Mindful

This piece by photographer Guy Tal - The Mindful Photographer - articulates the subject of mindfulness so well.

”Those who notice more than you do are not endowed with any special gift not available to others; they are simply people who have trained themselves to be mindful—to summon up attention that may otherwise be allocated elsewhere, and to focus it consciously on the task of becoming aware of things, feelings, and sensations, and to weave those into visual compositions. You can train yourself to do the same thing—to be more mindful—too.”

There is a certain style of photography that I like. It is exemplified by my friend Donna Hopkins in her blog Like Medicine for Me. She takes photographs of ordinary things in such an amazing way. You can visit her blog on my sidebar. Donna is mindful. She pays attention to the ordinary little things that she sees. She goes out every day and takes pictures and has become so professional that her work is being recognized. She can make you look at an ordinary leaf in a different way. 

I love to take pictures. I blog daily so I use my phone or ipad to shoot with instead of my big camera. It is easier than getting out that camera. But I have a longing to be a better photographer and not just take pictures to put on a blog. I would love to learn my camera better and take mindful pictures. 

When I visited Donna she took me on a photography walk that I won’t forget. She showed me how to look. We walked down streets as she pointed out simple things to take pictures of. She taught me to walk slowly and observe. Now I need to practice. 

Those were some of the most favorite pictures I have ever taken.