--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I looked at things for what they are…" description: "\"When I looked at things for what they are I was fool enough to persist in my folly and found that each photograph was a mirror of my Self.\" — Minor White" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/minor-white-15513_enough_when-i-looked-at-things-for-what-they-ar_850088.jpg" --- # When I looked at things for what they are I was fool… ![“When I looked at things for what they are I was fool enough to persist in my folly and found that each photograph was a mirror of my Self.” quote by Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/minor-white-15513_enough_when-i-looked-at-things-for-what-they-ar_850088.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/minor-white-15513_enough_when-i-looked-at-things-for-what-they-ar_850088.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/minor-white-15513_enough_when-i-looked-at-things-for-what-they-ar_850088.jpg) > “When I looked at things for what they are I was fool enough to persist in my folly and found that each photograph was a mirror of my Self.” [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing objects as they truly are reveals personal projections, turning each image into a reflection of the observer’s inner self. **In simple terms:** Seeing things plainly shows our own inner reflections. Key Takeaway Recognize how perception mirrors self. Themes perception self-awareness art reflection Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - photography - therapy - mindfulness - creative practice Key Concepts Phenomenology subjectivity mirror metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does your mood shape what you see? - Can you separate self from subject? A Different Perspective May overlook external context and overemphasize self‑projection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Folly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) [Folly Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly-photograph-740571/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Mirror Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror-self-289800/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Persist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persist/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Photograph Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph-mirror-740572/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Things Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-fool-711198/) ## Related quotes > [A photograph is a mirror; mostly it reflects the prejudices of the viewer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-jay/a-photograph-is-a-mirror-mostly-it-reflects-the-prejudices-of-the/) [Bill Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-jay/) > [The nineteenth-century way of looking at the photograph was as a mirror for the memory, and at that time the photographs almost looked like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-c-bunnell/the-nineteenth-century-way-of-looking-at-the-photograph-was-as-a/) [Peter C Bunnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-c-bunnell/) > [“Talking about doing great things and not actually doing them makes a mockery of great things and a fool of the person who’s doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/talking-about-doing-great-things-and-not-actually-doing-them-makes-a/) [Craig D. 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But then you will want to put that {publication} behind you right away. You will want to recover the obscurity you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-b-jones/but-then-you-will-want-to-put-that-publication-behind-you-right-away/) [Louis B. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-b-jones/) > [“Romantic love is a mirror in which you can see your whole self pleasantly reflected, if you’re lucky. Or it’s a dark mirror into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carina-chocano/romantic-love-is-a-mirror-in-which-you-can-see-your-whole-self/) [Carina Chocano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carina-chocano/) > [The earth is not a mechanism but an organism, a being with its own life and its own reasons, where the support and sustenance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-earth-is-not-a-mechanism-but-an-organism-a-being-with-its-own/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More by Minor White > [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/) > [Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/often-while-traveling-with-a-camera-we-arrive-just-as-the-sun-slips/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Reaching a 'creative' state of mind thru positive action is considered preferable to waiting for 'inspiration'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/reaching-a-creative-state-of-mind-thru-positive-action-is-considered/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [In putting images together I become active, and excitement is of another order - synthesis overshadows analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/in-putting-images-together-i-become-active-and-excitement-is-of/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Photographers who come up with power never get accused of imitating anyone else even though they photograph the same broom, same street, same portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/photographers-who-come-up-with-power-never-get-accused-of-imitating/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Watching the way the current moves a blade of grass - sometimes I've seen that happen and it has just turned me inside out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/watching-the-way-the-current-moves-a-blade-of-grass-sometimes-i-ve/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Different levels of photography require different levels of understanding and skill. A "press the button, let George do the rest" photographer needs little or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/different-levels-of-photography-require-different-levels-of/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Before he has seen the whole, how unusually perceptive and imaginative the person must be to evolve the entire sequence by meditating on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/before-he-has-seen-the-whole-how-unusually-perceptive-and-imaginative/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Let the subject generate its own photographs. Become a camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/let-the-subject-generate-its-own-photographs-become-a-camera/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [We could teach photography as a way to make a living, and best of all, somehow to get students to experience for themselves photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/we-could-teach-photography-as-a-way-to-make-a-living-and-best-of-all/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [At first glance a photograph can inform us. At second glance it can reach us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/at-first-glance-a-photograph-can-inform-us-at-second-glance-it-can/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [A very receptive state of mind... not unlike a sheet of film itself - seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/a-very-receptive-state-of-mind-not-unlike-a-sheet-of-film-itself/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [When gifts are given to me through my camera, I accept them graciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-gifts-are-given-to-me-through-my-camera-i-accept-them-graciously/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [...insight, vision, moments of revelation. During those rare moments something overtakes the man and he becomes the tool of a greater Force; the servant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/insight-vision-moments-of-revelation-during-those-rare-moments/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [To engage a sequence, we keep in mind the photographs on either side of the one in our eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/to-engage-a-sequence-we-keep-in-mind-the-photographs-on-either-side/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) [Explore all 43 Minor White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) ## More Enough quotes > [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/) [Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/) > [Failures happen. 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I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [The vast majority of organizations today have more than enough intelligence, experience and knowledge to be successful. What they lack is organizational health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-vast-majority-of-organizations-today-have-more-than-enough/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. 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