PHOTOPOETRY: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Photographs and Poems
Art + Wellness | Available
What is photopoetry? It’s an exploration of the intimate relationship between poetry and photography. It is intended for anyone interested in combining words and images. While poetry and photography are distinct art forms, the two share a lot in common. Both are concerned with images, but they approach communicating those images in different ways. When the two collaborate, something magical occurs. It’s more than adding a caption or an explanation to a photograph, it’s also an opening to all the in-the-moment internal and external details: color, texture, light, shadow, emotions, feelings, sensations, etc. Place one of your images next to one of your poems, and we enter the world of drala (ordinary magic).
This class is great for photographers, poets, writers, artists at heart, or the curious wanting to explore the symbiotic relationship between poetry and photography. You can use whatever camera that is available to you, including your cell phone.
Each class will include writing and perception exercises, sample images and poetry of each week’s content, group discussion, and compassionate review of student images and poems.
Timothy Auman
I am an ordained lay Buddhist, certified mindfulness teacher, and former university chaplain dedicated to the application of Taoist and Zen thought to the issues of everyday life. As a visual artist, my approach to photography focuses on learning (or perhaps we could say re-learning) how to see. My work is influenced by the Miksang (the Tibetan word for “good eye”) movement, having studied with John McQuade and Miriam Hall for many years. In contemplative photography, we focus on taking the time to actually see, to become aware of and present with what is actually happening in the phenomenal world, and then create an equivalent image with our camera. The main difference between Miksang Contemplative Photography and other forms of photography is that Miksang is based on clear perception before an overlay of thoughts, interpretations, preferences, story lines, likes and dislikes, what we think might make a good image and so forth arise. Meditation, dharma teachings and contemplation are woven into all I teach. If you want to know more about contemplative photography, please sign up for a class.