--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Photos are profound because they have…" description: "\"Photos are profound because they have such short lives. They are more like fingerprints, dead leaves, rain puddles, or the corpses of flies.\" — Tom Waits" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/tom-waits-916_corpses_photos-are-profound-because-they-have-su_118825.jpg" --- # Photos are profound because they have such short lives… ![“Photos are profound because they have such short lives. They are more like fingerprints, dead leaves, rain puddles, or the corpses of flies.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/tom-waits-916_corpses_photos-are-profound-because-they-have-su_118825.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/tom-waits-916_corpses_photos-are-profound-because-they-have-su_118825.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/tom-waits-916_corpses_photos-are-profound-because-they-have-su_118825.jpg) > “Photos are profound because they have such short lives. They are more like fingerprints, dead leaves, rain puddles, or the corpses of flies.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## 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 fleeting moments, like transient natural objects, emphasizing their impermanence and the bittersweet nature of memory. **In simple terms:** Photos are brief, like fleeting natural traces. Key Takeaway Impermanence of visual memory. Themes transience memory beauty ephemerality Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - archiving family events - journalistic reporting - artistic exhibitions Key Concepts mortality nostalgia Practical Applications - use rapid sharing to preserve moments - embrace impermanence by creating backups Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing impermanence affect how you photograph? - Can fleeting images still hold lasting impact? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize decay, overlooking photography's role in lasting documentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fingerprints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingerprints/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Short life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-life/) ## Related quotes > [“The problem as he saw it was not how short our lives are, but rather how badly most of us use what time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-warburton/the-problem-as-he-saw-it-was-not-how-short-our-lives-are-but-rather/) [Nigel Warburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-warburton/) > [“(the past sucks and the future can be outright paralyzing, but we must push through those times and find what little happy moments there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-past-sucks-and-the-future-can-be-outright-paralyzing-but-we-must/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Only those of us live for centuries that decided not to live in their short lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/only-those-of-us-live-for-centuries-that-decided-not-to-live-in-their/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Democracies have been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general been as short in their lives as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/democracies-have-been-found-incompatible-with-personal-security-or/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Well perhaps you humans do have short lives but you do so much with them. Always jumping around, always so hasty and you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/well-perhaps-you-humans-do-have-short-lives-but-you-do-so-much-with/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“It's not about keeping up the population, it's about passing on who we are and what we've learned, so things keep going. So we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/it-s-not-about-keeping-up-the-population-it-s-about-passing-on-who-we/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [But life is short: while one lives, everything is lacking; when one is dead, everything is superfluous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lope-de-vega/but-life-is-short-while-one-lives-everything-is-lacking-when-one-is/) [Lope de Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lope-de-vega/) > [Voices are like fingerprints, from Cagney to Bogart. They never lost it. My voice is instrumental in categorizing me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/voices-are-like-fingerprints-from-cagney-to-bogart-they-never-lost-it/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. 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One is the outside: everything that happens to you and everything that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/i-guess-there-s-only-two-possible-places-ideas-can-come-from-one-is/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [“You’ll find out it’s little savors and little things that count more than big ones. A walk on a spring morning is better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-ll-find-out-it-s-little-savors-and-little-things-that-count-more/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [My choices are like my fingerprints, they make me unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/my-choices-are-like-my-fingerprints-they-make-me-unique/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) > [Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shazo/like-fingerprints-everyone-s-tongue-print-is-different/) SHAZO ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Corpses quotes > [My specialties are corpses, unconscious people and people snoring in spectacular epics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gig-young/my-specialties-are-corpses-unconscious-people-and-people-snoring-in/) Gig Young > [The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he came from. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/the-enemy-his-sense-of-duty-was-no-less-than-yours-i-deem-you-wonder/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [ Of course I think it's a movie for everybody \[Insane Farting Corpse\], but that's probably just because it's a movie for me. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/of-course-i-think-it-s-a-movie-for-everybody-insane-farting-corpse/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [If you look at the history of technology gadget makers, hardware makers, it's littered with the corpses of Palm and RIM and companies like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/if-you-look-at-the-history-of-technology-gadget-makers-hardware/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [“The Path Of Least Resistance Is Littered With The Corpses Of The Bored To Death”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-path-of-least-resistance-is-littered-with-the-corpses-of-the/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [ René of Anjou \[(1409-80)\] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it \[her tomb\] openedon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-of-his-mistress-s-corpse-as-he/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [Religion exalts mystery as an unknowable secret that must be sealed in glass like the corpse of an enchanted princess and fearfully worshipped from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lon-milo-duquette/religion-exalts-mystery-as-an-unknowable-secret-that-must-be-sealed/) [Lon Milo DuQuette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lon-milo-duquette/) > [Why exactly are we so frightened of death that we avoid looking at it altogether? Somewhere, deep down, we know we cannot avoid facing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sogyal-rinpoche/why-exactly-are-we-so-frightened-of-death-that-we-avoid-looking-at-it/) [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) > [The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-government-increasingly-resembles-somebody-who-is-trying-to-give/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [“Yes, and look at the corpses. Place always reminds me of that old thing in Punch, you know—‘Waiter, take away Lord Whatsisname, he’s been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/yes-and-look-at-the-corpses-place-always-reminds-me-of-that-old-thing/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Reread, rewrite, reread, rewrite. If it still doesn't work, throw it away. It's a nice feeling, and you don't want to be cluttered with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/reread-rewrite-reread-rewrite-if-it-still-doesn-t-work-throw-it-away/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [ Reading the script \[Insane Farting Corpse\], by page two or three, I felt that way. I thought, I'm in. It was so beautiful and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/reading-the-script-insane-farting-corpse-by-page-two-or-three-i-felt/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [Once a month I wake in the night, slippery with terror. I'm afraid, not because there's someone in the room, in the dark, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-a-month-i-wake-in-the-night-slippery-with-terror-i-m-afraid-not/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) Browse all 363 Corpses quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Photos are profound because they have such short lives. 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