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Thread: Zen of Creativity Chapter 8

  1. #51

    Zen of Creativity Chapter 8

    Quote Originally Posted by Kokuu View Post
    Brilliant! Thank you for sharing, Jishin! The tiger is incredible.

    In Zen terms, I sometimes think that the fabled one breath images produced by ink brush painters or poems that appear spontaneously without needing editing can be held up as the gold standard for 'Zen' art. However, I know myself that whereas a rough draft of a haiku is more raw, sitting with it and letting it almost edit itself can produce something that is more reflective of the moment.

    Likewise, would you say the same about your images, Jishin, that you are trying to produce a photo that captures more of the essence of the creature or moment? Or is it a purely stylistic consideration?

    What do others feels about their work in terms of raw freshness and later re-touches, edits etc?

    Gassho
    Kokuu
    -sattoday-
    Thank you Kokuu!

    I go for the essence and the moment and anything else that may make a cool photo. I like portraits because its bare bones with few distractions from the subject. If possible I like eye contact because the eyes truly are the windows to the soul, both with humans and animals.

    I think there are debates about photography ethics. How much can you change an image digitally and still call it photography? Some say very very little and some say a lot. The fact is that filters and other techniques have always been used so I would say that a lot of editing is ok.

    I am new to photography with about 9 months experience and love learning about it. Each photo and editing session is a learning experience. Always fun. It’s great to compare before and after.



    Gassho, Jishin, __/stlah\__
    Last edited by Jishin; 10-04-2019 at 04:19 PM.

  2. #52
    Jishin,

    This tiger was a blast. He is from the Albuquerque Zoo and this is the first time I found a tiger in a zoo that cooperated like he did. I knew that his stripes would blend in with the black background that I like to use in portraits and could not wait to get home to work on him. He is awesome. :-)
    This tiger is a neighbor! And I've not met him. I must get to the zoo soon. Was wondering which zoos you were visiting. I thought maybe Dallas. I love the image of him cleaning himself. It has a soft almost out of focus quality, but when examined carefully, its totally in focus. Odd illusion which I enjoy.

    Kokuu, interesting question about raw freshness. I expect it depends on the medium. A calligrapher must go with what goes down, always. Whereas a photographer can manipulate, a painter can work and rework, a writer fiddle with wording, same with a musician. Other mediums to some extent allow for correction some not so much.
    But sometimes the first attempt is perfect. Blessed moment.

    gassho

    Anne
    ~lahst~

  3. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by Cooperix View Post
    Jishin,



    This tiger is a neighbor! And I've not met him. I must get to the zoo soon. Was wondering which zoos you were visiting. I thought maybe Dallas. I love the image of him cleaning himself. It has a soft almost out of focus quality, but when examined carefully, its totally in focus. Odd illusion which I enjoy.
    This year I been to the Dallas and Fort Worth zoo 3 times, Abilene/San Antonio/Alamogordo 2 times and Albuquerque once. I love zoos. I take the kids and give them cameras. I tell them what I am looking for so it increases the chances for good captures and it becomes more of a family affair.

    Gassho, Jishin, __/stlah\__

  4. #54
    Quote Originally Posted by Kokuu View Post
    Btw, this is a lovely little book on the subject of Wabi Sabi which I enjoyed: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42190.Wabi_Sabi

    I think there is a follow up volume also.
    Kokuu, stop recommending books that I will love, please!!

    The debate about how we treat photographs is an interesting one, and I've veered one way, then the other over this quite a few times. Recently I've come to the conclusion that if I am going to accept that photography can be treated as an art form, which I do wholeheartedly, then as an art form it can be used as freely and as experimentally as I wish. I've recently become aware of a group of people who define what they do as 'phone art', and are producing some great images and abstractions. As little as a year ago I felt differently - the essence of what I do in photography is to attempt to capture the essence of something just as it is in that moment, be it an object or a concept. I was a complete luddite who wouldn't even tinker with the brightness or contrast. I'm playing much more now, but if I use filters or effects I always say so.
    What I love about your work Jishin is that by stripping away the background and setting, you bring your beautiful subjects right into centre stage - there is so much more 'suchness' or essence of zebra when there is just zebra against black. The photo of the bird is beautiful for the same reason. It's all bird and nothing but bird.

    It's no coincidence that all of my favourite photographers, bar one, Michael Kenna, are Japanese. It was my love of Japanese art and photography that brought me to Zen. One of my greatest influences and inspirations is Hiroshi Sugimoto, whose seascapes take my breath away. I can never hope to come any where near what he achieves, nevertheless I never stop trying to capture the suchness of the sea. Luckily for me, it's at the bottom of my road, as some of you know!

    sea 1.jpg

    sea 2.jpg

    sea 3.jpg

    sea 4.jpg

    Gassho
    Meitou
    sattodaylah
    命 Mei - life
    島 Tou - island

  5. #55
    Paintings, they are like paintings Meitou... beautiful, so pure and serene. Even that gorgeous sea 3 with a stormier sky.
    This desert girl wants to step into one to let all that moisture and softness re hydrate. It's almost as if I could. Sky and ocean and nothing but.

    deep bow
    Anne

    ~lahst~

  6. #56
    They are beautiful Meitou.

    Gassho, Jishin, __/stlah\__

  7. #57
    Wow those are awesome Meitou!

    Gassho

    Risho
    -stlah

  8. #58
    This is an amazing thread - its going to take me a while to work my way through it.

    Thank you all for sharing your knowledge, thoughts.

    Jishin your enthusiasm is infectious - I love that family portrait by the way.

    I'm still battling vertigo so not able to produce any work but this strange and unsettling displacement of body in space is producing ideas!


    Gassho

    Jinyo

  9. #59
    ps. there are some great book/art references in these threads - was wondering is it worth collating them together as a sort of library hub?
    I always mean to look things up then forget - it would be good to have a central reference point to go back to.

  10. #60
    That's a really good idea, Jinyo!

    Gassho
    Kokuu

  11. #61
    That is a good idea , Jinyo. Would you be interested in doing that? I don't know enough about how the mechanics of the forum works nor do I have the time now to undertake that project. Is there a way to compile a list of books/ podcasts etc that would be in one place, not a bunch of suggestions in individual posts? A virtual library section? Could be one for art, but a separate one for Buddhist books etc. Seems a valuable thing to have in general on this forum. maybe there is one and I don't know about it.

    bows,
    Anne

    ~lahst~

  12. #62
    Thank you Jinyo!

    Gassho, Jishin, __/stlah\__

  13. #63
    Hi Anne,
    I think it might be easiest to just open a thread and call it 'Reference section' and we could all maybe make a note of books etc, that might be of interest.
    Wouldn't know how to do anything more complicated - anyone got any ideas?

    Gassho

    Jinyo

  14. #64
    Quote Originally Posted by Jinyo View Post
    Hi Anne,
    I think it might be easiest to just open a thread and call it 'Reference section' and we could all maybe make a note of books etc, that might be of interest.
    Wouldn't know how to do anything more complicated - anyone got any ideas?

    Gassho

    Jinyo
    Jinyo, this is a wonderful idea, I think a simple thread as you suggested is the perfect solution. Would you be happy to create that, or would you like someone else to do it? It's up to you but don't feel obliged if you are low on energy and would rather channel that into something else.
    Thank you again for a great suggestion,
    Gassho
    Meitou
    sattoday
    命 Mei - life
    島 Tou - island

  15. #65
    Hi Meitou - if someone could have a go would be great - big struggle just now with Menieres disease

    Many thanks,

    Jinyo

  16. #66
    Quote Originally Posted by Jinyo View Post
    Hi Meitou - if someone could have a go would be great - big struggle just now with Menieres disease

    Many thanks,

    Jinyo
    Of course Jinyo, no problem, I'm happy to do this. Thank you again for the suggestion, and Big Metta to you, hoping things improve for you.
    Gassho
    Meitou
    Satwithyoualltoday
    命 Mei - life
    島 Tou - island

  17. #67
    I like to think that these posts and prompts are something we will all come back to and add to as time passes - there is no beginning or end to creative practice, so please feel free to update whenever you wish.

    Earlier I posted a photo of apricots and just wanted to update this by showing some inspiration for the still life photos I sometimes make. These are images made by a husband and wife photographic team Yumiko and Kenru Izo - a Japanese/American couple based in the US. Kenru has also been awarded as the founder of a non profit for children Friends Without a Border, as well as the photographer of many Buddhist shrines and statues around the world. These sublime images of pears are from a collaboration called Still Life. They say Pear in every way possible.

    05-Still-Life-103-1990-©-Kenro-Izu.jpg

    Izu still life 158.jpg

    Yumiko and Kenro Izu.jpg

    And as a small footnote, one of mine, Avocado Stone - seen for just what it is.

    avocado stone.jpg

    Gassho
    Meitou
    sattodaylah
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Meitou; 10-16-2019 at 07:13 PM.
    命 Mei - life
    島 Tou - island

  18. #68
    Fantastic photos Meitou!

    Gassho, Jishin, __/stlah\__

  19. #69
    Quote Originally Posted by Cooperix View Post
    That is a good idea , Jinyo. Would you be interested in doing that? I don't know enough about how the mechanics of the forum works nor do I have the time now to undertake that project. Is there a way to compile a list of books/ podcasts etc that would be in one place, not a bunch of suggestions in individual posts? A virtual library section? Could be one for art, but a separate one for Buddhist books etc. Seems a valuable thing to have in general on this forum. maybe there is one and I don't know about it.

    bows,
    Anne

    ~lahst~
    Well I was just about to create a Resources sticky/pinned thread, when I noticed that Richard had started a library thread some time ago here https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...Library-Thread
    I'm now undecided - should we simply adapt that thread to include the references that are coming up now, or should I create a new thread entitled Art Circle Resources?
    My doubt is because Richard is quite specific about how that thread should be used and my thinking is that how we might want to use it would be different, less restricted.
    If you can, please have a look at that thread and come back here and let me know, then we can move forward with that.
    Thanks
    Gassho
    Meitou
    sattodaylah
    命 Mei - life
    島 Tou - island

  20. #70
    Quote Originally Posted by Jishin View Post
    Fantastic photos Meitou!

    Gassho, Jishin, __/stlah\__
    Aren't they beautiful Jishin, I only wish they were mine!
    The way the pears are photographed makes me very interested in exploring your use of dark backgrounds, the Izu's often used this very dark shadowed setting in the Still Life series to such wonderful effect. When we've decided about the Resources sticky, I'll be including links to some great Japanese photographers who have produced some extraordinary and beautiful work.

    Gassho
    Meitou
    sattodaylah
    命 Mei - life
    島 Tou - island

  21. #71
    Those are amazing images. The first one literally made me gasp when I opened the file.

    We have a pear tree in our yard that has produced pears for us for many years, but this year the tree produced so many pears, beyond anything in the past, that we are still giving away these sweet juicy delicious fruits. I've dried them made them into pies to freeze and made pear butter. SO I do have pears on my mind. And truly, like an egg, a pear is a perfect shape.
    Here's one little section of the tree...pears adj.jpg

    Thanks for posting those, Meitou.

    As far as the library thread goes, I agree with you that a less restricted library thread might be the way to go. anyone else have a suggestion, thought?

    bows
    Anne

    ~lahst~

  22. #72
    Horses are cool.

    I live in the outskirts of town in Texas so they are very easy to find. There are also wild herds in New Mexico near our cabin. Beautiful and graceful creatures.



    Gassho, Jishin, __/stlah\__

  23. #73
    Birds are always fun.



    Gassho, Jishin, __/stlah\__

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