Photography

Self-Emergent – C. 2010 John Paul

In the past, when first about the process of making photographs, I became immersed in a quest for meaning. It started with a visual exploration of discovery wherein I tried to understand what was taking place in the process of making an image. The intent was to develop a watchful eye and set of techniques that could be relied upon repeatedly during the image making process. This effort quickly evolved into a greater grasp of other forces at hand, working in mysterious ways to contribute to a final image and my understanding of it.

Somehow, unknowns would happen or “come together” that contributed to a peak experience for me in making images that celebrated, illuminated, and inspired greater seeing and the acquisition of truth. Through these experiences and the image making of others, I have come to see this process as a key ingredient for making great images. Sometimes these forces happen and seem to take on a life of their own, separate from the photographer who becomes merely an instrument of a higher creative self.

Students of integrative photography sometimes think that the linking of inward with outward events is a complicated thing. It is not. One of the first things I teach people is to be open ended, in approach. One should develop sensitivity to synchronistic events and know, in the moment, when they are occurring and try to capture an image at that time. However, like dreams, it seems these events prefer to weave themselves into the fabric of our experiences by themselves. It’s often best if we just relax, try not to force it and let the magic happen.

This is a creative process. We can, though journaling, meditation, the recording of our dreams, writing poetry and other contemplative processes, gain insight into the meaning of our image making. As we explore these images in light of such contemplation we develop sensitivity to our greater creative self. As a matter of practice, the more we tune-in to this process the better is the fidelity of the images we create.

My students learn to trust this process. They learn that it is not an intellectual activity so much so as it is one of intuition, a way of ‘unknowing’. In this experience time is flexible, whether this happens over many sequential seconds, days, months, or years of events and contemplation. As such meaning is also a flexible thing. That is important to keep in mind.

What and how a person photographs can offer considerable insight and illumination that in turn, develops both craft and artistic expression. My students are encouraged to discover and understand their motivation for taking a picture; why they point the camera and click the shutter, and how the image “came together”. Integration occurs whenever motivation for taking the picture and the meaning of the image are connected in a resonant/synchronistic way. It is a unique way of seeing, of developing one’s own photographic style, a VisionQuest®.