Introduction to Contemplative Photography
If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.
William Blake
William Blake
What does Contemplative mean?
To understand contemplation, we must first become aware of the difference between the thinking mind and the awake mind. Everyone engages the thinking mind. Statistically, few engage the awake mind.
The THINKING Mind
The thinking mind is what we use that is necessary for survival and well-being. It is developed and valued for its ability to accumulate information and to analyze that information, to think critically, to use complex language, and to anticipate and plan for the future. But the thinking mind is not the soul means that is available for knowing as human beings. When the thinking mind dominates, other ways of knowing go unrecognized and unappreciated.
The thinking mind is what we use that is necessary for survival and well-being. It is developed and valued for its ability to accumulate information and to analyze that information, to think critically, to use complex language, and to anticipate and plan for the future. But the thinking mind is not the soul means that is available for knowing as human beings. When the thinking mind dominates, other ways of knowing go unrecognized and unappreciated.
EXAMPLE:
If I wish to see the true beauty, uniqueness, and elegance of my visual world instead of what I think it is, I will need to let go of my thinking mind for a moment (my habitual and mechanical thoughts, concepts, opinions and judgments) and be open and receptive to “unfiltered and unmediated seeing.” If I want to have a closer relationship with God through the Holy Spirit, on some level, I will need to let go of what I think God is based on what well-meaning others might have said to be true, and be open to receiving information that is not solely based on my thinking mind.
The AWAKE Mind
We have to let go to experience a contemplative mind, or an awake mind. An awake mind is a one that is simply aware, still, and receptive - one that is not driven or mediated by our memories, labels of things, preferences, or any kind of association that we have.
We have to let go to experience a contemplative mind, or an awake mind. An awake mind is a one that is simply aware, still, and receptive - one that is not driven or mediated by our memories, labels of things, preferences, or any kind of association that we have.
What is a Contemplative Photograph?
Contemplative spirituality is centered on listening to and receiving from the Holy Spirit. Likewise, any kind of photography that has to do with contemplation is less about taking images and more about receiving them.
Here are a couple interesting statistics:
- In 2017, KeyPoint Intelligence estimated that there were 1.2 trillion photographs taken.
- In 2020, KeyPoint intelligence estimated that there were 1.4 trillion photographs taken.
A contemplative photograph is one that is taken when the photographer has made a distinction between the thinking mind and our awake mind. When we see the visual world with this awakened mind, in a way, we are not limited by our thinking mind, and we are open to true, raw, unique beauty around us. Likewise, when prayer is not limited by our thinking mind, we begin to hear the Holy Spirit in a dramatic way.
When we only see the world around us with the thinking mind - and when we only pray with the thinking mind - we become severely limited. Why would this be? Because usually, our awareness is entangled with our thinking mind, aware of only what is already internal to us. BUT…
When we only see the world around us with the thinking mind - and when we only pray with the thinking mind - we become severely limited. Why would this be? Because usually, our awareness is entangled with our thinking mind, aware of only what is already internal to us. BUT…
When we turn our awareness out toward the visual world with an awake mind, any aspect of the visual world that comes into view could surprise us or draw our attention. The Holy Spirit can use this to speak to us and touch our hearts. Most often the Holy Spirit will speak to us spontaneously, and when we’re listening with an awakened mind, without trying to have a thought or an agenda, we’ll experience spontaneous and sometimes intense flashes of perception, or of understanding – an “Aha!” moment.
This is when prayer goes to its deepest, most connected, and most transformational level. We are aware that we are being acted upon by something outside of ourself – by the Holy Spirit! It seems to come out of nowhere… Like mushrooms in a meadow… Like hail storms… Like thunder showers…And sometimes, when we have our phones are cameras with us, we can express what we’re seeing with a photograph.
What is so moving about contemplative photography is the understanding that we’re truly walking with God in real time. When we allow our thinking mind to rest and open ourselves to an awake mind, it’s totally unpredictable what the subject matter of a photograph might be. It’s literally whatever one is perceiving – or better, receiving – from the Holy Spirit that is expressing itself without conditions.
This is when prayer goes to its deepest, most connected, and most transformational level. We are aware that we are being acted upon by something outside of ourself – by the Holy Spirit! It seems to come out of nowhere… Like mushrooms in a meadow… Like hail storms… Like thunder showers…And sometimes, when we have our phones are cameras with us, we can express what we’re seeing with a photograph.
What is so moving about contemplative photography is the understanding that we’re truly walking with God in real time. When we allow our thinking mind to rest and open ourselves to an awake mind, it’s totally unpredictable what the subject matter of a photograph might be. It’s literally whatever one is perceiving – or better, receiving – from the Holy Spirit that is expressing itself without conditions.
3 Levels of Clarity
How do you capture a contemplative image once you receive it? There are 3 levels of clarity involved in contemplative photography:
LEVEL 1 | Identifying the heart & meaning of the received image or perception.
This is simply the moment we receive that flash of perception or when an image captures us. It’s when one sees something that is out of the blue that, in some ways, stops one’s mind and brings one up short.
This is simply the moment we receive that flash of perception or when an image captures us. It’s when one sees something that is out of the blue that, in some ways, stops one’s mind and brings one up short.
LEVEL 2 | Visually clarifying the received image or perception
Where does the perception begin? Where does it end? Is it more of a vertical or horizontal perception? Level 2 is the key level of clarity. When we see something beautiful that is not a result of our mental creation - but that simply happens – we have this natural, impulsive tendency to photograph it without really identifying and clarifying visually what it was that we received, and how God might be trying to move in our hearts.
To clarify what we have received takes a lot of discipline – to not immediately snap the photo, but to spend time “seeing what we saw,” and clarifying what it was. This is also true of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit.
Where does the perception begin? Where does it end? Is it more of a vertical or horizontal perception? Level 2 is the key level of clarity. When we see something beautiful that is not a result of our mental creation - but that simply happens – we have this natural, impulsive tendency to photograph it without really identifying and clarifying visually what it was that we received, and how God might be trying to move in our hearts.
To clarify what we have received takes a lot of discipline – to not immediately snap the photo, but to spend time “seeing what we saw,” and clarifying what it was. This is also true of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit.
LEVEL 2 | Visually clarifying the received image or perception
Where does the perception begin? Where does it end? Is it more of a vertical or horizontal perception? Level 2 is the key level of clarity. When we see something beautiful that is not a result of our mental creation - but that simply happens – we have this natural, impulsive tendency to photography it without really identifying and clarifying visually it was that we received, and how God might be trying to move in our hearts.
Where does the perception begin? Where does it end? Is it more of a vertical or horizontal perception? Level 2 is the key level of clarity. When we see something beautiful that is not a result of our mental creation - but that simply happens – we have this natural, impulsive tendency to photography it without really identifying and clarifying visually it was that we received, and how God might be trying to move in our hearts.
LEVEL 3 | Expressing what was received as closely as possible with a photograph.
When the Holy Spirit touches our hearts, we call it a thin place. In his book, Thin Places: A Biblical Investigation, Dr. Mark Roberts says that “a thin place is a place where the boundary between heaven and earth is especially thin. It’s a place where we can sense the divine more readily.”
Contemplative spirituality, prayer, and photography set the stage for us to experience thin places on a regular basis. When we do, capturing that moment can impact us for years as we look back to meditate and remember.
When the Holy Spirit touches our hearts, we call it a thin place. In his book, Thin Places: A Biblical Investigation, Dr. Mark Roberts says that “a thin place is a place where the boundary between heaven and earth is especially thin. It’s a place where we can sense the divine more readily.”
Contemplative spirituality, prayer, and photography set the stage for us to experience thin places on a regular basis. When we do, capturing that moment can impact us for years as we look back to meditate and remember.
Summary
A contemplative photograph is one that truly expresses the beauty that we have received (regardless of whether it is beautiful to others or not) in a way that we can safely say that:
- We didn’t add something from our thinking mind that affected our perception before, during, or after receiving the image and have our hearts touched; and
- Nothing is missing. The photograph expresses exactly what we saw – what stopped us in our tracks and made an impression on our hearts…the image we received from the creator itself.
Last, but not least...
It is critically important to know that everyone has an ability to see with the Eyes of the Heart...with an awakened mind. It’s not a special talent that highly creative people have, and it’s not for people who know a lot about photography. In fact, knowing too much about photography can get in the way of being receptive and open to contemplative seeing.