Zen and the Magic of Photography: Learning to See and to Be Through Photography

by Wayne Rowe

Zen and the Magic of Photography is geared toward helping photographers develop their visual awareness, sensitivity, and intuition. It is designed to improve the quality of your photography by helping you to discover, create, and capture the points of intersection and merging between photography and Zen; between camera and "real moments"; between seeing and being. This is the point at which all such distinctions no longer exist, the point at which photography and Zen are one. This is the point at which we discover and create our best photographic images..

Topics

- The nature of Zen- The nature of the two essential elements in every photograph- The relationship between Zen and photography- The art of photographic making the invisible visible- How to experience the creative process- How to make your best experiencing Zen through photography and photography through Zen- The interconnections and interrelationships between the still photograph, the photo essay, and the motion picture- Photographic examples of the points of intersection and merging between photography and Zen

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art

94 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Ron Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I guess I'll have to keep on trying to find my muse. (And maybe it's not in a book.) This was a rather disappointing book for me (maybe 3 stars is a little generous) -- it read more like a Media Studies text than a guide to using Zen in photography. Most of the book was based on Roland Barthes' theories of photography, which was a little helpful, but overdone. If you have to explain enlightenment (satori, in the book), you don't have it. (I got nothing out of the chapter on professional cinema -- I wasn't looking for acting or cinematography lessons.) Yes, maybe I'm criticizing the author for not writing the book I wanted to read, but the book's title gave me that want.

There are better books on the subject, particularly (most of) those by Freeman Patterson, and the Tao of Photography by Ang.

[Tedalien · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can find the enlightenment also peeling potatoes but you do mot wrote a book on it! This book follows this path in its selection of the photographs. However I did expect more about the magic of zen! I must finish it one day but it did not buy me.... Yet. Namaste!

[F.C. Etier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my complete review here: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/...