The Way of The Camera

Last month, my wife Rafaela said something profound that deeply resonated with me: "I want to create my reality from my heart, not from my mind." In March I photographed a bench, a cherry plum tree, a canal, a swan disappearing into dark water, and some dried grass that moved like waves. Nothing dramatic. Just ordinary moments from an ordinary month. But that's what I keep coming back to — beauty doesn't wait for better times. It's already here, asking to be noticed. Sometimes all it takes is stopping long enough to look. Have a look at the images here.

Embodied presence is the practice of coming home to yourself. It serves as a foundation for self-awareness, and the capacity to meet life with clarity and equanimity. Through gentle breath awareness and sensory grounding this guided meditation helps you to integrate presence into your creative and personal development journey. Use this practice anytime you need to slow down, reset your attention, or reconnect with yourself. 

Why do we photograph?In February, I went out for three or four walks. I had a camera. I had ideas. And somewhere along the way, I began to notice the difference between arriving at a place -  truly arriving, with empty hands and an open mind - and performing the role of someone taking an interesting picture. In this episode, I share four photographs from February and what they revealed to me about presence, safety, and the quiet tension between wanting to be seen and allowing yourself to simply be. The photos are in the show notes. I invite you to look at them before, during, or after — and make your own experience with them. Take a look at the photos here.

Photography as Zen Practice January is over, and with it comes the usual moment to review New Year's resolutions. I create themes for each year, and this year's theme is: A commitment to my photography! It means coming back to the core of what I'm doing. Figuring out my gift and what to do with it.  It means understanding that I am enough. It means picking myself What is my path forward in photography? Not the path I think I should want. The actual one. In this episode, I walk through five photographs I made in January—moments of fresh snow, willow branches like flowing water in frozen time, a canal at sundown, uncomfortable reflections, and sunrise over a frozen river. I photograph intuitively, and in hindsight, these images reveal something. They make me aware of something that was already deep inside of me. What if my photography becomes my Zen practice?  Photography as a mindful practice that allows me to simply see things as they are. A practice that pulls me back into the present moment. I invite you to walk with me on this path as it unfolds - not the polished version, but the real one, with all its vulnerability and uncomfortable clarity.  Have a look at the pictures here.Zen Camera by David Ulrich