Zen photography is for me a sort of personal meditation using a camera. You can perform everywhere this kind of photography, in your house, outsite, in the streets,at work. It helps me also to focus on composition, contrast between lights and shadows. It’s perfect for smartphone, a small compact camera always with you.
When i talk about zen photography I mean something different from common street photography. This kind of personal meditation is not about persons, it’s about lights, clouds, inanimated things as light cables, chairs, crack in the wall and so on. Why I’m talking about meditation? Because I have no stress when taking pictures of that things; no particular expectations, no fear of strangers. Usually I’m relaxed and time to waste, time to meditate.
Street photography (expecially when made outside, in the streets) is the opposite thing: fear, frustration, fear of failure, frenzy, impulsiveness, instinct and so on… A different job… Zen photography is a sort of antitode to the chaos of the streets.
I’ve posted here few examples using picture just uploaded on my website. But my HD e and my smartphone is full of images like those ones which are also a good excercise to keep you eyes trained, expecially for classic composition with geometric rigor.
I still prefer digital over analogue when it’s time to shot in this zen way. Whit digital I can shot more pictures and I can watch immediatly the result, setting also better the exposure. it’s important to me to watch what i shot immediatly maybe post-producing it few moments later. It’s part of this form of meditation. That’s why I use smartphone a lot. It’s always with me, it’s fast, it’s really performant and I can re-watch and post-produce images immediatly.
Your Faces, book by Park Chan-wook
I take this opportunity to tell you about something that recently ended up in my hands and that you absolutely must know about. Recently I’ve bought from Korea a photographic book made by the great director of the masterpiece Old Boy, Park Chan-wook. The name of this stunning collection of pictures is Your faces.
Ok i’ve to admit that holding a book in my hands with pictures made by the great Park Chon-wook makes me fell awestruck. But many of that images are really stunning. Someone can define this book as a collection of conceptual photos and maybe that’s it. But in my eyes it’s a sort of Zen photography, perhaps a little more elevated in its concepts comparing to mine which is more relaxed and “useless”.
Here is a picture of the book. I can’t show you what’s inside but you can easily find some pictures searching on Google.
Now it’s your turn, try to create something using that concept of Zen photography. Smartphone will probably be the best camera to do that job. Trai your eye 24/7 improving also your photographic skills.
That’s all folks
Stay well, have always light in your life
Best, F.S.
Here is the link to my personal best pictures: street photography gallery
Read more about street photography, art, cinema
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