Learning to See Again
Beyond the obvious representation of time or place, what benefits can the practice of photography have on the wider collective of humanity during our increasingly desperate search for connection?
I’m Brad Carr, and I write open and emotive essays about life, light, and landscape. I also run group workshops, and creative retreats and am available for private tuition and mentoring.
If you wish to learn more about me and my work, head over to:
www.bradcarrphotography.co.uk
Humanity’s Desperate Longing for True Connection
We exist in desperate times. The tragic events in recent years have left humanity with a collective longing for connection. It is no wonder, given the intense feelings of disconnection that many people experienced in some way, shape, or form throughout the pandemic and enforced lockdowns that left many people isolated and cut off from their true nature; the human nature that is to exist within a close community, to touch, talk to, and see other people daily.
As the memories of isolation, division, and disconnection begin to fade from our conscious minds, I can’t help but become curious about what the long-term effects of these painful chapters on the human psyche and collective consciousness might be. My analytical mind has been busy joining some of the dots, trying to make sense of these events, as well as finding solutions for us to move forward with hope for the future; solutions that begin with our reconnection to the great spirit of Mother Nature.
Nature’s Sanctuary – A Place for Healing & Transformation
A journey into the natural world offers great sanctuary and refuge, a place for stillness and deep reflection. When a man finds himself wandering alone on the clifftops that have been delicately shaped over millennia by the seas’ persistent chisel, what else has he to do but look back upon his own life to understand and make peace with the raging tides that carved the caves and crevasses within his internal landscape?
Such a process of introspection can lead to immeasurable inner transformation. In my case, the camera has been a tool for self-study, and I have been unable to avoid noticing the significant increase in awareness and presence within my being since I began this practice; something that has greatly benefitted the relationships that I nurture with people around me. I move much more slowly and intently through life now, having ventured outdoors in search of the soul of Nature, and I can perceive much more within my surroundings daily.
Conversations with other people seem to be much deeper, and I am comfortable in allowing more space than my once more anxious self might have. This patience allows people the space that is required to open to the light and reveal who they are beyond the common mask that we all choose to wear at various points throughout our lives.
Nature’s Safe Space for Authentic Expression
The safe space that I found for expression of my true self outdoors in Nature, has now become a safe space within myself that I believe allows other people to open more of themselves to me through our interactions and conversation. We are all divine mirrors for each other, after all. The more that I work to reveal the sides of my true self, the more others can reveal to me, and vice versa. Through my observations of the world and the countless people that I have met throughout my time here, I can’t help but feel as though people are desperate to be seen in their fullest expression, especially given the tragic events that we have all experienced over the past few years.
As it happens, I have had two recurring conversations with different groups of people this week, both of whom raised concerns about the subject of their own repressed emotions and deep desires to express more of themselves to the world. Emotion is, quite simply, energy in motion, so why is it that we get so scared of expressing more of the energy that we naturally have inside? Isn’t it a natural human behaviour to express what is within and find means to release the energy that builds up with experience? Could it be that we have all been subject to so much judgment and ridicule throughout our early lives that we learned to keep parts of ourselves hidden as a means of survival?
A Personal Journey Towards Wholeness
Having spent six years on this journey into Nature, I have become increasingly aware of the significant shifts that have occurred within myself, and the great benefit that this wonderful practice of photography and my explorations into the natural world have had on me. Not only have I found peace within after a series of significant events throughout my childhood left many deep and painful scars on my heart, but I have now been granted the gift of true sight.
As I have written in a previous essay, titled, ‘A Bridge Between Two Worlds, ‘the camera is a bridge that connects two worlds. Not only does it capture what it sees in the external world that is so familiar to us all, but it reflects, at the same time, the inner world of the artist; one that is unique and so often unknown and unseen, even by the artists’ eyes at times.’ The further that we venture along the bridge into the outer world, the further we also explore within. As we expand our horizons and develop our sense of sight externally, we gain more perspective and clarity in our internal world. By studying the natural world with patience, intent, and deep observation, we learn to do the same through our internal lens, should we choose to walk through the landscape with one eye turned inwards. Through this creative practice, we can deepen our self-awareness, increase our understanding of the world, ourselves, and each other, and expand our consciousness.
Making the Unconscious, Conscious
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
― C.G. Jung
The deep reflective process of spending time in Nature allows us to bring forth into the conscious mind what was once buried in the unconscious. As we walk in a state of meditation beside the silent waters, we dredge the waters of our internal lake, often bringing to the surface the muddied, forgotten memories of our youth. As we rid ourselves of this mud that we bathe in, we scrape off the years of conditioning and the adopted beliefs about who we are, and we can begin to see what we are beyond physical form in the infinite world of spirit. When we learn to see ourselves beyond our immediate physical form, then we can see the soul of another. We begin to look past the unconscious actions and words of a person’s ego and become aware instead, of the pure energy and light that often exists behind their immediate expressions.
Through my observations, I noticed how the excess amount of time spent in isolation, disconnected from each other throughout the pandemic seemed to harm mental and physical health worldwide and only served to push people further into this repression of themselves. I can’t help but wonder how we might reverse such damage to the collective of humanity.
Photography Offers Hope for Our Future
The art of Nature photography, I believe, can play a key role as we look to repair our relationships with ourselves and each other, and ascend towards a more loving and peaceful haven on earth. Nature photography is a holistic practice that combines the mind, body, and spirit. It has immense potential as a modality for delivering healing to the human soul and bringing humanity back into harmony with the natural world, which, in turn, brings us back into harmony with our deeper selves, and each other as a result. Not only do we move energy and emotions through our body as we move across the landscape in search of a photograph, but the very act of creating can help to unburden us of our psychological baggage as we transmute our pain into creative power.
With the trained photographic eye, the artist learns to look beyond the immediately obvious composition for a more unique and interesting perspective on a location. Through the practice of photography, one begins to experiment with different angles and focal lengths to create something unique and add interest to their creation. It is through the practice of photography that abstract and out-of-the-box thinkers are rewarded with more interesting, thought-provoking, and conversation-opening photographs.
Within the wider world, there is certainly a place for more people who can approach situations and problems from different angles, for more people who can see beyond the immediacy of a person’s often unconscious actions and behaviours, for more people who can see deeply into the soul of another with a level of understanding and empathy that can only lead to forgiveness, acceptance, and unconditional love.
The camera is a vehicle that can carry us towards a place of deep healing, resulting in self-acceptance, and, therefore, acceptance of others. Nature, I believe, is the portal through which we now need to travel if we wish to reverse the damage of the past and co-create a more peaceful, harmonious, and loving world to exist in tomorrow.
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"A journey into the natural world offers great sanctuary and refuge, a place for stillness and deep reflection." - This is something so simple and so true, but unfortunately something I keep forgetting. Thanks so much for reminding me and for sharing your thoughts.
Brad - wonderful ideas here, thank you. Of course, I like them because I agree with what you’ve written. 😊 As Minor White said, “all photographs are self-portraits.” That mirroring of the inner self and the outer world is, for me, what it’s all about. And by the way… while all the images are beautiful - that first one… just so good. Dreamlike.