) > [To be aware of little, quiet things, you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-be-aware-of-little-quiet-things-you-need-to-be-quiet-inside-a-high/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“that alertness for measuring and weighing event against eventuality, circumstance against human nature, his own fallible judgement and mortal clay against not only human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/that-alertness-for-measuring-and-weighing-event-against-eventuality/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [What we must remember, however, is that preservation of liberties does not depend on motives. A suppression of liberty has the same effect whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/what-we-must-remember-however-is-that-preservation-of-liberties-does/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [The practice of 'asanas' and 'pranayama' wards off disease and helps to maintain alertness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/the-practice-of-asanas-and-pranayama-wards-off-disease-and-helps-to/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) [Browse all 82 Alertness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alertness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think when you practice photography or observation, you're on high alert. You polish up your antenna and stick up your head, and you're out there. You're receptive, appreciative of details. It heightens reality. You're trying to step into your alertness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Debra Granik" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or-observation-you-re-on-high/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alertness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or-observation-you-re-on-high/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/debra-granik-4495_alertness_i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or_943922.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/debra-granik-4495_alertness_i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or_943922.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/debra-granik-4495_alertness_i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or_943922.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think when you practice photography or observation, you're on high alert. You polish up your antenna and…” — Debra Granik", "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": "Debra Granik", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think when you practice photography...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or-observation-you-re-on-high/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-think-when-you-practice-photography-or-observation-you-re-on-high/#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 } } ] } ```