The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World With Fresh Eyes

This book teaches photographers how to fully connect with the visual richness present in their ordinary, daily experiences. According to the authors, photography is not purely a mechanical process. You need to know how to look, as well as where to point the camera, and when to press the button. Then as you develop your ability to see, your appreciation and inspiration from the world around you become enhanced.

Filled with practical exercises and techniques inspired by mindfulness meditation, this book teaches photographers how to “see what’s in front of them.” It offers a system of training and exercises that draw upon Buddhist concepts, as well as on insights of great photographic masters such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. There is a series of visual exercises and assignments for working with texture, light, and color, as well as for developing mindfulness, as a way of bringing the principles of contemplative photography into ordinary experience.