My photography is mindful and quiet, one could say meditative. For me it is not another form of competition – chasing after more exploding colors, more exciting effects, more exotic and more distant locations, more more of everything… I love nature, long walks, in the weather and light that is, here and now (which of course can also be a sunset). I love feeling my surroundings, being one with it all, and marveling at what nature has created. Just how I want to photograph – slowly, quietly, without pre-conceptions or other pressures inside of me. Using a tripod serves here beautifully.
When I look at the images later at home, I want to feel that same fascination of nature again, which is why technically I also like to process my images in a natural manner, detail, natural colors, the feeling of reality. If other people can have the same feelings when looking at my images, feelings of calmness, relaxation, oneness – then this fascination can extend further than just my own memory. Locations around our home can do that just as exotic locations can. Accepting what is. Feeling it. Being.
When I look at the images later at home, I want to feel that same fascination of nature again, which is why technically I also like to process my images in a natural manner, detail, natural colors, the feeling of reality. If other people can have the same feelings when looking at my images, feelings of calmness, relaxation, oneness – then this fascination can extend further than just my own memory. Locations around our home can do that just as exotic locations can. Accepting what is. Feeling it. Being.
Of course, this does not mean I am against traveling! For instance our regular travels to Japan, our almost second home. And thus we have a connection to the topic of meditation – what a transition 😉 My main „job“ as a teacher of Ki-Aikido not only has me regularly traveling to Japan, but more importantly has at its very core the daily practice of meditation and mindful awareness. So my somewhat different view on photography is not such a big surprise. For more then 20 years I have been leading people towards a more aware and mindful way of being, living and doing, and know from experience how hard it is for so many to let go of the unrelenting rat race, and just be here and now… many are simply too much trapped in the never-ending race of our time, continuously driven, stressed, always concerned with yesterday or tomorrow, without the serene feeling which comes from calm centeredness. Meditation could help, but the access cannot be found.
So I had the idea to join my interest in mindful photography with the classical methods of meditation and mindfulness training, hoping that maybe this way some people can find an easier access to this calm state of mind. It is important to note, that meditation or being meditative does not mean to drift off from reality into a trance or some Lala-land. On the contrary – it is being in absolute awareness of the here and now, without thoughts, worries or agitation about what is not here and now. Simply a deeply centered calmness in oneness with all, including that which we are doing right now. Artists know this state of being as the source of all inspiration, whether labeled as divine or otherwise… And so we are back to photography again, which is after all also a form of artistic creation. Why else should we make an image?
Simply walking through nature, calmly centered in the here and now, one with the surroundings… and then a motif appears, you feel it, see it… submerge yourself in the space around you, maybe change your position a little… you put up your tripod, set the camera according to the situation… and calmly make the image…
Not the usual tourist snapshot, nor the frantic pro hunter for the perfect, more often than not pre-conceived image… Rather, by being one with your surroundings, being in-sync with nature, what makes up you and resonates with what is comes out through your photographs. Is this art? Is it creativity? Is it an expression of you through your images?
Through weekend seminars I am now combining a classical meditation retreat with mindfulness exercises and a photography workshop… Photography in nature, of course, immersed in fresh forest air. Photography as a path to calmness, to being aware of the here and now, to being one with nature. Photography as meditation.
Seminar dates and flyers will be posted here shortly 🙂
This kind of photography does not only develop a feeling of oneness with nature, but it also makes you realize how important it is for us not to damage nature while exploring it. Nature First is an international alliance of nature photographers who stand for the principle of „Leave no trace“: The undisturbed wellbeing of nature and its inhabitants has always priority over getting the photograph we want. We educate ourselves about the code of conduct in the areas we visit, especially when visits nature reserves and other protected areas. When posting images online, we refrain from providing exact location data in order not to encourage mass pilgrimages to famous photo spots that are incompatible with nature. Of course we also leave no trash. We do not walk on moss or other plants that need protection, and do not remove or alter plants or tree branches to make our photos more clean.
By setting this example we hope that other visitors do the same…
By setting this example we hope that other visitors do the same…