Photography Is Downstream From the Body
This morning I’m thinking about the parasympathetic nervous system and photography — and why I believe photography is downstream from the body.
Photography, to me, is an embodied practice. It’s about being in the open world. Enjoying the sights, the smells, the sounds of the street. Allowing instinct to guide you when you press the shutter.
The goal isn’t to think.
The goal is to respond.
Flow State and Alignment
To respond to instinct, I believe you have to activate the flow state. And to activate the flow state, you have to be aligned internally.
I think about the vagus nerve — the channel carrying information from the gut to the heart, lungs, and brain. I believe it’s responsible for far more than we give it credit for.
When I’m out on the street, I want to be aligned physically so the flow state can emerge.
That’s why I often practice photography in a fasted state. No food digesting. The vagus nerve relaxed. The parasympathetic nervous system telling my body that I’m at ease.
From that place, there’s openness. Receptivity. Sensitivity to everything around me.
Feeling Before Seeing
When I’m on the street like this, I feel deeply. I recognize patterns in nature and human behavior. I watch the light. I watch gestures. I notice the way people move.
This heightened state of being comes from intuition.
As much as we think we see the world with our eyes, those eyes are connected to the brain. And I think it’s important to remove thought while practicing.
By tapping into the subconscious and responding to the irrational pull that guides the shutter click, clarity emerges.
What You Didn’t See
When you look at the word idea, it comes from the notion of seeing — but not seeing reality. An idea isn’t something you see out there. It’s something internal.
So while I’m photographing the world, I don’t believe what you see is what you get.
What you get is often what you didn’t see.
A lot of times, the photograph isn’t what I thought I saw when I pressed the shutter. The image becomes a new idea — something born from the subconscious.
The photograph is a new idea given birth through alignment within.
That alignment happens internally first, then externally. From that, new ideas emerge.
Detachment and Ease
This requires detachment from outcomes.
No anxiety.
No dwelling.
No fatigue — of the body or the mind.
No debating left or right.
No gear obsession.
No projects, themes, or hunting for the next best photo.
I’m not chasing images.
I’m living my everyday life and bringing my camera along for the ride.
Photography becomes receptivity. Sensitivity. An embodied practice where instinct guides the shutter.
Returning to the Child’s Mind
The images that come from this internal state reflect outwardly. But it requires returning to the child’s mind.
Vitality is everything.
I believe flow only activates through peak physiological alignment — a state that cultivates curiosity.
Curiosity leads me to walk.
Walking leads me to discover.
Discovery leads to new ideas.
And from there, something new is born. A new world.
Final Thoughts
When I’m aligned internally — relaxed, open, at ease — creation happens naturally in the flow state.
I believe this is one of the peak experiences a human being can achieve.
These are my thoughts this morning.
The parasympathetic nervous system and photography.
When you’re aligned within, you give yourself permission to trust intuition.
Be receptive.
Stop thinking.
Respond to instinct.
The world within reflects without.