Beginner’s Mind, Creative Mind

Beginner’s Mind, Creative Mind¹ is an exploration of what it takes to apply a beginner’s mind to photography. Introduction Creativity has no form or shape. Being formless is beyond experience, knowledge and defies any attempts to describe it. What can be known, described and analyzed are the experiences that are associated with it, often referred …

The Decisive Moment and Contemplative Photography

Henri Cartier-Bresson introduced the concept of the Decisive Moment (DM). It has served as a milestone in the history of photography and is the centerpiece of Contemplative Photography. Why? Because Cartier-Bresson was free to look through his own eyes, independent of conventional photographic practice. His book, The Mind’s Eye (www.aperture.org) resonates with anyone who practices …

Discernment, the Effort of No Effort – Part 3.

Part 3 says discernment is about ‘the effort of no effort’. Another way of saying the same is ‘nothing needs to be done’ or Wu Wei, the Chinese concept of ‘non-doing’. These cryptic expressions are often used in Zen. Let me try to unpack them by applying them to photography. Obviously, it does not mean …