Master photographers Flint Sparks, John Barclay, Rikki Cooke, and Dewitt Jones share personal experiences and passion for their art.
About this Event
Awakened by Beauty: Intimate Conversations about Contemplative Photography
An Online Series Hosted by Threshold: A Place for Community, Creativity and Well-Being & Led by Flint Sparks, PhD
Series Dates:
July 30, August 6, 13 and 20
2:00-3:30 p.m. CST
Tickets for the entire series*:
$150/$125/$100 Seasoned & Pro Photographer tiered rates. Proceeds support the artists, Threshold, and cultivate Inspired Seers.
$50/$25/$10 Inspired Seer tiered rates. Pay what you can. Proceeds support the artists, Threshold, and an Inspired Seeing Community.
Recordings of all the conversations will be made available to those who purchase the series.
Click here for tickets.
The Series:
We have so many reasons why we photograph. Our desires often go far beyond simply making good images. Photography can ignite our deepest longing for a direct connection with the beauty and magic of life. In this series of presentations and intimate conversations among friends, we will speak to our personal experiences as photographers, including the passion which called us to this path as well as what opened to us as we followed it. In this four-part series, we will share some of our images and also discuss what this way of seeing and living has taught us.
This offering, however, is not about photographic technique and is not simply for photographers. We will be speaking about all of life, the light and the shadow, and what it means to dive below the surface of everyday experience using our cameras. We hope to inspire all of us to see image-making as a practice of connecting to life in a deeper and richer way.
While our beautiful building on Atwood Ave in Madison, WI is currently closed, our Threshold Wheelhouse captures and re-envisions an online hosting platform for events featuring exceptional performers and presenters, artists, and makers. Help us support these masterful artists as well as helping us sustain and grow our venue which offers them a home and a platform.
If you have any questions, please contact info@atthreshold.com.
*Tickets are priced in two categories that reflect what, we feel, offers more equitable access to this very special series. The higher price range is for photographers who are paying a professional fee. The reduced price is for the non-professional who is curious about ways of deepening their ability to see and to capture images as a contemplative practice. The three price tiers within each of the two categories offer a base price plus added opportunities for generosity towards the artists and organizers and future projects in contemplative photography. Please choose the category and tier that best reflects your ability and considerations. Much gratitude.
The Conversations:
Creativity and the Heart of Contemplative Photography with John Barclay
Thursday, August 6, 2:00 p.m. CST
John Barclay has been the inspiration to the creation of Contemplative Photography Retreats held in Molokai, Hawaii over the past few years. These retreats brought together the participants in this series, Flint Sparks, Rikki Cooke, and Dewitt Jones, and formulated the principles that will be shared in this series. John lovingly uses the acronym “CPR for the Soul” for these Contemplative Photography Retreats — “ the restoration of vitality and joy in our lives through photography”. Flint will lay the foundation of contemplative practices and John will follow with his powerful presentation, Dream - Believe - Create.
In John’s words “as we dream about what we wish our photography (and our life) to look like, we need to first truly believe it can happen.“ He asks “Where do we find this kind of faith or trust? As we turn toward our own hearts and, mindfully, to the life around us, we may discover a spark of creativity from which everything begins to flow. When contemplative practices are incorporated into our process, photography becomes a spiritual path. This approach applies in everyday life even if your only camera is the one on your phone.”
John Barclay is an award-winning freelance photographer based in Bucks County, PA. John is a passionate photographer and enthusiastic workshop leader. He is also an inspirational speaker, presenting his programs to audiences around the world. You can see his work, and view his workshop and tour schedule, at johnbarclayphotography.com