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Mindful photography is not just about what we see, but how we see. It’s a contemplative way of slowing down enough to experience presence.   From the NAUTICAL REFRACTIONS  series by Anna Wilson Sunlight danced across the worn hulls of fishing boats in Lake Bolsena’s harbour, catching ripples in the water and the textures of chipped paint. In that fleeting shimmer, the ordinary — the harbour, the boats, the gentle lapping of the lake — felt extraordinary. Photographing in that moment became meditation, a pause where noticing and presence converged. From the NAUTICAL REFRACTIONS series by Anna Wilson Mindful photography offers a way to return to a moment, discover inscape  rather than escape, and access creative flow through intentional observation. For anyone seeking a pause from the everyday, it provides a restorative path back to presence and creativity. My venture, Mindful Eye Photography, grew from this insight — and from a desire to create the kind of community I wanted to support my own practice. I am looking to create a space where photographers of all levels may explore, reflect, and create without pressure or comparison — nurturing clarity, fostering connections, and rediscovering inspiration. Mindful photography   draws from Zen and Tibetan dharma art traditions, where art is a form of direct experience and spiritual expression. One lineage, Nalanda Miksang, emphasizes practice over performance — creating from awareness, authenticity, and curiosity rather than ego or decoration. Each photograph becomes a meditation, a way to see deeply, fully, and honestly. From the RECONSTRUCTED series by Anna Wilson “The contemplative practice is to transform the obvious, ordinary experience into an appreciation of the ordinary as extraordinary — the appreciation of it for what it is, the ordinary magic of being alive.”  — McQuade & Hall, Looking and Seeing: Nalanda Miksang Contemplative Photography My photographic workshops, retreats, and journeys begin with stillness — breath work, meditation, connecting to the senses, or simply pausing to observe. The camera becomes a tool for reflection, a frame through which participants explore balance, light, texture, and nuance. Mindful observation turns distraction into focus, revealing patterns and surprises that bring both order and vitality to the photograph. “Anna’s program encouraged me to slow down, be present, and truly reconnect with who I am as a photographer.”  — Jo Gomes, past retreat participant Mindful photography naturally extends to photographing people. John Daido Loori, a Zen Buddhist monk and accomplished photographer, observes in The Zen of Creativity  that the image reveals as much about the photographer as it does about the subject. In street or portrait photography, participants ask: “Am I taking or witnessing?” They approach subjects with curiosity, openness, and ethical sensitivity, considering consent and context.  Costa Rica portrait by Anna Wilson “If your mind is cluttered, your images will be cluttered. If your heart is open, your work will be open." — John Daido Loori, The Zen of Creativity Approaching your subject with presence and respect allows moments to unfold naturally. Portraits and scenes become reflections of relationship, connection, and emotional depth — turning ordinary encounters into extraordinary expressions. Bringing my Mindful Eye Photography program into new landscapes felt like a natural evolution of my work — a way to unite mindfulness, creativity, and exploration. International journeys and retreats explore a variety of stimulating locations, offering opportunities for different types of photography while emphasizing presence, connection, and curiosity. Ordinary scenes — the play of sunlight on a harbour, the textures of a weathered street, or fleeting expressions in a crowd — can feel extraordinary when observed with attention and intention. From the SAN GEMINI series by Anna Wilson These experiences gently nudge photographers towards what heals and inspires, reminding us that noticing and creating are themselves restorative acts. Mindful photography weaves together structure and spontaneity, order and intuition, experientially demonstrating that both coexist beautifully. Whether capturing sunlight dancing on a lake, wildlife on safari, or moments in a bustling street, my goal remains the same: to move with presence, finding stillness in the act of creation. In a world that celebrates speed and productivity, perhaps the real art lies in the pause — in the space between breaths, where order meets chaos and meaning begins to take shape. From the SAN GEMINI series by Anna Wilson It is in these moments of presence that photography reflects not only what we see, but also the calm, clarity, and aliveness that emerge when we are fully present. Mindful photography shows us that even amidst life’s chaos, we can find order — and in that balance, beauty, surprise, and meaning emerge. Discover Mindful Eye Photography Join photographer and educator Anna Wilson  for immersive retreats and international journeys that blend photography, mindfulness, and creative flow. mindfuleye.ca  | @mindfuleye_photography

We’re Already Here   is a portrait series by Tilly Nelson that was developed during her 2024 artist residency at Langara College. The Langara College Photography Residency is a special program designed for experienced photographers looking to develop a personal portfolio project centred on social advocacy or broader humanitarian themes. Tilly was the first Photographer in Residence for the college, and her work there included mentoring students, studio work at the school, an exhibition, and a public lecture to share her experiences.  When commercial photographer Tilly Nelson moved to Vancouver, Canada, from London, England, she immediately noticed a gap, not in the city’s diversity, but in the lack of diversity represented in commercial advertising images. “There was this disconnect,” she says. “I noticed that the talent that was considered at castings for commercial advertising jobs was diverse in ethnicity and body shapes, but lacking in diversity when it came to visible disability.” Over the past decade, Tilly has built a commercial career in visual storytelling defined by empathy and connection. Her work is focused on themes of visibility, belonging, and the need for authentic representation. Her clients include BC Children’s Hospital, lululemon, and the Canucks Autism Network. She got her start as an assistant at one of London’s top photography studios, but early on realized that this line of work wasn’t a creatively sustainable approach for her. As she began prioritizing her passion for inclusion and advocating for diverse casting, she found herself welcomed into the disabled community and learning even more through connections and collaborations. “I have a lot of passion for justice and equality,” Tilly says, and it’s clear these ideas are at the heart of her work. Tilly’s project for Langara College was originally sparked by conversations with people in the local disabled community over a number of years. To build a foundation for the project, she began by surveying 50 people with various disabilities, asking open-ended questions, and listening to their responses with an open heart. She said she knew it was important to bring the voices of people with lived experience into the project’s planning stages and, as a person without a disability, she had to create this project very carefully. She challenged her own vision of what the project could be and let her subjects shape their own narratives. Tilly notes that the responses she received were “both overwhelming and beautiful at the same time.” The project resulted in eight portrait sessions and an exhibition of eight final images. Two voices from this project were of special note for Tilly. Breanna, who uses a wheelchair and is a makeup artist for M.A.C Cosmetics, shared an empowering moment with Tilly: “A little girl in a wheelchair with light-up wheels approached me with her mum, and she said, ‘Look, Mum, she works here. That means I can work here too.’ And that’s what made all the hard work worth it.” Robin, an opera singer, commented, “It’s isolating not to see yourself represented in the images around you. Many disabled singers think they are alone in this, but they’re not. We’re already here, and it’s time that you realized it. I’m here loudly and proudly disabled in the opera world, so that hopefully in the future others can be too.” Robin’s quote became the project’s title.  While the message behind We’re Already Here  is powerful, the images hold intentional subtleties. Tilly’s goal was not to spotlight disability as a difference, but to weave it into the visual narrative in a way that mirrors real life. She knew she wanted to create a series of portraits in work environments, but she wanted the viewer to see the person, not just their disability. Tilly describes one shoot featuring Zoe, a young girl who uses a wheelchair and wants to be a visual artist: “We created a scene where she was an artist in an art studio. I wanted the paintbrushes to sit perfectly so you could see only a small bit of the wheelchair.” Another image features Omar, an actor who has an autoimmune condition that causes the skin to lose its pigment. “I didn’t want his vitiligo to be the busiest part of the image,” says Tilly. So she crafted this image in layers, utilizing intentional foreground and background props and elements to craft a busy composition to create depth and blend him into the space naturally. When it came to the presentation of the images, Tilly felt it was important to share more information with viewers. She explains, “As I was creating this project without the lived experience of a person with disability, it was really important to give a voice to those involved so that it wasn’t solely my narrative or my words that were being presented. By including text panels next to the images, each person’s perspective could be best explained with their own words. We also presented letters from the parents of the kids involved to add another dimension. The text layered on the images was an opportunity for the people involved to share what they wanted to say without anyone else’s voice getting in the way. It felt important that these images had a powerful message built into them so that people would view the image, read the text, and then look at the image again. I wanted there to be a process and experience for viewers, and I wanted the message to be clear. It was about giving a voice to the disabled community.” Though Tilly is no stranger to both commercial and personal projects, working out exactly how she would produce this work and engage the student community was a challenge she warmly welcomed when her proposal was accepted following her application and interview with the college. Tilly knew it was important to allow herself the space to recognize the opportunity she had been given to use her creative talent to tell someone else’s story. She summarizes, “There’s power and beauty in working out the process.” Tilly said that the ability to produce a personal project with the school’s support was empowering. The stipend, access to facilities, and the community of students and faculty made this collaborative work possible. “I had a team of staff and professors encouraging me,” she notes. As much as she saw the residency as an opportunity to teach student photographers entering the industry about inclusion, their collaboration also helped to spark conversations that shaped her project. Tilly says she hopes the work “ignites conversations about inclusion, inspires people to think more inclusively about who they work with and who they hire, and challenges the meaning of belonging. Creating projects that are sensitive, authentic, and genuinely showcase the beauty and joy of disability is something that hasn’t been done enough yet.” “I want to be known for being a part of change that needs to happen,” says Tilly. “It might be uncomfortable at times, but we have to push for what we believe in.” It is the hope of the college and the photography department that they can create an ongoing relationship with each of the residency alumni, and that photographers like Tilly become valued ambassadors for this professional program and the community at large. This feature appeared in the MOVEMENT edition and was produced with the support of Langara College. Find out more about their photography program - HERE.

I spend a lot of time thinking about big data and its effects on our everyday lives. Outside of creating fine art photography, I work with spreadsheets in the field of database marketing. Unrelated to my creative photography work, I stumbled onto an Australian-born mathematician named Matt Parker. Matt is the Public Engagement in Mathematics Fellow at Queen Mary University of London who developed (or at least popularized) a script that converts each RGB pixel of an image into a cell in an Excel spreadsheet. After seeing his technique, I wanted to try it for myself. I was curious as to what the results of this script would look like printed. The idea of bothering to print something that may not be saleable intrigued me because I like to use my art as a vehicle to get more people contemplating the impact (both good and bad) of the constant data collection in our lives. My personal stance is that it is mostly bad for us as individuals; the more people talking and thinking about this issue, the better off everyone will be. When I first started experimenting with this idea, I found that if I had tried to print my initial attempts of working with this script, I would have ended up with an image over 23 metres wide. After several more attempts, I was able to adjust the image to a more reasonable size (1.55 m - 1.27 m) that my printer could handle. I experimented with several images and settled on a photograph I created at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. The image evokes a sense of place, of being human, and of experiencing a moment in life. Even in these instances, when we are not conscious of it, data is captured about our lives, our physical location, and the people around us. Regardless of how remote Icelandic hot springs are, it has become increasingly difficult to distance ourselves from digital data. Timothy Starchuk is a practicing fine art photographer based in Edmonton, Alberta. He sits on the Board of The Works International Visual Arts Society and has exhibited work at galleries such as Latitude 53, Harcourt House, and Vacancy Hall. As a driving force in communicating his visual messages, he thoroughly enjoys pushing technical limits through experimentation, printing his work on different substrates such as large format printing on Baltic birch; playing with Polaroid prints; and through trying digital data challenges such as converting his images into Excel documents. Tim talks about data + marketing, how we balance modern convenience with how our private data is tracked - everywhere - we - go. Check out his video presentation from our Edmonton - PHOTO INSPIRATION NIGHT VIDEO - HERE . photoED Magazine featured Timothy Starchuk's story in print in our SOLD OUT, but... The digital replica is available on PRESS READER Enjoyed this free read?!  Consider supporting us! JOIN US AS A PATRON   • SUBSCRIBE FOR PRINT DELIVERY   • READ our digital editions   • Make a donation

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