My ideal way of being in the world is best expressed by the Navajo concept of Beauty, or hozho, which encompasses beauty, order, balance, peace, and harmony.
This is the most beautiful expression of hozho I’ve found:
Navajo Blessing Way Prayer
Today I will walk out, today everything evil will leave me,
I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body.
I will have a light body, I will be happy forever,
nothing will hinder me.
I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me.
I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.
I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful.
In beauty all day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons, may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With dew about my feet, may I walk.
With beauty before me may I walk.
With beauty behind me may I walk.
With beauty below me may I walk.
With beauty above me may I walk.
With beauty all around me may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty,
lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty,
living again, may I walk.
My words will be beautiful.
What are your inspirations for right living? Please share in the comments area below!
- Jack
I’ve seen some photographers criticize Thomas Mangelsen as being “too commercial,” but personally as a photographer I enjoy his work while as a business person / entrepreneur I admire his business success. I’ve been to his Images of Nature galleries in Jackson Hole, WY and, closer to home, Galena, IL, and I must say his large prints are truly impressive. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, you can get some idea of it from his website at http://www.mangelsen.com/, but if you get the chance I’d encourage you to visit one of his ten galleries to see his prints in person.
Sramana Mitra has published an informative interview of Mangelsen entitled “Artist As An Entrepreneur Photographer: Tom Mangelsen’s Images of Nature” on her blog at http://www.sramanamitra.com/2010/06/09/artist-as-an-entrepreneur-photographer-tom-mangelsens-images-of-nature-part-1/. Their conversation ranges from his biography to his attitudes toward art, photography, and nature conservancy, to his business experiences.
I think this is an interesting and worthwhile read for entrepreneurial artists and anyone who has wondered what life is like as a world-roving, internationally famous, and wildly successful nature photographer and business person.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts – please leave comments below!
- Jack
Joseph Rossbach, Ian Plant, and William Neill have all recently released terrific ebooks featuring landscape photography. Each has a different focus, but all are lavishly and beautifully illustrated with the authors’ own photographs, and all are worthwhile additions to your electronic bookshelf. And they’re all a steal, priced at only $5-$10!
Rossbach’s “Crafting Compelling Compositions” is a 62-page downloadable PDF focusing on design concepts, tips, and techniques for improving your composition to achieve that “wow” factor. This is not a technical book; it’s aimed at improving your photographic eye, not learning to control your camera. Joe’s photos make this a lovely picture book, but it will be mainly of interest to photographers who will be inspired by the photos and educated by the commentary.
Plant’s “Chasing the Light” is also a 62-page downloadable PDF, and also focuses on the design, composition, and philosophical aspects of landscape photography rather than the technical aspects. Despite some inevitable topical similarities to Rossbach’s book, the books focus on different aspects of the broader topics in the authors’ distinctive voices. “Chasing the Light” offers Ian’s own perspective on the subjects as well as his commentary on his own photos. This book, too, will be mainly of interest to photographers, and for the same reasons as Rossbach’s.
By contrast, Neill’s “Yosemite: Volume 1″ contains 114 pages, with each of 52 images appearing twice: once without commentary in the first half of the book, and again with accompanying commentary and anecdotes in the second half. Also a downloadable PDF, this ebook is more likely to appeal to non-photographers as a picture book, while photographers will find inspiration in both the photos and the commentary. (Neill also offers other similar beautiful photo ebooks at his online store.)
If you enjoy landscape photography, and especially if you are a landscape photographer yourself, you really should snap up all three books at these incredibly low prices. Highly recommended, one and all!
Joseph Rossbach: “Crafting Compelling Compositions”
Ian Plant: “Chasing the Light”
William Neill: “Yosemite: Volume 1″
(These are not affiliate links; I have no financial relationship with any of these books or authors – I’m just an enthusiastic fan of these artists and their work!)
If you have or buy any of these ebooks, please feel free to post your comments on them below!
- Jack
And now for something completely slightly different! Since we’re already halfway through August, a calendar isn’t likely to be of much use – so for August 2010 I’ll just make this month’s image desktop wallpaper and skip the calendar bit. It’s still in two image sizes, one wider than the other. This month’s photo is a twilight shot from Bayfield, Wisconsin (near the Apostle Islands).
To set an image as your desktop wallpaper, just right-click (PC) / control-click (Mac) on one of the links below and save the image to your desktop or some other location where you’ll be able to find it again. Then right-click (PC) / control-click (Mac) on the image and select the option to make it your Desktop Background / Picture.
Even easier, some browsers will let you set it as your Desktop Background / Picture directly from their context menu when you right-click (PC) / control-click (Mac).
As always, please leave your comments below to let me know what you think. Should I go back to the calendar format next month, or stick with the wallpaper?
- Jack
Twilight View From Bayfield 3510 – 1440 x 900
Twilight View From Bayfield 3510 – 1280 x 1024
If you’re on Twitter & looking for some great nature photographers to follow, I suggest any or all of the following:
@AdamBarkerPhoto
@alpenglowimages
@andymcinroy
@artwolfe
@bernabephoto
@bretedgephoto
@christiankiely
@CornforthImages
@dakkid
@dorinbofan
@edcooley
@enlightphoto
@guytalphoto
@iainsarjeant
@ianplantphoto
@JohnOConnorfoto
@josephrossbach
@Justinreznick
@KariPost
@kevinmcneal
@kristenwestlake
@mfryephoto
@mkh_photo
@Niebrugge
@OrganicLight
@OutdoorExpPhoto
@PaulMarcellini
@rwphoto
@scolephoto
@sherri_meyer
@Sixtyone_North
@stephenoachs
@terragalleria
@Timecatcher
@timparkin
@tinylandscapes
@ttsweet
@wgneill
@yosemitesteve
@younesbounhar
