Sunday Snapshots: Buddha Portraits and Photography As Therapy

Friday I had a tummy ache, or as a Czech friend likes to say, “I feel disgusting” It was probably due to an overindulgence of fried papas, potatoes. Who knows. What I do know is that when “I feel disgusting” the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my computer. Going into the kitchen to experiment is certainly out of the question.

I am one of those people that likes to keep busy as much as possible. Even if I don’t feel well I just can’t lay down and relax. When I do try I end up laying there thinking of what has to be done. It is really annoying. It will take more than just a tummy ache to get me to sit or lay down and really relax. Did I mention how annoying that is?

Instead of laying down or sitting in front of the TV, I decided to ride the tummy ache out while folding laundry. (Super exciting I know.) As I walked into the dinning room I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful light illuminating the room. The light was soft and had a golden hue to it. This was the kind of light you see at sunset on a hazy day.  I walked towards the window and stared out into the street. As I turned back there to my side was our Buddha statue looking soft and so peaceful.

(This shot was an accident. I accidently pushed the shutter while trying to focus. It is out of focus but I kinda like it. What do you guys think?)

I began the monotonous task of clothes folding. All while out of the corner of my eye the Buddha statute kept calling to me. (No, not literally calling or talking to me. I’m not that weird.) It was the way the light was illuminating only certain highlights on the statue. The silver statue tones, highlights and shadows looked almost like an old platinum print come to life. I just had to grab my camera and capture that moment.  It appears that those 15 minutes of shooting were therapeutic because soon after I had forgotten all about my tummy ache. (Oh yeah, I also forgot about the laundry.) Quickly I made my way back to my computer so I could inspect the photos. Suddenly I had a new wave of energy and couldn’t wait to dive in and select a few photos to edit.

When I write and/or edit photos I like to listen to music. This time I wanted something cool and relaxing to keep the mood and inspiration going. Santa was perfect for this moment. Sipping a glass of ice cold water, the sounds of Carlos Santana making love to his guitar (eeww, not literarily people) in the background, pen tablet in my right hand and the photo selection process began. That hour spent on snapping the photos, selecting and editing was indeed therapeutic. My tummy ache subsided.  Happy Sunday everyone, I hope your weekend has been a great one.

‘Do you listen to music when you write or edit photos? What do you listen to?

Photography notes:
Light source – window light on a hazy day
Lens – manual focus zoom with shallow depth of field
No tripod was used and the images are a little soft and shaky.

Some of my favorite photographers:
– Alfred Stieglitz
– Edward Steichen
– Tina Modotti

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