The Mindful Photographer

 

I started practising mindful photography as a way of slowing down and really seeing things that I'd normally walk past without noticing - such a the glint of a broken bottle in an alleyway or the peeling paint on an old door - looking with fresh eyes at ordinary and everyday things and really connecting with the subject.  Looking through a camera in a meditative, present-moment way can help us savour the here-and-now and be very absorbing, even calming.. and sometimes some surprising images emerge! Rather than creating art or being an artist, I see myself as a receiver and co-creator of images. The subject, the camera and I together co-create an image of whatever is true at that moment in time. 

As the poet Mary Oliver said: "to pay attention, this is our endless and proper work".

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Heather is a qualified Mindfulness teacher and Therapist, runs Mindful Photography and Mindfulness workshops regionally.