Contemplative Photography

Reaching next 1000 photos. I am a walking photographer. I shoot details of nature, rowing boats, flowers and environment, all the seasons of life - a world around and within me melts into the contemplation.

Contemplative Photography is a process of seeing the world through your lenses in a new way. It is seeing and photographing the world with fresh eyes, seeing the beauty, colors, and richness we usually would have missed.

Empowering images from Pispala, Tampere Finland, Scandinavia

Contemplative Photography is a great way to escape routine. Taking contemplative pictures will help you stop and fully take in the small beauties and wonders we would usually have overlooked. They are quite a few advantages of contemplative Photography. To begin with, it helps with anxiety; it can bring you to such a state of calmness and happiness. It also helps us see the world in brighter colors and helps us appreciate the beauty of our every-day life.

State Of Calmness And Happiness

The contemplative approach helps you see clearly; instead of approaching the subject matter technically, you get to see clearly and get fresh perceptions. Using a contemplative approach, you will notice what many would have ignored. For instance, Seeing a “traffic light” is conceptual – It is essentially a label. With a contemplative approach, you will see a vivid, saturated colour, the patterns shaped by the sides of the lens. You could capture the beauty of shadows, the elegance of lines, or the clash of colors (vibrant or muted colors) and be able to take beautiful aesthetic pictures.

"Everything About Contemplative Photography (Miksang)"

Contemplative photography is based on taking the time and looking deeper into what we perceive visually. How do we do that? And how do we photograph contemplatively? Contemplation is another term for “contemplation.” The name comes from the Latin contemplation. Meditation means ‘separating something from its environment’.

How does contemplative photography (Miksang photography) work?

Miksang is a Tibetan word that translates as ‘Good Eye’. The Tibetan language originated from Buddhism and, like Sanskrit, has many layers of meaning.

1. “Good” here implies that we assume that everything has basic goodness: everything we can perceive around us, others, and ourselves also have innate goodness. The meaning of ‘good’ here ignores how we are used to dividing everything into good and evil. In this basic goodness lies the beauty of the everyday world, which is always and already present. ‘Good’ also refers to this everyday beauty, which is the brilliance of things as they are.

2. ‘Eye’ means that we are all born with a clear vision and can see things as they are. We don’t have to bring this in from the outside because we already have this possibility within ourselves.

3. “Contemplative” involves taking the time to consider our pure perceptions more deeply. Interrupting and slowing down our thinking speed creates space within ourselves to notice our direct, vivid perceptions. We practice mindful viewing and allow ourselves to take the time to consider what we are seeing. We look more profound so that we can fully understand what we are seeing.

A moment of ‘Good Eye’ comes together when we align our eyes, mind and heart. In contemplative photography, goodness is the source of everything. And this goodness is our healthy core. With every experience of Good Eye, we come into contact with our healthy bodies.

(Read full article from here)