Looking and Seeing: Section Seven: Assignment: Space

I went out with the intention of shooting space - and photographed a lot of stuff that wasn't.  I paused to synchronize, focusing on the breath, the air as it moved around me, the temperature, my posture.  After I calmed down and went looking, I found all kinds of interesting things, but little that might be space, Perhaps I was too concerned with shooting physical space - openings between things.  I think this is what happened in Japan the last time I did this exercise.  I came away with some interesting images, but not perhaps what Miksang instruction intends.

Looking and Seeing: Assignment: Front, Side and Back Light

Side light adds a bit of depth to the sign. 

Because of the lack of contrast, front light typically flattens a subject.  The only shape or form is often the outer line, but nothing within.  Side lighting is most often used in portrait photography as it provides more contrast and thereby greater volume to the subject.  Back lighting is often the most dramatic, but also the most difficult to photograph as one must often expose for great contrast.  The assignment description is quite loose here and allows for exploring these individually or together.  No specific number of images are prescribed.

Looking and Seeing: Assignment: Color

21 April
I started reading the book when I was in Japan, but didn’t have much chance to shoot.  I then tried picking up the book and shooting exercises a few weeks later in Tbilisi, but it was difficult to stay focused on the assignments when I had only a few days to explore the city.  Now that I’m back in Dubai and with no projects on the horizon, I’d like to complete this text and the exercises.  So this afternoon I reviewed my notes and set out on the first assignment, color.  I did so in my immediate neighborhood on SZR, but venturing a little bit further afield than usual.  I followed the suggested procedure by setting my intent (seeing for color), synchronizing my experience (mindfulness of the body in space and the experience of the phenomenal world), and being sensitive to flashes of perception.  What I found was restlessness - wanting to find images - and a repeated interest in objects rather than color.  It wasn’t until about 45 minutes to an hour into my 90 minute walk that I found I had forgotten about finding images.  I was simply engaged in my experience of walking and looking.  I will try again Friday and Saturday.  I haven’t yet looked at my images.  I plan to hold them until next week so as not to get caught up in creating images but focusing more on the process of being with the camera.