Therapeutic Photography

Throughout my life, my analytical brain, my career choice, the fact that I am right handed....etc., has led me to the false belief that I am not a creative person. I however LOVE photography. I think I would attempt a career in photography if I didn't have this deep belief that I am not a creative person. I enjoy taking pictures, editing pictures, dreaming up good shots but I am limiting myself and my passion for photography by believing that I am not creative. This blog post is not about the limiting beliefs we all have about ourselves but I thought it was important to cover this fact briefly as I discuss photography. About a year or so ago, I had the idea on how photography could be therapeutic to people...a quick google search later determined that this is not a unique idea. I guess this discovery further made me believe that I am indeed not a creative person...but I digress.

My interest in photography was passed down from my father. For as long I can remember, he enjoyed taking pictures, buying cameras, etc. It was a way to bond with him but over time it became something that I really enjoyed. To me, photography is first and foremost a way to see and capture beauty in the world. Photography can take something that the rest of the world overlooks daily and make it larger than life. Photography can even take something the rest of the world would think is troubling and "ugly" and reflect the life and beauty of that object. Photography can elicit an emotional response from people. A smile, a tear...awe...horror...and everything in between. To me that is the beauty of photography. Life is messy and doesn't always appear beautiful but photography can help you to see the beauty in the mess.

Recently I have focused my photography efforts on nature, as you can probably tell based on the photos in this blog. Nature photography for me is therapeutic in a wide variety of ways. The primary way it is therapeutic to me is that it gets me outside of my own mind.

Let me explain...

A number of years ago, I can't remember why exactly, but we got obsessed with seeing a bald eagle. Growing up, you never saw a bald eagle unless you were at the zoo, so seeing one seemed magical. We were on a search to find a bald eagle's nest and eventually saw one...from a very great distance...but thanks to my fancy zoom camera I was able to make out the bald head sitting in the nest. It. Was. Magical. This eagle pair had built a gigantic nest in a dead tree, very near a highway. I reflected on this in many ways. Just think about how many people speed down this highway daily and have no idea this bald eagle couple are raising a family close by. How many people hike, run or bike in that forest preserve on a daily basis and have no idea that eagle pair is making life right there? In the wild. We have comfortable homes and offices and places to go to eat and buy food and goods and this eagle couple is in the wild building their nest with what they can find and finding food where they can to raise a family...and they are thriving. So began my journey that transformed my photography into a semi-birding hobby.

I don't just take pictures of birds but nature intrigues me. It is so resilient despite the odds against it. I have learned so much about the habits of birds and how humans have impacted their health and well being. Birding has made me realize how many times I have just walked by any number of birds and not even noticed them. I was probably thinking about some silly thought or worry in my head or just preoccupied in general with something meaningless. Bird Photography helped me to be mindful before I knew anything about the concept. Watching the nature around you, makes you look at that nature and not the crazy thoughts circulating in your head. It puts you in the present moment.

Since I started studying the concept of mindfulness, I have used birds to ground me. For example: If I am stuck in traffic and getting angry and tense, I might see a hawk fly over, dive for some prey or just perched on a light pole. My mind immediately shifts away from that anger and tension and focuses on that bird.

Similarly, when I have my camera searching for a bird or other wildlife, I am focused on that and not the anxious thoughts in my brain. Capturing these images of birds in my photos allow me to relive that moment of calm when I was looking for that bird. It makes those thoughts of the world around me and something other than myself, come flooding back and it calms me.

Which is where the therapeutic aspect comes in. I would love nothing more than to share my pictures with the world to bring a smile to someone's face. To take them out of their troubling moment and into something beautiful to see. Maybe it will just take you away for a moment to say aww that is pretty...or maybe it will take you on a story about the life of that bird or plant or other animal and your mind will go on a journey thinking about something other than your anxious thoughts for a moment or two. I want to bring myself calm through my photography and to help others as well.

Photography can do that. Photography, much like the bald eagle, is magical.