Photography and the Art of Seeing

Discover how digital photography can help you see the world around you more clearly and experience it more deeply. Explore a variety of practices that will open new ways of seeing and being present and connect you more closely with yourself, your environment and your community. “One sees clearly only with the heart.” (Antoine de…

Workshop Description

Discover how digital photography can help you see the world around you more clearly and experience it more deeply. Explore a variety of practices that will open new ways of seeing and being present and connect you more closely with yourself, your environment and your community.

“One sees clearly only with the heart.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) “The hardest thing about photography is learning to see.” (Galen Rowell) “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” (Dorothea Lange) “How you see is what you see. And to see rightly is to be able to be fully present ““ without fear, without bias, and without judgment.” (Richard Rohr) “If your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.” (Matthew 6:22) “Photography can be an act of silent worship.” (Christine Valters Paintner)

This workshop is intended for both beginning and experienced photographers. Participants will need a digital camera (or smartphone or tablet), a working knowledge of their camera, and access to a digital device with basic photo editing capabilities. Participants will be invited to share in a conversation about seeing with the heart and how photography can help them see and experience the world around them more deeply and more clearly. The goal of the workshop is to learn how to slow the mind and open the heart in order to receive, record, edit, and discern more expressive images. In line with the 2024 Gathering theme, creating images can help open us to our own stories and to discover our own truths that can be shared visually. Rooted in our own stories, we can use photography to develop new ways of visual discernment as an act of worship, healing and transformation. The workshop is not intended as technical instruction in photography but rather as an opportunity to encounter the sacredness of the ordinary and to cultivate moments of presence and wonder.

Specific topics will include:1. Receiving images of our everyday surroundings with increased (self-)awareness2. Developing fresh perceptions of color, pattern, and texture3. Discovering beauty in what might at first seem ugly or in a state of decay (“wabi-sabi”)4. Arranging content by framing, simplifying the background, and the rule of thirds5. Experiencing the art of visual discernment.

Each day will begin with worship (25 minutes; worship based on silent breath prayer; for example, “Be still/and know”) and grounding in poetry (20 minutes), followed by a brief illustrated lecture on the principles of contemplative photography and basic photographic composition (20 minutes). Participants will then be given specific photographic assignments to complete on campus (75 minutes). Finally, we will share our experiences and our images with each other and provide positive feedback (25 minutes of worship-sharing or one-on-one discussion). Participants may edit their photographs either during or outside of the scheduled workshop time and will be encouraged to use evenings and early mornings to take additional photographs and to reflect further on their experience of seeing. We will display our favorite images electronically online where they may be viewed by other workshop participants and possibly at a public showing at the Gathering. Participants should be in good physical condition in order to carry out the assignments, which may require a fair amount of walking, though a golf cart may be made available for those needing assistance. Recommend reading: “Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice,” by Christine Valters Painter (Sorin Books, 2013), “see your way to mindfulness,” by David Schiller (Workman, 2016). A sampling of my photographs can be viewed online at www.franklintreephoto.com

Leader Experience

Peter is a life-long Quaker and photographer, as well as a freelance translator (German to English) and retired foreign language teacher (German and French). His workshops at the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2023 Gatherings provided extraordinary opportunities to connect with the wider community of Friends and to share ideas about how to see the world around us with greater clarity and meaning. His Friends Journal article, “Listening with the Eyes,” in the September 2013 issue, together with the photographs by the participants (more photos are available online at www.friendsjournal.org/listening-eyes), provides an overview of what to expect in my workshop. Peter led a one-day version of my workshop at Framingham (MA) Friends Meeting in October 2013 and a weekend workshop on the same theme in April 2015 at Woolman Hill Conference Center in Deerfield, MA. He also gave a three-day workshop at the Early Days of Intermountain Yearly Meeting at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico in June 2019.