--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not a collector at heart. I'm never…" description: "\"I'm not a collector at heart. I'm never tormented by the longing to possess things. I'm quite happy with my pictures. I've been cohabiting with them fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/robert-doisneau-20768_life_i-m-not-a-collector-at-heart-i-m-never-t_976654.jpg" --- # I'm not a collector at heart. I'm never tormented by the… ![“I'm not a collector at heart. I'm never tormented by the longing to possess things. I'm quite happy with my pictures. I've been cohabiting with them for years now and we know each other inside out, so I feel I'm entitled to say that pictures have a life and a character of their own. Maybe they're…” quote by Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/robert-doisneau-20768_life_i-m-not-a-collector-at-heart-i-m-never-t_976654.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/robert-doisneau-20768_life_i-m-not-a-collector-at-heart-i-m-never-t_976654.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a1/robert-doisneau-20768_life_i-m-not-a-collector-at-heart-i-m-never-t_976654.jpg) > “I'm not a collector at heart. I'm never tormented by the longing to possess things. I'm quite happy with my pictures. I've been cohabiting with them for years now and we know each other inside out, so I feel I'm entitled to say that pictures have a life and a character of their own. Maybe they're like plants they won't really flourish unless you talk to them. I haven't gone that far - not yet anyway. Lots of them behave like good little girls and give me a nice smile whenever I walk past, but others are real bitches and never miss any opportunity to ruin my life. I handle them with kid gloves.” [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker sees photographs as living companions, some comforting, others challenging, requiring gentle care. **In simple terms:** Photos feel alive, some are friendly, some are difficult. Key Takeaway Treat pictures with respect and attention. Themes art photography relationships care perception Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - gallery curation - personal photo albums - digital archiving - artistic inspiration Key Concepts personification attachment emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which photos deserve more attention? - What does treating a photo like a person reveal about yourself? A Different Perspective Neglect or over‑attachment can distort the true value of images. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nice smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice-smile/) ## Related quotes > [Colder than a tax-collector's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/colder-than-a-tax-collector-s-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always been a collector at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-stuart/i-ve-always-been-a-collector-at-heart/) [Marty Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-stuart/) > [“As his dark closet shows, Bluebeard was a collector at heart, and even after dispatching a wife, could not let her fully depart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shuli-barzilai/as-his-dark-closet-shows-bluebeard-was-a-collector-at-heart-and-even/) Shuli Barzilai > [The absolute worst thing a person can say about your pictures is, '"That's nice." It's the kiss of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dimaggio/the-absolute-worst-thing-a-person-can-say-about-your-pictures-is-that/) [Joe DiMaggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dimaggio/) > [That's one of the troubles of photography; the implication that what you have in that photograph is the way it is, and of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-richards/that-s-one-of-the-troubles-of-photography-the-implication-that-what/) [Eugene Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-richards/) > [“Man should become very aware when one third (1/3rd) of his life remains that ‘pictures’ of his next life will be taken now (next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/man-should-become-very-aware-when-one-third-1-3rd-of-his-life-remains/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“A man’s deep friendships were the most important thing he could possess. Things can be broken, or lost. All a man can keep for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/a-man-s-deep-friendships-were-the-most-important-thing-he-could/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [On things she had to pack before leaving her home in advance of a forest fire, 1996. Childhood pictures and pictures of my life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/on-things-she-had-to-pack-before-leaving-her-home-in-advance-of-a/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [“amanda lifted a large handful of pictures out of the box and dropped them into her lap, flicking through them as they fall. they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-noble/amanda-lifted-a-large-handful-of-pictures-out-of-the-box-and-dropped/) [Elizabeth Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-noble/) > [Attachment brings misery, unattachment brings blissfulness. So use things, but don't be used by them. Live life but don't be lived by it. Possess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/attachment-brings-misery-unattachment-brings-blissfulness-so-use/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Though free from all sense of possessing, they yet possess all things. "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/though-free-from-all-sense-of-possessing-they-yet-possess-all-things/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [Pictures of my life stretch back into what must have been my very earliest childhood. ... They are not movies, then, nor are they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kaye-smith/pictures-of-my-life-stretch-back-into-what-must-have-been-my-very/) [Sheila Kaye-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kaye-smith/) > [Yes, I sold buttons to earn living. But I took pictures to keep on living. Pictures are my life – as necessary as eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/yes-i-sold-buttons-to-earn-living-but-i-took-pictures-to-keep-on/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) > [“Life is never beautiful, but only the pictures of life are so in the transfiguring mirror of art or poetry; especially in youth, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/life-is-never-beautiful-but-only-the-pictures-of-life-are-so-in-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“But I want to paint you. That’s how artists come to possess things beyond their means, can you understand that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakambini-a-sitoy/but-i-want-to-paint-you-that-s-how-artists-come-to-possess-things/) [Lakambini A. Sitoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakambini-a-sitoy/) ## More by Robert Doisneau > [You know, they always say that the photographer is a hunter of images. That is a flattering image, the idea of a hunter, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/you-know-they-always-say-that-the-photographer-is-a-hunter-of-images/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [Some days the mere fact of seeing feels like perfect happiness... You feel so rich you long to share your jubilation with others. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/some-days-the-mere-fact-of-seeing-feels-like-perfect-happiness-you/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [A hundredth of a second here, a hundredth of a second there-even if you put them end to end, they still only add up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/a-hundredth-of-a-second-here-a-hundredth-of-a-second-there-even-if/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [A photographer who made a picture from a splendid moment, an accidental pose of someone or a beautiful scenery, is the finder of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/a-photographer-who-made-a-picture-from-a-splendid-moment-an/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [You've got to struggle against the pollution of intelligence in order to become an animal with very sharp instincts - a sort of intuitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/you-ve-got-to-struggle-against-the-pollution-of-intelligence-in-order/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [Chance is the one thing you can't buy. You have to pay for it and you have to pay for it with your life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/chance-is-the-one-thing-you-can-t-buy-you-have-to-pay-for-it-and-you/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [The photographer must be absorbent, like a blotter, allow himself to be permeated by the poetic moment...His technique should be like an animal function...he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/the-photographer-must-be-absorbent-like-a-blotter-allow-himself-to-be/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [To freeze time, to hold on to youth, this business makes no sense. It's always time that wins in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/to-freeze-time-to-hold-on-to-youth-this-business-makes-no-sense-it-s/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [To suggest is to create; to describe is to destroy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/to-suggest-is-to-create-to-describe-is-to-destroy/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [If you take photos, don't speak, don't write, don't analyze yourself, and don't answer any questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/if-you-take-photos-don-t-speak-don-t-write-don-t-analyze-yourself-and/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [Life is short. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/life-is-short-forgive-quickly-kiss-slowly/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [A memory from my youth comes back to me. You go into the woods on a bike, with a girl. There is the smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/a-memory-from-my-youth-comes-back-to-me-you-go-into-the-woods-on-a/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [Nowadays people's visual imagination is so much more sophisticated, so much more developed, particularly in young people, that now you can make an image…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/nowadays-people-s-visual-imagination-is-so-much-more-sophisticated-so/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [If I knew how to take a good photograph, I'd do it every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/if-i-knew-how-to-take-a-good-photograph-i-d-do-it-every-time/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) > [I hate collectors, the ones who take something just for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-doisneau/i-hate-collectors-the-ones-who-take-something-just-for-themselves/) [Robert Doisneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) [Explore all 29 Robert Doisneau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-doisneau/) ## More Collector quotes > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [I bought tiny infant onesies while still in college and compiled a killer toy collection throughout my 20s and 30s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-swisher/i-bought-tiny-infant-onesies-while-still-in-college-and-compiled-a/) [Kara Swisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-swisher/) > [I am a collector of jewels, old jewels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-michele/i-am-a-collector-of-jewels-old-jewels/) [Alessandro Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-michele/) > [“His life was now the life of a collector, and that gave it meaning. Evening after evening he would count and arrange his cuttings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/his-life-was-now-the-life-of-a-collector-and-that-gave-it-meaning/) [Karel Čapek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [Before I had kids, my bag was clean. In case I need to occupy them, I like to have Hot Wheels cars, See's lollipops,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-brandt/before-i-had-kids-my-bag-was-clean-in-case-i-need-to-occupy-them-i/) [Betsy Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-brandt/) > [I love rare books. Not that I own a lot of them, mind you. You couldn't quite call me a rare-book collector. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-love-rare-books-not-that-i-own-a-lot-of-them-mind-you-you-couldn-t/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Colder than a tax-collector's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/colder-than-a-tax-collector-s-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“he was a collector rather than a hunter, buying his knowledge rather than seeking it with his own eyes and hands. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/he-was-a-collector-rather-than-a-hunter-buying-his-knowledge-rather/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [I woke up one day and I was like, "I don't have anything to save for myself for the future." That's when I started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-wu/i-woke-up-one-day-and-i-was-like-i-don-t-have-anything-to-save-for/) [Jason Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-wu/) > [I'm a geeky toy collector, and to have toys of your own characters is unbelievably cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mccracken/i-m-a-geeky-toy-collector-and-to-have-toys-of-your-own-characters-is/) [Craig McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mccracken/) > [I started getting back into buying old analog gear while we were recording. Lots of old drum machines and synths. It wasn't a conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gore/i-started-getting-back-into-buying-old-analog-gear-while-we-were/) [Martin Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gore/) > [I'm not a hoarder, I'm a collector: if you have something you like, every time you see it, you have a little happy hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-m-not-a-hoarder-i-m-a-collector-if-you-have-something-you-like/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [My specialty as a collector is books that almost have value. When I love a book, I don't buy the first edition, because those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/my-specialty-as-a-collector-is-books-that-almost-have-value-when-i/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I think when you get interested in antiques, the most frustrating thing is that books don't have enough photos. When you go to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-miller/i-think-when-you-get-interested-in-antiques-the-most-frustrating/) [Judith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-miller/) > [I like sneakers. I guess I could call myself a collector.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-shinoda/i-like-sneakers-i-guess-i-could-call-myself-a-collector/) [Mike Shinoda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-shinoda/) Browse all 268 Collector quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not a collector at heart. I'm never tormented by the longing to possess things. I'm quite happy with my pictures. I've been cohabiting with them for years now and we know each other inside out, so I feel I'm entitled to say that pictures have a life and a character of their own. Maybe they're like plants they won't really flourish unless you talk to them. I haven't gone that far - not yet anyway. 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