Just as a map is guide to a certain area’s geography, similarly, photographs give an in-depth perspective to the landscape of human interactions, both past and present.-VSCO
In learning to use my smart phone for photography, I have begun to see how much taking photos is like conflict resolution. In fact, I have been telling colleagues that I will begin using photography in mediation because the two processes are so aligned; one informs the other.
From The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes:Generally we are unaware of ... currents of mental activity, and it is hard to distinguish what we see from what we think about. For example, when we are in a restaurant or on a bus with a bunch of strangers, we might look around and think, “He looks unpleasant; that person over there looks nice; she looks disagreeable.” We imagine that we see these people the way they really are, that we are seeing their real characteristics, but unpleasant, nice, and disagreeable are not things that can be seen like green blouses or gray hats. They are the projections of our thoughts. Thinking mind is working all the time, projecting, labeling, categorizing. ...
Photography can be used to help distinguish the seen from the imagined, since the camera registers only what is seen. It does not record mental fabrications. as the photographer Aaron Siskind said, “We look at the world and see what we have learned to believe is there, [what] we have been conditioned to expect... but, as photographers, we must learn to relax our beliefs.”
More of an excerpt from the book here, including: "The practice of contemplative photography...doesn’t just change the way we take pictures. It changes the way we see the world."
Taking photos, or vividly imagining life snapshots, can shift our perspective. To facilitate shifts in how we see maybe not the world, but at least a conflict, I have been developing many, many questions that can be asked through the lens of photography and which may bring
- What would a photo of each party's take on the conflict look like?
- What would the frame of each photo look like?
- What other frames of the conflict could be used instead?
- What would a photo of each party's ideal solution look like?
- What would the frame of each photo look like?
- What other frames of solutions might be used instead?
What questions would you add?
We are fortunate to have a large number of resources to help us think about how photography might serve conflict resolution. For example, take a look at Reading Photographs from the University of North Carolina School of Education. An excerpt:
In many photographs, information about the people, events, setting, and so on are made explicit by the photographer — there are distinct visual clues that tell us who the people are, what they are doing, and where and when the photograph was taken. In other cases, though, that information is implicit — implied but not clearly communicated by the photographer, or left to be inferred by the viewer. The identities of the people in the photograph may be unclear; their purpose may be unknown; the time and place may be difficult or impossible to discern.
A conflict has much explicit and implicit information, too. And each of us involved in a dispute wiill see a conflict in a different way—just as people, when asked to take photos of the same scene or object, will each create a photo uniquely his or her own. Points of view, frames, focus, perspective, and so much more will vary in the photo each person shoots.
The questions we ask and choosing the lens through which we look are two of many lessons photography can lend to conflict resolution. If you are not yet sure how to implement these lessons, don't worry: I will be blogging more about those and other conflict photo lessons in the future.
The skills of contemplation and attention learned in photography are perhaps more straight-forward; on that topic, please read Jill Breslau's paper that I recently posted. In mediation, both of those skills are valuable, if not essential. Because we appreciate the mindfulness lessons in taking pictures, Jill and are planning to teach a seminar on meditation and photography later this year. Watch for more information soon. In the meanwhile, go forth and capture your moments in time; I wish you the right focus, value, and light.
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