What to do until you can do nothing.

Why is it we find it very difficult to do nothing? Nothing at all, to just sit and do absolutely nothing. No fidgeting, no thinking, no meditation technique, no praying, no watching the breath, no achieving, no mantras. Utter stillness of the movement of the mind. A mind brought to understanding that any movement 'inward' or 'outward' is an avoidance of the present moment. A mind that surrenders to this fact is like an open window allowing the fresh breeze of life to blow through, a breeze that can never be held. So what can we do if we can't 'do' nothing? If God or Tao are words for that which can't be described we could start by not describing things. Attempt to look and listen to life without describing what you are seeing or hearing. It is as though the whole body is involved in this process of listening and seeing. You are now discovering a new way to 'know' the present moment without using thought. A sense of feeling the moment more than thinking about it. You may ask what is so special about the present moment. The moment is an open dynamic which defies knowledge. If one can stay there long enough in this non-describing feeling way you may find you are not in the moment but you are the moment. The mind turns to space, distance to depth, sound and sight resonate in the body before thought takes a grip.This is a state beyond description but it doesn't stop you from trying. A passionate creative response is brought forward as your relationship to the Mystery deepens. Poetry, painting or some other creative activity replaces the normal response which is just usally a reaction to life.

Performance Photography

…this is my method. I have very good canon gear. I now have the  5DMK2 before that the 5D, a 70-200 f2.8 IS, 24-70 f2.8 and the 17-40 f4. Always get the best you can right from the start. I always shoot in raw format. The reason being I have more control over the shot and much more information within the shot. I process everything through lightroom.

Normally you get 3 songs to shoot the artist. The first song I take hardly any shots I just watch the performer, how they move etc. I also watch the lighting as it changes rapidly. The Lighting like the music and the performer has a timing to it and I will count how long between lights waiting for a favorable light. Everything has a stillpoint, movement to rest is always happening and I will wait for the performer to come to rest with eyes open and no mic in front of them. I focus on the eyes.

The gear I use allows me to shoot at a high ISO usally between 1000-1600 ISO or even higher, my fstop hardly changes it is nearly alway f2.8. I shoot in M mode and as my fstop never changes I only have to adjust my timing which I am constantly doing to match the performer and the lights. My timing is usally around 1/200- 1/320. As my ISO is high and my fstop is f 2.8 I have plenty of leeway with timing. I take no notice of exposure after I have looked at my first few shots.

The biggest thing I learnt at my first concert was from an old film photographer. While all the digital guys were shooting at random at anything hoping they were going toget something this old guy would just wait and take the odd one, his work is fantastic with no wasted shots.

I would say nearly every photographer in the pit shoots in AV mode, jpeg and rattles off as many as they can, you can hear the cameras shooting 10 shots a second. This is not photography, it is not based on awareness, relationship to the subject, or thinking clearly about what you want etc. I try and take less shots each time I do a concert. I think photography is all about what Minor White said

A very receptive state of mind… not unlike a sheet of film itself - seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second’s exposure conceives a life in it.

Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. 

I’m always mentally photographing everything as practice. 

No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen.

Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts.