The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes [Paperback]

Andy Karr (Author), Michael Wood (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 12, 2011

This book teaches us how to fully connect with the visual richness of our ordinary, daily experience. Photography is not just a mechanical process; it requires learning how to see. As you develop your ability to look and see, you will open, more and more, to the natural inspiration of your surroundings.

Filled with practical exercises, photographic assignments, and techniques for working with texture, light, and color, this book offers a system of training that draws on both Buddhist mindfulness practice and the insights of master photographers such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is not your usual ‘how to be a better photographer’ book. It takes you into deeper water. It requires investigation and commitment to areas new to you. Among other things, you will think about perception in new ways. If you read this book with care, and without skepticism, it will radically expand your thinking, seeing, and photography.”—Jay Maisel

 “Contemplative photography is about seizing the present moment as one would delicately hold a poppy without shedding its petals. It is about nonattachment; one has nothing to lose and nothing to gain, but everything to offer to the eyes of the viewer. In this beautiful and inspiring book, Andy Karr and Michael Wood introduce us to an approach to photography that nourishes our spiritual life rather than distracting us from it.”—Matthieu Ricard, photographer and author of Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

About the Author

Michael Wood studied photography in art school and worked as a commercial photographer in Toronto, Canada. After discovering Buddhist meditation, he began to  work on synthesizing his meditation experience with a fresh way of looking and seeing in his professional photography. He teaches workshops to photography clubs and meditation groups.

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (April 12, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590307798
• ISBN-13: 978-1590307793
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.7 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Equipment, Techniques & Reference > Reference
  • #57 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Digital Photography
  • #69 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Media Management

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Book for Every Photographer April 17, 2011

By Paul Cassel VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

While the authors don't mention it specifically until the Epilogue, this books takes a Buddhist or mindful approach to photography. It's more about how one sees than the mechanics of taking a photograph. In fact, the book is refreshingly free of technical aspect of digital photography only delving into this in two short chapters. There are plenty of other books you can get to teach you how to select a camera or how to use the Zone System and the like. This book is how to see what to photograph.

If you think that photography is flaming sunsets or cute puppy dogs or that you need to travel to remote locations to 'get the shot' either this book isn't for you or you desperately need it. If you examine the work of the great classic photographers such as Edward Weston, Stieglitz, Cartier-Bresson and many others, you'll note that their subjects are often mundane and similar to those subjects which you yourself have easily available to you.

So why do they have a place in photographic history where most of us don't? The answer is that they can see the color or texture or shape or non-shape (space) in a frame which yields a photograph that's artwork. This book discusses how to condition yourself to see what others overlook and then offers concrete exercises so you can achieve that mindful vision of the world. Once you can see it, photographing it is trivial. That's the point of the book. You need to develop the eye of the master. Once you have that, recording what your eye has found is simple.

The books starts off a bit roughly with the authors trying to define different ways of seeing. They may as well have just said you need to look at what you are seeing rather than going on several pages trying to define what the book is about. Thankfully, once you are into the book's topical matter and exercises, you will understand what they are driving at even if you aren't able to put it into a dictionary definition.

That the book is liberally illustrated with photographs showing what the authors are talking about at the time nicely reinforces the text with examples assisting the reader toward understanding. In the end, this book will make the world a more interesting place for you by teaching you to see what you've so often overlooked. Even if you never take a single mindful photograph, just being able to see the world contemplatively will offer you a much richer way to experience wherever you happen to be existing now.

Take a look again at the works of the masters such as those listed in this review. Then consider that subjects similar to their masterpieces are all around you if only you can find them. Well, you can find them and this book will be a good guide to assist you in learning how to finally see the world which has always been around you. Once you find this world, photographing it is the easy part.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to Contemplative Photography April 12, 2011

By Gordon Ray

Format:Paperback

I've been taking classes in contemplative photography for over a year now (google "Miksang"). This practice has helped me notice the things around me that I've never looked at before. My photographs are more interesting and I see pictures everywhere - even when I don't have my camera with me.

This beautifully written book is lushly illustrated with excellent photographs and will help you to produce fresher, more perceptive images. This is the first step down a path that will open your eyes to the world around you. So while its a book about photography, its really about seeing and visual perception.

Highly recommended for all photographers and artists. In fact, highly recommended for anyone who wants to really see the world unfiltered.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of Surprises April 19, 2011

By Brian Hilliard

Format:Paperback

This book on contemplative photography might just start a revolution! The fundamental premise here is that in your ordinary experience a fresh and direct visual perception takes place which is free from preconceived ideas, concepts or filters. It's called `fresh perception.' There is beauty anywhere and everywhere, even in the most ordinary of situations, like at the kitchen sink. It is joyful to perceive in such a direct manner and this experience can be shared through `forming the equivalent,' i.e. taking a foto of what you see within that moment of fresh perception. It's revolutionary because we leave behind the complexities of overly technical photography and the complexities of manipulating what we see to convey a message. Here, the primary lens is one's own eyes and the sensor is our heart.

The Practice of Contemplative Photography is full of excellently printed fotos which exemplify the assignments that are used to approach the visual world of color, texture, simplicity, simple form, light and space. You might be inspired to jump right into these assignments and experience first-hand what the authors are talking about. These exercises are explained with a relaxed and friendly tone and I found that they contain just the right amount of explanation and detail.

There are also some sections which are technical or philosophical descriptions of the process of seeing. While I found some of this material challenging, it is certainly not more difficult than trying to understand how a digital camera's sensor works or the interrelationships between shutter speed, aperture and ISO! The authors also provide a description of basic photographic principles such as focal length, aperture and depth of field, and point out the technical basics that one needs in order to link that fresh perception with the click of the shutter.

The Practice of Contemplative Photography is full of surprises and I would recommend it to professional photographers or anyone interested in simply enjoying one's experience with the camera. See the world with fresh eyes!