. I'm not sure if this was a Venetian who needed a cigarette after saying a last goodbye or the funeral director on a quiet day. Either way the image seemed to have an ironic message as well as posing unanswered questions. Hope you like it. All photographs © all rights reserved Miles Pilling
It can be hard to get a sense of the "real" Venice in the tourist hot spots surrounded by hundreds of other sightseers. That's why this umbrella, depicting a Venice long gone, being held aloft by a tour guide to keep her flock near by, appealed to my ironic sense of humour. It took several minutes of... Continue Reading →
The sales people for the Olympus camera I was using in Venice make a big deal about its weather sealing. I'm always cynical about marketing claims, so when I found myself by the Ospedale Civile and as Italians (apparently) say it started "piove da morire" (raining to death), I gave this claim a real world test. These are a couple of the... Continue Reading →
At around a hundred Euros for less than an hours ride, we passed on a trip in a gondola. For some it's a "must do" when visiting Venice, but it was never very high on my bucket list though they do make very picturesque images. Water buses are massively cheaper, much more comfortable and a lot easier to get on and off!... Continue Reading →
. Patience pays off. I took this picture in front of German artist Heinz Mack's The Sky Over Nine Columns in Venice after sitting contemplating the beautiful scene for around 20 minutes. Hope you like it. There'll be more pictures from our trip to Venice coming soon, so do pop back for another look. All... 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. Have you ever seen those car stickers that say "ONE LIFE - LIVE IT!"? They always seem to smack of desperation to me; as though beneath the surface someone is frantically kicking their legs around trying not to... 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 →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. Did you know you have a different body to the one you had seven years ago? I don't just mean that you've aged and might have put some weight on; your physical body has been replaced with virtually a completely... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. Have you ever had that dream when you try to run but your legs won't move? Just after taking the "geometry" photographs that you can see in my previous post, I had that experience for real - One of... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. It might sound strange, but for me there are benefits to only being able to walk at a snails pace. I've practiced walking meditation in mindfulness groups for years but rarely had the confidence to walk really... 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 very simple theory explaining how mindfulness reduces the suffering of physical and mental ailments - If we reduce as much as possible all of the "secondary suffering" that we pile on top of any health issues we have,... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the About Mindful Photos page to see the life altering circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. . I've been meditating regularly for around 15 years so it seemed natural to use mindfulness meditation to help me come to terms with the news of my "nearly terminal" illness. My local Triratna Buddhist... Continue Reading →
Please take a look at the "about" page to see the circumstances that have encouraged me to start blogging again. Every evening for a week of the eight week mindfulness course that I've been a part of, I would write a list of ten pleasurable things that I'd noticed during the day. We were encouraged to open up to the subtle, pleasant... 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 →
Day one of any good Buddhism course would probably mention the five precepts: a list of guidelines to help us stay on the ethical straight and narrow. Second only to not killing is not taking that which is not given.....This poses a big dilemma for me as a "mindful" photographer. When we squeeze the shutter to capture an unmissable (aren't they always?) candid picture, are... 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 