Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography

by David Ulrich

Фотография — мощный метод визуального самовыражения. В поисках составляющих идеальной фотографии Дэвид Ульрих, фотограф с 40-летним стажем, обратился к дзен-буддизму и составил шесть глубоких уроков, которые помогут развить способность к самовыражению. Но эта книга не только о фотографии: она научит глубже воспринимать, четче видеть, ощущать настоящий момент всеми органами чувств.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art, Philosophy, Zen, Art and Photography

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 13, 2018

About the author

David Ulrich is a professor and co-director of Pacific New Media Foundation in Honolulu. He teaches frequent classes and workshops, and is an active photographer and writer whose work has been published in numerous books and journals including Aperture, Mānoa, and Sierra Club publications. Ulrich's photographs have been exhibited internationally in more than 75 one-person and group exhibitions. He is the author of The Widening Stream: the Seven Stages of Creativity and Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography.

He blogs about creativity and consciousness at theslenderthread.org, and is a consulting editor for Parabola magazine. www.creativeguide.com

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not much more than a casual photographer. Most of the time, I document my life but there are times where I want to be out in nature acutely aware of its glories of color and pattern and combination. And other times where I wish to put something more into a portrait than a simple snapshot.

Those are times when I would wish that I had encountered this book earlier in my life. Ulrich is not going to give you the details of f-stops or white-balancing. He won’t spend a chapter or two on placement of lighting or color saturation.

This is a book made for the average photographer who is willing to spend a bit of time to get better. The way to do so, for Ulrich, has a Zen vibe to it. Don’t get the wrong idea; he understands the intricacies of modern digital cameras and also the power of post-picture creativity with a computer.

The book is divided into several sections, each with some exercises.
Observation
Awareness
Identity
Practice
Mastery
Presence

Ulrich points to some of the challenges in our “hyper-connected” world. “Our minds have flat-lined. The beating mind of the heart has stopped. We are no longer in touch with the creative, imaginative parts of the mind, commonly known as the right side of the brain. Rationality rules at the expense of intuition, emotional wisdom, and knowing the rich contents of the unconscious. We have lost sight of the resonant language of metaphor and symbol.”

You need to decide whether this approach can work for you. I found it refreshing.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm fascinated with both Zen and photography. This is the perfect book for me.

I'm not an expert on either, and Ulrich doesn't claim to be a Zen master, but he knows a lot about Zen and photography. He offers a series of six lessons to practice photography from a Zen perspective. They all center on approaching photography with a beginner's mind.

I took away from this book many helpful ideas. He encourages photographers to take a lot of photos and to keep them all. He suggests copying the style of an admired photographer. He offers up the idea of cropping and editing the same photo many different ways. He urges us to try to start a self-defined project.

If this sounds like a book for you, it probably is.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"No experience is complete, no meal finished, no friendship consummated until we have taken a picture. The photograph replies, I was here."

Taken from the opening page to this beautiful book, this expresses the very world of photography we live in today. With access to cameras becoming the norm in every day life - the love affair with social media, it's no surprise that photography is likely a part of so many people today. The approach of this book is to explore that human connection between the pictures we take and how we can use that to express our creative side in all aspects of our life. Has this increase in expression come at a cost to other more common ways of the past, like literature, poetry?

The author begins with the advice to learn how to use your camera correctly. Whether it be a simple phone camera or more expert DSLR. To get software, and to take a daily record, 100-200 pictures of what you 'see'. Not to over share. He goes through 6 lessons that will help our pictures become much more. Observation, Awareness, Identity, Practice, Mastery & Presence. There is so so much in this book, from the tiny details of the significance of light and color to finding the inspiration to make those exciting pictures. Each chapter has a tools and exercise section which is useful for suggestions, with a breakdown in the phases we'll go through as we learn and develop mastery of the photograph.

The pictures within the book are beautiful, and have the effect of you as the reader looking at them perhaps in a new light, trying to see what the photographer was trying to capture. There's far more dialogue than pictures though, which I found a little disappointing. They are always my favourite part. Although instructional to some degree, this book is more on the spiritual and mind connection on taking a great photograph and less on the technical - though there is some instruction.

Thanks to Blogging for Books & Watson Guptill for the complimentary copy. This is my honest review.

[Alan Bevan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'm too impatient to really appreciate this book. It focuses on the inner mind of a creative person, of self awareness, contemplation, experimentation. I found nothing that I disagreed with but had a slightly discomfited sense - perhaps too much of a focus on self, of finding one's inner soul. Then again, perhaps that is just what I need to do. But in reality, I think life always needs a balance - of taking oneself seriously and taking oneself lightly. I remember reading once that angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. Perhaps they haven't found zen.

[Tatiana Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

So meditative and relaxing. It's not about taking photos, it's a special way of living.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book we have ready for my Photography Book Club on Facebook.
There was much I liked about this book, and I really loved many of the photos. He has many great ideas, and I liked the exercise ideas. He lost me with some (most) of the Zen discussion and this book became tedious at times (often). Many of the concepts I have read about or had brought up in other platforms before. Still, if you are interested in the merging of photography, mindfulness, Zen meditation and so on, it could be a good book for you. I'm not sure I appreciated it as much as I should have, and I don't think I will keep it for reference or inspiration.

Exercises of interest to me:
Daily record/observation- I wish I could make time for this daily (shooting daily "sketch" images of my day and things I come across) but it's not realistic for me at this time. However, down the road maybe it will be an option, or an occasional thing to try. Daily shooting is definitely beneficial, there is no question in my mind of that. But I get burnt out with it.
Go somewhere new with a camera (I do this as often as possible)
Observe light intentionally
Selfless self portrait
Photograph something you love and something you hate
Take 50 + images of the same subject (I definitely think this would be beneficial in pushing yourself to look at things in new ways)
Meditate (I know, I know)- I know I need to make this a daily practice.. also yoga..
In the manner of - emulate another photographer's work (make it your own)
Study others' bodies of work
Create a body of work- I think we are all constantly doing this. If you put together a set of 100+ images and pull out 15-20 is that really representative of where you are though? Putting together a body of work that tells a narrative or an in depth exploration of a subject is another part of this.
Experiment with drawing/journalling


Many of my book club participants struggled with this book, one compared it to graduate level reading. It wasn't always easy to pick it up and read it. It's not exactly something I looked forward to reading, and we rushed through the last few chapters to get it done. That said, it has some good ideas and if you make time for the exercises and are dedicated to doing them, I can definitely see the benefit.

[Jenny Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I decided to take part in a Project 365 - take a photo once a day, every day, for a full year. This year, I decided to continue on that journey. It gets really hard to come up with new photos every day, because you don't want to be done and see 90 photos of the same exact thing. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled to see that this book was a choice for Blogging for books, and I very eagerly awaited getting my hands on my copy.

The start of the book reads like a text book - there is background reasoning for why the book what written; what David Ulrich hopes will be accomplished by the book; and a handful of references to other books that are similar but for different hobbies / interests.

Then you dive into the course like structure of lessons. I have no yet completed the lessons, but I have flipped through the book and read the introduction to each of the lessons. The first lesson is to take somewhere between 100-200 photos a week; my laptop is pretty crummy, so this is what halted me from starting, however I just invested in an external hard-drive and I am ready!

I will try and update my review once I have completed the course; which is supposed to be several weeks long. I have high hopes that it will help me find and develop my own shooting style, and bring me additional joy in photography and my other creative outlets.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a photographer, and the fundamentals discussed in this book haven’t dawned on you yet, it will be an outstanding read. Otherwise, you will likely learn only a few new ideas — but some that are very worthwhile. Either way, you should read the book to really understand how to create photos or, at least, to reinforce what you think you know and to pick up a few interesting techniques and methods.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Blogging For Books/Watson-Guptill.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

When I first read this book I was pretty irate at the writer.  I figured that, as entertaining as it might be to read such a review, that it would not be good to write in such a frame of mind and so I let the book rest for a bit before taking it up to review it here, and though I am still highly critical about some major failures of this book, in particular the rank hypocrisy of the writer, at least I feel a lot less angry about it after having let the book rest for almost a day before writing about it.  Even so, as someone who is greatly interested in books about photography [1], there is much to appreciate in this book, and if your tolerance for Buddhist hypocrisy and paradox is higher than my own, you will likely enjoy this book more than I did.  Even more worthwhile is the fact that most of the book's approach will be worthwhile to those who are artists of other kinds like writers and sculptors and is not merely aimed at photographers.

In terms of its contents, this book consists of six lessons and a couple other chapters that total a bit more than 200 pages.  The author begins with an introduction to the reader to contribute their own creations to those of others and a discussion of some basic principles and methods about the daily practice of photography, the Buddhist idea of no-mind, and the need to practice daily observation and awareness of oneself and the world around.  Indeed, observation and the five visual elements of photography make up the first lesson of the author.  After that the author talks about awareness and uses plenty of contemporary cliches involving mindfulness as an element of one's photographic work.  The third lesson looks at identity, including cultivating an original and authentic style and communicating with others through one's photography or other creative endeavors.  After this the author looks at practice, and how one attains expertise and mastery through diligent practice and preserving a beginner's mind that is open to growth and improvement.  After this the author examines how mastery requires a balance of freedom and discipline as well as a tendency to continue to push the edge of one's comfort zone and the search for inspiration.  The last lesson of the book examines the aspect of presence and attention and the sifting and refinement of one's work, after which the author closes by looking at the terrors and pleasures of digital life and provides suggestions for further reading as well as acknowledgements and some personal information about himself.

Even for someone who has a low tolerance for the author's desire to be his own god and his simultaneous disdain for theism and exterior standards of judgment and his own love of criticizing others and adopting fashionable leftist causes throughout his wayward life, this book was not without some worth.  As a fellow creative person I saw a great deal in this book that I adopt myself including daily practice and trying to push myself beyond my comfort zone as a reader and writer and musician.  That is not to say that I found everything in this book worthwhile, and thought in particular that the book was weakest where the author attempted to capitalize on the interest of Buddhism and new age spirituality in general.  Likewise, I thought that this book contained an interesting mixture of timeless truths, meaningless rubbish, and information about the technical nature of digital photography that is likely to be quickly obsolete.  Even so, there is certainly a market for a generically zen approach to all kinds of activities, so without a doubt there will be many people who enjoy this book a great deal.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography by David Ulrich is an instructional guide to photography based on simple zen practices. Ulrich is currently co-director of Pacific New Media Foundation in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has taught for Pacific New Media, University of Hawaii Mānoa and was a Professor and Chair of the Art Department at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. For fifteen years, he served as Associate Professor and Chair of the Photography Department of The Art Institute of Boston.

Early on Ulrich tells the reader that we have lost sight of the resonant language of metaphor and symbol. We are no longer creative. Poetry is dead. I review quite a bit of poetry so I will disagree with the last statement. But I do see the point. I live in the suburbs and people think it is a nice well maintained place to live. What do they base this on? Usually, it is driving through a neighborhood or looking on from a highway. I ride a bicycle and I see the cracks in walls and peeling paint on a suburb that is decomposing. Moving slower and observing things closer I see more. For a while I walked to work, cutting through a small park in the process. I became aware of the trees, the light, and the colors. It was something I didn't notice before because even at bicycle speeds, I was still moving to fast. Slow down, relax, observe, become aware of your surroundings.

Ulrich says many of the things I recognized myself and adds to it. There is waiting for the right light, right day, and the right subject to appear. There is also a discovery of the photographer's own eye. Ulrich suggests keeping a journal and taking one to two hundred pictures a day. The volume will help you discover your eye. Many of the basics of photography are covered in light detail as well as zen topics. There is more of a sharing of information rather than conforming to a dogma in his teaching. He also offers photography exercises and practices at the end of each chapter.

There were a few surprises for me in this book. First, use any camera. Even your cellphone camera is allowed. Ulrich is not a purist and pixels are just as good as silver nitrate and paper. Second digital photography allows the photographer to adjust the picture through editing. How often have we taken a picture that that looked so good to our eye but the camera recorded something much blander? Editing software allows the user to fix this without changing the nature of the photographed subject.

Zen Camera is a well written and informative guide to taking better pictures. Ulrich's own photographs and others are used as supporting material throughout the text. Recommended for those wanting to improve their photographic eye.

[Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Photography is a medium that has only been around for about 175 years and is an amazing aspect of our culture that is easily taken for granted. With digital cameras and smart phones we can all be amateur photographers and can document anything and everything we want. It's pretty incredible that we get to catch a glimpse of the world through someones eyes in each photo taken.

For me, and the journey that I am currently on, documentation and preservation is immensely important, which is why I have been looking into taking my photography skills to the next level, digging deeper into the consciousness behind my photos and hopefully spark creativity and self-discovery.

Zen Camera by David Ulrich is just what I needed to explore this medium. There are six lessons that revolve around observation, awareness, identity, practice, mastery, and presence in photography. There is also basic methods and principles section which includes the fact that you do not need any fancy equipment to practice photography. Zen Camera is more about the mindfulness and finding creativity in the art rather than equipment, which I appreciated.

David Ulrich has been teaching photography for over forty years and really pulls from his experience. It is incredibly well written and the photos included are imaginative and beautiful. Zen Camera is a workbook that is meant to be worked through in several months time but the way you want to work through it is completely up to you. You can read it straight through but I found that skimming and choosing what I wanted to focus on worked better for me.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to go deeper and become more mindful and aware in their photography and to awaken creativity within.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Watson-Guptill and Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

[Susan Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the book’s subtitle states, Zen Camera by David Ulrich is a creative awakening with a daily practice in photography. It’s meant to inspire photographers to see creatively and to live authentically.

Zen Camera begins with an introduction, and a chapter on the basic principles and methods of photography. From there, the book is divided into six separate and distinct lessons to include:

• Observation
• Awareness
• Identity
• Practice
• Mastery
• Presence

A chapter titled Photography and Awakening, the Terrors and Pleasures of Digital Life is included at the end of the lessons and addresses photography in the 21st century.

This book is filled with tons of expert information to enable photographers to begin their own Zen photography journey. There aren’t as many photos as I’m used to with photography books, but the photos that are here are certainly stunning. I don’t think the sparse amount of photos takes away from the value of the book, however.

The quality of this book is wonderful. The pages are glossy and the hard cover is sturdy, which makes this a great book to display on a coffee table. I’d recommend it to anyone who’d like a new perspective on photography. Thanks to the publisher and Blogging for Books for a complimentary copy.

5 of 5 Stars, Susan Barton, https://diymomblog.blogspot.com

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zen Camera is much more than a book about photography. It is also more than a book about Zen. David Ulrich organically weaves together several themes into his chapters, which are organized into lessons-Observation, Awareness, Identity, Practice, Mastery, and Presence. The chapters are split between theory and exercises. Through the medium of photography, Ulrich is able to bring abstract concepts like 'no-mind' down to earth through the practical application of making pictures. The reader, or photographer, is able to literally see and feel the effects heightened awareness can have on one's creative work, and, by extension, the world around her.

I have both worked in education and have had an ongoing Buddhist meditation practice for several years, and I found the tenets in Zen Camera to mirror levels of cognition acknowledged by educational psychology as well as levels of consciousness discussed in Buddhist literature. Ulrich's ability to correlate these two realms of knowledge with the photographic medium makes for an enjoyable, inspirational, and valuable read.

The book is also as beautiful to look at as it is to read. The hardcover is well made, and the photographs well-suit the content of each of the lessons. This book is the perfect gift for most anyone in the arts or engaged in spiritual practice, such as meditation. Highly recommend.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zen Camera aims to help you gain a new perspective on what you see and hopefully translate that into more interesting and unique photographs. The book is divided into six lessons and designed so that it can be followed like a course. Each chapter contains an overview of the topic being covered and is followed by exercises and tips. You don't need any prior knowledge of photography, or zen for that matter but, you will need to invest a little time, patience and daily practice to see with your minds' eye.

I like the unique concept and the fact that it aims to raise awareness and creativity by finding and seeing something within, with or without a camera in hand. This is an interesting book for anyone who wants to try and create photos with more personal meaning. It doesn't require any special equipment, any camera or cell phone camera will work. This one is all about getting to know yourself and how to let the knowledge you gain shine through in your work. Hopefully, it will inspire you to see something from a totally new angle.

Thanks to Blogging for Books for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.
More reviews at: www.susannesbooklist.blogspot.com

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very deep book. David Ulrich does not speak about the techniques of photography. He talks about the six stages to mastery.

David borrows heavily from Zen philosophy while writing these lessons, and emphasizes depth over a shallow approach to the use of a technique to shock.

The lessons can be read through, even though I read only one chapter a day. However, to make the best of the book, it is advisable to go back to the book from the beginning and to practice the exercises he outlines.

Mastery takes years, and it is futile to expect to become a master in a short period of time. It takes years and over the years, “Zen Camera” can be a faithful companion and mentor if you allow it to be so.

[Cindy Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I am not a photographer, many of the ideas related to zen philosophy apply to any art form (in my case painting). I started a practice I learned in this book about a year ago and it has made a tremendous difference- Ulrich advises readers to take pictures everyday and add them to an archive called the daily record. I modified this practice because I don’t have the time or materials to take the types of photographs I want to take - instead, I spend time on Pinterest daily picking images that speak to me and adding them to a file called Daily Images. I’ve really started to notice themes and patterns in the images I gravitate to, and of course I can use this file for inspiration when I sit down to create my own art. This book is filled with practical exercises such as this.

[Lilith Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it. So many people have access to photography due to cell phones and lower prices on cameras. However, not everyone can take a great photograph. This book helps you.

This book is broken down into lessons. Each lesson builds on skills teaching you how to be a better photographer.

My one tip, read a chapter. After you read the chapter, go back and read one skill at a time. After you read, go out and practice the skill. This will help you become a better photographer.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine and were in no way influenced by outsides sources. I am a professional blogger at Little Lady Plays

[Lisa Hagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who isn’t snapping endless photos on their phone? Zen Camera is written for me and my friends who use their cell phone cameras and but who are also seeking greater creativity and fulfillment in their lives.

Now that we carry high quality cameras in our pockets, we too can take incredible photographs. After reading this book, I wanted to take photos of everything from a flower to the way the land rolls across the hills. This book helped me to see the beauty of the present moment and help discover my authentic vision. Mindful attention through the lens of my phone camera. Pretty darn cool.

[Astrid Priego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was like solving a personal puzzle for me. I had loose pieces here and there. Ulrich´s approach on integrating Zen life to creative art applies to everything, not just photography. It helps to give a meaningful purpose to everyday creative findings in all stages of learning, from novice to master.
I have become aware of how meditation enriches my photography and viceversa, and how it makes me be in the moment and become aware of the false sense of separation that dissolves when I capture someone or something.
I could´t stop taking notes and cherishing unforgettable quotes I sent everyone I know.

[Jyv · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book too wordy and I skimmed two thirds of it. I was too impatient (which may be part of the problem). I wanted inspiration for my photography but this book felt less about photography and more about zen. There was much repetition and the exercises were too vague for what I was looking for ("practise emptiness, find a muse, explore your identity, create a body of work"). I guess I was just not in the mood for reading a lot, and I found many of the few photographs uninspiring. I have practised meditation and looking within, but for photography this book didn't do it for me.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technically I am now "finished" this book. This book is really more a reference book, in my opinion, one that is good to read in sections and come back to from time to time. It is philosophy for photography, including exercises that encourage the reader/photography to think more deeply about their images. A lot of the principles here will not be new to photographers, but I think there is benefit in sometimes going back to the basics.
I bought this book in hardcover because I thought I would be keeping it and referring to over the years. I wasn't wrong about that.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The zen part of this book was pretty good, the photography tips/musing was more geared to folks who aren't just starting out but still informative, the combination of the two subjects worked possibly well but there was just something off or missing from the whole thing...it never really landed right except for the very good last chapter. Perhaps because the exercises felt a little unclear? It could have also been the last of note photo examples to illustrate points. Not sure.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical Photography Guide

Great exercises to practice photography. The author talks about using the camera as a tool to stay in and appreciate the present moment. This resonated with me but may seem unfamiliar to some without experience with mindfulness practice in general. Great read overall, and the photos included by the author are practically worth the price of the book by themselves.

[Gooshe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zen Camera employs the camera for its most noble purpose: to learn to see what is.
The book has six lessons and two sections: Lesson one: Observation, Two: Awareness, Three: Identity, Four: Practice, Five: Mastery, Six: Presence and Photography and awakening, Basic principles and methods and The terrors and pleasures of digital life.

[Renae McBrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was thinking this book would be more along the lines of "Day 1: Shoot ___" and so on. But the practical exercises and tips the way it was laid out was actually really helpful. I am not personally a photographer, but I feel like I learned a lot reading this book and could definitely see being behind the camera as a therapeutic exercise.

[Patrick Hanlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, passionate and committed book on photography. Ulrich cites his mentors, inspirations and student in the course of this book and provides a document that is wise, timely and timeless. Well thought-out and judiciously illustrated, Ulrich’s text and exercises express great confidence about the impact a disciplined, meditative practice with the camera can have.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://mamabearbookreviews.blogspot....

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational!

David shares his precious techniques in a unique and easy way.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for anyone who takes pictures, even with a phone camera.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're stuck in your photography, this is a nice reminder --- with exercises --- about why and how we create.