--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have to photograph where I am." description: "\"I have to photograph where I am.\" — Garry Winogrand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/garry-winogrand-2342_photograph_i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am-1415187_1415187.png" --- # I have to photograph where I am. ![“I have to photograph where I am.” quote by Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/garry-winogrand-2342_photograph_i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am-1415187_1415187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/garry-winogrand-2342_photograph_i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am-1415187_1415187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/garry-winogrand-2342_photograph_i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am-1415187_1415187.png) > “I have to photograph where I am.” [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A photographer must capture their immediate surroundings, emphasizing presence and observation. **In simple terms:** Photograph where you are. Key Takeaway Stay present, shoot now. Themes photography presence observation Mood creative observational inspirational Type advice artistic When to use this quote - travel - street photography - daily life - journalism Key Concepts visual storytelling mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How to balance immediacy with depth? - When to step back for context? A Different Perspective Limited perspective may miss broader context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have anything to say in any picture. My only interest in photography is to see what something looks like as a photograph.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-have-anything-to-say-in-any-picture-my-only-interest-in/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I don't really have any faith in anybody enjoying photographs in a large enough sense to matter. I think it's all about finances, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-really-have-any-faith-in-anybody-enjoying-photographs-in-a/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There are things I photograph because I'm interested in those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-are-things-i-photograph-because-i-m-interested-in-those-things/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There's no way a photograph has to look... in a sense. There are no formal rules of design that can apply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-s-no-way-a-photograph-has-to-look-in-a-sense-there-are-no/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I look at a photograph. What's going on? What's happening, photographically? If it's interesting, I try to understand why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-look-at-a-photograph-what-s-going-on-what-s-happening/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There are no photographs while I'm reloading .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-are-no-photographs-while-i-m-reloading/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I know what I like to use myself. I use Leicas, but when I look at the photograph, I don't ask the photograph questions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-know-what-i-like-to-use-myself-i-use-leicas-but-when-i-look-at-the/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I think that there isn't a photograph in the world that has any narrative ability... They do not tell stories - they show you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-think-that-there-isn-t-a-photograph-in-the-world-that-has-any/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I never saw a pyramid, but I've seen photographs; I know what a pyramid or a sphinx looks like. There are pictures that do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-never-saw-a-pyramid-but-i-ve-seen-photographs-i-know-what-a-pyramid/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There is no special way a photograph should look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-is-no-special-way-a-photograph-should-look/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I don't have anything to say in any picture. But you do, from your experience, surmise something. You do give a photograph symbolic content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-have-anything-to-say-in-any-picture-but-you-do-from-your/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/photography-is-likewise-even-french-impressionists-so-the-sculls/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I started shooting for 'Photograph' right after 'Dangal' so, it's really special for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-malhotra/i-started-shooting-for-photograph-right-after-dangal-so-it-s-really/) [Sanya Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-malhotra/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [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/) ## More by Garry Winogrand > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/photography-is-likewise-even-french-impressionists-so-the-sculls/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [It's got to do with the contention between content and form. Invariably that's what's responsible for its energies, its tensions, its being interesting or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/it-s-got-to-do-with-the-contention-between-content-and-form/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I don't think anything happens without the press, one way or the other. I think it's all done for it. You saw it start,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-think-anything-happens-without-the-press-one-way-or-the-other/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I don't really have any faith in anybody enjoying photographs in a large enough sense to matter. I think it's all about finances, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-really-have-any-faith-in-anybody-enjoying-photographs-in-a/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [When I see something, I know why something's funny or seems to be funny. But in the end it's just another picture as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/when-i-see-something-i-know-why-something-s-funny-or-seems-to-be/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There are things I photograph because I'm interested in those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-are-things-i-photograph-because-i-m-interested-in-those-things/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There's no way a photograph has to look... in a sense. There are no formal rules of design that can apply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-s-no-way-a-photograph-has-to-look-in-a-sense-there-are-no/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I don't have anything to say in any picture. My only interest in photography is to see what something looks like as a photograph.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-have-anything-to-say-in-any-picture-my-only-interest-in/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I'll come back to New York. I think I'll start focusing in more on the entertainment business. I have been doing some of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-ll-come-back-to-new-york-i-think-i-ll-start-focusing-in-more-on-the/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [There is no special way a photograph should look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-is-no-special-way-a-photograph-should-look/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [It's a lot of work organizing something, whether it's a show or a book, and I don't want to do it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/it-s-a-lot-of-work-organizing-something-whether-it-s-a-show-or-a-book/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I have a good friend who's a very good printer. And he does a certain amount of printing for me. I do all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-have-a-good-friend-who-s-a-very-good-printer-and-he-does-a-certain/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I never saw a pyramid, but I've seen photographs; I know what a pyramid or a sphinx looks like. There are pictures that do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-never-saw-a-pyramid-but-i-ve-seen-photographs-i-know-what-a-pyramid/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [I develop my own film. And I work in spurts. I pile it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-develop-my-own-film-and-i-work-in-spurts-i-pile-it-up/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [People are going to have a good time, you know. One can go have a good time at these big openings in museums. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/people-are-going-to-have-a-good-time-you-know-one-can-go-have-a-good/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) [Explore all 171 Garry Winogrand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) ## More Photograph quotes > [Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it's not an art. The main thing about directing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-know-the-fundamentals/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [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/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I started shooting for 'Photograph' right after 'Dangal' so, it's really special for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-malhotra/i-started-shooting-for-photograph-right-after-dangal-so-it-s-really/) [Sanya Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-malhotra/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [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/) > [Stop and go: always on some journey. My bounty is a photograph or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plachy/stop-and-go-always-on-some-journey-my-bounty-is-a-photograph-or-two/) [Sylvia Plachy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plachy/) > [Trying to find this industry's tendency to celebrate the physical is a waste of time. So I'm happy to play the game. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/trying-to-find-this-industry-s-tendency-to-celebrate-the-physical-is/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [MAC allowed me to have complete freedom on the collaborations—from the shades, the look-and-feel, to the campaign visuals. I have to admit that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/mac-allowed-me-to-have-complete-freedom-on-the-collaborations-from/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There was a stage in my career when I started to have problems with the vanity aspect of the subject. I got frustrated and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juergen-teller/there-was-a-stage-in-my-career-when-i-started-to-have-problems-with/) [Juergen Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juergen-teller/) > [I have photographs taken of me at the time I was addicted, and thought I looked good. I see them today and realize my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirstie-alley/i-have-photographs-taken-of-me-at-the-time-i-was-addicted-and-thought/) [Kirstie Alley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirstie-alley/) > [What most of us are after, when we have a picture taken, is a good natural-looking picture that doesn't resemble us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/what-most-of-us-are-after-when-we-have-a-picture-taken-is-a-good/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [A word is a thought, of course. But any image, including a photograph, may become an instrument of sufficiently lucid cogitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/a-word-is-a-thought-of-course-but-any-image-including-a-photograph/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) Browse all 2,359 Photograph quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have to photograph where I am.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garry Winogrand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Photograph" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/garry-winogrand-2342_photograph_i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am-1415187_1415187.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/garry-winogrand-2342_photograph_i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am-1415187_1415187.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/309/garry-winogrand-2342_photograph_i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am-1415187_1415187.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have to photograph where I am.” — Garry Winogrand", "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": "Garry Winogrand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have to photograph where I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-have-to-photograph-where-i-am/#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 } } ] } ```