I first came across these lines from the Talmud years ago, and remember thinking how beautifully they get to the point. The words have a zen quality for me. They point to the idea that past conditioning shapes much of what we see, think, do or say. Conditioning is a prism of filters...Some filters are rose-colored, some are neutral and others are dark or obscured. Zen asks, What is it like without filters? What if you could experience something directly? I think Haiku masters have come close to achieving this.
Are my photographs self portraits? Take this picture of my mom's wedding gown, which I consider to be an interesting self-portrait. It is full of tones that are either very dark or very light. It was taken shortly after I was married during a time of ups and downs. I have a vague memory of grabbing my camera and my mom's wedding dress and heading down to the wooded creek behind our secluded little rental house. I had no plans and can't recall what I intended to do with it. I ended up hanging it on some low lying branches and snapped away as it floated on the breeze.
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