Pic(k) of the week 1: A SPECIAL END TO A SPECIAL YEAR - MIKSANG CONTEMPLATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

First of all a Happy 2021 to all blog readers. May the new year bring you good health, joy and happiness! Just like the past year, my own New Year’s Eve was also a bit different. Locked in a London hotel room while being away on a 24 hr layover, I'm of course very grateful to have a pilot job in these challenging times. My thoughts are with all those that are less fortunate. 

No big parties, excessive amounts of food and mind-blowing fireworks this year. Being confined to a hotel room has of course its own challenges but does engage the creative mind when it come to photography. Over the last few months you might have heard about the term "Miksang Contemplative photography". A genre which has been around for a long time, but which has become much more popular over the last year. 

Contemplative means, expressing or involving prolonged thought. 

Miksang is a form of contemplative photography which invites us to see your own environment in new ways, often integrating a kind of meditation into the making of the image. It means "Good eye" in Tibetan; the ability to see the world in a pure way, without overlays of meaning and value, dislike or disinterest. For more, I invite you to visit the "Miksang Contemplative Photography" institute" which seems to be one of the leaders in the genre. 

Along being great fun, this is a real practice of introducing reflection into the everyday life. The practice to see and photograph the world in new fresh way; capturing great shadows, elegance of lines and shapes or clashes of colour. All things most non-photographers will probably ignore but hopefully we notice. For me it has nothing to do with religion or belief but all with discovering new ways in learning to see. 

The images often provoke more questions that they provide the viewer with answers. Such is hopefully also the case with the image below. Are we looking at reflection? If so, is it on the left or right? In the scene below, I was attracted by the warm colours inside and the blue cold winter morning light outside.  

Image details:

  • Fujifilm X-S10 with XF60 f2.4 macro lens
  • ISO 1600, f 9.0, 1/90s
  • Straight Out Of Camera ( #SOOC)
Personally I like to use a slightly longer lens, like the XF60mm (90mm full frame equivalent), to capture these type of images as it makes isolating certain subjects out easier. In line with my street photography, I do hardly any image editing on these type of images. Trying to do it all in camera, capturing the world around me like it is.

Lastly, I'm a strong believer in how photography can be great for your mental health, especially in challenging times like the ones we live in right now. Like Street Photography, Miksang Contemplative photography is a genre which I gravitated to without knowing it really existed. As most of my travels, for at least the first few months of the new year, will limit myself to the hotel premises, you can expect to see more here. Trying to dive deeper into the genre has been a New Years resolution. I've recently purchased a few books, which hopefully will achieve that objective! 

Remember: "If your eyes are open, you will see the things worth seeing." - Rumi 

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