Crepuscular Intervals

A shot of Kelston House, looking south over the Avon Valley earlier today, during a brief break in the gloom.

I'm not a fan of the Mindfulness industry, which I tend to instinctively look upon with a jaundiced cynical eye.  So when the local camera club put on a talk on Mindfull Photography my initial reaction was to give it a miss.  However, when I realised that the speaker was Simon Turnbull FRPS (who is a landscape photographer that I admire) I realised that I ought to give it a go, particularly as I could attend by Zoom (which just at the moment is about all I'm good for).

I have to admit, I was very pleased that I did as his images are often sublime. I've linked his web site in case you have a few minutes to see what I mean.

As for the mindfulness itself, well..... He describes his mindful approach to photography as slowing down to allow yourself to become conscious of the here and now, and then focusing on the details of the image making process: composition, depth of field , focal point and finally exposure.  He emphasises the need to have prepared in advance to enable yourself to achieve this in the field: knowing how your camera works, making sure you have the kit you need with you (batteries, memory cards, lens cleaners etc), as well as making sure that you have the right clothing etc, etc.  

To some this may well be mindfulness, but to me ... well this is just the process I've been applying to try to take good photos :-)