Zen Eureka!

Today I happily stumbled across an important little book I've been searching for during the past few weeks: Zen in the Art of Photography, by Robert Leverant, Images Press/San Francisco, 1969.

Stains on cover compliments of Hurricane Andrew.

The first time this book entered my life, it came with a perfect timing. This little, two dollar book arrived on Christmas eve of 1975. 

In 1975 a visit to the in-laws in Rochester (the town that Kodak built), New York always meant another visit to the George Eastman house. I was, as usual, in the mood to browse over the latest exhibitions. As a relatively young man, I was re-evaluating my career options at the time.

Should I continue my college teaching career, or should I attempt to turn casual photography sales into a second career? That was the dilemma; this little brown book helped with my solution. 

Robert Leverant presents us with 162 beautifully simple, poetic exposures of why we, who are infected by photography, want to make photographs. He reminds us that photography is to be found in the heart, how "Photography is ourselves" and how we reach out- and inside with our picture-making in  order to connect worlds.

Of course, in 1975 follow your heart made the most sense to me. Still does.

~ ~ ~

Composition One

I usually grab the little Kodak hanging on my belt whenever I see something that stirs my aesthetic sensitivities. As a student of Zen photography I strive to articulate what attracts my senses through pictures. Most of the time this tendency leads to composition exercises and a closely related series of digital photos.

The subject matter is viewed at numerous points of view. I ask myself questions about the pictorial forms and light. I seek to gather picture elements that strike an emotional chord of recognition when I view the print.

Composition One, below, is a different exercise for me. While cutting onions I decided it might prove interesting to test my range of aesthetic convergence.

Composition One

After making the initial composition and exposure, I walked a great circle arc around the kitchen through the living room and back into the kitchen. I made return trips for compositions and exposures 2, 3, and 4. The full-frame photos were combined in Photoshop Layers and their opacity was adjusted to demonstrate the compositional variance between shots.

What does the image prove? 1. There is a relatively small range of my preferable framings for this composition, 2. Time-motion studies are a breeze while practicing Zen photography, and 3. the visual tensions between framings almost bring this multiple exposure scene into faux 3-D.  And 4. It was fun.

~ ~ ~