Photography as Meditation by Torsten Andreas Hoffmann is a new title from Rocky Nook. In this book, the author explores an approach to artistic photography based on Japanese Zen Philosophy, and shows how important it is to engage with your own awareness to act creatively. "Photographing busy scenes, especially, requires an inner calm that enables you to have intuition for the right moment and to compose a well-balanced image amidst the chaos," the publisher says. The 256-page softback is available for $39.95.

Press Release

Photography as Meditation

Santa Barbara, CA — October 20th, 2014

For many people, photography serves as a form of meditation—a way to separate themselves from their stressful lives. In this book, Torsten Andreas Hoffmann explores an approach to artistic photography based on Japanese Zen Philosophy. Meditation and photography have much in common: both are based in the present moment, both require complete focus, and both are most successful when the mind is free from distracting thoughts. Hoffman shows how meditation can lead to the source of inspiration.
 
Hoffman’s impressive images of landscapes, cities, people, and nature, as well as his smart image analysis and suggestions about the artistic process, will help you understand this approach to photography without abandoning the principles of design necessary to achieve great images. Photographing busy scenes, especially, requires an inner calm that enables you to have intuition for the right moment and to compose a well-balanced image amidst the chaos.
 
The goal of this book is to develop your photographic expression. It provides enrichment for photographers who believe that only technical mastery produces great images and shows how important it is to engage with your own awareness to act creatively.

About the Author:

Torsten Andreas Hoffmann is a photographer, author, and photography workshop instructor. He specializes in conceptual and black-and-white photography. In his workshops, he guides his participants toward understanding and accessing their own visual aesthetic. He has written articles for Photographie, LFI (Leica Fotografie International), c’t special Digitale Fotografie, and Digitalis Foto (Hungary).
 
Hoffman is internationally known for his coffee table book, New York, New York, a subtle debate on the events of 9/11, published by Kunstverlag Weingarten. Another of his titles, The Art of Black and White Photography, published by Rocky Nook, is already in it's second edition. 

Born in Duesseldorf, Germany, in 1956, Hoffmann studied Art Education with a concentration in photography at The Braunschweig University of Art. His images can be seen in many exhibitions at renowned galleries such as the Leica Galleries in Salzburg and Frankfurt and imago-fotokunst in Berlin. He is a member of BBK Frankfurt, LOOK photo agency Munich, and the German Society of Photography (DPPh).

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