21 Days of Mindful Photography: A Course in New Perceptions

Have fun, relax, and learn… This book offers you new ways of perception, achieved gradually through assignments that involve photography, movement, and writing.

“21 Days of Mindful Photography” takes you on a journey of new perceptions, both within and without. Each day comes with a photography assignment that shifts your awareness of yourself and the way you encounter the world. An emphasis on nature allows you space to move and to enjoy the beauty around you. The sensations of your body are integral to the process. You are encouraged to experiment with movement and to become more present to your emotions.

The book’s format was inspired by online courses that send you an email a day, sometimes for a few weeks, and sometimes for an entire year. In each email, there is usually a paragraph or two of observations, a short assignment, and some encouraging words. The subjects of these courses vary from art to yoga, from cleaning out your house to managing your finances. Whatever the subject, the slow-drip process works for people with jobs and busy lives.

Like the online courses, “21 Days of Mindful Photography” offers daily messages and assignments. In this case, however, you must pace yourself. If you enjoy surprises, you shouldn’t read ahead. If you prefer to know what awaits, read on. By the time you get there, the experience might be different than you had imagined.

You can start the twenty-one days in any season and in any weather. This book will fit into your time table, and once it’s there, you might find it stretching your sense of your time, turning five minutes into something more.

Alexandria Searls leads hikes and photography workshops at the Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. She loves the simplicity of cellphone photography and she allows each student the room to discover their own subjects. You can learn more about her at alexandriasearls.com

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