This entry is part of the series “An evolution in photography” that describes how my photography has evolved since I bought my first camera. Chapter One described my early approach to capturing images as naive, aggressive, slapstick and documentary. At that stage, often what I saw did not end up on print. Chapter Two described how life events dramatically changed my approach to photography (and to life), and Chapter Three, through three parts, described that approach: Miksang photography.

Since 2006 I have been studying Miksang and contemplative photography, through reading and teachings by Michael Wood, John McQuade and more recently Andy Karr. I have also been studying meditation, dharma art (through the Shambhala Buddhist teachings) and influential photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andre Kertesz and Edward Weston among others.

I have a long way to go, but there is no doubt that these teachings have genuinely changed how I see the world. My photography is now very much focused on capturing moments in life, moments that happen so quickly that, despite their beauty, so few  people notice them. They happen every day, in the home, on the street and in nature.

Of what I have read on contemplative photography, I find the writings of Chögyam Trungpa to be on the spot. They truly reach the core of contemplative photography.

“There is a standing still quality…and seeing things as they are becomes the real thing. Its like a frog sitting in the middle of a big puddle, with rain constantly falling on it. The frog simply winks its eye at each raindrop that falls on it, but doesn’t change its posture. It doesn’t try to either jump into the puddle or to get out of the puddle.“ Chögyam Trungpa

“When you are painting or composing music, you have no mind. You just don’t think. You are inspired…It’s a complete state of existence, meditation,…With artistic creation, that’s the kind of situation we are talking about. At that level, there’s no room to think about whether what you are doing is for the public or whether it’s personal. It’s just constant self-expression. A lot of works of art have been ruined by self consciousness. As an artist, trying to be good is not so good.“ Chögyam Trungpa

To close these chapters, the quote that describes best my current approach to photography is by Cartier-Bresson:

“My passion has never been for photography in itself, but for the possibility-through forgetting yourself-of recording in a fraction of a second the emotion of the subject, and the beauty of the form; that is, a geometry awakened by what’s offered.“ Henri Cartier-Bresson.

This entry is part of the series “An evolution in photography” that describes how my photography has evolved since I bought my first camera. It is a continuation of Chapter Three which describes the contemplative approach I use to capture images on film; this approach is called Miksang.

The chapter started with a description of the unconditional perception, the first stage in Miksang, which allows us to see perceptions without the busy mind transforming them. The second stage is visual discernment whereby the boundaries of the perception are defined so that the elements that were not part of the original perception are excluded. The last stage is called Forming the Equivalent.

The technique of Miksang is all about seeing. Of the three stages, the camera remains by the side until the end of the last stage when we decide how we intend to use the camera to capture the perception. At this point, we need to decide:

• whether the perception is vertical or horizontal
• what the depth of the field of focus should be
• at what speed should the  shutter open and close
• the ISO
• whether to over or under expose

There are many decisions to be made and it helps to have some technical experience with the camera. It also helps to use minimal equipment  (a camera and a lens) so fewer decisions need to be made. If you have three lenses with you, the mind will be distracted, focused on deciding which lens should be used.

It is also possible that the perception cannot be captured on film. If there is a struggle to use the camera to capture what we see then one should let the perception go. If we have an open eye, one will see many perceptions every day.

The three stages of Miksang are also a progression of bringing the mind in to complete the process; during the first stage the mind is pushed back to allow the perception to form; in the second stage the mind comes in to help define the boundary of the perception; and in the final stage the mind is engaged in determining how the camera will be used to capture the perception.

There is, however, throughout the process a balance between holding the raw perception and engaging the mind.