As a Christian who reads the Bible through each year, the first thing that came to my mind on reading today's prompt were the words of Psalm 46:10,

The most important things of this life cannot be seen while one is charging along madly and full of noise. The monastics of all religious traditions know that. What strikes me first when I visit the Abbey of the Genesee is the quiet, the sense of peace. Silence is a precious gift. Sometimes you just have to be still.

It isn't just the monastics who will tell you. If you really want to see the world, slow down, pay attention. You can't see much from flight level 330. Take the train, ride your bike, or better yet, walk. Open you eyes and ears. Be still.

If you want to get to know another person, shut up and listen. Open your ears and your eyes and especially you heart. There are few greater gifts one can give another than to simply be with them and be still.

Photography is a lot like that. One reason I shoot with fully-manual film cameras (other the being a curmudgeon) is the way it forces me to slow down. I have to check the light and set the exposure. It's hard to rush. (It's possible, but why waste good film by rushing?) Good digital photographers follow the same rule; slow down, pay attention, come into the same present as your subject. It isn't just portraits of people that are collaborations between photographer and photographed. Take a portrait of that tree or sunset or picturesque old house. See what sets this person or place or thing apart from all other persons and places and things. Show me what matters. To do that, you are going to have to take the time to be still.

Maybe next time I'll tell you a story.

Steve