It has been a while since I posted in this space and I realize now that I have neglected my writing brain, my contemplative source of trials and tribulations. However, on a deeper level thoughts collided and finally made their way to the surface, ready to be shared.

As you know I do like to capture beauty in my photos, authentic beauty as it presents itself in the moment. A call to ponder "beauty" is called for, I think. Take a breath and think what the word means to you. What comes to mind, what images pop in immediately? 

I am sure a wilted flower, broken vase or scratched piece of furniture is most likely not the immediate result of such a contemplation. We have been taught to value perfection over genuine self. 

The photo accompanying today's blog is of a repurposed row of theater or stadium seats, with perfectly peeling paint, scratched wood and squeaky hinges. As I serenaded its presence with my camera, I noticed the different shades of blue and underlying greens, the soft, rounded ends of the arm rests, where hands of different sizes, shapes and color are still placed or maybe trying to find that perfect spot where a drink is delicately balanced. People were part of an event when they used these chairs, maybe on a date, maybe spending some special one on one time with a child out or hanging out with friends.

There is beauty in the encapsulation of this shared and common experience. A momentary touch with the history of someone else's life. Nowadays, these chairs serve as resting places in a funky art space, placed near stairs and across from paintings or statues, evoking rest, stillness and for me: perfect imperfection.

I go on a journey to explore the Japanese art form of "wabi-sabi". The words "wabi" and "sabi" have evolved over time and eventually became one word. Wabi includes simplicity and quietude, but also elements of random occurrence. Sabi means beauty that stems from age, making an object more beautiful and valuable. (http://mercury.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/nontech/wabisabi.html). There is a certain roughness involved, and an acknowledgement of impermanence and decay in nature.

For me, capturing authentic beauty is to serenade objects which do not immediately bring forth an acknowledgement of perfection. It is almost as if my soul merges with the object and sees beyond the surface where you listen and see the quiet invisible stories and circumstances.

Practically speaking, that involves playing with different angles, contrasts, color, light and focus. And as I get lost in the almost transient state of mind, beauty shines through and the image is born. Certainly, aesthetic appreciation lies in the eye of the beholder but we can learn to see beauty and perfection in new ways, including in ourselves.

We are made of many small beautiful moments and gestures that live in the valleys and mountains of our inner landscape. We have to connect with our inner self, practice self-compassion and acceptance so that an outward radiation of light is noticed by others. It is that light that gives beauty to everything.

We can see it in a wilted flower that gave everything to the world so that we could notice it at the height of its bloom, smell it, tend to it and still notice the paper like texture and bleached color of its blossom when it reaches the end of its life cycle. It may have nourished bees and butterflies and brought color to our garden. The beautiful balance of giving and receiving is restored. A sacred impermanence and continuum of beauty.

We connect more easily with our inner landscape in the quietude of nature and are able to notice imperfection and accept impermanence. Nature allows us to see "what is", which in itself sets a mindful pace of self-acceptance.

Wabi-sabi lives in wrinkles and gnarled trees, in dandelion-sprinkled lawns and dogs with one floppy ear. It resides in worn slippers, smooth baseball gloves, wrinkles around our eyes and in handwritten diaries. It shows off in a child's first creation and in the softness of a heirloom textile. We find it in treasure boxes under the bed, in smiley faces drawn on the foggy school bus windows and favorite mugs with disappearing patterns. It is our life in its most authentic expression and deserves to be recognized and valued in all its simplicity and imperfect magnificence.

Kayaking and white water rafting have taught me one thing: without your paddle you are drifting without direction and purpose.

On a rather extreme trip down the New River Gorge in West Viriginia our small 5-person raft was approaching some level 4 and 5 rapids when our guide yelled over the roaring noise of the churning water, "No matter what happens, you've got to hold on to your paddle! Otherwise you will just be useless weight in the raft." Well, honestly, the paddle was not at the forefront of my mind at that point. I was praying to the heavens that we all would make it through the 4s and 5s without needing to find out whether we could catch the rope to be pulled back into the raft or be strong enough to swim towards the shore. Neither one of those two choices seemed very realistic to me as my amygdala was in overdrive with fight or flight choices. I guess none of us was able to flee this situation, so we had to fight, be quick, yell loudly, stay focused and dip those paddles into the rapids in sync. Paddles in hand, viciously propelling our tiny raft around the boulders under the expert directions of our guide in the back. He knew the river by heart, every turn, every undercurrent, every rock, and way out. We trusted him with our life and were more than ecstatic when the currents grew smaller, the raft stilling its up and down motion.  The river taught us fear, respect for its force of nature, determination and resilience. We felt victorious, heroic - high fives for everybody, adrenaline rush, gratitude for an awesome guide - we made it.

While my other kayaking adventures did not involve signing any waivers, they did include the same basic tools: a vessel in which to sit, and one or two oars to create motion and reduce torque - Newton's 2nd and 3rd law in practice. Expert kayakers know how to maximize the propelling force and minimize torque. To me, it is more about the rhythmic motion of the paddle, a more peaceful dipping and turning of the oar. I feel in sync with the waves, turning in and out of the wind. 

So many times in life we charter into new territory, in need of maps, compass, GPS and some mechanism to propel us forward. We can trace our journey from point A to point B, allowing for course corrections along the way. But how do we reach point B? What motivates us to keep going? Why is point B our destination? What rush is waiting there for us as a reward for the hard work? My answer was lying in the soft moss somewhere in the remote lake region of northwestern Maine: a white paddle with the word "harmony" written on it. A bit of zoom-in comtemplations is in place - try to visualize the following:

The paddle as a means to reach the goal, our inner balance leading to harmony along the journey. The steady rhythm of the oar, one dip into the water closer to the destination. When we feel determined and in the zone, inner harmony will be the driving force behind the paddle. Think of Newton's 2nd law in this way: the force applied is inner motivation. You are the object reacting to this force with the acceleration of your moving forward being proportional to your "net" motivation, meaning taking any hurdles along the way into consideration.

It seems that when you feel balanced, in harmony with yourself and the world at large, you are able to apply a greater force and therefore propel faster towards your goal. It may even feel relatively easy to achieve this when you are completely focused on your goal. You are in the zone, or as Ken Robinson describes it: "(...) you are in your element when your talent meets your passion."  That sweet spot is where you get refueled when the going gets tough. Point B of your journey is the expression of your passions and talents, your chosen profession or hobby. It is what you turn to every day and what makes you feel happy and fulfilled. It is the place where your inner light shines outward and illuminates everything around you. That sense of inner harmony is what will continue to motivate you to reach point B and possibly beyond. So just as our trusted guide on the New River reminded us before entering the challenging section of the course, hold on to your paddle! It is the extension of your zone, the embodiment of your talents and passions and the tool to propel you forward. Without it, you are indeed off course and out of the zone.

The ancient Greeks differentiated between two approaches to time measurement: Kronus (chronological, linear time) and Kairos (right or opportune moment). When we think about mindfulness and living in the moment, we experience Kairos, a sort of time portal that seems to stretch time to inifinity. We detach ourselves from schedules and appointments, our time spent gains meaning and we experience an overall sensation of peace, stillness and relaxation.

Meditation is a tool for entering this time portal, a practice that seems overwhelming to many of us because we don't fully embrace all the different ways of meditation, therefore assuming that meditatation needs to be in a quiet, preferably indoor location and will require scheduling a regular time commitment in our already busy and overscheduled lives.

I like to think of meditation as a daily practice in many small Kairos moments, using all my senses and allowing myself to clean my brain of certain noise clutter so that I have more intake room for the sensations and experiences around me. Think of the many opportunities  to delve into Kairos we are given each day, while not ignoring the fact that much of our lives are determined by Kronos. 

Let me illustrate this by the following example: once a week  at sunset, on my way to yoga class, I drive by an older man, who is standing on the corner of his neighborhood facing west, his eyes closed and his hands folded in front of him as in prayer. When I first noticed him, I slowed down, because I was not sure if he was ready to cross the street. The following week, he stood there again, same spot, same time. When the winter sun disappeared behind the forested horizon, I noticed him standing on that corner about two hours earlier.  When I am on my way to yoga, finding my own inner peace for two hours, I am anticipating this man's presence , standing like a statue with his face turned towards the setting sun, so obviously being completely enveloped by the moment while late rush hour traffic zooms by. This is his moment, his Kairos, his quiet end to a day. And he will be there again, the next day, as the sun sets. He may not realize that his daily routine is being noticed by passersby in cars, yet he is setting a welcome pace in a world that has forgotten how to slow down.

I suppose my point with this example is that there will always be a time and place in our day where we can connect on a deeper level. Looking up from our electronic devices for a moment to see a beautiful image, breathing in the earthy fragrance after a warm summer rain, smiling at another human being, noticing the wind on our skin, the tingling grass underneath our feet, the sweet taste of summer fruits, the gentle gong of a windchime in the garden, the buzzing of busy worker bees, noticing the feel of our office chair, rolling thunder in the distance and the soothing sound of gentle rain on leaves, the smell of fresh cut grass, noticing the heart-shaped stone on your walk and so much more.

My meditational moments emerge when I am in nature. I tend to be a meditational walker, it comes literally naturally to me. The mindful practice of quieting the mind while sitting still is a challenge to me. Some days are easier than others. But a walk in nature seems to be my personal no fail approach to experience this deep comtemplative state. It must be because the great outdoors have always been my happy place, my go to destination when life seemed to throw me into imbalance. For somene who grew up in the city, I have to imagine that the sounds and energy of urban life must have the same effect. I do not think there is a right or wrong way to enter the time portal of Kairos. For me, it just has to be a green space; it could be a small garden, a park, a hike.

I find nature to be my entryway to Kairos, when perfection is found in the tiniest of creations and a sense of peaceful awe takes up all my head space. I take meaning from visual cues, waiting for the opportune moment to take the photo, serenading the beauty of creation and diversity. It is these little moments of meditation that add up in my mindfulness savings account, from which I can withdraw as needed. Rather than engaging in senseless activity, I like the senseFULLness of this experience. It helps me to be a better photographer because there is a message that I want to send out into the universe: a message of beauty, of authenticity, of quiet and light. And I thank the stranger on the corner near my neighborhood for being that beacon of intentional peace and zoom-in contemplation.

If you have looked through my portfolio on this website, you know that I prefer macro photography, passionate about noticing the small things in our lives that are worth exploring more by fully zooming in and trying to capture their authentic essence. Oftentimes these explorations required me to get down to the ground, close to the earth where some magnificent beauty waits to be discovered, where we feel connected and literally grounded. I have taken some of my favorite images from that view angle.

My dilemma lately has been that I have physically not been able to catch these perspectives in quite the same way, a rather frustrating experience so early in the spring, when the first flowers emerge from the wintry soil at ground level.

I deeply respect nature's rhythm, its own order of events: first the forest grounds are showered with sunshine, before the tree canopy closes up with new leaves, only allowing shade loving plants to thrive in the woods. Luckily, some spring blooming trees seem to have evolved in exception to this general rule, so that we may enjoy cherry, apple, pear and magnolia trees, growing beautiful flowers on eye level at this time of year - truly my saving grace. While my own perspective on daffodils and crocuses may have to change for the moment, I am currently aligning my personal order of photo events with the timely bloom of these stunning tree specimen. Instead of photographing at low angles, I am meeting the object at eye level. 

What does "on eye level" actually  mean in reference to our daily lives? Let's engage in what I like to call "zoom in contemplations" - my philosophical ponderings through photo stories:

Seeing something or someone eye to eye means we put ourselves on their level. We try to be equal and are able to see what they see. It may also mean that we have to get out of our comfort zone (as mine was the low to the ground perspective) and change up things a bit. We learn to understand and may find the new perspective challenging, yet intriguing. Just like outdoor photography comes with a lot of uncontrollabe challenges (ambient light, weather, etc.), our daily lives are affected by outside influences, requiring us to be more resilient and open to change.

Mindfulness teaches us to deeply live in the moment, to feel with all of our senses, seeing and experiencing the world around us with the same intensity every day, allowing us to delve into even the most mundane tasks with more awareness. We learn to acknowledge the discomfort we may feel, only to let it pass through us, setting it free without dismissal or judgment. I suppose this sounds very strange to some of my blog readers, but it helps to feel in control over how to navigate circumstances we may not be able to change right now, meeting them at eye level. Only from that angle can we focus on the task ahead, set up our mindmap and restore our inner balance. Our world needs us to feel grounded and compassionate so that we can channel our energy into being the change we need to be.

Seeing eye to eye is about truth, honesty, integrity, authenticity and facts. It acknowledges our own values and needs, it confirms our beliefs and experiences while facing the challenges right on. Instead of giving in, use that mindmap laid out and set your compass for action and change. Focus in on what matters to you and be open to new perspectives and exposure points. You may just end up seeing eye to eye with new opportunities, not circumstances.

On my walk with my K-9 companion at my side and camera in hand, I was reminded that there is beauty on all levels of the frame. We just have to be willing to look up or down, left or right. Yes, I miss not being able to get to the ground, coming home with grass stains on my jeans. But I love serenading the blossoms on the trees and find that this new perspective holds its own rewards. I see the blooming tree eye to eye, feeling grounded through its roots, which are beneath the ground where the beautiful flowers start to emerge. And my eye's lens still notices the small wonders among brown leaves on the ground, creating an image on my internal viewfinder.

The year is nearing its end and is culminating in its sweet spot where reflection and resolutions meet and create new energy for the days to come. We ask ourselves: what do I want from the new year? What do I want to do differently?

World news certainly gave us many reasons this past year to think that we should resign, give up all hope and reminisce in the memories of "the good old days". However, this is not the entire image of our world, it is just the one we choose to see, clouded by darkness and fear. These low light conditions rarely bring forth a good image.

Our internal viewfinder needs LIGHT to better focus on what matters in our world. Each year, holidays around the globe celebrate their most important holidays with vessles of light (candles, lanterns) - sharing one common goal: to drive out the dark and invite JOY, HOPE and LOVE into our life. We, too, can be vessels of light. Here are a few suggestions for igniting your inner light and sending lightwaves out into the world:

1) Changing the world seems like an impossible task. Yet, I believe that we can all give it a try by starting to bring more LIGHT into the here and now in our corner of the planet, creating a ripple effect in the world. We are all connected to each other, with social media more than ever. There are wonderful online communities that celebrate the good in the world each and every day. As a photographer I like to participate in "Celebrate What's Right With the World", a community Facebook page founded by the award winning National Geographic photographer Dewitt Jones. Together, participants from all over the world celebrate the small, awe inspiring moments in photos and words and share eachother's joy in illuminating the beauty of our planet. Check out this lovely community at https://www.facebook.com/celebratewhatsright/ and join into the celebrations.

2) Sending out beacons of LIGHT starts with each one of us. Only we can determine how we show up, how we interact with one another and and thereby influencing our view of the world. This LIGHTinduced ripple effect of JOY, HOPE and LOVE starts with a small ignition within us but can draw circles bigger than you can imagine right now. Rays of LIGHT can be as simple as a smile to a stranger in the store. If we hold still for a moment, count our blessings (not just during the month of Thanksgiving) and open our eyes for all the good people in the world, we actually see, that there is HOPE and HUMANITY. Candles are always lit in the darkest moments of human history, a symbol of peace and remembrance. Next time your family gathers for a meal on an ordinary weekday, light a candle and make it special. These are the moments where LIGHT becomes LOVE.

3) Each year, when the days grow shorter during the winter months, Mother Nature is already at work to transform LIGHT energy in its seeds and prepares for growth in the spring. It is a beginning, born in the dark. Every year, we embrace this circle of life - the ying and yang of dark and light. One can not exist without the other, but LIGHT will always draw out dark. Let an outing to a botanical garden inspire you in your own gardening pursuits and start growing some seedlings inside before transplanting them outside during the spring. Even a colorful bouquet from the store can lighten up a friend's day in the middle of winter - just because, no special occasion needed. LIGHT used darkness and turned it into BEAUTY.

So, as you count down the days to the turning of the calendar page, remember that we all carry an internal torch that can be ignited by our passions. When our inner LIGHT shines outward, it finds a way to connect with other LIGHT sources. May your authentic self wander from this past year across a bridge of LIGHT into the new year, connecting your reflections and your resolutions. May you find DELIGHT in all that you do and be a beacon of LIGHT for someone else. Together, we can make the world a brighter place, one LIGHT at a time. Wishing you all a light filled 2017 and continued happy zooming in!

This is a special blog for me as it is the eve before my son's graduation. An exciting and emotional time for all of us as we are learning to let go. As so many times before, I tend to work myself through a situation with my lense and let the photos connect with my momentary state. 

I contemplated what it meant for my son, to leave the nest, to find his own path and destiny. His personal journey starts tomorrow, when he puts the tassle of his cap from the right to the left - a symbolic gesture, a compass needle to guide him through this new chapter of his own story.

In my photographic intent to celebrate beauty every day and play with different perspectives, I discovered that we need to open up the space between judgment and reaction, where hope, dreams, perseverance and joy live. When we lift the lense cover and let the light create an image, new views emerge.

Today, there is a sense of exploration and excitement in the air and of course a bit of weariness of taking the next step on life's windy journey. The ritual of moving the tassle from right to left opens up the space in time when we see what was and what will be, what judgments and reactions we may have had and what we know and what we may discover. As a photographer I find myself in that wonderful space a lot, where time passes a bit slower and everything is possible. Where the noise of life quiets down and we connect with ourselves, where we can clear our mind, be playful and experiment with new perspectives, not always knowing what the viewfinder will present to us. That is part of the excitement in the air when graduation day nears.

My biggest wish to my son and all graduates this year is to have the courage to open up that space between judgment and reaction and trust their true authentic self. I can't change the world for them, but I might inspire this new generation of global citizens to look at the world in a new way, so that they may discover the beauty presenting itself. Be brave, be true to yourself and learn to love the differences and new perspectives. Zoom into your hopes and dreams, and let unexpected visions emerge. The world is wide open and ready to swoon you with opportunities. May you all discover that personal space towards your own photo-synthesis and best wishes for your future!

There is a certain impatience I feel when spring is emerging in its early glory. I want leaves to cover bare branches and flowers to break through the brown soil practically overnight. It is then when my camera gear finds its application inside greenhouses or at garden centers, where parallel universes of luscious flora seem to exist. 

Eye and soul behind the lense, I enrich my color deprived visions with shades of glory, shapes of magnificence and fill my inner reservoir with calm energy and creative focus. I start paying attention to how I approach my object. First, my eye catches a sight, the viewfinder is added, zoom activated and a discovery is made. Slowly, frame by frame I move around the object in my own personal dance, serenading its authentic beauty and entering an almost meditative state, until I hear someone say:" Ma'm, your jacket is in the water". The observation brings me back to reality, reminding me what it means to be "in the zone".

I truly believe that an image reflects your experience in the moment, embedding a multisensory event into a photograph. Whatever you make of that moment is visualized. The photographed object in front of you could be a person, a flower, a door or a landscape. It really does not matter - what matters is that you are able to connect with the object's true authenticity. The vision captured in your viewfinder presents itself for you and as a photographer you have the opportunity to play with its existence through perspective, light, zoom, etc. And as a human being you humbly serenade the beauty revealed for you, respecting its simple, yet eternal value. This photographic choreography takes time and requests for us to be comfortable with a slower passing of time, the time during which the image is projected onto our soul, long before the camera's shutter closes. During this internal process we have honored the revelation of raw beauty, knowing we can never take it for granted, but rather respecting the vulnerabilty that accompanies its exposure.

So, the next time you are out on a photo shoot, revel in your beautiful purpose of photography. Make it shine in all its glory and imperfection! Dance the dance with your camera gear. Lose yourself in the moment and zoom into the object's authentic being, thereby giving it its rightful rank among the visual kings and queens worth their own ballad.

A new calendar page was just turned, bringing with it new resolutions, goals and the determination to make this the best year ever. How are we able to sustain our focus to stay on track and not loose sight of our vision? 

I like to use a photographic accessory to stand in as a visual compass for our embarquement into 2016 and beyond: the selfie stick! This little contraption allows us to put ourselves into the picture from afar, literally putting us into the scene, an extension of our arm length radius of our vision. Part of achieving one's vision/goal is to use the steps I have described in previous posts: zooming in to slow down, focusing on what matters, playing with new perspectives and using our internal filters and sensors to gauge our exposure comfort level. All of these elements work together to put OURSELVES in a better frame of mind, putting OURSELVES into the picture now. The selfie stick metaphorically gives that wide angle view of seeing the whole image with us in it. 

Maybe you have taken meaningful photos already and have arranged them in a vision board or framed and displayed them on your desk where you can remind yourself of your goal. Now challenge yourself to a photo walk where you take a photo of yourself in the context of the location or with an object that holds meaning for you. It can even be a photo taken during the late afternoon light, when the sun casts long shadows of yourself. Turn on your internal focus, try to be still and stay still in the moment and be patient to let the image present itself, you will recognize it when it emerges. The self portrait should be placed in the center of your vision board, where you can explore how you see yourself in relation to your goal/vision right now.

As the great photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson said:" Photography is your mind's eye." The camera translates your internal processes into an external object that relays a powerful message back to you. Your are building yourself and give your life's journey momentum through motivational energy: you engage in your own photo-synthesis.

Our best self largely depends on what we do with all the pieces described in my previous blogs, the zooming in, focusing, playing with new perspectives, working with filters and focus. If we see the connection of these parts, both internally and externally, we are not only able to take better, more meaningful images, but also have created a framework for our attitude and behavior by shaping our mood and reflecting on the moment. We connect the dots, put our numbers in proper order, cast a line outward with an image and put ourselves in a better frame of mind. 

The image of the two doors, connected by electric wires and three numbered mailboxes visualizes this concept for me. We are individuals connected with one another, but also with ourselves, ready to receive messages and working through steps that open doors to an unseen space, where our authentic self lives and creates.

Learning to be still, quieting internally helps us to develop a better frame of mind, changes our outlook and the megapixels of our soul shape the image quality of the shot. After all, photographers usually don't run when using their camera - they have learned to stand still, listen, look and be patient. Only then, will the image and its message reveal itself. Capturing the moment, framing it in the viewfinder and connecting to the image emotionally will give it meaning. So, go ahead, find your moment of quiet - your authentic creation can be framed, be set as a new screen saver or phone's wallpaper. Just looking at the image, will allow you to get right back to that moment and keep you in a balanced frame of mind. And as always: Happy Zooming In!

Every photographer knows that the exposure triangle is where we take control of the camera and ultimately are able to produce images that reveal our authentic self. The correlation of aperture, shutter speed and ISO is crucial to understanding how playing with different settings for each one of them will affect image exposure. 

Another way to understand the exposure triangle is to think of it in terms of our eye and brain connection: the aperture is our pupil, the shutter speed is the blinking eyelid and the ISO is our brain registering different sensitivities. With more exposure, more stepping out of our comfort zone, we learn to accept this greater vulnerability of being seen. Knowing that our internal sensor will pick up a higher exposure mode, allows us to understand why we are more sensitive towards certain things. This emotional compass assesses the next step towards our goal and can be a valuable stepping stone to overcoming hurdles along our personal journey. As in nature, growth can happen in low light conditions or inside a seed, which prepares a plant to break through the soil and continue its growth in daylight. As you experiment with the exposure triangle internally, try to see if your images reflect this collaborative effort of aperture, shutter speed and ISO over time. Get out of your automatic setting comfort zone and switch to manual mode! It is worth experimenting.

Photography can be a very multisensory experience beyond what the viewfinder captures.  Continuing to draw from the metaphorical use of technical photo terminology, filters are not just a part of the camera lens to reduce glare, protect the lens or changing color saturation, but also a metaphor for what we process internally via external stimuli. Our senses, and essentially our brain, filter our own intake as well, by deciding what we let in, and what we choose to filter out.

As you find yourself taking photos, do pay attention to what your senses are picking up externally and how it might guide you to an image. Our visual sense is usually what serves as a filter for us to decide whether something is worth taking a picture of or whether we like the image retrospectively. 

Participants of my motivational photo walks have testified that the image that spoke to them deeply in the moment just "jumped" out, presented itself spontaneously. When we are ready to see it, it carries meaning and can serve as a powerful imagery tool for supporting our visions and/or personal goal.

In my previous posts I covered "zooming in" and "focusing", which are the selective precursors for choosing a view, defining your own perspective.

If you want to make your images more interesting, your vision more compelling, playing with a new perspective is the way to go. Let's continue to explore our photographic string theory of the internal and external connection via our cameras: by playing with (internal) perspectives, you are not only taking a closer look at the world, but rather gaining new insights and a fresh outlook of the world. Your object, your goal, your vision is being examined from many different viewpoints, and thus becoming more authentic, more YOU! We choose how to shape our life and pursue our goal, our vision. The fun and sometimes challenging part is to see other people's perspectives.

As a photographer, I invite you to a simple photo exercise, in which you choose to take 10 DIFFERENT photos of the same object of your choice. Try to play with angles, bird's eye view versus bug eye's view, front versus back and consider also how you want to compose your image, i.e. do you prefer your object to be in the center of the frame or rather to the side. The more you focus on this simple assignment, the more you will learn about your own photographic ablities of producing interesting and unique images. The wanted side effect? A new way of looking at the world!

A lot of photography jargon is a metarphor to the actual steps of our internal processes. In my previous post on zooming in on a scene internally as well as externally, I described the intention of slowing down and being more aware of a moment in time. Once we achieved that, we are ready to hold still and focus with our mind and camera on the scene. If we are unable to focus, the image is blurry, hard to see and not worth keeping. We delete it from our memory (card). If we are working towards a goal, it is essential to have a clear idea of what it is that we want to achieve. 

Dewitt Jones, an award winning National Geographic photographer and motivational speaker said in one of his speeches "Without focus, there is no vision". Through microphotography we are able to see the most minute details in perfect clarity. We can play with that focus depending on what we choose to be the focal point of our photo. Internally, we very much make the same choices: we select what is worth paying attention to and put all of our energy into it. Once we are in the zone, all things are possible. We connect almost subconsciously and effortlessly to the task at hand, creating a path for our goal.

Photography is a great vehicle to put a vision, a goal, an intention in clear view. Visualization of a concept allows us to create a mental image of what it is we are thriving for and what we need to do in order to achieve it. Our brain actually creates different connections when we attach an image to an idea. Professional athletes learn to visualize their game/ competition prior to being in that situation. Researchers have even found that by imagining a physical work out, we are building muscle mass without actually lifting weights, but through mere mental imagery! Thus, a focused image, is essential for successful mental imagery. When we play with our zoom, we are increasing our focus and clarity towards the task or goal at hand.

The other day I was experimenting with my new telescopic lens at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. Springtime is a micro and nature photographer's heaven and the abundance of flowers was almost overwhelming. I particularly started focusing in dense flower fields, stems and blossoms close together, all about equal height. Kneeling down, I was zooming into the bloomy thicket and felt as if waking up in a botanical dream scape. It was almost dizzying to the eye behind the lens, playing with the zoom as if moving through the flower stems into a miniture world of its own. Eventually I focused on a single blossom in the far back of the field, while the rest of the blossoms created a hue of color around the image, framing the center of focus.

It made me think of how important it is to go deeper, delving right into the experience at hand, practicing true mindfulness, sometimes discovering the unexpected in life. Going below the surface requires us to be curious and open minded. You never know what magnificent wonders and insights greet us on the other end of the lens or on the next stepping stone of life's windy path.

In my practice as a photographer, I enjoy tuning out a busy day by looking through the lense and focusing on the essence presented to me in the moment. There is a lot of to be dicovered, not just by using micro photography lenses, but by opening up ourselves emotionally to a world that holds so much beauty, ready to be taken in. The art of photography combines many different skills, from learning image taking techniques, experimenting with editing tools and compostions. However, in photography we can risk to distance ourselves, the camera held between ourselves and the object itself. Through intension and focus, we can learn to zoom in further, to engage ourselves more and gain deeper understanding of why an image speaks to us before we push the button. 

We live in a highly connected, fast paced, information laden, global environment. To keep our inner balance, we tend to become selective about our engagement with our external world - things might go unnoticed and become undervalued. Through the lens of a photographer we get to see the world from a different perspective and hold on to a moment, an emotion, a connection with the world. Zoom In! stands for a daily practice to be more aware, living more in the moment and slowing down to create the time and space we need to see authentic selves and the world we live in.