Water – The Meditation of Liquid Music

Water, the essence of life, its constant movement has always drawn my attention both in my search for spirituality, a catalyst for meditation, and as a means of creative expression through fine art photography.

I find there is something extremely soothing about water. Flowing water comes alive with a vibrancy that is gripping to ones soul, sparkling and dancing in a blur of movement and light.

Fluid - 11x17 Giclee watercolor print

Just as water has a lot of physical benefits to the body, it also has a lot of mental benefits when utilized in meditation.  Ever wonder why a person feels refreshed while standing near the ocean, a waterfall or a stream?

Besides how calming the sound of flowing water is, water produces negative ions. When near a cascading waterfall or stream these negative ions get absorbed into the bloodstream and we feel both calm and invigorated.

Feeling its peacefulness is what I want my images to portray.  I want viewers to close their eyes and take long deep breaths and feel refreshed. I want them to imagine the sounds that emanate from a flowing creek and trigger a sense of serenity into their subconscious.

Unlike my work in photojournalism, fine art photography, for me, is all about the pure pleasure of creating the image.

Liquidity - 11x17 Giclee print

My approach is to interpret the mood of the waterfall, river or creek before I photograph it. A fast shutter speed freezes the movement and in a sense documents the action. Using a slower shutter speed begins to transform the mood with a more mystical feeling.

Those long multi second exposures present a scene with a silky flow and a more dreamlike sensation. Illustrating the point of view of what water meditation can convey to the psyche is part of the creative process in capturing the image.

Sometimes enhancing the color saturation of the rocks that lie under the water may best define your vision. Capturing bright specular highlights is another way to convey your feelings to the viewer. It is a personal matter of interpretation and creative vision.

Proper print display culminates your invitation to extend your private experience and share it with others. Water meditation exemplified through Giclee prints on watercolor paper can invoke calm, soothing feelings both for the mind and body. They can help bring about a feeling of well being while washing away stress. It is the whirl of the moment caught in an image that draws attention and captivates the viewer developing a meditative state.

Related posts:

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/fear-and-persistance-of-expression/

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/sense-what-the-landscape-is-telling-you/

Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2010, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. My image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com. You can contact me through this blog or email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

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Fear and Persistance of Expression

 

There are times when I don’t seem to have, “the vision”, anymore and with this comes the depression that can plague you and drag you down with disbelief in your work and in yourself.

I have photographic skills. I’ve learned the trade with a degree in photojournalism, working for newspapers, freelancing to magazines and various book publishers. I learned enough to have expressed those skills through teaching photography at a University and since that time I gathered those proficiencies and had a twenty year run with my own publishing company.

Color Pallet - 11x17 Giclee Print

But just as the day I was mesmerized by the click of a shutter on my first camera many years ago, the excitement is sometimes followed by the anxiety and self judgment of myself and the success of the image.

Sometimes, I feel that I am just playing with the, “wanna be”, thoughts of being a photographer, even though I have been driven’ to the viewfinder almost all my life.

Now my work in fine art photography is more conceptualized, sometimes only seconds before it happens but it can flow freely.

I have learned that it is the process of making images that counts. It is what shapes us as artists. What happens with the final image is only important to the viewer. Our art is made through our private vision and the execution that gathered all the elements necessary to communicate this vision to another person.

Garden Gate - 11x17 Giclee Print

I still get the anxiety rushes sometimes but I have learned to accept myself and in doing so my vision and art has grown.

The creation of images is always at work in one’s subconscious. We feed it through the action of doing. Reading, viewing other artwork, studying, adopting and applying what you like and works for you leads to your distinctive style. The work itself develops who we are.

I have taken and at times created tens of thousands of images over the years. Many others were thrown in the trash seconds after I saw the developed film or deleted after capture. Each of those images was an expression of who I was at that time.

Dreaming Bamboo - 11x17 Giclee Print

Unhappy times created mediocre photographs. Depressive times left me without expression. Eventually the desire to communicate lured me back and after each personal pitfall the quality of my art grew and the vision was easier to grasp the next time around.

My point here is that one must keep working developing new image after new image, trying one thing after another with a belief that a breakthrough will come. Believing in yourself is key yet it is the hardest hurdle to overcome in the making of one’s art and the discovery of who you are.

Sometimes it will take a hundred or more failed photos to pull yourself through but faith that the next plateau is out there and you can get to it will make you art soar.

It is not an easy task but to some the drive just will not let go.

Related post:

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/sense-what-the-landscape-is-telling-you/

Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2010, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. My image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com. You can contact me through this blog or email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

Read Full Post »