--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I'm on my own with my camera, taking…" description: "\"When I'm on my own with my camera, taking these pictures, it feels as if I am in a room of my own, a self-contained world.\" — Patti Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/patti-smith-394_cameras_when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking_1596140.jpg" --- # When I'm on my own with my camera, taking these pictures… ![“When I'm on my own with my camera, taking these pictures, it feels as if I am in a room of my own, a self-contained world.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/patti-smith-394_cameras_when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking_1596140.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/patti-smith-394_cameras_when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking_1596140.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/patti-smith-394_cameras_when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking_1596140.jpg) > “When I'm on my own with my camera, taking these pictures, it feels as if I am in a room of my own, a self-contained world.” [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When alone with a camera, the photographer creates a personal, self‑contained world, fostering intimacy and focus. **In simple terms:** Photography alone creates a private, immersive space. Key Takeaway Use solitude to deepen creative focus. Themes creativity solitude artistic process focus Mood contemplative intimate focused Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - photography - writing - solo projects Key Concepts visual art mindfulness personal space Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude influence your artistic vision? - What boundaries exist between personal and shared art? A Different Perspective Isolation may limit external inspiration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera-taking-3684292/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Feels Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels-room-6059126/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Pictures Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures-feels-6059125/) [Room Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/room-self-3021294/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self contained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-contained/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I went into the surgery room as my former self Neeru Bheda but came out as a new and improved version of my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakhi-sawant/i-went-into-the-surgery-room-as-my-former-self-neeru-bheda-but-came/) [Rakhi Sawant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakhi-sawant/) > [I've operated out of a space where I don't think there was a whole lot of room for self-doubt, not believing in where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cooper-kupp/i-ve-operated-out-of-a-space-where-i-don-t-think-there-was-a-whole/) [Cooper Kupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cooper-kupp/) > [“To look at those (few) books in the dawning recognition that what they furnish is not a room, but a self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-gekoski/to-look-at-those-few-books-in-the-dawning-recognition-that-what-they/) [Rick Gekoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-gekoski/) > [What does it mean to go deeper? Taking pictures when you're more emotional or sorrowful, or having sex? I just want to have really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-s-lee/what-does-it-mean-to-go-deeper-taking-pictures-when-you-re-more/) [Nikki S. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-s-lee/) > [When you shoot a movie, the camera is always taking, taking, taking and not giving anything back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodrigo-santoro/when-you-shoot-a-movie-the-camera-is-always-taking-taking-taking-and/) [Rodrigo Santoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodrigo-santoro/) > [Everybody can take a good picture. Everybody is interesting. Everyone has an interesting face. 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They think on stage I act too arrogant, too self-obsessed, solecistic, self-contained, synonyms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/people-do-complain-about-the-way-i-act-on-stage-they-think-on-stage-i/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [It is the transcendent (or 'abstract' or 'self-contained') nature of music that the new so called concretism--Pop Art, eighteen-hour slices-of-reality films, musique concrete--opposes. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/it-is-the-transcendent-or-abstract-or-self-contained-nature-of-music/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [“We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/we-think-that-if-we-just-meditated-enough-or-jogged-enough-or-ate/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Lacey was just as happy alone as with company. When she was alone, she was potential; with others she was realized. Alone, she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/lacey-was-just-as-happy-alone-as-with-company-when-she-was-alone-she/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“I am self-contained and self-reliant; your opinion is nothing to me; I have no interest in you, care nothing for you, and see and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-am-self-contained-and-self-reliant-your-opinion-is-nothing-to-me-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Patti Smith > [I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-had-a-really-happy-childhood-my-siblings-were-great-my-mother-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [As a citizen, hopefully I'm humanist. As an artist, I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-a-citizen-hopefully-i-m-humanist-as-an-artist-i-m-free/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [ Sometimes \[people\] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/sometimes-people-seem-to-think-i-came-out-of-the-womb-you-know/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Inside it he inscribed a few lines of poetry, portraying us as the gypsy and the fool, one creating silence; one listening closely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/inside-it-he-inscribed-a-few-lines-of-poetry-portraying-us-as-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/who-can-know-the-heart-of-youth-but-youth-itself/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“I clawed through a thick web of the culture’s consciousness that I hadn’t known existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-clawed-through-a-thick-web-of-the-culture-s-consciousness-that-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Ultimately, we are not seeking others to bow to, but to reinforce our individual natures, to help us suffer our own choices, to guide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/ultimately-we-are-not-seeking-others-to-bow-to-but-to-reinforce-our/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/if-i-m-taking-a-picture-of-brancusi-s-grave-i-know-that-there-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm certain, as we filled down the great staircase, that I appeared the same as ever, a moping twelve years-old, all arms and legs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-certain-as-we-filled-down-the-great-staircase-that-i-appeared-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/in-art-and-dream-may-you-proceed-with-abandon-in-life-may-you-proceed/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [New York is the thing that seduced me. New York is the thing that formed me. New York is the thing that deformed me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/new-york-is-the-thing-that-seduced-me-new-york-is-the-thing-that/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I don't wanna be equal with anybody. I wanna be above equal. I don't think most people are equal to me. I'd like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-don-t-wanna-be-equal-with-anybody-i-wanna-be-above-equal-i-don-t/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-i-m-constantly-in-a-state-of-adjustment/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/somehow-i-started-introducing-writing-into-my-drawings-and-after-a/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm okay with roaming around the world in my bunk for days on end. Maybe every third day I'll get a shower or stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-okay-with-roaming-around-the-world-in-my-bunk-for-days-on-end/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) [Explore all 595 Patti Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## More Cameras quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [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/) > [I'm a film guy. I love it. When I read the screenplay, I knew that there would be no HD camera that could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-taylor/i-m-a-film-guy-i-love-it-when-i-read-the-screenplay-i-knew-that-there/) [Deon Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-taylor/) > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I can look around a room and tell you if there are hidden cameras or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ash/i-can-look-around-a-room-and-tell-you-if-there-are-hidden-cameras-or/) [Lauren Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ash/) > [There's nothing like the energy in a small comedy club room or a small theater when it's going really well. I can see everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/there-s-nothing-like-the-energy-in-a-small-comedy-club-room-or-a/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [When they took me to do the camera test for the vampire make up, after they put the prosthetic on, I went though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-benz/when-they-took-me-to-do-the-camera-test-for-the-vampire-make-up-after/) [Julie Benz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-benz/) > [I like acting too much and it's too, I'm just too busy doing that and I'm too hungry for it, to get behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-weisz/i-like-acting-too-much-and-it-s-too-i-m-just-too-busy-doing-that-and/) [Rachel Weisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-weisz/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Many times I've sat with a camera and another actor and seen all their fears and insecurities and struggles. 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What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) [Browse all 2,666 Cameras quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I'm on my own with my camera, taking these pictures, it feels as if I am in a room of my own, a self-contained world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patti Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking-these-pictures-it-feels-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cameras" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking-these-pictures-it-feels-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/patti-smith-394_cameras_when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking_1596140.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/patti-smith-394_cameras_when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking_1596140.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c44/patti-smith-394_cameras_when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking_1596140.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I'm on my own with my camera, taking these pictures, it feels as if I am in a room of my own, a…” — Patti Smith", "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": "Patti Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I'm on my own with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking-these-pictures-it-feels-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/when-i-m-on-my-own-with-my-camera-taking-these-pictures-it-feels-as/#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 } } ] } ```