The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - Z

Z is for Zoetic (and also for Zen and...)

Of or pertaining to life;

living, vital

   We come to the end of our contemplative alphabet and, perhaps, the most important word yet...zoetic.  It is a word rarely used but profoundly important for the contemplative photographer.

   The natural world is pulsing with vitality...the Qi of Taoism.  It is that energy that we hope to tap into when we are in the landscape..what my visual listening exercises key in on.  In the Celtic mindset, that energy is divine presence as well and, therefore, contemplating the natural world is communing with a deep rooted spirituality that pervades all things.  We are caught in that web of relationship and it is our sincere hope that our photographs will reflect that relationship.

   The contemplative photographer yearns for a true connectedness with what they photograph.  It is the force of all that surrounds us that draws us in and into a mutual interaction; responding to our desires and yielding their mysteries and metaphors...a co-conspiracy of creation.

   I hope you have enjoyed this alphabetic journey through some ideas and concepts relating to our much loved practice of contemplative photography.  If you come across a word we should include for any of the letters just let me know and I will update the post.  In the meantime, best wishes on your personal journey of discovery through your camera's lens.

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - Y

Y is for Yield (and also for Yearn and Yin & Yang and...)

To surrender, submit or relent

   One of the things I have learned over the years as I've pursued photography as a contemplative practice is that we approach the entire scope of the medium with a different mindset from traditional photographers.  

   We are totally alright with yielding control to the natural flow of energy that pervades the landscape.  We are not there to impose our will or "capture" the elements of the natural world we find there.   

   This is also true with the images we ultimately receive.  They are what they are and we don't reject them because they may not be "artsy".  We think more of the metaphor and meaning contained within than the equipment and technical considerations without.  Not that we don't want our photographs to be the best they can be but it is not our prime concern.

   Yielding to more profound considerations, we are at peace with our practice.  We may not win photographic awards for cutting edge imagery but we will gain insight into the workings of our heart.  That's an acceptable trade off in my mind.

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography -X

X is for Xenium (and also for....sorry, this is all I have!)

A present given amongst the ancient

Greeks and Romans to a guest or a stranger.  

   Honestly, this is the one letter that I thought I would have difficulty with.  There is only one page of words in the dictionary that begin with "X".  This one, however, is perfect for the contemplative photographer.

   I consider the photographs I receive as gifts from the landscape.  I even wrote a post about it...you can see that here.  To find this word was also a gift.  When I am in a new landscape I do feel as if I am a guest visiting the home of a kind soul.  I am thankful for the images that I receive there.  To see your photographs as gifts is taking the idea of receiving to its logical conclusion.

   Winter is an especially wonderful time to walk in the still and seemingly empty landscape.  Here in Maine it can be a challenge as well with snow to wade through and frigid temperatures to endure.  But finding yourself in a pristine world of snow and ice, silent and untouched, is really worth the effort.  It is a gift I try to give myself each winter.  Just being there in the beautiful landscape is enough, any images I may also receive are just an added blessing.

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - W

W is for Watcher (and also for Waiting, and Waymarkers, and Wonderment, and Wanderer, and Wayfaring, and....)

Someone who observes something

 attentively or regularly

   Contemplative photographers are watchers.  Not only because of their focused attention but because they are willing to return, again and again to observe the same location.  It is the fourth BE...Be Persistent.

   There is a certain amount of detachment, at least initially, to the watchfulness of the contemplative photographer.  You are a bystander, or in my case, a by-sitter in the landscape. Then, you must transition from watcher to beholder.  You look beneath the surface to discover the essence of the landscape...the thing that is not apparent to the casual viewer.  You are moving from a mind's eye view to a heart's eye view.  At some point, you have to get up and move into a sentient, soulful listening encounter with what you have so closely observed.  There has to be a relationship, an interaction in some way.  You begin by watching, you evolve to beholding, you proceed to listening, and then you enter into a partnership with the landscape.  Anything less, for me at least, is not contemplative photography.

   This partnership can be defined in many ways.  For me, it is the sum total of the observing/beholding and  the listening phases.  It happens outside the rational knowing mind, on a very intuitive level.  The longer I practice contemplative photography the easier it is for me to enter into this co-conspiracy with the landscape.

    It is this final step that is most difficult to make for those new to the concept.  They often get stuck in the rational, mind-based watcher phase.  They may even try beholding what is before them but the last two steps are tenuous and unfamiliar.  The listening happens through the heart.  It is the only way the landscape can communicate with you.   That communication will then open the door for the "third eye" to respond to forge the partnership with the landscape.   Be patient...it will come.

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - V

V is for Veil (and also for Vision, and Value, and Variety, and Viewfinder, and Visible and Visual, and...)

Something that covers,

separates,screens or conceals

   As contemplative photographers we seek to lift the veil that obscures the messages we desire to find in our images.  That veil is usually within ourselves.  The wisdom contained in the landscape is there for all to see but so many hindrances keep us from seeing it and photographing it.   The one I've mentioned the most on this blog is the "monkey mind".  This is my greatest hindrance to hearing what the landscape has to tell me. (You can read this post about ways to calm the monkey mind.  Of course, I encourage you to read Christine Valter Paintner's guest post on quieting the mind if you haven't yet.)

   Recently, I introduced you to the idea of Soul Collage.  I worked on some cards while I was in St. John and I created one card for my  Committee Suit  I call "Monkey Mind".   It isn't finished.  The monkey needs something in its hands but I won't know what that will be until I come across it while I'm gathering images.  Just as I didn't know I was making this card until I was looking through dozens of images I'd cut out and they just came together.  This is what I love about doing these little collages.  They are so seemingly random and spontaneous. It is the intuitive nature of the process that helps hone the skill that later you will need while you are out and about gathering images in the landscape with your camera.  (If you missed the post on Soul Collage you can read it here.)  I'm really enjoying creating these cards and they are becoming a great adjunct to my meditative writing practice.

My Monkey Mind

   As you think about your New Year's resolutions for 2014, add finding ways to lift the veil which inhibits your perception.  It will be the best thing you can do to ensure you will have a year of heightened sensitivity to the world around you and that can only lead to more meaningful photographs.

   Here is a link to my Pinterest board on photomontage...

The Soul Speaks through Images

Here are three more of my Soul Collage cards...

The Inhibitor

The Guardians

The Seeker

   

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - U

U is for Understanding (and also for Unveil, and Unique, and Underlying, and Underscore, and Understanding, and...)

the knowledge and ability to ascertain
the underlying truth of a particular 
situation or subject

      A wise teacher of mine once told me that you can know much in this life but what you truly understand will be far less.  For me true wisdom comes from appreciating the difference.

     "Know-it-Alls" (especially in the field of photography) abound...I've never met an "Understand-it-All".   Contemplative photography allows us to step beyond the knowing and experience some degree of understanding.  

   It is not that the camera is some sort of magical instrument of revelation...far from it.  The camera only "knows" what is it is pointed at.  It records it, documents it, freezes it for all time.  It is impartial and non-judgmental.   Any understanding that is to occur must come from the photographer...not only from the head but from the heart.  For knowing is a "head thing" and understanding is most definately a "heart thing".

 

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - T

T is for Transience (and also for Taoism, and Transformation, and Threshold, and Texture, and...)

the state or fact of lasting only for a short time

   Nothing is more transient for the photographer than light.  Those times of superb light are fleeting and rare.  Perhaps that's why photographers venture out at sunrise and sunset and on foggy days.  It is the luminous light they seek.

   Feelings and impressions can be just as fleeting.  When we sit or walk through a landscape we may experience these transient moments when some hidden mystery is exposed for just a short period of time.  This is when the contemplative photographer must either pull out the camera or the journal.

   One has to have as quiet a mind as possible for these moments to occur.  It isn't as simple as choosing the right time of day or the right weather conditions.  It is only achieved with heightened receptivity.  The soul must be tuned into the right frequency to hear it.

   Some days, for hundreds of different reasons, my inner frequency is simply not tuned in.  I can stay outside for hours and I receive nothing...a big fat zero.  I don't let that discourage me.  I know if I just continue to venture out those transient moments will occur.  It will happen when I don't force it and when I least expect it.  That's the wonder of it for me.

 

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - S

S is for Self-revealing (and also for Shadow, and Soul Searching, and Sanctuary, and Seeing, and Sense, and....)

Revelation of one's thoughts, emotions,

 or attitudes, intentionally or unintentionally.

   All images a photographer makes, whether he is a contemplative photographer or not, are self-revealing.  It is the nature of the medium.  We are attracted to things that reflect some facet of our self and those are the things we make photographs of.

   I think the important part of the definition above are the last three words...intentionally or unintentionally.  For me at least, it is very often an unintentional process.  The "Ah Ha" moment comes later, when I spend time with my photographs.  It also comes when I am photographing with other people.  I sometimes just stand back and watch what it is that is pulling their lenses to it.  Sometimes I'm quite surprised.

   I don't think it is a good idea to intentionally go looking for particular subjects but, rather, to let them find you.  I remember an old adage that is apropos here:

"If you hunt where only rabbits live, all

you will catch is rabbits."

    I suppose you could re-word it a bit and say, "If you look only for rabbits, you may miss the fox or the mushroom or the....".  Well, you get the point.  Let the landscape reveal what it will.  All you need do is to stay open to it.  I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - R

R is for Rumi (and also for Reveal and Reflection and Rhythm and Receptivity and...)

   Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, and more popularly in the English-speaking world simply as Rumi, was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.

   I love the writings of Rumi.  He is a constant source of inspiration.  I think contemplative photographers benefit by using literary sources as a foundation of their guided meditations.  I have many Rumi quotations that have helped me focus my attention when I am on location.  One of my favorites is:

Sell your cleverness & buy bewilderment.

   Reflecting on a Rumi quotation heightens my receptivity and will then reveal some hidden wisdom in the landscape. (Indulge me, I've been wanting to do an alliteration line for awhile!)

    I find I am much more open to the whisperings of the landscape if I quiet my mind through some form of guided meditation. A poem, a passage, a musical piece are all ways to focus your attention on what is in front of you and quiet that chatter in your mind. Here's another Rumi quotation that I particularly love...

The wound is the place where the light enters you.

  Perhaps you have a favorite Rumi quotation you would like to share?

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - Q

Q is for Quest (and also for Qi and Quieting Your Mind and Quotidian and...)

   A long arduous search for something.

   Back in June of 2012 I wrote a post entitled, "Inside Every Question is a Quest".  I still believe this is true and an excellent motivation for contemplative photographers.  It really comes down to how you word the question.

   The practical, results driven photographer will word the question like this...

"Where can I find the best view of _______ (you fill in the location) so my photographs will be perfect?"

    The contemplative photographer may word the question a bit differently...

"Where is the best location to sit so I will be able to hear what this place has to tell me?"

   As I mention in the "O" post, it is important to remain an open-ended question so that your search for meaning in the landscape is fluid and not tightly defined.  For me, my daily quest is prefaced by a very simple question..."How can a stay calm and fresh sighted today?"  This is all I need to do to assure that my quest is always fulfilled.

   I think I'll print this out and laminate it and keep it in my camera bag!  Feel free to copy this from my Pinterest site's contemplative photography board and make one for yourself.  Here's the link....

 

  

The A,B,C's of Contemplative Photography - Perspicacity

P is for Perspicacity (and also for Ponder and Perception and Perspective and Percolate...) 

A penetrating discernment...a clarity

of vision which provides deep understanding

   I suppose that this is what I strive for most in my camera work...a clarity of vision.  There are so many factors that contribute to a cloudy perception not the least of which is the burden of expectation.

   This is particularly true when you travel or make a special trip to a location because you were told it is a great place to photograph.  You go expecting, what?  Great images?  A unique experience?  A revelation of some kind?  Very often you are, well, let down.

   Clarity of vision and a penetrating discernment begins with an open mind and a non-judgmental attitude. My only expectation is that  I will see what I need to see even if it isn't what others think I should see.

   This is particularly true for me when I visit tourist destinations...like Monhegan Island last June.  I had no idea I would gather this alphabet of images in the village while everyone else was photographing the fog and the cliffs.  I didn't imagine that it would lead to this series on my blog where I've been able to mine a wealth of ideas about my favorite subject, contemplative photography.  But that was what I received because that is what I needed and, as usual, I'm deeply grateful.

The A,B,C's fo Contemplative Photography - O

O is for Open Ended (and also for Observation and Obscure and Objectify and Obverse and...)

Allowing for or adaptable to change.
Not restrained by definite limits, 
strictures, or structure.

   Years ago I taught a workshop for educators on creative teaching methods.  At the end I asked them to take a pledge to remain open ended questions.  The worse thing they could do is to fall prey to psychosclerosis...hardening of the attitudes.

   I think that was good preparation for my pursuit of photography as a contemplative practice.  I don't have, nor do I wish for, all the answers...it is sufficient for me to merely ask the questions.

   When I sit with an image and write about it's meaning to me I mean the meaning to me at that moment.  Meaning changes over time as I grow and change.  I can see a whole different story in a photograph months or even years later.

   Now this shouldn't imply any wishy-washyness on my part.  I simply believe to remain an open ended question and to allow my images to remain so as well is advantageous to my spiritual growth.   I think the truest indicator of emotional maturity is the ability to see another point of view.  I've often found the truth to lie somewhere in between.  Sad that our politicians don't see it that way....there is a severe outbreak of psychosclerosis in Washington these days.  (Sorry, I just needed to vent!)

The A,B,C's of Contemplative Photography - N

N is for Nuance (and also for Narrative and Nothingness and Nature and...)

...a subtle difference or

shade of meaning...

   What one finds in the landscape is never carved in stone.  There is always a nuance to it.  I like the phrase "shade of meaning".   It can be open to interpretation.

   I am often asked if there are any universals in contemplative photography.  I would have to answer, not at all.  If beauty can be in the eye of the beholder, so can meaning.

   To understand nature's nuances is to appreciate the complexity of the eye of the beholder.  We all see what we are conditioned to see and, more importantly, what we need to see.  I also believe in the synchronicity of the experience.  As Rumi says...

What we seek is also seeking us.

   To really see into the nature of the landscape is to appreciate and value its varying nuances. You can never truly know nature any more than you can know the Divine. You can think all you'd like about it but in the end all you can really do is to behold.

 

The A,B,C's of Contemplative Photography - M

M is for Metanoia (and also for meditations, metaphor, meaning, mysterious and...)

   I love finding new words!  I found this one in a book I am reading by Carl McColman, Answering the Contemplative Call: First Steps on the Mystical Path.  Although metanoia has various meanings depending on what tact you are taking, (psychological, philosophical, theological, etc.) I will use the one McColman uses in his book on contemplation...

...a new dimension of awareness,

a new unfolding of consciousness,

a new approach to being in the world.

   This is a very apt description of what happens when you embrace photography as a contemplative practice.  You simply cease to see the world around you in a simplistic, concrete way.  It becomes a palace of metaphor and hidden meaning that you wander through in awe and with joy.

   This has, for me, changed forever my relationship with the landscape.  It has made me much more thoughtful and insightful.  Sometimes it is a bit of a burden as well.  I see so much it is sometimes very difficult to turn it off!

   How has your photographic practice heightened your awareness?  How has your consciousness expanded?  Do you approach the world in a different way now?  You can say that through contemplative photography your metanoia has been triggered...where will it take you?

  

The A,B,C's of Contemplative Photography - L

L is for Latent (and also for Label, and Labyrinth, and Lambent, and Layers, and Limen, and...)

"of a quality or state existing but

not yet developed or manifest;

hidden; concealed"

   I'm a great fan of detective mysteries, in literature or on tv.  They are always talking about "latent prints" at a crime scene.  Sprinkle a bit of the black powder around and, voila!, there is the culprits fingerprints.  There is no denying the evidence; each fingerprint is unique to the individual.  No two are exactly the same.

    The landscape, for the contemplative photographer, also has a latent fingerprint...its unique but hidden identity.  And like fingerprints, no two places are the same.  It is the job of the contemplative photographer to ferret out the concealed wisdom and we don't do it with a sprinkle of black powder.  We do it with stillness and deep listening...heightened perception and the long, slow and considered regard of what is in front of us.

   One of the things I must admit I miss from the old darkroom experience is watching the latent image appear on my submerged photographic paper.  It always seemed like magic to me.  Then again, so do computers and digital cameras!  It's ALL magic!

The A,B,C's of Contemplative Photography - K

K is for Kindle (and also for Knowable and Kindred and...)

To stir up, arouse; 

To bring into being

   I know that when people hear the word "kindle" they immediately think of the e-book reader but for the contemplative photographer it has a more intimate definition.

   When we are in the landscape, awakening to the power of its subtle message, it will kindle a profound effect in our hearts.  We want to respond, to translate this subtlety into a concrete artifact...our photograph.

   Traveling this week with a "non-photographer", it was interesting to note our different reactions to what we experienced in the landscape.  She reacted as most people do, a casual and brief "How nice." and then it was on to something else.  From time to time I had to separate myself from her so I could spend more time in a place that had kindled my fascination and almost demanded my attention.

   I think this is one of the side affects of devoting yourself to contemplative photography.  You can never be content with a mad dash through landscape.  It is as if you have a built in frequency that is always tuned into the landscapes powerful force.  You are more aware of the under current of energy that flows through every place and it affects you...deeply.  All your senses are enlivened and if you try to travel with a pilgrim's heart, as I always try to do,  you will not be content with the superficial experience.

The A,B,C's of Contemplative Photography - J

J is for Juxtapose (and also for Judgement and Joy and....)

"place or deal with things that are
 close together for contrasting effect"

   One of the strongest ways you draw out the hidden wisdom of the landscape is through justaposition.  The resulting contrast engenders many possibilities for reflection.  We tend to respond intensely to these occurrences.  I look for them wherever I am...I am drawn to this kind of image.

   It is the sometimes innocuous quality that draws our attention...like the tiny flower growing from a crack in the dirty sidewalk.  Had the flower been in a garden, we may not give it a second glance but justapose it with the harsh concrete and it stops you in your tracks.

   I prefer to find these sorts of images in the landscape rather than to create them but that is also a possibility for the contemplative photographer.  Some photographers like to carry a small, personally significant object with them and then find unique places to put it.  I've only done this once, on St. John in the US Virgin Islands.  I carried a small, silver starfish around and found interesting places to put it.  It seems a bit contrived to me but there may be other ways to create your juxtapositions in less obvious ways.  It might be fun to think about this and then try it...see what comes of it.

  

The A,B,C's of Contemplative Photography - I

I is for Introspection (and also for Image and Imagination and Icon of Experience, and Imbue and Impart, and Interior Landscape, and Illuminate, and Inspire, and Intimate, and...)

  "the examination or observation of one's

own mental and emotional processes"

   I think this is one of the primary ways contemplative photographers differ from other photographers.  It is not so much about the image as object or artifact as it is about image as idea.  The image represents as much the interior landscape as it does the exterior and observable one.

   Why we photograph what we do is part of this introspection.  Why this and not that?  What draws our attention and what can we learn about ourselves through that process of attraction?  So many times, when I am in company, people will ask me, "Why are you photographing that?"  Sometimes I know but often it is a somewhat unconscious attraction that I need to think about.

   Thinking about your images, sometimes long after they are made, is an essential process for the contemplative photographer.  After all, it is inherent in the title..."contemplative" photographer!  Illuminating the inner world through our camera work is part and parcel of what it means to practice our art.

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - H

H is for Hidden (and also for Habits of Mind, and Harbor, and Haven, and Heartfelt, and....)

"Something that is concealed or obscured."

   The contemplative photographer is always attempting to delve into the hidden meanings of what they photograph.  Sometimes it is hidden in plain sight and sometimes it takes a bit more thought and consideration.  Those who have a good imagination will find that they have no trouble recognizing these hidden truths.  You can read about the role of imagination in contemplative photography by clicking on this link.

    The rationalist, bound by the strictures of the physical world, often has difficulty with this.  Things are what they are and that's all that they are.  I prefer to take Minor White's approach and "photograph things not for what they are but for what else they are." 

   I will admit that this ability to perceive the hidden meaning of things is something that gets easier with practice...as all things do.  I also think it is the thing that people have the most difficulty with when they begin to practice photography as a contemplative practice. Fr. Richard Rohr, of the Center for Action and Contemplation, puts it so well:

It Is All About How You See

Meditation 26 of 53

I think the contemplative mind is the most absolute assault on the secular or rational worldview, because it really is a different mind—a very different point of view—that pays attention to different things.
   The mind that I call the “small self” or the “false self” reads everything in terms of personal advantage and short-term effort. “What’s in it for me?” “How will I look?” “How will I look good?” As long as you read reality from the reference point of the small self of “how I personally feel” or “what I need or want,” you cannot get very far. The lens never opens up.
   Thus, the great religions have taught that we need to change the seer much more than just telling people what to see—that is contemplation. It does not tell people what to see as much as how to see.

Adapted from CAC Foundation Set: Gospel Call to Compassionate Action
(Bias from the Bottom) and Contemplative Prayer (CD, DVD, MP3)

The A, B, C's of Contemplative Photography - G

G is for Glean (and also for Generate and Guide and Gather...)

To gather slowly...bit by bit.   

    You are probably familiar with the famous painting by Millet called the Gleaners.  Peasants were allowed into the harvested fields to "glean" or gather whatever shafts of wheat were left behind.  I think this is an apt metaphor for contemplative photographers.  After the casual photographers sweep a place clean of "worthy" images, we contemplatives are left to glean the abandoned fields for left behind and overlooked possibilities.  The gleaners must move slowly and look carefully to find these left over tidbits but they will find them.

     That is why it is beneficial, and perhaps crucial, to return again and again to a place.  Each time you return you will mine deeper and deeper levels of awareness and understanding.  On first look, we see what everyone else sees...what most are content to see, photograph and move on from.  Gleaners are photographers who are patient and persistent and always prepared to look more closely and ever deeper.  It's the kind of photographer I want to be.