A simple way to relax and discover the beauty that surrounds you.
Statue of Eric Morecambe in his home town. “Bring me Sunshine…”
This site is the result of a personal journey through dark times back into the light. You can find out more about that later if you are interested, but this is about you finding peace.
It does not matter what type of camera you have, a phone is absolutely fine. There are lots of kit snobs around who may scoff, however some of the most iconic images in history were taken with cameras they would dismiss as rubbish.
Some of those images helped change the course of history.
We are not out to change the world, although if it happens as a happy accident that’s great.
This is not a course in journalism, a cure for mental illness or some deep philosophical adventure.
It is not about preaching a particular doctrine or method. Mindfulness has been around as both a religious and secular practice since at least the 12th century. No one has copyright on it.
What is photography for mindfulness?
This project is intended as a way to help you unwind and enjoy life through immersing yourself in the moment. Meditation is hard, yoga is physically challenging and other techniques are trickiest to master when you need them most.
Photography is very accessible and one of the most absorbing activities around. It helps you stay in the moment, focussed on something beautiful and creative while producing a real tangible result.
Whether you frame your photographs on the wall or chuck them in the bin does not matter. In all likelihood your ability to take ‘better” photographs will increase.
Why the inverted commas? Well, one of the key tenets of mindfulness is letting go of judgement. It is very difficult to do as we immediately and subconsciously decide if we like something or not. We always like some things better than others, that’s a fact that we can happily accept but don’t need to beat ourselves with.
Have a look at any photo competition you can find, from a local club to an internationally prestigious photographer of the year award.
There will be images featured that received no award that you wish you had taken. There will be some on the podium that you would not give the dog to play with. It is all very personal so let’s not get caught up in good or bad.
Will I be judged?
No one needs to see what you do.
By all means share, it is entirely up to you.
The act of looking for and making photographs is the reward in itself. It gets you out of the cycle of swirling thoughts and emotions while helping you find moments of beauty in the mundane.
If this sounds good then stick around for more ideas and inspiration to help make life better.
Stay awesome, James.
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