How to Capture the Most Beautiful Images In the World Without a Camera
In my Central American journeys there have been countless times I wished I had a good camera with me, but since mine was stolen by a Guatemalan hooker in Antigua (don't ask), and my phone camera has issues, I've taken to the art of mental photography. Taking mental pictures has a lot of advantages, but the main one is you get a multi-dimensional image that captures so much more than a traditional photograph ever could. A good mental image captures the visual, the emotional, the energetic and spiritual, the mental. It's something that can stay with you for the rest of your life.
Some other advantages:
No camera to worry about losing. No batteries to keep charging. No images to download and organize. No images to worry about uploading and sharing online. No struggles with trying to find those lost images... ...you get the picture.
How to take a good mental picture:
You're in a situation that makes you feel good -- something happy, something special, something priceless, something irreplaceable...
Take a pause. Gather yourself and your thoughts together, and take it all in. Make a visual note of everything you see. Make a mental note of how you're feeling at this moment. Experience the fullness of the situation. When you're ready, take your mental picture. You might hear a click in your head. You might hold two fingers up to your eyes and scissor a shutter click. You might feel something like the fullness and richness of the moment pouring over -- like your already full glass just got filled up some more, and now it's spilling over. Once it's done, just let it sink in and take on it's own life inside your mind...
As far as sharing the images, these are really for you to cherish. If you do want to share one of these with the world, though, it's easy enough to find creative ways to bring these layers of richness to life. You can bring them into your work creatively through writing, drawing, painting, photography, interior design, art direction and pretty much any creative expression you can think of. You can also just let them subtly seep into your life and influence your work as they will.
The only thing I haven't figured out yet is a good way of filing them reliably (let me know if you figure that one out).
On the plus side, you really don't have to worry about filing these images, as your mind will bring them back for you at the most unexpected, perfect moments. Like Proust's Madeleines, a good mental image will come to you out of nowhere, and fill your life with an instant sense of euphoric remembrance.
Love,
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