You are walking through the wide open spaces of a leafy park on a bright summer day. As you continue, dark clouds gather in the distant sky, moving toward you. You might notice how the light suddenly changes; how the foliage looks darker and the greens look richer; how the many shades of gray in the clouds give them more texture and shape.
Or else you might start worrying about oncoming rain, a spoiled outing, and the likelihood of getting drenched.
There are always two ways we can experience the world: directly or covered over by thoughts.
Photography can o er us a way to get in touch with fresh, direct experience. More often, though, it’s just another blip in the ow of our inner chatter: “I like this.”
“I don’t like that.” “Interesting.” “Boring.” “Not worth shooting at all.” “These things will make a great photograph.” Snap.
But there’s another approach to photography that many people have been discovering over the past few years. Contemplative photography is a meditative practice that invites you into the richness of direct perception. It’s not a technique for making images that look “contemplative” but a method for seeing the world in fresh ways…
