Copyright 2012, Robert Bridges
All Rights Reserved
Home
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind, there are few.”
Contemplative photography uses the camera as a meditative tool and as a means of concentrating awareness and focusing one’s intent. Contemplation is a practice of simply being attentive, receptive, inquisitive and ultimately, grateful. The object of contemplation can be anything. The subject does not matter but the practice of opening oneself does. My practice conjoins Buddhist meditation with digital imagery. In combining the two I seem to have accidentally stumbled upon a way to create ‘bent light koans,’ and “once we have seen how the accident works, some of us will begin to make bent light koans on purpose.”
My passion for flowers was initially instilled by the love I experienced as a child spending time with my grandmother helping tend her garden. Then, her love and wisdom sown with gentle kindness nurtured me. Now, the hours I spend sitting in some semi-shaded spot on a bit of soft earth, mindfully surrounded by beauty, deep in concentration, absorbed in the moment - in the subject - practicing seeing the world with new eyes - brings me serenity and joy. Gardens become sanctuary and flowers become muses. I am finding my way back home.
When the flowers fade I am drawn to autumn with its colors and transitions and to the mysteries of change, impermanence and letting go. When photographing fall colors I become a child – full of innocence and purity – trusting and joyful - playfully exploring mind, imagination, and heart. As I play I talk to the trees asking their permission to photograph them and waiting for a response. The world becomes magical I laugh often and end the time with a lightness in my heart. The Japanese have a saying: “Sha shin ki do;” “what the eye sees, the heart knows – of the way to join the two.”
Since beginning this practice of contemplative photography, life has become an exciting adventure taking me to new places and spaces. The camera is my tool - grace and direct experience are my guides. The imagery I create arises from a space of not knowing. A quality of mind sometimes described as beginner’s mind or “wu-wei,” in which the mind is silent and the art expresses itself. In Zen the practice of the arts was a “way of training the mind and living life.” Chado, the way of tea; shodo, the way of the brush; kyudo, the way of the bow; and kado, the way of the flower. My path appears to be the way of the flower.
“When heart is open – you will change – just like a flower – slowly opening.”
Quotes:
Suzuki Roshi; Minor White; Trungpa Rimpoche; J.D. Loori; Van Morrison
