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What is a photograph?

29 August, 2012 ⋅

I recently spent a coupe of weeks in Japan and visited a photography museum in Tokyo. There was an exhibit showing the winners of an international journalist competition. There was also an exhibit showing the progression in the techniques for printing photographs. As I walked around the two exhibits I began to think about what a photograph really is, and this came to mind:

“A photograph captures moments that are an expression of daily life or emotion. Through form, colour and light it captures style , form , architecture, an expression of something made (nudes, buildings, shadows). It can be a reflection of oneself.”

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Visually rich

14 June, 2012 ⋅

These images were taken over a 10 day period. Some were taken while enjoying the outdoors (canoeing) and others while walking the dog or cooking at home. Essentially, they represent perceptions that occurred during a typical day and when I had my camera with me.

They are nothing particularly special but exemplify the basic truth that our world is visually rich.

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The three qualities of contemplative photography

1 May, 2012 ⋅

A recent quote by Pema Chödrön summarises very well the key elements of contemplative photography and Miksang.

THREE INNATE QUALITIES

“In meditation and in our daily lives there are three qualities that we can nurture, cultivate, and bring out. We already possess these, but they can be ripened: precision, gentleness, and the ability to let go.” Pema Chödrön

 

Precision is knowing where the boundaries of the perception are so that when the camera is raised the perception is precisely composed.

Gentleness is being open, mindful and taking the time to connect with the perception without the feelings that come with the more aggressive approach, “I really need this shot; I have to have this shot”.

The ability to let go refers to those occasions when you have a perception but it is not possible to capture it with the camera. Perhaps it is too far away, too many issues with depth of field or difficulty with composing the perception. When there is a struggle between what you see and what the camera sees, you need to let go. If you are open, you will see many, many perceptions.

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An evolution in photography – Chapter Four – Here I Am

23 April, 2012 ⋅

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.

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An evolution in photography – Chapter Three – The camera arrives

17 April, 2012 ⋅

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.

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An evolution in photography – Chapter Three – Defining the boundary

10 April, 2012 ⋅

The next stage in Miksang, after the unconditional perception, is the most tricky. As we stand on the spot, engaging with the perception in front of us, halting the habitual dialogue in our minds that leads to labelling, judging, etc, we need to define the boundary of the perception.


The image in front of us is made up of elements (leaf, tarmac), some of which are part of the perception and some are not. If we include elements that are not part of the perception then we fail to capture what we see on film and we fail to express to others the perceptions we see. So we need to define the boundary of the perception.

The image above was taken at the Seaport Halifax Farmers’ Market looking down from the second floor. The perception was of green boxes of small round blue berries, neatly arranged in rows, on a green background with bags of light green apples and the arm of the vendor. They were the connections of all of the elements that created this strong perception. Remember that at the time this perception occurred, my mind was not labelling all of these elements. My mind was simply engaged with the whole, raw perception. There are no elements included here that were not part of the original perception; the vendor standing near the table was excluded (other than the arm), as was his money box and flask; the customer near the table was excluded, as was the market floor.
The same process occurred here; only the elements that defined the perception are included: the fence, flowers and graffiti.
The process of visual discernment or analysis takes some practice because we are engaging with the mind more and asking ourselves where the boundary lies. And so we are partly disengaging the mind, to prevent labelling, etc, and partly engaging the mind to exclude unwanted elements.
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An evolution in photography – Chapter Three – The unconditional perception

3 April, 2012 ⋅

By no means is every image I take truly Miksang, but the majority of images are influenced to some degree by it and my strongest images have Miksang at the core. Thus, I would like to expand more on the technique. Perhaps the most important aspect of Miksang is the first step: the unconditional perception.

Paying attention to and trusting our minds can be difficult since the mind tends to be somewhat erratic with a lot of background noise. Trusting our minds eye is key to seeing.

When we walk along a street to work or to the shops, we quickly find ourselves listening to the business of the mind. When we do, all of the beauty that surrounds us is invisible. We simply don’t see. If you walk slowly along that same street but this time make an effort to pay attention to the surroundings, to look, then the beauty begins to appear. We begin to see.

At some point, something on the street will cause us to stop and engage with it. It could be a brilliant colour, a strong contrast or a warm light. It will jump out at you and strike you. When this occurs our minds immediately lock gears and begin to evaluate what we see: there are judgements (do I like it?), memories (where have I seen this before?), and labels (what is it?). If we allow our minds to engage in this way, what we see in front of us immediately changes; a flag becomes a flag, a horse becomes a horse. These labels, and the memories and judgements change the original perception and what initially caused us to stop becomes fractured.

Through the practice of Miksang, one learns how to stop the mind from evaluating everything we see. We can stand on the spot and fall in to the image, the perception, and enjoy the raw qualities without feeling the need to judge or label it. It is a moment of standing motionless, in the moment and simply looking. What we see is the unconditional perception.

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Quiet moments on Sable Island

21 February, 2012 ⋅

My time on Sable Island is busy, with much to do during the day; searching for seals that have returned to the island with their satellite/GPS tags to breed, capturing those seals to retrieve instruments, collecting life-history data, assisting with maintenance, camp chores, and so on. So, my mind is engaged in the research while on the island.

However, during each day I make an effort to clear my mind of this clutter and look. Sometimes, I don’t see much and another times I see lots. Here are a few images from those times of looking:

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INDIVISIBLE EXPERIENCE

22 June, 2011 ⋅

“…perception is not meaningful self-confirmation, but the experience of things as they are. White is white, and black is black…You and the experience become almost indivisible when you experience something in that way. It’s that kind of direct communication without anything in between.”

Chogyam Trungpa, “Nobody’s World,” in: TRUE PERCEPTION: The Path of Dharma Art, page 105.

Black Horse

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