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This is a bit different

This post is a bit out there for me and I’m hoping that you’ll stick with me and even share your thoughts too. I’ve been exploring ways of being more present and intentional in my photography and in my life. Partly this has come about from slowing down and being more aware when going for photography walks, but it has also been something my husband introduced in our daily self care routine as well.

Getting lost on autopilot

I think that one of the most frustrating responses to receive when asking why something is done in a certain way is “because this is how we’ve always done it”. My frustration arises because this response dismisses our ability to be present and innovate as the situation requires. It means that we are doing things out of habit rather than intention.

I found myself falling into this pattern once I retired. For example, rushing around doing things on the weekend in anticipation of the start of the work week on Monday, or only planning things for the evenings and weekends rather than fully embracing the weekday timeslots that not working had opened up and my only reason was because this is what I’d always done - my autopilot habits. My husband found himself in a similar situation, trying to keep evenings and weekends free as this is when we would habitually spend time together. We were both feeling a bit frazzled and frustrated until we paused and asked ourselves why we were doing this - “because this is what we’ve always done”.

I found that it was important to look at ways to be present when making decisions or plans rather than doing things out of habit or on autopilot. It seems like a fairly simple thing to do, but it can have pretty widespread consequences when I fail to be intentional about decisions, such as being overwhelmed or ending up somewhere you don’t want to be - sort of like this bee who kept crawling up this blade of grass and sliding off as it bent over.

The importance of being intentional and present

I have spoken about the benefits I have derived from being more present, especially when I go on adventures such as photographing Snowy Owls (Snowy Owl Blog and Short Eared Owl Blog). There is something that happens in my brain when I slow down and be more purposeful about being present. I seem to have richer experiences and the memories are also more multifaceted in that all of my senses are involved - sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. I can recall sitting in my car waiting for the short eared owls to rouse themselves from the hay bales to start hunting and as I sat and felt the time slow down I also noticed other things too like the fresh scent of the ice fog, the almost citrusy tang in the air, the muffled sound of a distant vehicle, the painful tingle of the frosty air on my fingertips and the beautiful sight of the hoar frost coating the tree branches. I don’t think I would have such vivid memories of this experience if I had not been quite so present - if I had been listening to music or an audiobook which was my intention. These distractions would have taken away from the experience I was there to experience.

Ironically, slowing down in this way seems to speed up certain things for me - I can often solve difficult problems quicker or make decisions more easily when I have that clarity of mind and presence in the moment.

I have found a parallel to my photography. When I first started photography, I was so excited by the process of taking photos and being able to capture images of things that I found interesting - like this one from an evening walk with our cat Roxy, however I was so focused on the thing that I wanted to photograph that I forgot that cameras produce a 2 dimensional image rather than a 3 dimensional one like we see with our brains - I neglected to recognize that hubby was covered with the branches of the surrounding shrubs (in my defence the cat is a much cuter subject). Plus cameras don’t have a brain like we do that often filters out extraneous or distracting information (like bright spots or chopped off arms or feet). I had to spend time learning to see like the camera and compose my images to best express the subject I wanted to capture while being aware of how the scene would appear to someone who didn’t have the advantage of being there in the moment.

This image of a baby elephant charging at spoonbills is a good example of slowing down, positioning myself correctly and waiting for that moment that tells a story and captures the playfulness of the scene.

I definitely know that I have less editing to do when I’ve been more present and mindful during a photography shoot. No tree limbs or telephone poles sticking out of heads or busy background distracting the subject of the image.

I have found that this process of slowing down and being more intentional and present in everyday life has benefited my photography and my relationships.

Learning new ways of being more mindful.

One of the habits that I started a few years before retirement was meditation. I have long been told the benefits of meditation and I’ve tried it several times in the past with pretty poor results. What was different this time? I’m not entirely sure, however the focus of the meditation I do is not to reach some altered mind state, but rather to remain present and aware. Each time that I lose that focus and my mind wanders, which it inevitably does - I just bring myself back to the present and start again. I do a formal meditation practice for 10 minutes a day, but what I really enjoy is that this practice is effective anytime of the day. I find myself bringing my attention and focus back to the present when I’m out driving and thinking of all the things I need to do, when I’m visiting with someone and not fully listening (I’m really bad for thinking of a response before the person has finished speaking - I’m working on it!) and especially when my mind seems to be extra active and distracted. I am definitely not proficient at meditating (there are some days when I actually nod off and start to snore), but I am committed to doing it as I’ve found some peacefulness to my thoughts and it has really helped me to slow down my mind.

It is during this slowing down of my thoughts that I find such clarity. That sounds a bit confusing, but stay with me here please - when my mind is more chaotic and thoughts are tumbling over themselves I find it difficult to have clear thoughts - everything gets all jumbled together. When I am practicing being more present then all of my attention is focused on the thing that I am thinking or doing at the present moment.

I used to think that I was a great multitasker, but I’ve come to realize that there is no such thing as multitasking - it’s a habit of jumping from one thought or task to another and not being fully present for any of them.

Some tools I’ve found useful for improving mindfulness

One of the tools that I use is Mindsight, a concept developed by neuropsychiatrist Dan Siegel in his book of the same name.

“Mindsight is a kind of focused attention that allows us to see the internal workings of our own minds. It helps us to be aware of our mental processes without being swept away by them, enables us to get ourselves off the autopilot of ingrained behaviours and habitual responses, and moves us beyond the reactive emotional loops we all have a tendency to get trapped in.” (Dan Siegel - Mindsight)

Siegel uses a spoked wheel (Wheel of Awareness) as an analogy for this where the hub of the wheel represents your awareness (focused point of attention where you can be aware of all the workings of your mind) and the rim represents all the different thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that you have. Practicing mindfulness or mindsight allows us to have focused attention around the wheel without being fixated on any one part of the rim. For example, if you’re worried about the results of a medical test there is a tendency to fixate upon the possible outcomes to the exclusion of most other things going on in your mind - even making sleep difficult. Mindfulness using the Wheel of Awareness is a tool whereby you pause and take a mental step back to the central hub and recognize that you’re fixating on one point on the rim. Just this awareness helps to break that cycle and enables you to calm your mind and regain balance in your thoughts and emotions.

I like to use this approach when I’m worried about something, but also on a daily basis when I’m looking to enrich my enjoyment of an experience.

For example, I used it on a recent trip to look for snowy owls. The weather conditions were ice fog and mist which is not helpful for finding white owls, so I spent time just sitting and watching the changing scene as the sun started to burn through the ice fog. In this scene the fog lifting revealed the clarity of the tree structure.

Photography Mindfulness Practice

I have some photography mindfulness habits that I like to practice to enrich my experience and take it all in. I often carry a journal with me and part way through a photography walk I will find a spot to sit down and write. I envision the Wheel of Awareness and divide it into segments that represent my five senses, body sensations, mental activities and interconnection. I focus on describing my experience from each of these perspectives and then I make an image to try and reflect what I’ve written. If my mind is particularly distracted or fixating on some issue then this is a difficult exercise to complete. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes there is a connection and magic. In fact I find that the more often I practice this exercise the easier it becomes to translate the experience I’ve written about into an image.

This image of light beams reflected through a morning mist just after sunrise is a good example of when a wonderful connection was made.

As I was walking to this meadow the quality of the light and the ethereal nature of the light through the mist really captivated me.

I found myself sitting and the words flowed onto the page easily and then I looked up and saw this particular scene.

The golden hues and dreamlike haze from the mist reflected the calm peacefulness that I had just written about making it easier for me to compose this image and enhancing my experience of the moment.

What I’ve learned so far

I’ve learned that mindfulness in photography is a great way for me to slow down and be more intentional about my subject matter, composition and what I’m trying to convey or express. By practicing this habit with photography, I’ve found it easier to transfer it to other areas of my life. Mindful meditation has become easier and I often use the Wheel of Awareness when I find myself fixated on some detail or irritation. I’m definitely not perfect or even proficient at either photography or mindful meditation, but I like to think of myself as a work in progress - a lifelong work in progress - and I’m ok with that.

Do you practice any forms of meditation or mindfulness (in photography or in your everyday life)? What have you found works or doesn’t work for you? If you’ve never tried it, is this something you’d be interested in exploring or trying? If so please feel free to drop me a message and I can share some of the resources that I’ve found useful. Anyone else wanting more information - I’m happy to share, so please just ask, or share resources that you find useful as I’m always looking for new ideas.

I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.