--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all experience it. Those moments when…" description: "\"We all experience it. Those moments when we gasp and say, Oh, look at that. Maybe it's nothing more than the way a shadow glides across a face, but in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/joel-meyerowitz-24422_breaths_we-all-experience-it-those-moments-when_2738081.jpg" --- # We all experience it. Those moments when we gasp and say… ![“We all experience it. Those moments when we gasp and say, Oh, look at that. Maybe it's nothing more than the way a shadow glides across a face, but in that split second, when you realize something truly remarkable is happening and disappearing right in front of you, if you can pass a camera before…” quote by Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/joel-meyerowitz-24422_breaths_we-all-experience-it-those-moments-when_2738081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/joel-meyerowitz-24422_breaths_we-all-experience-it-those-moments-when_2738081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/joel-meyerowitz-24422_breaths_we-all-experience-it-those-moments-when_2738081.jpg) > “We all experience it. Those moments when we gasp and say, Oh, look at that. Maybe it's nothing more than the way a shadow glides across a face, but in that split second, when you realize something truly remarkable is happening and disappearing right in front of you, if you can pass a camera before your eye, you'll tear a piece of time out of the whole, and in a breath, rescue it and give it new meaning.” [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes the fleeting, awe‑inspiring moments that feel magical, and how capturing them with a camera preserves them as meaningful memories. **In simple terms:** Capturing fleeting awe gives moments lasting meaning. Key Takeaway Use photography to honor fleeting wonder. Themes beauty impermanence memory creativity Mood wonderful reflective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - travel photography - street photography - everyday moments - spontaneous events Key Concepts aesthetic experience temporal perception artistic intent Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which fleeting moments to capture? - What does “rescuing” a moment mean to you? A Different Perspective A photo can’t fully convey the emotional intensity of the moment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When we experience moments of ecstasy-in play, in art, in sex-they come not as an exception, an accident, but as a taste of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-roth/when-we-experience-moments-of-ecstasy-in-play-in-art-in-sex-they-come/) [Gabrielle Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-roth/) > [It is difficult to experience moments of happiness if we are not aware of what it is we genuinely love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/it-is-difficult-to-experience-moments-of-happiness-if-we-are-not/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [“We live in an immense world, whole universes of taste and touch and scent, of voices commingling in the light, and dying away with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-holsinger/we-live-in-an-immense-world-whole-universes-of-taste-and-touch-and/) Bruce Holsinger > [“At some point, when we have been blessed with profoundly moving, touching and special moments, it is important to stop questioning and to begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/at-some-point-when-we-have-been-blessed-with-profoundly-moving/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [When life is stripped away and pretension is gone, we experience moments that leave lasting marks on our soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/songyujin/when-life-is-stripped-away-and-pretension-is-gone-we-experience/) [Songyujin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/songyujin/) > [I will wait for you till the time I take my last breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arushi-tanwar/i-will-wait-for-you-till-the-time-i-take-my-last-breath/) [Arushi Tanwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arushi-tanwar/) > [“t takes time, but it's starting to make sense. I still miss them every time I take a breath. Their absence will never go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/t-takes-time-but-it-s-starting-to-make-sense-i-still-miss-them-every/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [All we can do is try, do our best. Give as much time as we have to give, one day at a time. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/all-we-can-do-is-try-do-our-best-give-as-much-time-as-we-have-to-give/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [Every time when I breath, it reminds me that I'm still alone eithout you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yashwardhan-pauranik/every-time-when-i-breath-it-reminds-me-that-i-m-still-alone-eithout/) [Yashwardhan Pauranik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yashwardhan-pauranik/) > [“DO ANYTHING! SOMETHING! Because you start a revolution one decision at a time, with every breath you take.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/do-anything-something-because-you-start-a-revolution-one-decision-at/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“And then something happened. It was a fragment of time, a breath of time. It was like being in a car in pouring rain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaclyn-moriarty/and-then-something-happened-it-was-a-fragment-of-time-a-breath-of/) [Jaclyn Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaclyn-moriarty/) > [“She had just enough time to take in a breath, to blink, to part her lips before he took them with his own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-creagh/she-had-just-enough-time-to-take-in-a-breath-to-blink-to-part-her/) [Kelly Creagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-creagh/) > [A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/a-film-is-never-really-good-unless-the-camera-is-an-eye-in-the-head/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [My own eyes are no more than scouts on a preliminary search, for the camera's eye may entirely change my idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/my-own-eyes-are-no-more-than-scouts-on-a-preliminary-search-for-the/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [The important thing is not the camera but the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/the-important-thing-is-not-the-camera-but-the-eye/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) ## More by Joel Meyerowitz > [A lot of what I am looking for is a moment of astonishment, he says. Those moments of pure consciousness when you involuntarily inhale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/a-lot-of-what-i-am-looking-for-is-a-moment-of-astonishment-he-says/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [I photographed the entire thing in color because to photograph it in black and white would be to keep it as a tragedy. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/i-photographed-the-entire-thing-in-color-because-to-photograph-it-in/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [Making any statement of your feelings is risky. It's just like making pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/making-any-statement-of-your-feelings-is-risky-it-s-just-like-making/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [Then I thought, Whoa. If there are no photographs, then there is no history. I'm going to get in there. I'm going to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/then-i-thought-whoa-if-there-are-no-photographs-then-there-is-no/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [It comes down to risk, again and again. If you risk coming out, if you risk making pictures that aren’t good, you might discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/it-comes-down-to-risk-again-and-again-if-you-risk-coming-out-if-you/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [One of the things I learned on the street was to trust life and to keep hands off of it, and that feeling continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/one-of-the-things-i-learned-on-the-street-was-to-trust-life-and-to/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [ They \[photographs\] teach you about your own unraveling past, or about the immediacy of yesterday. They show you what you look at. If you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/they-photographs-teach-you-about-your-own-unraveling-past-or-about/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [ \[The small camera\] taught me energy and decisiveness and immediacy ... The large camera taught me reverence, patience, and meditation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/the-small-camera-taught-me-energy-and-decisiveness-and-immediacy-the/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > ['Tough' meant it was an uncompromising image, something that came from your gut, out of instinct, raw, of the moment, something that couldn't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/tough-meant-it-was-an-uncompromising-image-something-that-came-from/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [Photography is about being exquisitely present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/photography-is-about-being-exquisitely-present/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [ You look at it \[a photograph\] and all around the real world is humming, buzzing and moving, and yet in this little frame there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/you-look-at-it-a-photograph-and-all-around-the-real-world-is-humming/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [ I want to enjoy the languor of just living, recognizing, acknowledging, taking it in, sort of amplifying it in some way. \[Photography\] is a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/i-want-to-enjoy-the-languor-of-just-living-recognizing-acknowledging/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [We think of photography as pictures. And it is. But I think of photography as ideas. And do the pictures sustain your ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/we-think-of-photography-as-pictures-and-it-is-but-i-think-of/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [What is the art experience about? Really, I'm not interested in making Art at all. I never, ever, think about it. To say the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/what-is-the-art-experience-about-really-i-m-not-interested-in-making/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) > [I believe that street photography is central to the issue of photography—that it is purely photographic, whereas the other genres, such as landscape and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/i-believe-that-street-photography-is-central-to-the-issue-of/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) [Explore all 24 Joel Meyerowitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) ## More Breaths quotes > [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. That should be our determination throughout our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/don-t-let-a-breath-escape-from-your-body-without-krishna-s-name-that/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/dave-wann-s-recipes-from-his-own-experience-in-simple-prosperity-are/) [Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The river is motion, turmoil, rage. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) [Browse all 1,609 Breaths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We all experience it. Those moments when we gasp and say, Oh, look at that. 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