During 2017 I had two successful exhibitions and gave a talk as part of "Rewired", an event at the Royal Geographical Society in London. I helped raise several thousand pounds for neurological charities and was featured in newspapers, a magazine and local radio. I also got divorced and lost a lot of money to solicitors.... Continue Reading →
From years back, when I was still wearing the soles of my shoes out on street photo walks, I've found the idea of anonymising people and merging them into the urban landscape intriguing. I have some sympathy with people who question whether it's right to take photos of people without asking first. As much as I think candid... Continue Reading →
If you contemplate the miracle we call sight, what we actually see is light reflecting off "stuff" that is received by the sensory organs of the eyes and processed by the brain for the mind to make sense of. So, in a way, our mind is a house of mirrors from which we create meaning, our "lives" and... Continue Reading →
Mindful Photos Sunday Reflection: Does the taking of certain types of photograph contradict Buddhist or Mindful ethics? Any introductory book on Buddhism would be likely to mention the Five Precepts. They're ethical guidelines designed to help us avoid harming, and to create conditions helpful to the arising of wisdom. At number two is "not taking that which is not given"... Continue Reading →
"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. There's a saying: "Instead of trying to coat the world with leather, get yourself a pair of shoes". It comes from the 8th century Indian Buddhist monk Śāntideva who said - “Where would I find enough leather To cover... Continue Reading →
At the top of the first chapter of meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg's book Loving Kindness are two words - "only connect". Taken from the epitaph of E. M. Forster's famous novel Howards End, they sum up just what mindfulness practice and Loving Kindness are all about. It's also what any half decent photographer tries to do as well, but I often... Continue Reading →
"There is no path to happiness, happiness is the path" ...is a phrase I heard Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh use when I was on retreat with his sangha. If you have not come across Thay (meaning teacher in his native Vietnamese, and the term affectionately used for him by his followers), then I suggest it's a very worthwhile Google search. His "engaged buddhism" suggests... Continue Reading →
I don't often get up before six, even on a work day. So it has to be something special that gets me up at 5.45 to catch a train on a days leave. Last Thursday there was something special to do. My leave was booked three months in advance so I could spend a day on retreat in Oxford, with American mindfulness teacher Sharon Salzberg. Sharon was one of the original... Continue Reading →
mindful photos 