Photography as Portal
A reoccurring theme I hear over and over again when I speak to women who take or make photographs is how photography is such a portal for them. A portal of self-discovery, a portal to the moment and the memories, a portal of reflection, a portal to their creativity and ultimately a portal to life. In this way, mindful photography can be such an integral part of our practice- our creative practice and our spiritual journey.
One of the greatest gifts photography has given me is the art of seeing and tomorrow the next session of The Art of Seeing begins- would you like to join us?
Meet some of the wonderful contributors to Camera Craft below who will be sharing some of the ways they use photography in their own creative practices.
Art as Magic- Musings on art & crreativity
Musings on Art & Creativity... Some thoughts, random and otherwise, on art making and the creative process and the importance of filling our intuitive wells and the cyclic nature of the creative process.
Intuitive Well
What is the intuitive well you may well be asking dear reader. I am calling this that magical place within each of us that holds all of our interactions with the world. That is our experiences, lessons, beliefs, thoughts, and so on. It is our repository for everything and in that repository things are incubated, cross-pollinated, explored, given new connections, new forms and transformed …
iPhone Magic
As a photographer, the question I get asked the most is “which camera should I buy?” and while the variety of options on the market from compact to dslr to mirrorless and so on may feel overwhelming the truth is that for most of my daily shooting practice, my personal practice, it is my iPhone that gets the biggest workout- it is convenient, it is always with me (more so for taking photos than taking calls ;) ) and the quality is quite astounding when you think about it.
When you pray, enter the room as if for the last time
What if religion was each other?
If our practice was our life?
If prayer was our words?
What if the Temple was the Earth?
If forests were our church?
Medicine Sphere- mama earth
Today I sat in circle. It was a warm Summer day and we took our Chai outside and sat on the soft grass in the shade of a tree to share. On returning home I walked through my garden alive with the vibrancy of summer and heady with the scent of Star Jasmine. Today is the day the family gathers to decorate our Christmas Tree. I walk in the front door and I’m engulfed by the smell of ripe mangoes, the smell of Christmas and I hear Christmas carols - “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas”. The house is shut up to the heat of the day and we drink champagne while I place a Christmas display upon the wood burner, we won’t be using that for awhile.
There is healing in the light (and the winner is...)
Creativity is the type of learning process where the teacher and the pupil are located in the same individual. Koestler