SPECIAL NOTE Regarding COVID: We are planning to run this mostly outdoor course with a limited class size to allow for proper social distancing and personal space both indoors and out. The land is lush and lovely, the stones are standing in a sea of green – just waiting for you to come see it anew with your eyes and camera lens! Bring your own lunch and snacks!
Explore how the lens of a camera can allow us to see things in ways that we may have otherwise missed.
Join Thomas Roberts for this fun, contemplative/meditation experience that utilizes photography to slow us down and enable us to see our world in novel and original ways. Beginner’s Eye allows us to uncover shape, color, texture and beauty that are normally hidden from view. No photographic experience necessary!!
Beginner’s Eye is based on the Zen notion of “beginner’s mind” – that open and spacious place when we are completely receptive, fearless, totally present and connected to the wonder of each moment. This practice offers a pure, clear, seeing where everything is fresh and new.
Cultivating Beginner’s Eye deepens our connection with our true selves and the world around us. You do not need to be a photographer in order to practice contemplative photography. Contemplative photography is not a type of photography as is, for example, landscape or macro photography. It is not about having the right lens or the best camera, or following guidelines about composition and light, but rather, it is about the interaction of our inner being with the object in the viewfinder. Using the camera as an extension of our inner vision, contemplative photography focuses our attention and holds our awareness, making it a mindful act and a way to nourish within us the integral practice of abiding mindfulness.
The open, sacred landscape and intentional spaces at Kinstone make it a perfect place for a day of focused attention on awareness and vision. It is not about what you see; rather how you see it. Practicing seeing with a “beginner’s eye” will help you notice things in the world as if seeing them for the first time. This experience can be profoundly life changing.
Pre-registration is required, as space is limited. The workshop is expected to fill.
Date: Saturday, June 5, 2021
Time: 9:00am to 6:00pm (Plan to arrive at least 10 minutes early!)
Cost: $65 EARLY BIRD – must register by May 15; $75 after May 15 : No refunds.
Admission fee includes instruction and slideshow of final photography selections.
Limited attendance! Sign up early to reserve your spot. No refunds.
Additional details: This course will be held Rain or Shine. Dress for the weather and wear sturdy walking shoes.
Description:
The morning is a time of learning through an introduction, meditation, and initial practice time. The afternoon begins with time outside creating photographs. Mid-afternoon we will settle down with the images we gathered and work on writing our own Haiku poetry to complement one or more of our photos. While the instructor prepares a slideshow of selected photos and Haiku from each participant, the participants will have free time to walk about Kinstone. We gather again to enjoy the final slideshow featuring everyone’s work and wrap up with discussion and sharing.
General Schedule
– What is Beginner’s Eye and what does photography have to do with it
– Slideshow of examples of Beginner’s Eye photography
– Meditations on seeing with clarity: Letting go of fears, judgments, expectations
– The world through the viewfinder: Practice how to see
– Haiku: simple, short form poetry; word-play inspired by images
– Lunch break (BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH)
– Heading out with our camera to see with clear eyes and mind
– Return: Time to contemplate our photographs and compose haikus
– Choose 1 or more photographs and accompanying Haikus for the group slideshow
– Walk about Kinstone while the slideshow is prepared
– Slideshow!
– Discussion and Closure
Note: This is a contemplative retreat day in which you bring along a camera (even a cell phone camera is fine!) and take photos of what you see. To be clear, this is not a photography workshop, i.e., no photographic techniques will be taught. No photographic experience is necessary; however, if you have photographic experience you may find the practice of Beginner’s Eye enhances your work and your new awareness may manifest itself in your photographs.
What to bring:
- A willingness to be open and creative
- A digital camera; if you have an DSLR, bring only one lens, and yes, point-and-shoot cameras and even cell phone cameras are perfectly acceptable (NOTE: if your camera or phone has a data transfer cable, please bring it along as it can be helpful to get your photos transferred to a designated computer for the final slide show.)
- Bring a thumb drive to easily transfer the final slideshow if you wish to have a copy to take home.
- Dress for the weather and wear sturdy walking shoes
- A blanket or pillow to sit on, if you wish, for your comfort; chairs will be available to all
- Your own lunch and snacks
- Your own water bottle / travel mug. Note: water, coffee and tea will be provided; and we encourage you to bring your own water bottle/travel mug to drink from. This is a sustainable practice we promote for all events at Kinstone. If you forget yours, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
About your instructor: Thomas Roberts
Thomas (“Tom”) Roberts has nearly 50 years of experience as a licensed clinical psychotherapist. He has been an adjunct professor at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI and St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN, where he has taught mind-body healing, integrative medicine and other mindfulness related topics. He has been a practicing Zen Buddhist for nearly 50 years. In 1992 he received lay Buddhist vows from Thich Nhat Hanh. Based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Tom offers contemplative and meditation retreats and workshops at centers locally and throughout the United States. He is the author of The Mindfulness Workbook: A guide to overcoming fear and embracing compassion (New Harbinger Press, 2009).
For the past 4 decades, Tom has used a camera to hone his ability to see the beauty of our world. He has become, in his words, an “advanced amateur photographer” and has learned to portray the wonder of the ordinary in ways that become extraordinary through photographs. Further, he has practiced writing haiku, a short form of Japanese poetry based on simple, yet often profound, observations of the everyday world, to go with his photos.
His “Beginners Eye” approach draws on his personal experience of contemplative photography as a spiritual practice and the innate wonder of the world to help us develop our capacity of seeing and reconnecting with our true selves and our own intimate relationship to the world in which we live.
Refund Policy: There are no refunds. If you sign up and then determine you cannot attend; you may offer your spot to another individual if you wish.
