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Q&A With the Authors

We would love to hear from you. Please post your questions about contemplative photography, comments about the book, or other observations about contemplative mind and life. We will do our best to respond to whatever you post. (Please keep in mind that we are running as fast as we can, and may not get to this as soon we would like.)

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Recent Questions and Answers:

small edit's, or black and white

Submitted by Karen King
Question: 

Hi, I have seen a few pictures in here that look like they have been edited a little or changed to black and white. Is this okay to do? Thank you, Karen

Answer: 

It's fine to edit your images if the intention is to help express your perceptions. If you are just trying to jazz them up...

what my camera saw

Submitted by annie
Question: 

So....my latest submission "what my camera saw" reminded me that there are many ways of being contemplative in photography. When I first snapped this shot, i was impressed by the different colours of the wood against the dark pool of water. What I didn't see was...the alligator that stopped by for a drink, the cougar looking at his reflection in the water or the large hand reaching down on the top left of the shot...where was I when all these animals appeared? Could it be that mindfulness is intuitive? Maybe our subconscious reveals the truth about a photo before our conscious acknowledges it? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Annie

Answer: 

Your first impression was seeing. After that, it was thinking. It's fine to tell stories about what you see, but those stories are more likely to obscure fresh perceptions than to illuminate them.

The Book

“This is not your usual ‘how to be a better photographer’ book. It takes you into deeper water. It requires investigation and commitment to areas new to you. Among other things, you will think about perception in new ways. If you read this book with care, and without skepticism, it will radically expand your thinking, seeing, and photography.”

—Jay Maisel, photographer
and author of Light on America