Photographs of Gratitude

Photography savors split-second slices of one’s reality. In a quest for beauty and predictable patterns, Robin used her pocket sized point and shoot camera to capture a new reality and recreate her life. Her photography became a vehicle for her journey from depression to gratitude … from a life of looking back to a life of here and now. Depression is dark, focused on self, looking in and looking back. Throughout her life, Robin was oftentimes caught in a downward spiral of negativity and despair despite her persistent struggle to find meaning and a place of belonging in the world. With the gentle nudging of a rescue dog named “Falcon,” Robin began taking early morning walks in the parks of her Boston neighborhood. She developed a daily practice of gratitude by identifying, with intention, “what can I appreciate today, what can I be grateful for today?” She began seeking out beauty and color to combat the darkness, and the simplicity of patterns to quiet the chaos of her emotions. Robin took her practice of gratitude one step further by asking, “what can I share today?” Photography became her means to capture the essence of what she appreciated, and she began posting photos daily on Facebook as a “journal of gratitude.” Robin’s individual approach to dealing with depression brought her to a particular style of photography. She did not take a class or learn specific techniques. She just came to it naturally. She had long been drawn to Buddhism as a spiritual practice, with the emphasis on here and now, the impermanence of everything, non-attachment, and selflessness. As she explored the field of photography, she discovered “Miksang,” a form of contemplative photography developed out of Buddhist teachings, which uses mindful meditation with visual perceptions as the object of attention rather than watching one’s breath. Robin also discovered the genre of minimalist photography, a simplistic style that keeps compositional elements to a minimum while capturing the essence of an object. Both Miksang and minimalist photography resonated with Robin on a very deep level. Her desire to develop a daily practice of gratitude moved her to experience life in a new way by seeing the essence of her subject without overlays of meaning, judgment, value, or interpretation. With every photo, she created a venue for being present and capturing the purity of a moment. Robin’s “journal of gratitude” has resulted in a collection of remarkable photography. Because the photos come out of her camera with minimal post-processing, there is a pureness and honesty to her work. There is also solitude. Regardless of where she is or whom she is with, when she stops to take a photo, she is alone … fully connected to her subject, whether it is a flower, a ripple in the water, or a chalk drawing on the sidewalk. In this aloneness at that moment of the shoot, there is serenity and peace.