Have you ever lost yourself in the act of artistic creation? When I am out shooting in the city, sometimes the hours flow like minutes. Street photography can be so engrossing that it is a shame to snap out of it—to come back to regular life—after being ‘one with the street’ for hours on end. For me, in the beginning, I couldn’t always count on entering this mindful state. At times it happened, and at others I could not get myself there. It was like slipping into a dream, and just at the moment of lucidness I would wake up. This was disappointing, because I find that I do my best work in this mental state, not to mention that it is blissful and refreshing. So, what exactly is happening, and how to cultivate this mode of working in the streets?
Mindfulness
You may have heard of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation. First, what exactly is mindfulness? According to Wikipedia, mindfulness “is the psychological process of purposely bringing one's attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgment.”[1] Another apt definition is "non-forgetful, present-centered awareness" and "remembering to be aware of something.”[2] Essentially, it means remaining in the now, the present reality, rather than being lost in one’s thoughts of the past or the future, or something imagined.
A mindful mental state is beneficial for many reasons, but in photography, first and foremost, it allows for extreme concentration and focus. For a street photographer this is indispensable, as some moments can be all too fleeting and need to be recognized and processed on the fly. Being distracted or lost in thought is a hindrance, but when walking around on the street the mind can easily wander off into a state of daydreaming, losing focus on the present moment. I know I’ve been there countless times. How can we avoid losing focus?
Meditation
For many years, people have employed mindfulness meditation to train the ability of maintaining attention on the now without judgment. Most meditation techniques are not about keeping the mind clear or thinking of nothing. That is not the goal. Rather, the aim is to learn how to recognize that the mind is wandering, to accept that thoughts have appeared, and to put them aside without negativity, finally returning the mind’s focus on a chosen experience in the present moment, often the rhythm of the breath. The more you do this, the easier it gets to return your focus to the now. That’s mindfulness meditation in a nutshell.
The thing is, when I’m out shooting, I don’t want to just focus on my breathing. That’s counterproductive. But I do want to stay focused on my surroundings, the present moment, the now. To that end meditation is a great way to practice focus for street photography. When my mind wanders during a walk in the city, I can use the same technique to bring my focus back to reality. This allows me to work smoothly, to concentrate on my perception of the world, to notice and appreciate the small things, the details that make for great photography.
Zen
It’s not just that meditation is a useful mental tool for street photography. I would go so far as to say that street photography is a form of meditation. In Zen, one of the aims of meditation is to gain a ‘one-pointedness’ of mind. This is a kind of focus on a single object of contemplation in one’s mind, such as on a koan. A koan is like mental chewing gum in the practice of Zen—an idea or story to be turned over and over in the mind with no particular goal (a cliché example is ‘what is the sound of one hand clapping?’).
I know I’m stretching things here a bit, but to me, consider how a photographer focuses the attention on a subject in the present moment, observing it from different angles, and capturing its likeness in photographs at specific moments in time. To me, this is not unlike a Zen koan. The subject itself has no solution, no perfect angle or moment in which it might be photographed. We can only approach some kind of understanding or truth asymptotically without quite reaching it. There is no end to how many photographs or attempts we can make at a subject. Over years, I have found myself revisiting the same street corners, the same subjects, again and again. Much like I would manipulate a koan in my mind.
Going further, various arts such as calligraphy, or martial arts such as archery have been historically incorporated into Zen practices. One can easily see how: they are tasks that can and should be done with focus and ‘one-pointedness’ of mind. When done again and again, as a form of praxis, they take on a meditative quality. If you can shoot an arrow mindfully, you can shoot a photo just as well. And so, to me, street photography is meditation.
Flow
So, that was the eastern philosophical view of things. Let’s take a perspective from western psychology—a completely different angle but leading to a congruent conclusion. Through research conducted in 1975, Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi identified a psychological state he called flow. Wikipedia offers a concise definition: “flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time.” [3] There are more details to it, but essentially flow occurs when a given task completely saturates our attention without overwhelming us. During flow, we lose our sense of “reflective self-consciousness” [3] and focus entirely on the present moment (sounds a bit like mindfulness). In addition, during flow we should have a “sense of personal control or agency over the situation or activity” [3] and the task should be intrinsically rewarding.
Furthermore, there is an optimal difficulty level for a task that allows for a flow state to occur. The task cannot be too difficult nor to easy for our given skill level. If the difficulty level falls below one’s skill level, the task is boring, routine, and does not stimulate flow. On the other hand, if a task is too difficult for us, then it becomes stressful and induces anxiety instead of fulfillment. There is a Goldilocks zone in between, where the challenge level of a task sits inside our ability but is difficult enough to capture our full attention, thus leading to a state flow.
I should also point out that we must not conflate flow with mindfulness. They share some characteristics, but I would venture that they are not strictly the same thing. Mindfulness is about maintaining voluntary awareness of one’s thoughts in the present moment, regardless of current activity. On the other hand, flow is an almost involuntary state in which we lose our sense of self while fully immersed in a stimulating activity while also tuning out most other stimuli, such as ambient sounds, music, distractions, etc. The connection between the two mental states, especially when it comes to street photography, is that flow can more easily arise from mindfulness.
Bringing it all Together in the Context of Street Photography
The thing about flow is that it comes easier in the context of certain tasks. This is just my personal experience, but I find that tasks that have clear continuity and constant difficulty level are most conducive to flow. Some personal examples: editing photos, web design, video games, sports, and writing all can lead to a state of flow. I don’t play any instruments, but I imagine music is another great example. All of these activities have a constant need for attention, a clear goal at all times, and often instant feedback.
However, street photography differs in a number of ways. One problem is that, paradoxically, street photography is both extremely easy and extremely difficult. To be clear, I mean that anyone can pick up any camera and start doing street photography. It’s easy. But to do it very well, is so difficult. It’s also hard to gauge feedback in the given moment of shooting. Unlike games or music, where mistakes are obvious, or sports, where just doing it can be rewarding, street photography can at times be painfully dull and lacking in positive feedback. However, the biggest problem is that street photography is rarely a ‘continuous’ activity. Sure, you may be out shooting for a few hours at a time, but much of that time is spent walking along and not photographing anything. On some days you might be shooting something every few minutes, and on other days you walk for an hour only to take a handful of photos. How do you maintain a state of flow during that entire time?
Instead of the task being ‘taking street photos’ the task should instead be focused attention on the present moment, what I like to call seeing. By adjusting the goal of the activity in this way, the task then becomes continuous, just like music or playing games. It also has a naturally scaling difficulty that should always lie on the edge or our comfort zone. The act of actually making pictures with the camera becomes a secondary task within the overarching activity. Holding the camera, looking through it, framing, focusing, and pressing the shutter release all become component tasks of the parent activity of seeing.
This is where mindfulness meditation and Zen practice come into play. In order to practice seeing we must first practice mindfulness. By engrossing ourselves with the task of seeing, the activity itself becomes a meditative practice. This creates a self-sustaining loop of attention and action in the present moment, leading to a state of flow.
Concrete Tips for Cultivating Mindfulness and Flow in Street Photography
Now for some practical, actionable tips for aiding mindfulness in street photography. First of all, mute or turn off your phone. It goes without saying that if you’re checking your email every five minutes, or even if your phone is just buzzing in your pocket, it will be difficult to focus all of your attention on your perception. Furthermore, listening to music can aid concentration, but ultimately, I find it leads to a less mindful shooting experience. Rather than allowing ourselves to be absorbed by the sounds of the street, music instills us with feelings and thoughts not congruent with present reality. Also, I find it leads to more phone-fiddling (selecting the right genre, skipping tracks, etc.). Finally, I like to go out and shoot when I’m hungry, but not too hungry. An empty stomach seems to lead to heightened senses and awareness. Of course, being too hungry is distracting. So, I don’t shoot right after a meal, and I tend to end my shoots with meals.
Of course, even without distractions, it’s easy for the mind to wander. It happens, but it’s important not to dwell on thoughts or get frustrated. Simply, acknowledge a thought, and let it go, returning your focus to the immediate present. If you are dwelling on something that has to be dealt with later, then write it down (the one time it’s advisable to take out your phone). Make a note or email it to yourself to deal with later. This way, you can ‘close the loop’ and stop thinking in circles about something you cannot deal with in the present anyway.
Finally, I have to mention the biggest distraction: your camera. This is a major reason why knowing your camera inside and out is a big help for street photography. It’s good to know where the controls are by feel, not by sight. It’s even more important to have go to ‘modes’ of shooting (e.g. aperture mode with auto ISO, or full manual, etc.) that you can use comfortably and with little thought. This is one reason many street photographers like shooting with certain cameras—me included. The best camera is one that simply gets out of your way. It is also why I prefer shooting with a prime lens—one less option to think about. So, to maintain a mindful approach to street photography, always have your camera out, ideal street photography settings dialed in—and don't fuss with the camera. Seeing is about your mind much more than the camera, anyway.
Good shooting, and remember to remain in the moment, keep your thoughts clear, and see the world.