--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I photograph the things that I do not…" description: "\"I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.\" — Man Ray" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/906/man-ray-12681_existence_i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wi_1691131.png" --- # I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the… ![“I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.” quote by Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/906/man-ray-12681_existence_i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wi_1691131.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/906/man-ray-12681_existence_i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wi_1691131.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/906/man-ray-12681_existence_i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wi_1691131.png) > “I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.” [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photographs capture what painting cannot, preserving existing reality. **In simple terms:** Photos preserve reality. Key Takeaway Use photography to document the world. Themes art observation reality Mood artistic analytical Type essay philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - archival work - creative projects Key Concepts visual documentation photography theory Questions to Reflect On - What does photography reveal? - When choose photo over painting? A Different Perspective Photos may lack interpretive depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Paint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint/) [Paint Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-things-443760/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-things-1012533/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [I paint what cannot be photographed, something from the imagination... I photograph the things I don't want to paint, things that are already in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/i-paint-what-cannot-be-photographed-something-from-the-imagination-i/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [I do photograph things for people to look at 100 years from now. But we're such a mediated society that things become historical the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-do-photograph-things-for-people-to-look-at-100-years-from-now-but/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [It was so simple to paint things as I saw them; to put without special calculation a red close to a blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/it-was-so-simple-to-paint-things-as-i-saw-them-to-put-without-special/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [I paint things as they are. I don't comment. I record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/i-paint-things-as-they-are-i-don-t-comment-i-record/) [Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/) > [“You’re trying to paint things as either black or white,” he said. “As either good or evil. It’s never that neat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/you-re-trying-to-paint-things-as-either-black-or-white-he-said-as/) [Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/) > [I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-don-t-paint-things-i-only-paint-the-difference-between-things/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I often try to photograph things about a person that are not visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-often-try-to-photograph-things-about-a-person-that-are-not-visible/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Different people can photograph the same things with the same tools and create such different images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-caponigro/different-people-can-photograph-the-same-things-with-the-same-tools/) [John Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-caponigro/) > [One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/one-should-not-only-photograph-things-for-what-they-are-but-for-what/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Why can't a photograph be all four things at once? -be an art object; be a document, what ever that means exactly, but deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-shore/why-can-t-a-photograph-be-all-four-things-at-once-be-an-art-object-be/) [Stephen Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-shore/) > [If you scratch a great photograph, you find two things; a painting and a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/if-you-scratch-a-great-photograph-you-find-two-things-a-painting-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [I try to photograph things that are near to me because I work best among things I know. I'm not concerned with startling anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-decarava/i-try-to-photograph-things-that-are-near-to-me-because-i-work-best/) [Roy DeCarava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-decarava/) > [I have asked students at the beginning of their careers, what things of that sort might haunt them – what things they must photograph,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/i-have-asked-students-at-the-beginning-of-their-careers-what-things/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [“He wanted to live life in such a way that if a photograph were taken at random, it would be a cool photograph. Things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/he-wanted-to-live-life-in-such-a-way-that-if-a-photograph-were-taken/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [We photograph things in order to drive them out of our minds. My stories are a way of shutting my eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/we-photograph-things-in-order-to-drive-them-out-of-our-minds-my/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More by Man Ray > [All critics should be assassinated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/all-critics-should-be-assassinated/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [Each one of us, in his timidity, has a limit beyond which he is outraged. It is inevitable that he who by concentrated application…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/each-one-of-us-in-his-timidity-has-a-limit-beyond-which-he-is/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [A camera alone does not make a picture. To make a picture you need a camera, a photographer and above all a subject. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/a-camera-alone-does-not-make-a-picture-to-make-a-picture-you-need-a/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/personally-i-have-always-preferred-inspiration-to-information/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [I believe in the relation between photography and music; And thats my inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/i-believe-in-the-relation-between-photography-and-music-and-thats-my/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [Just as I work with paints, brushes, and canvas, I work with the light, pieces of glass and chemistry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/just-as-i-work-with-paints-brushes-and-canvas-i-work-with-the-light/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [Lipstick is the red badge of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/lipstick-is-the-red-badge-of-courage/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [Speaking of nudes, I have always had a great fondness for this subject, both in my paintings and in my photos, and I must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/speaking-of-nudes-i-have-always-had-a-great-fondness-for-this-subject/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [All my life I have painted pictures so that certain people would drop dead when they looked at them, but I have not succeeded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/all-my-life-i-have-painted-pictures-so-that-certain-people-would-drop/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [You don’t ask a writer what typewriter he uses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/you-don-t-ask-a-writer-what-typewriter-he-uses/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [I am not going to be dictated to by the size of the camera. I use everything from an 8 x 10 to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/i-am-not-going-to-be-dictated-to-by-the-size-of-the-camera-i-use/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [An original is a creation motivated by desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/an-original-is-a-creation-motivated-by-desire/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [Dada cannot live in New York. All New York is dada, and will not tolerate a rival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/dada-cannot-live-in-new-york-all-new-york-is-dada-and-will-not/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [Quote me as much as you like; as a matter of fact I don’t even mind if you misquote me !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/quote-me-as-much-as-you-like-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-don-t-even-mind-if/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [If I'd had the nerve, I'd have become a thief or a gangster, but since I didn't, I became a photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/if-i-d-had-the-nerve-i-d-have-become-a-thief-or-a-gangster-but-since/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) [Explore all 53 Man Ray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Man Ray" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wish-to-paint-the-things-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wish-to-paint-the-things-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/906/man-ray-12681_existence_i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wi_1691131.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/906/man-ray-12681_existence_i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wi_1691131.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/906/man-ray-12681_existence_i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wi_1691131.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence.” — Man Ray", "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": "Man Ray", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I photograph the things that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wish-to-paint-the-things-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/i-photograph-the-things-that-i-do-not-wish-to-paint-the-things-which/#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 } } ] } ```