Pond Play

In the movie City Slickers, the gruff cowboy Curly reveals the secret to life – which he illustrates by holding up one finger. What he meant was that everything boils down to finding the one thing that gives us happiness and purpose, then committing ourselves to it.

I learned when I was 13 years old that photography gives me joy and purpose. As I explained years later to the students in my photography classes, I’m happy when I’m behind the lens of a camera.

When I look through the lens, I’m invited to see the world differently. I discover details that I otherwise might have missed. I find harmony and balance amid the chaos and distraction of the larger view. My mind falls quiet and I feel a Zen-like tranquility, calmly ensconced in my own cocoon yet intimately connected to the things around me.

On a recent day, I was charmed by the views that appeared in our backyard koi pond. Below the rippled surface, the fish appeared as bright orange squiggles when frozen in time by the camera’s shutter, as seen in the photo at the top of this post.

Our red arbor gateway to the pond cast distorted reflections that danced across the water like Japanese shodo calligraphy.

I spent several late afternoons returning to the pond, noticing how the brightness and intensity of colors would change if the sun was shining brightly, or if it dipped behind a cloud, or if it was angled lower in the sky.

Each time I returned with my camera, I observed the playful spirit of life in the pond’s waters. For me, photography has always been aligned with a sense of playfulness. Although it requires considerable patience, practice and skill to master, photography feels more like play than any other work I’ve ever known.

Alan Watts, who helped bring Eastern traditions like Buddhism and Taoism to Western audiences in the ‘50s and ‘60s, knew the feeling I’m trying to convey. Many years before Curly held up that one finger in the City Slickers movie, Watts gave his own advice on the secret to happy living:

“See, this is the real secret of life: to be completely engaged with what you’re doing in the here and now—and instead of calling it work, realize that this is play.”

I’m not saying photography is the sole driving force in my life. For me, the two most important things are family and spirituality. But in terms of engaging in an activity that transports me to a place of joy, photography represents the one-pointed focus that the cowboy Curly was talking about. And it represents the playful freedom that Watts urged us to pursue.

My friends, I hope your life is filled with things that deliver the joy and freedom I feel when I’m behind the lens.

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