Miksang Day One

Nikon D7000, 32mm (18-55), 1/250, f/8, ISO 100

First things first: happy birthday to the blog, one year old tomorrow.

Now down to business. In mid June I went to Boulder for a week-long seminar with the Miksang Institute for Contemplative Photography. The Miksang approach is sort of a blend of photography and meditation, a system that seeks to capture flashes of visual insight.

For the next month I’m going to blog some of the photos I look at the workshop. I’ll also stir in a few that I shot on the side, such as the mountain picture at the top of this entry.

Nikon D7000, 55mm (18-55), 1/400, f/10, ISO 200

For the first day of actual shooting, we were sent in search of insight with a strong color component. The first one that hit me was a pastel-painted brick wall where the paint had flaked away revealing the original red.

Nikon D7000, 50mm (18-55), 1/80, f/5.6, ISO 200

Another strong color moment hit with this lid from a recycling can. You can see texture creeping in a bit with the water on the surface.

Nikon D7000, 55mm (18-55), 1/100, f/5.6, ISO 400

I liked the strong yellow on this guy’s bike jersey. However, I didn’t show this one to the class because it was more a picture of a guy than it was a picture of a color. And the chaotic lines, while visually pleasing, also detracted from the sense of color.

Nikon D7000, 55mm (18-55), 1/30, f/5.6, ISO 400

Likewise this one didn’t exactly scream “color.” But I liked it as a photo. It’s a close-up on the face of a sculpture of a frog. Rare moment: you can see a “self portrait” of me reflected in the eye.