Faith, Focus and Flying: Savoring Time with Slow Photography

Photography dies, and lives, with time.

As photographers, we perpetually race against time. Slow photography is a way of being that allows us to relax with time. We can not master time nor extend it, but we can change our minds about it. Cultivating a Sloiw Photography mindset,  we can indulge our visual moments. We can find  joy not because of time, but within its flows. We can be inspired by time's rhythms.

Recently, I read the book Savor by teacher, author, artist and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. His approach to savoring the moment applies to Slow Photography. He writes of ways that we can bring four kinds of awareness to our image making process. For instance, here are 4 concepts from Nhat Hanh's writings that apply to Slow Photography. 

1. Peaceful Reverence

When I do portraits or make images of nature, more interesting images emerge if I approach subjects with reverence.

Mutual respect between photographer and subject is essential. Violent confrontations by photographers and famous persons rarely produce good portraits. When respect is absent, movie stars injure photographers, and vice versa.  

For portraits, it's important to photograph smoothly, quickly, but not rush your subject. A time-honored approach is to slowly blend in, showing people engaged in life, not paying attention to the photographer at all. 

2.  Faith, Focus, Flying with Film

 Joy comes from an attitude of mind. Three mental attitudes from James H. White are Faith ( reference or respect for subject) Focus (persisting and stopping only after I feel that "Aha, got the photo) and Flying (a joyful emotion, flying the camera around by millimeters, moving it slowly and slightly, weaving and dodging to line up compositions that create harmony between the background and my subject).

3. Deep listening. 

We must listen. Stop, look and then listen with your entire body and mind to the person or place you are portraying, before you touch your camera.

4. One Action

Take one thing in photography, do it with careful concentration and with a loving and kind attitude.

( About the Film: All photographs were on Kodak Professional Portra 160 and 400 film, converted to B/W, and camera used was a Bronica SQ-Ai with lenses110 f/4 mm macro and 150 mm f/3.5 ).