In Defense of No Titles

In defense of no titles, the author explains his strategy of not providing titles to his images. Usually, they are given when one identifies with a particular subject. They are the result of a mind that reflects, associates and interprets what it sees.

In contemplative photography we are engaged in a very different process. It is not based on identification with a particular subject, idea or emotion. We don’t prepare for the content of a flash of perception, nor do we think about it, nor do we base it on an idea, nor do we pre-visualize or imagine it. While the clarity of the flash lasts our mind is not reflecting. It is unobstructed.

The practice of contemplation facilitates the occurrence of these moments. It is a process that holds no promises for a particular outcome. What it adds to an image is a ‘seeing’ on a different level.

What makes the flash a magical moment is the fact that one’s sense of self has no part in it. It seems to happen by itself without interference by a reflecting mind. No identification takes place. The deep satisfaction comes from the switch to a new perspective, from seeing clearly. The image, the content of the flash is secondary. It reflects one’s involvement as a whole but includes one’s undivided seeing as well.

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