--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Looking at a black and white photograph…" description: "\"Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world.\" — Joel Sternfeld" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/joel-sternfeld-26021_black_looking-at-a-black-and-white-photograph_2176316.jpg" --- # Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already… ![“Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world.” quote by Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/joel-sternfeld-26021_black_looking-at-a-black-and-white-photograph_2176316.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/joel-sternfeld-26021_black_looking-at-a-black-and-white-photograph_2176316.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/joel-sternfeld-26021_black_looking-at-a-black-and-white-photograph_2176316.jpg) > “Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world.” [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing a monochrome image reveals an uncanny, otherworldly atmosphere that differs from everyday perception. **In simple terms:** Black and white photos feel strange. Key Takeaway Notice details that differ from color. Themes perception art photography surrealism Mood contemplative intriguing Type artistic observational When to use this quote - gallery visits - personal reflection - creative inspiration Key Concepts visual contrast interpretation context Questions to Reflect On - What emotions does the lack of color evoke? - How does monochrome change your focus? A Different Perspective May overlook the subject’s reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Black And White Photo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white-photo/) [Looking Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-strange-4681510/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-looking-1557730/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-world/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-photograph-387800/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Black and white is abstract; color is not. Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/black-and-white-is-abstract-color-is-not-looking-at-a-black-and-white/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [I have just one black and white photograph left of my mother when she was younger. She was 17 when it was taken and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-murray/i-have-just-one-black-and-white-photograph-left-of-my-mother-when-she/) [Liz Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-murray/) > [Doesn't the world inside a black and white photograph seem more real? It's because the real world is losing its color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tablo/doesn-t-the-world-inside-a-black-and-white-photograph-seem-more-real/) [Tablo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tablo/) > [I believe that the black-and-white photograph, or rather the gray zones in the black-and-white photograph, stand for this territory that is located between life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-believe-that-the-black-and-white-photograph-or-rather-the-gray/) [W. G. 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I'm very strange - a very bony face on an enormous skull, and I don't like to be naked because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/i-m-not-good-looking-i-m-very-strange-a-very-bony-face-on-an-enormous/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [“When I see a dictionary on my desk I feel like I'm looking at some strange dog leaving a twisty piece of poop on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-see-a-dictionary-on-my-desk-i-feel-like-i-m-looking-at-some/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [A good photograph was never what I was looking for. I like to have a point. I had to have a point or I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/a-good-photograph-was-never-what-i-was-looking-for-i-like-to-have-a/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [Sometimes I photograph without looking through the viewfinder. I have mastered that well enough, it is almost as if I were looking through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-koudelka/sometimes-i-photograph-without-looking-through-the-viewfinder-i-have/) [Josef Koudelka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-koudelka/) > [What difference does it make whether you're looking at a photograph or looking at a still life in front of you? You still have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/what-difference-does-it-make-whether-you-re-looking-at-a-photograph/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) ## More by Joel Sternfeld > [Even the photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson, with all due respect to him, are notoriously burned and dodged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/even-the-photographs-of-henri-cartier-bresson-with-all-due-respect-to/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [I grew up in Belle Harbor, which is in New York City, but it has the most powerful sense of nature and seasons. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/i-grew-up-in-belle-harbor-which-is-in-new-york-city-but-it-has-the/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [Some of the people who are now manipulating photos, such as Andreas Gursky, make the argument - rightly - that the 'straight' photographs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/some-of-the-people-who-are-now-manipulating-photos-such-as-andreas/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [For me it was sort of career suicide to work in color, but I did it because I perceived myself from an early stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/for-me-it-was-sort-of-career-suicide-to-work-in-color-but-i-did-it/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [I could get my camera and point it at two people and not point it at the homeless third person to the right of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/i-could-get-my-camera-and-point-it-at-two-people-and-not-point-it-at/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [A photographer must choose a palette as painters choose theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/a-photographer-must-choose-a-palette-as-painters-choose-theirs/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [With a photograph, you are left with the same modes of interpretation as you are with a book. You ask: 'What do we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/with-a-photograph-you-are-left-with-the-same-modes-of-interpretation/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [You take 35 degrees out of 360 degrees and call it a photo. No individual photo explains anything. That's what makes photography such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/you-take-35-degrees-out-of-360-degrees-and-call-it-a-photo-no/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [I loved the High Line when it was just mine, when I was the only person up there, and I had a private park…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/i-loved-the-high-line-when-it-was-just-mine-when-i-was-the-only/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [When you have unity, I think it squares the reach or power of the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/when-you-have-unity-i-think-it-squares-the-reach-or-power-of-the-work/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [I'm trying to take pictures of less and less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/i-m-trying-to-take-pictures-of-less-and-less/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [The job of the color photographer is to provide some level of abstraction that can take the image out of the daily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/the-job-of-the-color-photographer-is-to-provide-some-level-of/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [The digital print is becoming the look of our time, and it makes the C-print start to look like a tintype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/the-digital-print-is-becoming-the-look-of-our-time-and-it-makes-the-c/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [Photography has always been capable of manipulation. Even more subtle and more invidious is the fact that any time you put a frame to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-sternfeld/photography-has-always-been-capable-of-manipulation-even-more-subtle/) [Joel Sternfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-sternfeld/) > [No individual photo explains anything. That's what makes photography such a wonderful and problematic medium. 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