Photography and Zen is a book about you, the photographer. It's also about awareness and the filters we place upon ourselves. Whilst some might suggest it's about learning to see in a new way, really it's about learning to see with the innocence of childhood. Professor Michael Eldridge, former Head of Post Graduate Studies in Photography at 'The Arts University' states in the Foreword: ""Stephen Bray writes here a travelogue about his voyage and search for meaning and inspiration. He also explores the relationship between photography and awareness within the context for formal Buddhist philosophy, for the benefit of those wishing to understand how these may be linked. Then, in Part Two, he shares his own experience and sets out some exercises for you to explore. "He gets lost, gets confounded in dead ends, is led and misled by people he comes across (it seems always by chance or perhaps by destiny) but they don't disappoint him as he knows he is learning from them; always open to new experience and always learning. There is one constant, his camera. It is not just one cherished item. It is a generic camera, an extension of his mind which somehow projects itself through his eye and then through the lens out into the so called world of reality."" The author of the highly regarded book 'Photography and Psychoanalysis' suggests that Zen is the simple realization that self and other are opposite sides of the state of 'being', and as a result photography is to be practiced as a compassionate activity. In 'Photography and Zen' Stephen Bray explores the relationship between photography and Zen Buddhism pointing to links and inconsistencies. In doing so he constructively demythologises both Zen and Contemplative Photography. The book is split into two parts. In Part One the author discusses the development of photography and its relationship to present centered awareness, and therefore Zen and Buddhism. If you've read other books of Contemplative Photography but are confused about it's background this book will help you understand what it's all about. Part Two is concerned with a young man's self-exploration and inquiry through the medium of photography. There are also exercises to help you to retrace his steps. If you're an experienced photographer yet somewhat dissatisfied with images you're making, or a complete novice seeking to understand how to make images for the first time this book is a great non-technical guide. But if you're simply looking for techniques of image manipulation then this work isn't for you. Although written for photographers anyone with a camera will gain insight into their true nature, by following the path suggested in part two of this book. Buy 'Photography and Zen: Discovering Your True Nature Through Photography' today and begin your own journey into self-awareness.

This concise, illustrated, work informs about the histories of photography and psychoanalysis. It describes how they came together in the 20th Century to revolutionize political propaganda and sales messages. It references the works of several 20th Century and contemporary photographers including: Edward Steichen, Brian Duffy, Helmut Newton, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Nan Goldin, Gregory Crewdson, Larry Clark, and Wang Qingsong. It includes a chapter summarizing and critiquing many of the thoughts of the philosopher and activist Susan Sontag, as well as being completely up-to-date with a Chapter about photographers Cindy Sherman and Miru Kim. The book demonstrates how images may be understood, and interpreted, using the ideas of Freud, Jung and Lacan. Written in simple language this isn't a work about how to make technically 'better' images, but rather a book to help you understand the psychological impact of images. You are introduced to various characters who influenced the development of both photography and psychoanalysis during the 19th and 20th centuries, and you are helped to appreciate the impact they continue to have today. Psychological and photographic concepts are added into the narrative until it becomes possible to look at examples of contemporary advertising images and campaigns using appropriate tools. Later, the text moves to look at the development of art, and domestic photography, including the force that commercial photography places upon these. In a relatively short journey you are guided through psychoanalysis and systems theory, photography, surrealism, advertising and much more. ""This is your chance to understand, and free your mind from, assaults by those images which, every day, make you feel less, and less, happy, unless you buy, buy, buy."" If you sell products, or services, it will help you to create more effective advertisements.