Hello Fellow Contemplative Photographers.
There are many people these days who feel a connection to this type of photography, and it can be confusing and difficult for the aspiring contemplative photographer to clarify the method, the motivation, and measure of what we see and do within this path.
Because of the popularity of the contemplative approach to photography there exists a tremendous pull to systematize, dogmatize, and basically take proprietary ownership of the inherent freshness within this approach. From this fundamentally uncreative urge, a new school no doubt will arise which easily identifies and judges according to standards that are enforced by teachers with checklists. This process has repeated itself endlessly within academic circles and wherever genuine insight has given way to conceptual understanding.
It is easy to lose the thread of genuineness and confidence in our ability to stay with our direct perceptions, and it is also easy to come right back.
True Miksang is not about the content particularly and it’s not about whether it looks like a Miksang shot. To me it is entirely about the ground of the perception and whether that is apparent in the execution of the photograph. This is very rare and in many cases absent from what is being posted on the Internet as 'Miksang'.
What is this ground? The ground of Miksang shooting is the open space of availability. The flash of perception arises out of this empty open space and without the presence of the flash in the image it is flat and lifeless, somebody’s idea.
Passion to connect and express.
Joyful experience of being alive.
Expressed with:
Genuineness
We can see the world without all our ideas and opinions and appreciate it as it is.
Confidence
We don’t have to worry that what we have seen isn’t good enough just as it is.
How Can We Recognize a Truly “Miksang” Image?
First, I would like to point out something that really needs to be said, as I have read various discussions about whether Michael Wood is true to the ‘Miksang style’. There is no Miksang style.
This cannot be imitated because it is not based on a conceptual formula. It can be felt directly with the mind, the heart, and the eye.
Here are the essential aspects that must be present in a successful Miksang Image:
The Image expresses a Flash of Perception.
The Image is an expression of the Mind Quality of the Photographer.
Can you feel the heat of connection, the peace of no struggle, the absolute mind quality?
I hope this is helpful, and if you are shooting without starting with an open mind and eye and heart, it’s a good idea to re-establish your connection with the visual exercises we have given you before you go shooting.
Julie
© Julie DuBose 2009
Hi Julie. Very nice inaugural post. Thoughtful and well-written. The blog is a wonderful concept and I look forward to visiting regularly.
ReplyDeleteAn occasional Miksang photo with the articles would be a nice addition. I don't think the pictures necessarily have to represent the post content.
All the best with this effort!
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI am going to avidly follow the conversation via RSS feed. Looking forward to it and already have gotten much from your first post. Great idea to do this.
Scott
Thanks, Julie, for providing a this forum. I sometimes feel that few understand what my photos are about.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the internal signal that alerts you to a moment of perception? Sometimes I seem to be "looking for a photograph" and sometimes I come upon something that is just such a cool visual image. Sometimes I take the photo right away and other times I have to really think through how to create a replication of my moment. I would appreciate some discussion of the recognition of a Miksang perception.
Hi Judith.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your question. The flash of perception has very definite qualities. If they are present you can trust it is a flash and then you go through the steps of the visual discernment, and then you form the equivalent. If there is doubt about whether or not a flash has occurred, then I would walk away at the beginning.
Qualities of the Flash of Perception:
Sudden, shocking, disorienting, sharp, brilliant, rich, absorbed, buoyant.
When you are stopped by a flash, then you physically stop. Stop and really look further and understand what stopped you. Where does it start and end, what's included and not included, is it a vertical or horizontal?
Keep still with the perception as you clarify your understanding. When you are clear about it, hang in there and be still further. Are you resonating? Is your heart opening further? Do you want to commit to this flash? If yes, then it is time to bring the camera to your eye. What depth of field? Is this the perception? If so, then you press the shutter. Then remain still as the experience begins to dissolve.
This is all there is. You start with a genuine flash about which you have no doubt. Otherwise the whole process has no ground. The only way go develop confidence in this is to practice it again and again. Then it becomes an automatic part of your being and how you see.
Please understand. This is a very simple process and not a conceptual one. You don't have to replicate anything - you stay inside the flash throughout the process of taking the image. Hold your mind still and fully present in the moment. If you lose the continuity of the flash, then just let it go. This is what we work with in detail during the Essential Instructions Workshop.
Warm Regards,
Julie
I enjoyed Michael's gallery which you sent today. Along with your thoughts I began pondering: As I look at Miksang galleries, how many times reflections, in cars, in windows, in puddles, seem to stimulate that flash of perception. Then I start seeking out those types of opportunities and wonder if I am no longer really open, but instead am experiencing a heightened awareness of a narrower range of perceptions.
ReplyDeleteHi Judith.
ReplyDeleteAs you remember in Level One, we have an intention to see a particular element of form such as color and texture, and when our eye and mind are synchronized, the flash of perception can arise in our minds. This is the what you have practiced so far.
As we continue to work with the basic discipline of being open and available to our world, as we open further we are stopped by a wider range of perceptions, and certainly reflections are a field of perception that we play in as part of our experience of our visual world.
There is nothing conceptual about this, it's not something that we go looking for particularly, just as we don't specifically go out to shoot people, dogs, or water. We may do assignments working with our ability to remain open while in situations that normally provoke conceptual filters, such as people, water, cars, etc. so that we can strengthen our ability to shoot from the flash. But in the end, it's not the subject matter. It is empty of inherent meaning. It is the flash that counts, the coming together of the elements of form in a unique way in that moment.
Thank you for your question!
Warm regards,
Julie
Well thanks for your last email (7/10/2009) about all the things going on "Miksang" and Michael's newest gallery of images. Your comments and Michael's images in particular made me want to post these comments to possibly start a discussion.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest "problem" I have when practicing Miksang is the tension between being fully available and capturing perceptions as they come regardless of what they "look like" and the DESIRE to make images that "look great" to me and the general public as fine art photographic pieces.
As I looked at Michael's images, I realized what was going on here because of my interest and grounding in Miksang, but realized that the general public and even the photographic artistic community in which I am heavily steeped, would look at some of these images and say simply "Huh?" As I edit my own Miksang images, I realize that there is always this background tension between simple rendering of the flash of perception and the DESIRE and ATTACHMENT to make art pieces to display and print.
This attachment to making these prints ALWAYS for me gets in the way of being open and perceptive. I am often struggling to let go of this desire and simply get back to open perception without agenda. Then things really begin to click (so to speak!).
I suspect that many people, especially those that come to Miksang from a photographic background, struggle with this issue. I have chosen to deal with it by constantly noticing my GREED for "good" images when out doing Miksang, letting it go and continuing to practice. Often then I will get some images that cross that boundary between RAW Miksang perception which are for my own consumption and enjoyment and images that have that added extra of being enjoyable, meaningful, beautiful, and communicate the flash of perception to the "uninitiated to our practice" public. The key for me is to not try to control which pictures translate to fine art prints and simply let the process unfold. Prints worth printing and displaying to the public are rare gifts that come in their own time and way. I have learned that when I try for them, they simply don't appear.
What have others experienced?
Scott
Hi Scott,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post and would like to offer my comments. My first response when I read it was - 'wow - I am in the same boat as Scott'. I think the way you expressed the dilemma was right on and the solution of letting it go and continuing to practice seems accurate to me.
As you know, I came from a photographic background and in my early days of developing and practicing Miksang, I felt like I had a foot in two worlds, which was a struggle for me. It took many years of effort to finally tip the scales and let go of the end result to whatever degree I was able. The push and pull of seeing/shooting for a potential audience became a real limitation for me. The sense of attachment to those images I thought would be 'accepted and appreciated' by an audience of like-minded photographers had a quality of - 'well, that is why I do this'.
When I first encountered the 'Dharma Art' teachings of Chögyam Trungpa I was intrigued when he described how the act of artistic creation could be free from the burdens of thinking of oneself as an 'artist' and creating work for a particular audience, which I would like to quote from here:
'The basic problem in artistic endeavor is the tendency to split the artist from the audience and then try to send a message from one to the other. When this happens, art becomes exhibitionism. One person may get a tremendous flash of inspiration and rush to 'put it down on paper' to impress or excite others and a more deliberate artist may strategize each step of his work in order to produce certain effects on the viewer. But no matter how well-intentioned or technically accomplished such approaches may be, they inevitably become clumsy and aggressive towards others and towards oneself. In meditative art, the artist embodies the viewer as well as the creator of the works.'
Chögyam Trungpa. Naropa Institute. July, 1974
When I first read this, I could hear the air escaping from the wheels of my 'artistic' vehicle. As I went on and practiced Miksang further, I came to realize that, as he also said - 'The Journey is the Goal'. In terms of photography, I began to realize that the actual process of noticing and seeing the world around me in a fresh way was the heart of the matter, and everything else like editing and printing seemed to be a secondary and natural extension of it. My early work seemed in retrospect to be a dry re-stating of the classic themes that the world of photography had developed and approved of. Templates.
I think for all of us in Miksang, there is a pretty clear fork in the road. One way takes us into the realm of appreciating Miksang and applying some of the principles to create better photos (whatever that means). This is the foot in two worlds I mentioned earlier. The other road involves abandoning the safety net and going for broke! In this case, we practice fully and completely, keeping our attention on our experience at hand and letting go of the expectations coming from the 'photography world'.
If one is genuine and confident in expressing our experience as directly as possible from the flash to the print there is great joy and no problem. The 'Huh?' you refer to in your post sounds is a familiar response to some of my own work . It means that what I am presenting is outside of the 'template' box, which is the basic point of Miksang. Fresh-O-Rama!
Sorry for the long response. I really enjoyed your post and I hope the conversation continues.
Michael
Hi Julie
ReplyDeleteI am relatively new to Buddhist practice and thinking and am about to attend my first Shambhala event at a local level, at the same time I have been involved in photography for more years than I care to recall. I was rapt to discover Miksang photography and your blog as I was reading about Chogyam Trungpa's Dharma art.
Interestingly enough I have always strived, in my photography, for that 'moment of connection' when the mind, the eye, the elements and the content all merge into one. Henri Cartier Bressen referred to it as 'the decisive moment'.
I know from experience that creating such photos is a journey fraught with disappointment and frustration, as the visualisation and the final image don't always match. I wonder whether in worrying about whether the end result matches any preset vision, I am actually missing the point - accept things as they are without wishing for what might have been - the Miksang photo may actually already be there in the image - if only I could see it!
As I said, I am new to Buddhism and to be able to combine that with my photography makes for an exciting future.
Hi JC. Your comment gets at the very core of why people are drawn to Miksang. They have a startling, mind stopping perception and want to take a photograph of it so that they can keep it and share it. Then they find they are uncertain about what it was and they do their best, but in the end it is a poor expression of the vibrancy of the original experience.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible to express these perceptions precisely, and that is what Miksang training is about.
If you are inspired by what you read on this website, I encourage you to come to a Level One and start to learn how you can develop the ability to shoot this way consistently with confidence. We have one coming up in Boulder very soon. I hope we see you there!
Thank you for your comment.
Julie
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHello All
ReplyDeletethank you, Julie, and you others, for already some good reading at such early age of this blog -
Though I have had no direct experience/teaching of miksang (yet), it does seem a path worth treading, not only in photography, but in life generally ...
good wishes
peter
I received an email from someone who has taken many Miksang courses and is a really fine photographer. I asked if I could link to her gallery and this was her reply:
ReplyDelete"I do have a website which includes many Miksang photos but also images in which I am "seeing bigger", so not the ideal site to visit for Miksangers. Although my photography seems to have veered somewhat from the "true" Miksang path, my way of seeing and discerning is still based on the Miksang principle and I feel my photography has vastly improved as a result of my workshops with Michael and yourself."
After reading this I was perplexed.
When she said she was “seeing bigger” and her photography has veered from the true “Miksang Path”, I thought she must be making up her images and applying Photoshop, not expressing a flash of perception. So I went to her website to see for myself. Such a collection of Miksang images! They are wonderful. So having said that, I have to come back to what she said about her work and make some general comments about what I have heard on occasion from other students of Miksang.
After studying and developing our Miksang discipline, Miksang altogether can become an external reference point for us, a static way of evaluating what we are doing. We get tired of measuring what we are doing against what we think is the pure Miksang standard and so we move away in our minds from this" limited way" of shooting. In our minds Miksang becomes the opposite of freedom and joy in seeing. In fact, although there is no Miksang style or subject matter, as long as we believe that there is, we will at some point be frustrated by our misunderstanding.
In spite of all the work we do in courses to stabilize our Miksang discipline through applying it to all kinds of different subject matter and how in each course the fields of perception change but the discipline of expressing our direct perception does not, we still believe that Miksang involves particular subject matter. Miksang is about our state of mind when we shoot and having the genuineness and confidence to express our perception, whatever that is, clearly.
It doesn’t matter to me or anybody whether somebody considers themselves a Miksang photographer. It's just another label, a credential. It is really irrelevant. What does matter is that our photographs are genuine and come directly from our direct perception, and that is truly marvelous.
As we develop as photographers, we all know our little trap doors, places where we fudge. We may put images on our gallery which we feel we just liked, but don't really have the flash quality. This is our own personal path and we can choose to make it up or keep it fresh. Who cares?
Hi Judy,
ReplyDeleteOne topic that gets a lot of attention is the issue of cropping photos. Now I know that is usually discouraged (it is the flash of perception as you see it in the moment that is important, not what you want to see later in post production) however, I notice many people use zoom and telephoto lens when practicing Miksang and is this not cropping of a sort? I find it hard to believe that someone was stopped by something when the distance-to-subject is several hundred feet away. What are your thoughts on in-the-field cropping?
Thanks much,
Paul
I have another follow-on question regarding post-production of our photos. Some who practice Miksang state that no post-production should be done (at all, no exceptions). The photos right off the card are the final versions of the photos. Period. I find this kind of severe. I know both you and Michael Wood do minor post production on photos (curves, levels, etc. . . at least in the workshop any way) in order to bring the photo more in line with what your perception was at the moment the photo was taken. The issue is further complicated when using JPEG (the camera applies many kinds of presets to "improve" the image) or RAW (which needs some tweaking as the image is usually not ready right out of the camera). Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteThanks much,
Paul
Hi Peter
ReplyDeleteYes, for me it's a rather new, but valuable contribution
to the quality of my life.
Perceptions, I always translated them...drawing, painting, and later on,
with my camera.
Then I started meditation in a Shambala centre and after seeing a excercise of Michael Wood with Miksang students I feel and knew certainly: This is a strong form of meditation for me, this brings me really to basic: open mind, soft in my body, nothing else but what my eyes are percepting. When I don't feel like that, I put my camera away (for a while).
Yes, I feel this kind of perception as my path, and I'm very grateful with the possibilities me given by my teachers, Michael and Julie,and my camera to express it.
Of course: Meditation beside it is for me also very useful.
Wish you all the best
Margriet Boekhoorn