Concrete-ness
One of the reasons I registered for a Miksang contemplative photography workshop was to learn how to experience and express the essence of life through a photograph.
Miksang mind is having curiosity and passion to be touched by the outside world. ~ Michael Wood, Instructor
To achieve this quality of mind requires paying attention, being still, wanting to connect, and then being deliberate about what we photograph. Also, we have to be totally aware of our inherent filtration system – our judgments, preferences, likes, dislikes, etc.
As a first assignment, we were to focus on concrete sidewalks with the goal of expressing the quality of the sidewalks, their concrete-ness. Sidewalks are a perfect subject because, let’s face it, we don’t pay much attention to them. I noticed that I was able to photograph sidewalks for a little while and then boredom set in. I didn’t know what else to photograph so I started looking for interesting patterns and colour and light and shadows in the sidewalks, which really has nothing to do with the essence of the sidewalk itself.
On the other side of boredom and restlessness, real seeing begins. It’s not overcoming the boredom, it’s letting go of the struggle. ~ Michael Wood, Instructor
One day in the workshop, we photographed a table with several items on it. The key was to first just experience the table – to look at it carefully and pay attention to every facet of it. Only after careful observation were we to pick up our cameras to photograph whatever had resonated with us. After taking several shots, boredom and restlessness again crept in. These are the obstacles to stillness and true seeing. Usually, when this happens, we are quickly out of there and on to the next thing. However, in this case I recognized it for what it was and stayed right where I was.
“When we beautify our gaze, the grace of hidden beauty becomes our joy and our sanctuary.” ~ John O’Donohue, Beauty, The Invisible Embrace (paid link)
In Photo By Design, we do a perspective assignment where we take at least 24 shots of one particular subject, seeing it from all angles. In the past, the boredom and restlessness that arises in that assignment felt like a struggle that I had to push my way through. When this occurred today, I just put my camera down, relaxed, and waited for a new perception to arise. And, it always did. There was no struggle. I experienced stillness.
It was a profound shift in seeing.
In this exercise, you can go deeper and deeper all the time, discovering new facets at every turn.What if we were to use this practice when any obstacle arises in our lives?
Additional Reading
I think you have definitely captured “concrete” in all its “concrete-ness”.