For the last six months or so I have been photographing at sunrise three or four days a week – rain or shine. It’s not a quest for the best sunrise photograph but rather a way of learning to see.

The Buddhists have a word for this – Shoshin, which means “beginner’s mind”. It refers to an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject…or, in my case, photographing a subject: a new look every morning.

Whatever the photographs, it’s an interesting way to start the day.

Today is the vernal equinox: daylight and darkness in equal measure – the first day of Spring. There is new life everywhere to be seen and photographed – and it’s also in our very bones. We are part of the natural world not separate from it. Mother Nature, Mother Earth, the environment, wildlife, flora and fauna, the universe, the cosmos –all are a part of each one of us. So, it follows that, if we make ourselves aware of it, we can be affected by the season’s transitional energy. Here’s to Life! 

Nobody becomes anything without the benefit of devoted teachers. As a student I was drawn to black and white photography, and my artistry was inspired and challenged by the teachers who awakened my creativity.

Whether we know it or not we are surrounded by brilliant teachers. It’s the “every-day” people who are the best at it: spouses, children, friends, the letter carrier, the bus driver…we simply need to be better students. 

Even in this world of complexity 
and dissonance the only limits 
to “discovery” are the ones we 
make for ourselves. 

It’s as true in photography as it
is in other areas of endeavor 
that if we’re really fortunate 
we’ll never completely let go 
of that gift we owned as a child: 
a mind ever open to new ideas.