Tag Archives: photography

Sep 8 2024

Art, Photography, and Consciousness

In this blog, I explore metaphysical topics with an eye towards religion, mainly from a science perspective. After all, the title of the blog is taken from a speech from one of history’s great scientists. However, it’s well-known that there are limits to science, including the fact that some topics are difficult to address with scientific methods.

Because this is the case, we need to be careful with our level of certainty about topics which are not yet well understood. For example, more and more research is being conducted to understand consciousness. This is becoming increasingly relevant with the recent developments of artificial intelligence. However, there is no way to directly probe consciousness with the tools and methodologies of science; the work done by neurologists and similar and investigate things related to consciousness, but not the phenomenon itself. This is because consciousness is a strictly subjective phenomenon.

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Mar 22 2024

Whole Reality Photography

Kelvin’s Clouds is a set of reflections that represent my journey through the topics of science and religion, seeking to find perspectives that are rational while recognizing the incompleteness of our knowledge about humanity and the nature of reality. These reflections are mostly essays with the occasional drawing or picture. Writing the ideas out helps me to think them through.

Photography is another tool that I sometimes use to think about these things (in addition to just having fun). That work is presented on a different site: Whole Reality.

The general theme of Whole Reality photography is learning to see better.

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Jan 26 2023

Ways of Thinking

If there are limits to rational thinking, does that mean that there are limits to what we can know at all or just limits to what we can know rationally? In other words, are there ways of discovering and knowing things, perhaps even truths, other than rationally?

If so, we would need other ways of thinking that can still produce improved understanding. So then, if reasoning isn’t available, what other ways of thinking might be helpful?

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Nov 13 2022

Seeing Better

An easy trap to fall into is to become complacent in our beliefs, to not pay attention to the full depth of a topic. Instead, it’s easy to stop with a limited understanding, form opinions that we like, then reinforce them by finding sources that agree with us. This tends to further solidify our thinking.

The reality is that some topics, such as those related to metaphysics*, have many different dimensions that are continuing to be explored. Our understanding of fundamental physical reality is so nascent, still so evolving, that to claim any certainty, especially without constant learning, is simply arrogant. Thus, it seems the proper posture is one of humility and continual learning rather than dogmatic certainty.

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Sep 15 2022

Beautiful Fading

We seem to find beauty in unlikely places. Evolution says we should be attracted to those things that benefit us, and so it seems that we should find beauty in those things that support flourishing. However, we also sometimes find beauty in things like austere mountain peaks, desolate lunar wastelands, and sometimes even in dying foliage.

For example, one of the most common pictures of the end of summer, the shortening of daylight, is fall colors, yet these represent life being pulled back from the leaves in order to prepare for the coming season of scarcity. Hardly a cheery thought, and yet it’s considered an iconically beautiful scene.

In a like manner, this scene struck me as beautiful even though it features flowers that are in decline.

This sense is sometimes explained as our evolutionarily-bequeathed aesthetics misfiring, being activated incorrectly. In this line of thought, what we perceive as something wonderful, is really just a mistake.

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Apr 7 2019

The Sense of Waterfalls

MCFx2This is Majestic Falls, in McDowell Creek Falls area, taken on a morning that was supposed to be cloudy but turned out sunny. Fortunately we made it there before the sun became a problem. Taken with a long exposure, the falling water appears silky smooth, almost like a wisp.

This photographic approach is very popular. One reason may simply be the aesthetic of silky smoothness. But also, something about this style seems to capture what we feel when we see a waterfall — the sense of pure unbroken flow.

In other words, the smooth lines of flowing water give a sense of what we experience, but may not be an accurate representation of what we physically see.

I think this is an interesting distinction — the difference between what we observe with physical senses, and what we consciously understand. What is the difference between what we see, and what we perceive? It’s tempting to think that what we see with our eyes is the “real” waterfall, and perception is not. But if the perception does represent something of what we experience, isn’t that also real?

It is as real as our own sense of identity and awareness. It’s as real as we are as individuals.

In other words, if the picture captures anything of what you experience when looking at the waterfall, then it is as real as you are, as the people you know, as the relationships in your life. Not physical things, but real nonetheless. And in many cases, those things that are most important.

Nov 1 2018

Perspectives of Consciousness

YHL-lighthouseIn a recent photography project, I explored the idea that the way we look at something affects how we interpret it. This is similar to an earlier project that explored the importance of viewpoint, a related topic. In both cases, our personal biases and ways of looking at things influence what we see and how we understand it. It takes deliberate effort to try different perspectives, something that doesn’t come naturally. Yet, some of the most important things in life demand that we do this. For example, understanding someone else’s point of view can greatly strengthen a relationship. The deliberate effort pays off by helping us navigate something that’s inherently complex and subject to misinterpretation. Continue reading →

Jun 20 2018

Stained Glass and the Mind

347px-Chartres_-_cathédrale_-_rosace_nordWhile taking a picture recently that included some beautiful stained glass windows, I learned how difficult it is to make a good picture. The back light through the windows makes it challenging to capture an image that blends with the rest of the scene. The key seems to be balance between the front lighting and the back lighting. If either one is too strong, the result is not beautiful. With only back lighting, the colors are beautiful, but the context of everything is gone. With only front lighting, the picture is clear and balanced with the context, but much of the beauty is gone.

This brought to mind the interplay of the physical and the transcendent, and in particular, how they intersect in the human mind. Continue reading →

Feb 15 2018

VR Photography as Metaphor

FallSimple virtual reality (VR) photographs, sometimes known as spherical panoramas, are all around us. A few years ago, they were novelties used in special effects productions, advertising, and other niche applications. Now they are frequently used in common applications like Google Street View, games, Facebook, and so on, and smartphones provide an easy way to view them. Specialized hardware can even be used to extend the effect to 3D, but the basic idea of looking around the inside of a sphere remains a useful variation of the standard flat picture.

I dabble with making VRs for fun, especially of waterfalls, because doing so reveals other beautiful things. As scenic as most waterfalls are, they are often in surroundings that are also striking. Lush canyons, austere cliff faces, and so on. When we take a single still picture, the surroundings are rarely included. By taking a VR, other elements become visible. It’s as if you are there, and can look around and appreciate the whole environment.

In almost any situation, VRs capture a more complete, and in some ways more honest representation of a scene. This has been used in journalism, for example. When taking a standard picture, simply framing the shot is an editorial decision. What to include versus what to leave out influences how the viewer responds, what they learn, and so on. This sort of thing can have profound influence on how one interprets a scene. Even if all someone wants to do is provide information, the simple act of framing changes how the information is interpreted. Perspective is important, and VRs illustrate that. Continue reading →

Apr 13 2017

Seeing Through Concrete

CAB-smI recently took a virtual reality picture of a local bookstore (click on the picture to see it). It was for a worldwide virtual reality photo project with the theme “concrete”. I used the picture of the bookstore to highlight the concrete nature of physical books against the ephemeral nature of ebooks. This comparison also made me think of the concrete nature of the material world relative to the spiritual, so that this picture makes a good illustration. Continue reading →