wherever the eye falls is the face of creation
– sufi saying
Photography has become a means by which I can pause and let my judging intellect be quiet so that the shared nature of everything can be seen, heard, and felt. With camera in hand, I am less concerned about looking than I am with being aware enough to fully perceive that which is calling to be noticed. During the entire process of obtaining the image and making the print, my intention is to be mindful and let that mindfulness illumine my intuition.
Blue Ridge Sunrise
When I set out to photograph I have no goals other than accepting the moments in front of me. Some might call this contemplative. For me, contemplative is to embrace all that comes forth to awaken and arouse my awareness of authenticity. This is true not only the instant I click the shutter, but also through the entire process that leads to an image/print which just feels right.
Beach and Bird
The image need not be pretty or shocking nor fulfill someone else’s criteria. It need only have presence enough to let me see and hear it with my being. There is then no need to ask what the image means nor why or how it was taken. For me it is enough to relax into the power of the moment the shutter is pressed or the printer is activated; to have no fear of trusting the truth of that moment.
Greybeard Forest
In short the process is an expression of personal authenticity. This authenticity at first might seem to be a “personal” experience but can be felt by others. What sources this reciprocity might not always be the content of an image but something else that stimulates a shared feeling of “hidden harmony” between the seen and not so obviously seen.
– Mitchell Doshin Cantor
Images and text © copyright Mitchell Doshin Cantor
listeningwiththeeye.com
florida zen
email: Doshin[@]bellsouth.net
the awakened eye 