Another Wu Wei Winter...

Be Still

 Be Present

 Be Patient 

The Three Be's of 

Contemplative Photography 

 It seems to be shaping up to be another Wu Wei Winter for me.  The storms, frigid temperatures, wind chills in the -25 degree F range as well as achy joints (Hmm...is there a correlation?) have kept me in-doors the last couple of weeks.  Good time to practice one of my favorite photographic sage exercises, Wu Wei.

   Wu Wei is literally translated into "doing by not doing" or sometimes as "effortless effort".  For me, it means photographing only what comes to me.  In this case, it was a plump wild turkey!

   What has changed this winter though is my willingness to embrace the abstract elements of my subject and apply a more painterly and color focused approach to this south end of a north bound bird.  I loved the patterns and colors of the overlapping feathers.

   Then I was blessed by a visit from a barred owl.  In all the years I've lived here, one has never come this close to the house and stayed for so long.  I watched him watch me for a few minutes.  That was a real treat! Now that I think about it, an owl would be the perfect metaphor for my three B's above!

   I may not be able to get to the pond for the time being but clearly my experiences at the pond over the last nearly seven months have gotten to me!  If you want a quick brush up on the Characteristics of a Photographic Sage, including the practice of Wu Wei, here is a link to all the relevant posts.

The Characteristics of

 the Photographic Sage