photography

lens artists photo challenge: fences

spring peace–

a mountain monk peeks

through a fence

~Issa (cited: http://www.haikuguy.com)

landscape

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This week lens-artists invited us to share our favorite fence images.   While the images above are not my “favorite,” the sign did bring a smile.

I had to go back a number of “blog” years to find three of my favorite fences.

what is it that i seek?

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contemplative photography…Nikon D750  f/5.3  1/80s   112mm   100 ISO 

Standing at this Threshold

With uncertainty, I question:

What is it that I seek?

Protection? Compassion? Acceptance? Forgiveness? Completion?

Who is it that I beckon?

A father? A mother? A sister? A brother? A companion? A child? A god?

To be? To endure? To offer? To embrace? To validate?

An intentional presence that is drawn upon

A place and time of shadows, myths, and dreams?

Birthed within a family?

Matured within a relationship?

Nourished within a community?

Where the Stillness within Silence,

Affirms the exchange of life’s giving and taking,

Embraces the connection of life’s emotional threads, and

Observes the interdependence of life with non-judgmental awareness,

Yet, knows of a united oneness with another that can not be?

Since it can not be, do I yearn

To know integration through the formation of thought;

To see clarity through the flowing of ink; and

To feel completion through the act of creating?

And then, finally, within the stillness of silence,

I befriend

An internal companion with whom

There is an honoring of the who and what of which I am;

A woman, a daughter, a sister, a niece, a wife, a mother, an aunt, a grandmother, a great-grandmother.

I touch

With reverence the presence of all that was, is, and will be.

I release

The seeking, the beckoning, the yearning to the Winds of Change.

I with uncertainty, Step over this Threshold

Foreseeing a return

~bckofford

a photo study: contemplative photography IV – seeing

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From my research about “seeing” through the eyes of a photographer, I learned that within our day-to-day lives we usually connect with the visual aspects of our world through various cognitive lenses.  For example, a continuum of perceiving begins with sensory seeing on one side and conceptual seeing on the other.  Sensory seeing perceives that which appear to our senses, and conceptual seeing perceives that which appear to the mind’s eye. 

For example, while riding a train you glance up from your reading and do a quick glance at your fellow travelers.  You may see a young adolescent, with blue hair, engrossed by the sounds coming through his earphones, an elderly couple with multi-colored silk scarves loosely wrapped around their necks and their gray-streaked hair, a handsome man, in a gray-toned business suit, snapping a newspaper as he becomes engrossed in an article, and towards the front you see and hear a group of tittering, fashionably-attired women.

Sensory seeing takes in the colors and textures of this environment—the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and so on. 

All the rest of your experience is conceptual. You see the visual forms of the “young adolescent”, “elderly couple,” “handsome man,” and “fashionably-attired women.” “Young,” “elderly,” “handsome,” “fashionably-attired” are not visible to the eye; these adjectives are the result of the thinking mind, the discriminating mind. 

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There are times as we move in and out of the dance of life, we become totally engrossed in the conceptual realm which blinds us to the sensory elements that create our world. Other times, our thinking mind begins to hush and a door opens to a sensory world.  Generally, these two ways of being-in-the-world are in a mental flux in which we create stories with a blending and folding of what we are “seeing” overlaid with our “thinking.” It seems to me that this creative process serves to put-into-order the stuff within the environment so that there is an easing of uncertainty and to bring about a certainty of space and time; yet, this lessening of anxiety has the potential to obscure the richness and natural beauty of our sensory world. 

Reality is transformed by our looking at it, because we enter it with our baggage of concepts. …But it is not easy to abandon concepts. …The armor of a scientist is his or her acquired knowledge and system of thought, and it is most difficult to leave that behind. … religious seekers have always been reminded that they must let go of all of their concepts to experience reality… ~ Thich Nhat Hanh (The Sun My Heart, p.82)

Personal concepts such as what is beautiful, artistic, worthwhile become blinding filters that overlay a photographer’s eye as they direct a search for subjects that fit into these personal templates.  I was nudged away from my search for symmetric tree templates during a  project in which I would spend 5 minutes being present with a Michael Kerr image.  In time, I found myself slowly becoming freed from the fetters of this obsession to find the perfect tree. 

Contemplative Photography

The word “contemplate” means to be within a process of reflection that draws on a deeper level of intelligence than our usual way of thinking about things. The root meaning of the word “contemplate” is connected with careful observation. It means to be present with something in an open space. This space is created by letting go of the currents of mental activity that obscure our natural insight and awareness.

Contemplative photography is a method of seeing and photographing the world in unique ways—through fresh eyes—inviting us to open ourselves to  the richness and beauty through our sensory eyes.  For example: capturing the beauty of shadows, elegance of lines or clash of colors, the elements which a passer by, lost in thought, will be unable to see.

Photography can be used to help distinguish the seen from the imagined, since the camera registers only what is seen. It does not record mental fabrications. As the photographer Aaron Siskind said, “We look at the world and see what we have learned to believe is there, [what] we have been conditioned to expect… But, as photographers, we must learn to relax our beliefs.”

Sensory Seeing

…the right presence of mind’ involves an empty and open state of mind with no definite plans, thoughts, desires, expectations, purposes, or ego-involvement-but where all is possible. ~Eugen Herrigel, cited W Rowe, Zen and the Magic of Photography

One thing that all these explanations have in common is that it is the process of clear seeing that is central to being at one with the present moment; to connecting with what you are experiencing.

How does clear seeing produce clear images? When you see clearly, your vision is not obscured by expectations about getting a good or bad shot, agitation about the best technique for making the picture, thoughts about how beautiful or ugly the subject is, or worries about expressing yourself and becoming famous. Instead, clear seeing and the creativity of your basic being connect directly, and you produce images that are the equivalents (this is Alfred Stieglitz’s term) of what you saw. What resonated within you in the original seeing will also resonate in the photograph.

Henri Cartier-Bresson offers key insights into this approach. He is reported to have said,  “Thinking should be done beforehand and afterwards—never while actually taking a photograph. Success depends on the extent of one’s general culture, on one’s set of values, one’s clarity of mind and vivacity.”

…the creative mind of a photographer is like a piece of unexposed film. It contains no preformed images but is always active, open, receptive, and ready to receive and record an image. ~Minor White cited: W Rowe, Zen and the Magic of Photography

Exercise:  Opening a Door to Sensory Seeing

The moment of clear seeing—an unfiltered flash of perception with silenced concepts generally last for a fraction of a second. Before the rush of the thinking, discriminating, conceptualizing, judging mind, we are gifted with a clarity of perception and basic form: color, light, texture, line, pattern, shape, space.  

To open ourselves to “clear seeing”, I’m inviting you to open yourselves to an experiential exercise; to become a sensor of experience to flashes of perception.  

 

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  • First: place yourself in location where you feel free and relaxed…in your home or someplace outdoors.  Don’t scan the environment, just relax. 
  • Second:  ground yourself by connecting with the sensation of your feet on the ground, knowing that the earth is below and the sky is above.  Clear your mind and silence a desire to see and find something to photograph.  
  • Third: Imagine you are a camera with your eyes, your shutter, closed.
  • Fourth:  Breathe in…be aware of the flow of your in-breath.  Breathe out…be aware of the sensation of your out-breath… Breathe in…aware of the length of your in-breath.  Breathe out…aware of the length and sensation of your out-breath.  Breathe in…and be aware of your body relaxing.  Breathe out…smile with your relaxing body. 
  • Fifth: Slowly turn 180 degrees with your eyes closed. Breathe in…be aware of your in-breath.  Breathe out…be aware of your out-breath. Allow yourself to be aware of the sounds and physical sensations that surround you in this environment.  No thinking, no judging, no expectations, no planning…just awareness of you in your body with your eyes closed. 
  • Sixth:  Open you eyes suddenly.  Open them wide and let your eyes settle on whatever greets you. Noice what happens the first instant, and then what flows from there. After a few minutes, close your eyes as suddenly as you opened them before.  In a few moments, the after-image of what greeted you will begin to fade.  
  • Seventh: Move your body in a quarter turn and, with your eyes still closed shift your head downwards toward the ground. Repeat the in and out breathing exercise in the fourth step. 
  • Eight:  Open your eyes suddenly. Notice your experience. Then, after a few seconds, close your eyes and move your head upwards.  Repeat the fourth, sixth and seventh steps.  Continue this exercise for about five minutes, each time closing your eyes, shifting the tilt of your head, and turning absent of a preconception of what you will see when you open your shutter.
  • Ninth:  Return to the sixth step with camera in hand.  When you open your eyes, photograph that which greets your open eyes (if your mind begins to seek, compose, categorize, discriminate, negate, or judge close your eyes and allow the after-image to fade). 
  • Tenth: Close your eyes and move on to step seven, photographing what your eyes connect with.  Enjoy this exercise for 5 minutes.

I am finding myself excited about this learning phase of “a photo study.”  I am looking forward to your images and thoughts.  Let’s tag with #aphotostudy.

lens-artists photo challenge: action

This week’s photo challenge is offered by Patti at P.A. Mood who challenges us to “freeze in action” nature, people, objects, or animals on the move.  Or, she notes “halting” the movements within the sky, or on land, the playing field, or a busy street.

Here is a moment of two young boys interacting with water spouts.

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Sony RX100 III   f/11   1/320s   25.7m   800 ISO

a photo study: contemplative photography III – hindrances

A. Kaplan (Jewish Meditation, New York, 1958) noted that when one is in a meditative state, one has obtained the ability to turn off the faint after-images that are constantly with us and interfere with seeing objects with total clarity. He noted that when one is able “to turn off the spontaneous self-generated images . . . the beauty of the flower . . . seen in these higher states of awareness is indescribable [and] appears to radiate beauty.”

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 The possibilities of perception are limitless, and clear seeing is joyful  …we get caught up in cascades of internal dialogue and emotionality. Immersed in thoughts, daydreams, and projections, we fabricate our personal versions of the world and dwell within them like silkworms in cocoons.  ~A Karr & M Wood (cited: The Practice of Contemplative Photography)

Hindrances to Receptivity  (H Zehr, Contemplative Photography)
Many aspects of our lives and habits hinder a mindful approach to the world.

  • An acquisitive, aggressive approach to photography
  • Preoccupation with technique or with the technical side of photography
  • Preconceptions and pre-established rules about what to photograph and how to compose
  • A discriminating or judging attitude that constantly labels, categorizes, and elevates ourselves.
  • Concern about the approval and disapproval of others or about what some ‘authority’ has said.
  • Perfectionism and/or a goal orientation, over-concern about an end product
  • An appreciation for the extraordinary and a devaluing of the ordinary
  • Being so used to the world around us that we take it for granted
  • Over-reliance on the ‘head’ and on the intellect rather than on initiation and feeling
  • Preoccupation with ourselves: too much self-consciousness or self-criticism
  • Lack of spontaneity; an obsession with prediction and planning
  • A need to be in control of the process and to impose one’s concept and viewpoint
  • An intolerance for unidentifiable or unknowable

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Knowledge can be an obstacle, and we are reminded that truth can only be found in life, and not in the accumulation of knowledge…If our mind is burdened by worry, suffering, confusion, anger, or strong views, then it is very hard for us to practice mindfulness, concentration, and insight and look deeply into ourselves and into reality. Our mind must be free from views, preconceptions, and afflictions if we are to see ~Thích Nhất Hạnh (The Other Shore)

Generally we are unaware of these current of mental activity; and it is hard to distinguish what we see from from what we think about. ~A Karr & M Wood (The Practice of Contemplative Photography)

“Photography can be used to help distinguish the seen from the imagined, since the camera registers only what is seen. It does not record mental fabrications. …we are often surprised to find that our photographs did not show what we thought we were shooting

“In contemplative photography the camera’s literalness is uses as a mirror to reflect your state of mind . It shows when you shot what you saw—what actually appeared—and when you shot what you imagined. When a properly exposed photograph faithfully replicates your original perception; you saw clearly. When your original perception is masked in the photograph by shadows, reflections, or other extraneous things you didn’t notice, you were imagining. Clear seeing produces clear, fresh images.

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“Concepts about pictorial techniques can further constrict your vision. Trying to see the world through the rule of thirds to create good composition, or shooting very early or very late in the day because the light will be warm, or, playing with exposure and color balance to make the image more dramatic, turns photographers away from things as they are, and toward their thoughts about how they want them to appear. This separates them from the immediacy of what they experience.” ~A Karr & M Wood (The Practice of Contemplative Photography)

Contemplative Photography Exercise

Consciously or unconsciously, we have all learned many rules about when and how to photograph. These limit our ability to be open to new possibilities

  • Think of some of the rules reviewed in past “a photo study” posts or assumptions you have made about what and when you should photograph. For example: rule of thirds, rule of space, rule of odds, don’t photograph during mid day.
  • Create a list of these rules/should do or not do.
  • Make a series of photographs in which you consciously break as many of these rules, and in as many ways, as you can.
  • Reflect on your images.
    Do your photographs suggest that the ‘rules’ were worth taking seriously? What happened when you did not? Were there any surprises? What do they suggest about how you may photograph in the future? Do any of the hindrances impact your creativity?

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I am excited about this phase of my photo journey. Yet, my identified hindrances, silencing composition/technical rules and should do/should not do will be a challenge after the investment of time, energy, and mental ‘focus’ that has thus far directed this photo study project.

Am looking forward to reading your throughs and seeing the images you created after being freed from your hindrances.   Please tag with #aphotostudy.