Sometimes I have trouble grounding in "the real world". So you gotta learn little tricks. Things that make it easier to focus on where you are walking, not just walk mechanically.
Photography is one of those little tricks. For me.
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Yesterday afternoon, my intellectual side wanted to sit and get mired down in some Robert Mapplethorpe catalogues. I'd like to write something about Mapplethorpe's stuff, particularly his X-rated work. But I knew I'd end up sitting in front of my computer till nightfall, and that would leave me antsy and unpleasant.
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So I got another thought. Reflection. Chase reflection.
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The plan was simple. Go out there and keep an eye out for any and every interesting, unusual or just mildly exciting reflection. In water, in windows, I didn't really have a fixed point of interest.
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Urgh. I immediately thought. This woulda worked better yesterday. After two storm-heavy days, the sidewalk was littered with reflective puddles.
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Sure, came the answer. Except it's no longer yesterday. So I checked tha battery on the camera, and went to work.
It felt a little goofy at first, stopping to take weird angled photos of people's cars and windows. But the more I walked, the more I relaxed into it.
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The more I managed (to my delight) to stay present. You can't go too far up in your head if you're on the lookout all the time for reflective surfaces. So that acted as a nice strap to pull me back into "the real world".
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Interestingly enough, we get fresh answers to old problems when we set them aside awhile. Walking back home a couple hours later, I found myself pondering an old curiosity from a new perspective. I may write about it here sometime, but for now, it was interesting to me that had I left my camera at home, I would've no doubt fallen into the same patterned thinking I typically engage in.
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I would've walked the same paths, where yesterday, I found myself tracing new streets, and going backwards to how I normally walk in that area. It is, after all, my area. Experiments of the soul must be carried out in safe environments, after all.
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My photography wasn't great. But for the evening, I forced my inner critic to shut up and just play. Hang loose. See where it took us.
I ended up quite happy with the results. Because they were, if nothing else, real.
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Do you have any secret practices for grounding when your mind runs away?
I really enjoyed each and every reflection pic! It's something you don't see everyday on social media. I think it opens our mind to see things from a new angle. Thanks for sharing these pics with us all! :)
Thank you, amigo. I actually posted them on my social media. I think you should be authentic. If we're all posting variations of the same shot, what's achieved? :D
Those glasses are so cute and I love the vibrancy, sharpness, and tonality of the photos :)))
Thanks, they're old and scratched, but thankfully it doesn't show here. I love em too! :D
Picking flowers, I get completely lost in it and realise way later how all my thoughts did shut up and my mind is all tidy for anything else to come...
Love the second one and your eyes full of sunshine:)
These shots are all successful in their own different ways. I don't think you should criticize your skills or results but rather trust your instincts and capture the moment of value as best you can. It's the concept and intellectual value that is more important than technical skill. The art comes out more raw and I have to say the last shot is absolutely gorgeous! (I @castleberry commented from the community account)
Thank you very much for your words of encouragement <3 I appreciate them a lot! It's tricky not to criticize, especially in areas where you're trying to improve, which can be counter-productive, I know. The outing was all about trusting my instincts, I guess. And thank you! I like the last shot a lot too!
I find photography a great way of being present in the moment. Especially when I'm trying to get candid photos of people on the streets, I'm hyper-aware of what might make an interesting shot, where to catch it, how to time the shutter, etc.
It's odd that it should concentrate the mind this way, as it is a process of abstraction. Reducing four dimensions (including time) into two, transforming the living matrix of reality into a digital keepsake. But I suppose the process of "seeing" the world with our own eyes is much the same.
Lovely pictures. You have an instinct for composition!
Isn't it? I find much the same benefit to it. Which is why I'm trying to do more of it. Thank you, my dear.
Beautiful photography.
Fantastic prose and photography. You have nice casual urban conversational style that is pleasant to read, along with a clever eye for capturing a scene through the lens.
Really creative idea!! i loved them all , i'm gona give a try too
What a cool exercise in seeing the world differently! For me it's all about immersing myself in nature when it comes to grounding. Conscious breathing is probably the second "go-to" in my arsenal.