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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:

Submitting Images

Submitted by tonebytone
Question: 

The first image I submitted appeared in the Color Gallery right away. But the 2 images I've tried to submit to the Space Gallery have no appeared, even tho the software thanked me. Do you monitor submitted images and is this why neither of my Spaces images appeared, because you didn't think they fit? Or might there be another reason why, after accepting the images, the software eliminated them? TIA, Flo tonebytone_01@mac.com

Answer: 

The image submissions are curated by the authors. Sometimes an image doesn't work with the assignment, and we won't post it. Sometimes an image might be submitted for one assignment, but its dominant quality will exemplify another assignment and we will post it in that gallery.

Visual space is subtle, and not easy to tune into. You might want to read the assignment description again, and look at the examples in the gallery to get a better feel for what we are looking for.

Clean

Submitted by CorinneMarie
Question: 

What I see when I look at this kind of photography is "clean." Can you talk about how this is connected to the practice? I dont see dirt, mess, or dog shit. Would these things be considered concepts and not worth investigation or photography? I really want to do the 20 car photo but I could only see dirt on the car? I could go clean the car, but then its like "staging" the photo shoot. It would seem it is a selective practice?

Answer: 

Hopefully contemplative photography is not too clean! We are not presenting some sanitized version of reality. Any fresh perception can be the basis for a contemplative photo, including dirt, mess, and dog shit. You might take a look at the texture gallery, which has some of the more gritty shots (sorry about that), including a great shot of a pile of mud.

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