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I'm curious about a photographic technique called 'Miksang photography.'

  1. What is Miksang photography?
  2. What are some resources for helping me to learn how to 'do' Miksang photography (or incorporate it into my photography)?
  3. Does Miksang photography have any grounding in art history (e.g. similarly to how- in a broad sense- the development of 'modernism' in art can be seen as a reaction against the more traditional 'romantic' art movement of the late 19th and early 20th century), or is the technique an outlier with no underpinning in the timeline of photography as art.
Jay Lance Photography
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  • @mattdm: Just to be clear (whether you end up answering the question or not), I know that we've given you a bit of friendly ribbing lately in chat regarding your desire to 'underpin' things with art history, psychology, etc., so I wanted to state that my 3rd question is completely serious and is in no way intended to be mocking towards you (or anyone else). – Jay Lance Photography May 06 '11 at 07:17
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    Although I am curious, I admit that I find myself a little bit suspicious of the 'Miksang philosophy' on the whole and thus am quite curious if there really are some connections to the various stylistic schools of photographic thought to be found... Or if this really is a case of a couple of people getting together and deciding to make a little money by peddling a 'new and innovative' way of approaching photography via the time-worn practice of not saying too much about how to approach the technique... Until you shell out $$$ to attend one of their seminars. – Jay Lance Photography May 06 '11 at 07:17
  • It does look pretty cool seems like there is a book http://miksang.com/PCP%20Book.html – Sam Saffron May 06 '11 at 09:14
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    @Jay — no worries. I bring it up so much because that's what I want to learn. Thanks! – mattdm May 06 '11 at 12:39
  • @Jay: Though you desire to have a more solid and founded answer than the flowery description on the Miksang web site...the concept is based on Shambhala and Dharma. I'm not really sure it gets more flowery and new-agey than that! :P From what I can tell, it is an emotionally founded technique that is fundamentally based on the mental aspect of those two mystic arts. – jrista May 08 '11 at 01:51
  • @jrista: I'm going to let the question hang for a bit longer (mostly because I don't see myself having the time to write up a solid answer for another couple of days), but I have been putting some research into this question and while there are some pretty 'touchy-feely' aspects to it, there's also a 'technique and practice' aspect to it that could be helpful to photographers- even if they don't necessarily buy-in to the new-agey part of the whole thing. Sooo... if no one else (@mattdm?) beats me to it, I think I'll end up tackling the answer myself. :-) – Jay Lance Photography May 08 '11 at 03:08
  • @Jay: I may beat you to it myself...still researching though. I will say, I find some of the Miksang work I've found rather...odd, sometimes rather bland. I'd still be curious to see what you have to say about it even if I do provide my own answer. – jrista May 08 '11 at 03:23
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    @jrista Great! I'd love some additional takes on it... I went ahead and dropped the coin to buy the book that @Sam referenced above. My hope is that it covers the techniques and exercises of all 3 'levels' in some detail... From the bits and pieces of the 'level 1' exercises that I found on the 'official' website it looks like there could potentially be some useful/practical 'meat' in there even if someone doesn't completely buy into the whole philosophy end of the technique. We'll see... – Jay Lance Photography May 08 '11 at 03:32
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    I have to admit that for me it is still residing a bit in the same space as, say... Scientology. "We have this wonderful photography technique. It'll change your photographs. You'll LOVE it. But you have to pay to take a bunch of seminars and go through levels of 'mastery' in order to learn it." :-P It makes me want to write something really concrete about the technique without all the flowery stuff simply so that someone can get the honest gist of it without having to shell out any cash. But I'm not on a crusade or anything... Just curious. :-) – Jay Lance Photography May 08 '11 at 03:35
  • @JayLancePhotography - Careful, teaching to who are not ready may result in pneumonia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu#Scientology_doctrine – rfusca May 08 '11 at 16:10
  • @rfusca: Perhaps that explains the lingering cold that I've had over the last week or so... Hmmm... :-) – Jay Lance Photography May 08 '11 at 21:32
  • @jrista: although there is certainly western "new age" fascination with it, Shambhala is a mythical kingdom described in religious texts over a thousand years old, and dharma is an ancient Hindu concept which is also important in mainstream Buddhism. Neither of these are "new age". – mattdm May 09 '11 at 17:27
  • @mattdm: Oh, I know they are ancient, and I know where they both come from...but they are also fundamental to what we currently call "new age". Generally speaking...none of it is new, its just what its currently called. ;) – jrista May 09 '11 at 17:34
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    @jrista — "new age" is a particular western movement, with a whole lot of other baggage (including strong roots in pseudo-Christian 19th-century mysticism, astrology, and so on). It's a mistake to lump Tibetan Buddhism in with that — or with Scientology. I just asked a Tibetan Buddhist friend of mine, and he confirms that Chögyam Trungpa is a legitimate high Tibetan lama. That doesn't mean that you have to automatically respect everything he has to say, but the distinction is important. – mattdm May 09 '11 at 17:47
  • @jrista & @mattdm Yeah, yeah. Bla, bla. I'll be expecting well-researched, comprehensive, lengthy, high-quality answers on this question outta the both of you! ;-) – Jay Lance Photography May 10 '11 at 00:11
  • @Jay: I still really haven't had time to put much into researching it yet. :( I still stand by my initial assessment...its very "new-agey", regardless of the ancient roots of the terms. ;P – jrista May 10 '11 at 01:00
  • Those of you looking for more sources have probably found the amazon.com list, but I'll post it just in case... – fmark May 16 '11 at 06:11
  • Review of the book: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2011/06/contemplative-photography.html – mattdm Jun 07 '11 at 16:48

3 Answers3

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The word "Miksang" is Tibetan for "Good Eye".

For me, the approach is subjective. It's effectively "Zen and the art of photography". The aim is to use photography as a vehicle to work with your sense of perception.

My interpretation is that it is the use of photography as a "practice" when approaching your state of mind/being. And using your state of mind/being with intention in your photography practice. I've found that when I see this way, that is - looking through the camera wile maintaining awareness of my state of consciousness, I tend to take different photos than I otherwise would. I think the photos I take when approaching photography this way actually capture a feeling better than when I am not shooting in this mode.

For a reasonable explanation, see the resource: http://miksang.com/miksang.html

I believe Miksang fits into art history in the line of contemplative Buddhist arts. That's a place to look.

jaxxon
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  • @jaxxon: Your answer makes it sound like you are someone who does Miksang photography. Is that true? – Jay Lance Photography May 28 '11 at 17:12
  • I would say that I use the principals of it to some extent, but am not a serious "practitioner" in the sense of making it a daily focus in my work. I am doing a 365 photo-a-day project for the purpose of keeping my eyes open and my awareness more keen - so the principals of miksang are on my mind a lot while I shoot. But I'm not a Buddhist, nor am I very serious about applying the technique.. just that I have some practical experience with it. That is all. – jaxxon May 30 '11 at 06:53
  • @Jaxxon: So I'm curious where you picked up your "practical experience" with Miksang... Did you attend classes? Read a book? Can you elaborate on each of the 3 Levels of mastery of the technique, and the specific exercises that are taught at each level? I'm asking because while your answer is a reasonable place to start, it's all stuff that can be found openly on the Miksang website... Unfortunately the Miksang folks are also very cagey about the specific techniques they teach... and that is primarily where I'm looking for elaboration... – Jay Lance Photography May 30 '11 at 07:32
  • Sorry, Jay. I'm really not a major expert on the subject so perhaps should not have offered an answer to the question. I attended a Miksang workshop here in Boulder and am a daily photographer and feel like I'm a fairly "conscious" individual. I appreciate Miksang and practice it casually. That is all. Feel free to downvote my answer if you think it offers nothing of value. It sounds like you could benefit from a workshop to explore actual techniques. – jaxxon Jun 01 '11 at 03:11
  • @jaxxon: No, don't get me wrong, I'm not picking on you... it's a good start to an answer... At this point I'm kinda annoyed that the folks who own the Miksang concept don't make more practical information available on the technique without attending classes... It makes the whole thing feel (to me) like learning about Scientology- "you can only learn how to use this 'life-changing' technique if you pay to take our classes and advance through the 'three levels' of Miksang." – Jay Lance Photography Jun 01 '11 at 05:25
  • Forget that. I'm really hoping that eventually an answer shows up that discusses the technique in terms of the practical exercises and levels that are taught in order to develop this 'good eye'... – Jay Lance Photography Jun 01 '11 at 05:25
  • That'd be cool. Maybe someone should develop an online course. If you're really interested, though, perhaps you can go ahead and take a workshop. I know what you mean about paying for something that seems like it should be freely available. Edit: knowledge should be free. – jaxxon Jun 03 '11 at 17:46
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I have taken classes in Miksang Levels 1 & 2. They were taught at a Shambhala Meditation Center, not a photography school. I did not pay big $$ to attend. In fact, I was able to take advantage of the "generosity policy" offered by most buddhist meditation centers. Miksang is not intended to be a "marketing" tool. It is intended to deepen personal contemplative practice.

In my experience, Miksang is less a "photographic technique" than a "contemplative practice" first taught by Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, along with other contemplative arts. It really has nothing to do with photographic technique and everything to do with "flash of perception" and awakening a sense of experience in simply seeing. In fact, there were very few photographers in the classes I took. There were many people who wished to learn how to see in a more profound and open way. No agenda. No conceptualizing. Simple unbiased perception. In most cases, a Miksang image should challenge your everyday perceptions of ordinary things.

Hope this helps.

Tif
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The term "levels" in Miksang refers to different levels of perception not proficiency. (See: "phenomenology"; Phenomenology of Perception by Merleau-Ponty; Cartier-Bresson; Phenomenology and Photography blog by Knut Skjærven.)

Phenomenology is about learning to see through our eyes rather than through our thoughts, as is Miksang.

mattdm
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adela
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