16 May The Photomind
The Photomind
What is the connection between Mindfulness and Photography ?
I cant really speak for anyone but myself, and my experience with photography has been that it stops time.
Long before I knew what being in the here and now meant, photography made me aware of every breath that I took when I was preparing to take an image. With every image that I was totally present to taking, I remember exactly how the wind felt on my cheeks, how my hands shook in the cold winter morning, how I got wet in the rain, and how I lay down on the dusty floor in the middle of nowhere to take an image of the passing clouds.
It connected me not only with my surroundings but also with myself. And the journey was transformational. As fate would have it, it prepared me for a lot of tough times that were meant to come my way – and for that I forever be grateful.
So here I was, with total belief in how well the two worked together, and happened to speak with a very dear old friend Shalini. She is a highly acclaimed counselling therapist and runs a company called Inner-Connect with her partner Dr. Varudhini, who is an experienced therapist. While discussing how photography and meditative practices could be interlinked, we decided to put on our thinking caps, and formulate a course plan that could benefit others as well.
And so, in the company of these brilliant women, The Photomind was brought to life…
A workshop catered towards the connection between mindfulness and taking photos. Learning the process of taking technically better images with your phone, and applying InnerConnects method of mindfulness is what we are attempting to do with the Photomind.
3 batches down, 4th one underway – spread across age groups from 12-50 years, the experience has been greatly enriching!
Some of the feedback we got :
I participated in the ‘Photomind’ workshop as the idea made me curious. Intersection of psychology and photography is like a win-win for me as both make curious to learn. I must say it was 2 worthy hours. Alongwith, various phone camera hacks, to get involved in the process of creating a picture and enjoying the process leaving aside the anxiety of technique was my key takeaway. At the end, it is an art and the rules are only meant to be broken. Great job by Namrata, Varudhini and Shalini!
The Photomind session has enlightened me about the connection between photography and mindfulness . i have learnt how a photograph depicts what our mind perceives.. I learnt tips and tricks on how to take a good photo on your phone when youre in a shrt time span. The session has certainly inspured me to broaden my horizons and to take more meaningful pictures that tell a story.
Some before and afters by participants from our workshops :
