Introduction to Contemplative Photography: Finding Beauty, Finding Your True Self
Class - Photography | Registration opens 5/13/2025 9:00 AM EDT
Have you ever experienced a moment when you were stopped in your tracks, there was a flash of perception outside of ordinary experience? And in that moment did you see something that grabbed your attention and took your breath away? And then were you surprised to realize it was just the afternoon light spilling through your kitchen window , or a flower emerging from a crack in the asphalt?
Sharpen your visual awareness and improve your photography using a contemplative approach to seeing the world as it is. Each week we will work with an aspect of visual perception; color, texture, form, light, and space as our subject.
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.