{"id":2450,"date":"2010-06-15T16:13:03","date_gmt":"2010-06-15T20:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=2450"},"modified":"2010-06-15T16:13:03","modified_gmt":"2010-06-15T20:13:03","slug":"the-contemplative-photographic-art%e2%84%a2-of-roger-allen-baut-m-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=2450","title":{"rendered":"The Contemplative Photographic Art\u2122 of Roger Allen Baut, M.A."},"content":{"rendered":"

Many cultures, since ancient times, have used images to help them in their meditative and\/or spiritual endeavors. One especially good example of this is the yantra. Yantra is a Sanskrit word which may be translated to mean \u201cinstrument\u201d and as such, it may stand for symbols, or anything that is organized and structured. In the west we can see these symbols as geometric designs or patterns, such as those devised by Native Americans. In Eastern mysticism yantras are used to balance, or focus the mind on spiritual concepts. By wearing, focusing or meditating upon a yantra it is believed that one will derive spiritual benefits. It was from these meditative instruments that Roger\u2019s concept of Contemplative Photographic Art\u2122 evolved.<\/p>\n

Skunk Cabbage in Bloom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
As a life-long student of Metaphysics, and its affiliated subjects, he became aware of the meditative, and\/or contemplative quality of art; especially photographs. As he delved more deeply into the contemplative aspect of photographic images, he saw how some of his images possessed this contemplative quality. Ever the researcher, Roger discussed this with other individuals he knew and they, too, concurred with his premise. In fact, individuals he wasn\u2019t well acquainted with told him they were able to work with some of his photos and gain a peaceful contemplative state from viewing them.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/a>
The Pillars<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
He also views his images a bit differently than most photographers as he says, \u201cI really don\u2019t see myself as a \u2018photographer,\u2019 per se, as my work is more a gift from the universe than anything else. Sort of like the archer, in \u2018Zen and the Art of Archery,\u2019 whereby the archer and arrow become \u2018one\u2019 just as the arrow is released, so the arrow will reach the target. I really am \u2018guided\u2019 to, or intuit, a potential photo. I don\u2019t do set-ups or take hours waiting in a spot for something to happen. They either occur, or they don\u2019t, and I\u2019m happy if I only get one good photo when I\u2019m out on a photo-shoot\/hike. One other really important aspect of my work is that none of my images are photo-shopped, altered, or enhanced in any way, they\u2019re simply raw photos. The only thing I may do, depending on the photo, is crop\/trim them if needed, but that doesn\u2019t happen a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roger defines “Contemplative Photographic Art\u2122” or “Contemplative Photo\/Art\u2122” as certain photographs which may lead the viewer into a calm, thoughtful, peaceful, and\/or lightly meditative state. <\/p>\n
In this contemplative state an image may rekindle memories from bygone days, lead one to experience a period of relaxation, guide one to a personal insight, or provide an experience whereby the viewer comes into resonance with his or her own inner being, and from this connection, gain insights that may benefit one on their life journey. This is his intent for the relatively new concept of Contemplative Photo\/Art\u2122.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/a>Roger\u2019s background also includes years of study and research in the areas of metaphysics, numerology and bio-field energy work. Academically he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies (Psychology and History major with a Poli Sci minor\/Secondary Education) graduating Cum Laudi with departmental honors, and a Master of Arts. Roger\u2019s Contemplative Photographic Art\u2122 may be found at http:\/\/chasingtao.zenfolio.com <\/a>as well as his blog, which contains articles on earth changes, metaphysics, numerology and more http:\/\/chasingtao.blogspot.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Through the wonders of Twitter I became acquainted with Roger Allen Baut and his “Contemplative Photographic Art”. Since discovering his work, I regularly visit his website when I’m stressed and need a palate cleanser for my mind. I hope some of you find his work beneficial too!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}