Having recently read “The Inner Landscape” by Guy Tal, I was fascinated by his reference(s) to mindfulness in photography. It seems there’s another level of consciousness beyond living in the moment.
Mindfulness comes from the teachings of Buddhism and is viewed as a fundamental pathway through which to become aware of the causes and sources of suffering and to attain enlightenment or an awakening, thereby enabling the individual to be less egotistical and more present. This intern leads to the full freedom of the mind.
When I first read this concept, I hit the pause button and said to myself, ‘What in in the world does awakening have to do with photography?’ I’m a simple guy from New York with a black & white perspective on life. Okay… maybe a few shades of gray. This is complicated.
When it comes to photography, I tend to cover a lot of sporting events, so I wasn’t sure if mindfulness even applied to action photography(?). There’s no time to admire the scene before you and find your inner Zen. The clock is ticking. Most events are 60 minutes in duration and you have no control over the ebb & flow of the game. You simply anticipate the action and snap away trying to capture peak moments. Perhaps landscape, nature or lifestyle photography would be a better fit for this suffering/enlightenment/awakening process.
The more I thought about the blocking & tackling elements of photography though, I began to change my mind… or at least expand my understanding. My memory drifted back to younger days when I was a ski racer. When you get into the starting gate, the world goes silent. You transcend the present and morph into a tunnel vision world of muted sounds. The encouragement of coaches & teammates fades into a dream like state and everything slows down. Your breath and heartbeat come to the forefront and all you think about are the gates in front of you. At some point, the starter yelling “Racer ready… 3-2-1 Go” snaps you back into real time and your dream like state comes to an abrupt end.
Maybe this is the mindfulness the author is talking about? The moments of being completely & utterly lost in time and having the concentration to focus on both the interior & exterior beauty at the same time. This is no easy feat. We live in a multi-task world and solely focusing on one item at a time is often frowned upon. It’s a hurry up, get things done world and there’s always something else pending.
Ironically, studies have show over time multi-tasking divides your attention and doesn’t allow you to complete each task to the highest level of your ability. Essentially, everything gets done in an average or acceptable manner. Perhaps it’s time to fully immerse yourself in the task at hand and discover a higher level of achievement? It is often said, there’s a big difference in looking & seeing and they never equate.
So, in the spirit of mindfulness and finding my inner Zen, I’ll expand my photographic efforts to try and capture the every day beauty of life in a different light or perspective. The camera can be a blessing and a curse. I don’t want to be the NYC tourist who goes to the top of the Empire State Building, snaps a photo and then returns to their car. This shouldn’t be a ‘been there, done that moment.’ The camera shouldn’t be the experience. Take a walk around the observation deck. Admire the views. Notice how the sunlight dances off the glass windows of the high rise office buildings. Only then, take a few pictures to record what you are seeing & feeling.
My end goal won’t be to capture award winning images, rather the simple pursuit of more joyful experiences. Everything from coffee beans to wine corks to the first snow storm of 2023 will be fair game. I sense the end result(s) will lead to a more fruitful and enlightening experience.
