Ed Schlotzhauer

An artists journey

Tag: psychology

Awe and Wonder
In our cynical lives these days we seldom experience awe and wonder. That is a very sad. We can change that. Photography is one of the things that brings me closest to these feelings.
Wonder
Wonder is probably easiest to talk about. It is an emotion associated with surprise. We find something unexpected, but in a good way. A happy occurrence. It is often associated with curiosity and exploring our interests.
Plato and Aristotle believed that wonder is the basis of philosophy.
Wonder can happen when we encounter something entirely new, or when we find something unexpected about what we were familiar with. Either event astonishes us.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Awe
Awe, though, is significantly different. One definition of awe is “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by overwhelming greatness (as in beauty, power, or size).” The underlying idea is being in the presence of something so great and significant that it is frightening in a way.
People often describe awe at things like the birth of a baby, or viewing the vastness of space, or contemplating God. Other examples that I can think of are being in a large thunderstorm, or viewing the Grand Canyon, or standing in an ancient cathedral in Europe, or being out in nature.
When we discover we are in the presence of greatness or power that is beyond us, it tends to produce awe.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Not our everyday experience
I fear, though, that modern society tries to squeeze the awe and wonder out of our lives. The News is all bad. Our jobs are often an unending sequence of soul sucking monotony. TV and movies are just time fillers. The next day we can hardly remember what we saw. Social media makes us feel bad because everyone else seems to have perfect lives and really exciting vacations. All or our time is filled, but we don’t seem to accomplish anything.
Sorry to be depressing, but that is what I observe in a lot of people I encounter. One psychologist describes our society as “awe-deprived.” There is hope, though.
We are expected to “grow up” and view everything coldly and analytically. Of course we must grow up, but that does not have to be at the cost of losing our sense of wonder.
Without changing your job or the News or much of your calendar, we can introduce awe and wonder back into our life.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Open to awe and wonder
Awe and wonder are feelings. Something that comes from inside us. They come from putting ourselves in their way and being open to seeing and feeling them. You don’t necessarily need to go to the Grand Canyon or a great cathedral. They are all around.
When is the last time you went out on your porch during a big thunderstorm? Just to stand there, flinching from the lightning bolts, being shaken by the thunder, feeling the spray from the blowing rain. On one hand, you are a little afraid, hoping it does not get too bad. On the other hand, though, you are in awe of the untamed power unleashed here. We know we are in the presence of something much greater than us. It is something that changes us and leads us to think new thoughts.
Or when have you spent a little time doing some research into something you are curious about? Sometimes it turns out to be interesting, even surprising. There might be more there than you ever imagined. This is a type of wonder.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Through our camera
I know it is partly just a psychological tool, but picking up my camera is a signal to myself that I am now going to be open and receptive. I am consciously switching to a mode of looking and seeing rather than just drifting through life from one moment to the next.
This simple move is a declaration that I am open to awe and wonder. And by just expecting it, it is amazing how many times they happen.
I consider it giving myself permission to look and feel. This is not something we seem to think we have in our day-to-day lives. But holding a camera, I am in a different state.
I don’t notice when I’m making myself look foolish going after a shot. I don’t care. Something is triggering wonder, maybe even bordering on awe. It is that feeling like being out in a storm. I have to experience it, participate in it.
Holding my camera, I am much more likely to notice the way the light is playing across this scene, or that fascinating rusty old truck that I have passed by dozens of times without noticing.
Awe and wonder help pull us out of the ruts we tend to fall in. In this “zone” it is easier to be curious and find out what happens if I do it like this instead of the way I normally do it. I place a high value on creativity. But creativity cannot grow without following our curiosity and being led by the wonder we find around us.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Play
As kids we played a lot. BTW, I hope you let your kids have lots of unstructured time for play. Not with socially relevant or educational toys, but with a box or some paper or a mud puddle or … Anyway, adults can play, too. It is good for us. Very good.
One good way we can celebrate these feelings we have when we experience awe and wonder is to play. Yes, like a kid. With our camera, we can do the equivalent of splashing in puddles and chasing butterflies. Instead of taking the same, safe pictures we always take, do it different. Use a different framing, maybe not even level, use a lens we don’t normally use, make some shots where we’re thinking “this may not work, but if it does, it will be cool.” It might work.
Play keeps us loose. We stay in an exploration mode. We’re in a higher emotional state. And it is fun. Don’t discount fun. If we are having fun, we are probably doing good work.
Learn to tune into those opportunities that come to you for awe and wonder in your life. It makes us better. I cannot think of any occasion where I experienced wonder or awe and then thought “that was a boring waste of time; I wish I was mowing the yard.”
August 5, 2026
Just Taking Pictures
I need to get back to the simple joy of taking pictures. Just having fun and exploring creatively. No pressure.
Pressure
Taking pictures used to be fun. Now, it seems I worry too much about whether it is a great picture, a portfolio image, does it further a project I am working on?
That puts a lot of pressure on me.
I seem to get caught up in feeling like the images are “important” and that, somehow, I am being judged by the quality of every one I take. When I got to the point that I could occasionally take a pretty good picture, then somehow, an attitude developed that all of them need to be excellent. That if most of them weren’t “winners”, then I must be losing my edge, backsliding. The artistic muse must be gone.
This is silly when you think of it. After all, I would never show you most of my photos. The mediocre ones (hopefully) get culled out. But there is a natural reaction that some of us have that leads to a fear of failure. At some point we are afraid, or at least discouraged, to do more work for fear that it will not be as good as what we did in the past.
I can understand this. It happens to me, but I am trying hard to not accept it. At the minimum, it leads to my photography becoming work, a chore instead of fun. That pressure to always exceed my best can suck the joy out of my art.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Who is it for?
I need to keep reminding myself who the real audience is. Who is your audience? I sometimes forget.
If you must produce a high-quality image from a shoot for a client contract, you are clear who the audience is. And you have the pressure of having to create to client demands. That is a clear pressure situation that you have willingly accepted by signing the contract.
Or if you feel pressure to post daily shots that will get “likes” from your internet viewers, that is another clear pressure situation that you have bought into. You have pressure to shoot for your viewer’s tastes rather than your own.
Those generally do not apply to me, though. I may occasionally shoot for someone, and I occasionally post images to the internet, like in these articles. But in almost all cases, I am the audience that matters. That is what I must keep in mind.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Inhibition
There must be a “so what” here. If I lose sight of who I am shooting for, what are the consequences?
The consequence to me is the pressure that builds to always exceed the best of what I have done. A result of this is that I shut down. I feel inhibited from taking any pictures. I look at something that seems interesting and think “yes, but I may not be able to make an outstanding picture from that.” So, I don’t shoot. I don’t take the chance.
I find that when I get stuck in this self-imposed pressure trap, I lose my will to take pictures. Nothing seems worthwhile. I don’t feel “inspired.” I have come to understand that much of this is really inhibition caused by fear of not living up to my past performance, combined with fear of moving away from what has worked in the past.
If I only shoot “safe” scenes, this leads me to becoming less creative with time. Stagnating. I’m boxing myself in. Creativity inspires taking chances, doing things that probably will not make a great picture, but may answer a question or lead to something new. But this is the messy way new ideas and approaches are discovered. It is risk taking and exploration.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Inspiration
When you’re low and feeling uninspired, what do you do? All the artists through time have experienced this, I’m sure there must be a variety of strategies. There are 2 I have worked out that are usually effective for me.
One, probably the big one, is to get up and do something. If I sit around feeling sorry for myself and waiting to be inspired, I will probably be there a long time doing nothing. I need to make myself do something, even if it is just throwaway stuff. There is a lot of inertia to overcome, but eventually I get moving. And things get better and I feel creativity returning.
The most recent session of this (working on it now), I attacked the problem on my computer rather than by forcing myself to shoot more. I enjoy doing weird, abstract composites. So, I made myself sit down with my Lightroom catalog and do some. I would scroll through and pick out something that looks interesting as a base image and throw it into Photoshop. Then I would scroll some more until I find another image that I feel might combine in an interesting way with the other one. I take it into Photoshop and start working with them together.
I might poke away at them a while and delete the result. Or it might lead to something that intrigues me. That may serve as a base to bring in other elements and textures to make it richer and more complex. This has moved quickly from something I made myself do to something I’m having fun with. Doing this energizes me and I find my new image shooting has picked up.
The second mental kickstarter I use is to take a trip. A change of scenery works wonders to shake me out of lethargy. This strategy is usually effective, but more expensive. I don’t do it as often as I would like.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Take pictures
When I get trapped in one of these down cycles, I find the solution is to do something. Take pictures. Do something. Don’t worry about the results. Try something new. Tell yourself that you are experimenting, and the results are not expected to be great. Give yourself permission to work without pressure.
The muse – however you visualize inspiration – seems to only be there when we are working.
Excited
Being an introvert, I’m not very demonstrative. Unless you know me well, it may not be apparent to you when I’m excited. But I know. When I’m caught up in a project or exploring new techniques or ideas, I’m excited. My mind is not just engaged, it is spinning, sparking, generating new ideas constantly. It is a great feeling, and it seems like I can’t do bad work while I’m riding this wave.
But the issue is how to get back into this zone when we are parked on the bench, out of the game? I can’t give you a foolproof formula. Sorry
What I can recommend is that action always seems to help. Force yourself to pick up your camera and go out and shoot something. Don’t worry that they are not going to be your best images. Just shoot. Throw them away if necessary. But get moving in the right direction.
I talked about how creating composites is helping get me going. Taking a trip to a new location is usually effective. Other ideas are to study a new artist’s work (Rocky Nook has a lot of good books by artists), go to a good art museum, or visit some galleries. Even reading an inspiring book can help. Whatever works for you to stimulate your curiosity, spark ideas, motivate you to do something.
When we are moving and working, fear and inhibitions fall away. We are no longer held back by uncertainty, and we aren’t focused on what we did in the past. We are moving forward doing exciting new work. Do your work to please your #1 audience – you.
I’m trying to keep in mind the joy of just taking pictures. I hope you do, too.
Get moving. Go shoot something. It doesn’t matter what it is or what pictures you get. Start something and ride the wave.
July 29, 2026
Innocence of Eye
The phrase innocence of eye is from Minor White. He uses it to describe the child-like wonder we should hold on to. That’s hard.
Minor White
Minor White (July 9, 1908 – June 24, 1976) was an American photographer. He was contemporary with and friends with Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Imogen Cunningham, Dorothea Lange, and many others.
He became a disciple of Stieglitz’s theory of “Equivalence” and taught and wrote about it extensively. Actually, he was more of a poet and writer and editor than a photographer. He assisted Ansel Adams in starting the photography department of the California School of Fine Arts, He also held teaching positions at the Rochester Institute of Technology and at MIT. In 1952 he, along with Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Beaumont and Nancy Newhall and others, formed Aperture Magazine. White became the first and long-time editor of it.
None of this is really important, except to establish that White was very knowledgeable about the theory and practice of fine art photography and a voice to be listened to.
The quote
A more complete version of the quote about innocence is:
… innocence of eye has a quality of its own. It means to see as a child sees, with freshness and acknowledgment of the wonder; it also means to see as an adult sees who has gone full circle and once again sees as a child — with freshness and an even deeper sense of wonder.
Minor White
One reason this is impactful for me is that he describes not only the normal child-like innocence but the possibility of rediscovering this innocence as an adult. This is a problem I have acknowledged.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Child-like
Think of a child, with their spirit of wonder. Everything is fresh and new. Nothing is silly. It’s a world of possibilities. Why can’t the sky be green if they want it to be? Why can’t a giraffe be purple? And that flower they just saw – it’s the prettiest flower in all the world.
How do we hang on to or restore that spirit when we are old? I think it can be done, but it requires conscious work.
Problems of maturity
As adults, we become tough, cynical, jaded, and skeptical. We’ve seen it all, maybe too much. Nothing seems as exciting anymore. Very few images seem fresh and new to us. It is all just variations of what we have already seen and done.
Whatever your interest is, you’ve probably shot it thousands of times. Is there anything new that can be said about it? Why just repeat the same things?
This is where many people give up and conclude they are not an artist anymore, because they can’t do fresh, creative work. I recently wrote about doing a major culling exercise in my. library. It took a long time. One of my takeaways was that my images are getting too predictable. I’m following the same paths and thought patterns. Part of that is that I’m too mature. I “know” what works and seldom stray from it. I need to shake it up some.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Rediscovering innocence
How do we recapture that child-like view of the world? I think part of it is replacing cynicism with curiosity. Easy to say; hard to do. But when we are cynical, we automatically eliminate choices. We say to ourselves “that won’t work.” So, we never try it.
Curiosity is a positive force. It leads us to learn new things and try new things. Curiosity expands our thinking and our ability to see things.
Ask questions
Do you remember being a child and asking questions constantly? Why does that happen? How does that work? What if I did this? Most of us have that squeezed out of us by the time we’re in High School. That is one of the major faults of our education system.
To regain that, we must become sincerely curious. It almost doesn’t matter what about. I’m old enough to remember a set of printed books called an “Encyclopedia”. They have disappeared now, but what a marvelous experience when I was young and curious. I would head into one to look up something for school and get sidetracked by all sorts of interesting concepts I stumbled across on the way. Looking up a simple fact that should take a few minutes could take an hour or more because of the interesting things I discovered along the way.
Of course, the Encyclopedia has gone the way of the Dodo now. That’s sad. But we have a tremendous amount of the world’s knowledge immediately available to us. We have Google search (I strongly recommend Duck Duck Go instead), AI chatbots, and Wikipedia, for instance. I recommend looking up 3 random things every day. When you see or hear a reference to something that sounds interesting on the news or an article, go look it up. It does not matter at all if it is “useful” to you. Curiosity and knowledge build on lots of random facts that you start tying together over time.
Dig in
When you find something you think you might be a little bit interested in, dig into it more. A couple of hours spent going deeper into something that tweaked your curiosity is not wasted. You might discover a real interest that coaxes you to spend more time with. I have read that if you spend 10-20 hours studying a subject, you will know more about it than most people in the world.
As an example, I have recently re-discovered my interest in American Civil War history. I am about 20 hours into a 24 hour video lecture series and have read 2 books on the subject. I have 2 more queued up to read. It has absolutely nothing to do with photography, other than I’m building an interest in doing a tour of battle sites. But it has help awaken my curiosity in general. I am finding it helps me bring a fresh view to my photography.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Distractions
We have an insane level of distractions in our world now. Besides the “normal” things like jobs and family, we have whole industries spending billions of dollars to capture our attention every second possible. Social media, TV, news, and our phones constantly are screaming “ME! ME!”. Each wants us to believe it is critically important to stay glued to their channel.
Amongst all that noise, it is very hard to think independent thoughts. Or think at all. Psychology research shows that we can’t learn effectively unless we have quiet time to allow our brain to assimilate the new information we take in.
The constant noise and information drown out thought, and thought is necessary for curiosity. Sometimes disconnecting is the best thing to do. Letting our minds wander, especially when we are out in nature, is extremely healthy for us.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
A better photographer
Will asking questions and researching things and giving ourselves quiet space to think make us a better photographer? Yes, indirectly. I believe it will make us a better person, which is part of the equation. Jay Maisel once said, “If you want to make more interesting pictures, become a more interesting person.”
These things by themselves will not automatically give us back the child-like innocence and curiosity we miss. But they will help. It is a personal battle we all must fight.
Maybe it could bring us the balance of having the innocence of eye with the vision of an adult that White described. Perhaps we can be one who has gone full circle and once again sees as a child.
It is a real joy when those “What ifs” lead to “Oh, WOW!”.
Try it when you are out shooting. Disconnect. Let your mind wander. Give in to your curiosity. Make shots that your adult mind says are silly, but that seem fun and, who knows, they might lead to something. Even if they don’t make some great new image, you tried something new and had fun.
I will try, too.
June 24, 2026
Mindless
I have said before that my shooting style is intuitive. Let me put a slightly different spin on it and say that, in a way, it is mindless.
Mushin
The idea comes from the Zen concept called mu shin. Literally it describes nothingness of the mind. You free your mind of all thoughts and assumptions and let your subconscious react.
The philosophy is a basis of a lot of Japanese art and martial art. Takuan Soho, an accomplished swordsman, and a Zen Buddhist monk, suggests that during a fight, a swordsman should not focus on himself or the opponent, but he should allow his subconscious to take over. An analogy is riding a bike. Once you learn it sufficiently, you do it unconsciously.
I believe there is a parallel concept for photography.
Note, I am not a Zen Buddhist. I am a Christian. I do not follow Zen as a religious or spiritual practice. But there is quite a bit of worldly wisdom wrapped up in their philosophy.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Practiced
An objection stated against mushin is that if you go into a fight without training and expect your mind to control you, you’re going to get beaten up. That seems like a “duh”. Of course that is true.
Implicit in the description of mushin is that it is based on lots of training and practice. Practice, repetition, exercise, over and over until it is automatic. Only then can your responses become automatic and mindless.
Do you remember learning to ride a bike? You crashed a lot at first. But after a few times you “get” it. Suddenly you can’t even remember why you were falling back then. With more practice it really does become an unconscious skill. As a matter of fact, if you are riding and you conscious try to think about riding the bike, you might get unsteady. The conscious mind is interfering with the unconscious skill.
I believe this is the essence of what is being described by mushin. It is a type of meditation, but not like we usually think of meditation. We are letting our mind control our body. It is a type of trust in the skill you have developed and a flow state. We are willing to let go of most conscious thought.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Photography
I have heard many photographers describe this in various ways. I experience it myself a lot of the time. Just being out, wandering, camera in hand, letting creativity flow, trusting my skill and experience to make the shot without giving it much conscious attention. This is joy to me.
Here are a few statements by other photographers that I think are saying similar things.
Quotes
“I enjoy the quiet moments when my mind is completely focused, when I am absorbed, when I am connected with my subject, immersed in my surroundings, fully in the moment. I guess it’s a form of meditation.” – Suzanne Nelson, Better Photography Magazine
“Mindfulness: if you suddenly realize it and say to yourself, ‘Wow! This is an amazing experience!’ — poof, you’re out of it. When you’re in it, you’re just BEING, but when you begin thinking about it, it’s gone.” Gary Buzzard, Medium. (Gary is a Zen practitioner)
“Sometimes our unconscious minds work better than our conscious minds.” Harold Davis
“A creative starts at the bottom of a circle, gains experience, and moves through an education of their craft. It’s when you move beyond that and start going back down the circle, forgetting everything that you’ve learned, that you come back to a place where you’re trusting your instincts and your unconscious voice.” Chris Brown
“I just focus on what’s in front of me and follow my intuition and let it evolve on its own.” Julieanne Kost
“Get to the point where you’re just there, and you’re actually letting it just flow thru you.” Ian Spalter
“Don’t overthink things in front of you. If it moves you, shoot it; if it’s fun, shoot it; if you’ve never seen it before, shoot it.” Jay Maisel
“Try to go out empty and let your images fill you up.” Jay Maisel
“Photography by wandering around: exploring without specific goals or expectations in mind, taking a slow pace, seeking to see beyond the most obvious features of a landscape, and enjoying the process regardless of the results.” Sarah Marino
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Trust it
There is a lot of good accumulated wisdom in those quotes. I was encouraged that it was easy to find so many people I respect basically saying to follow our instincts. They all seem to be describing a mushin state.
This is not thoughtless and it’s not being trapped in ruts of automatic behavior. We learn to let go and don’t try to force the outcome. Mindlessness is not ignorance. Quite the contrary, it is built on extensive training and practice to the point where our subconscious is so educated that it can take over and direct our actions without needing direct attention by our conscious mind. Like riding a bike.
In photography, this is a kind of equivalent of a flow state, where we are so engaged in the moment that there is nothing else. And in photography, I believe that allowing ourselves to operate in this instinctive manner is a direct connection to our inherent vision and style. What we do subconsciously should be a more honest expression of what we see and feel than if we are overthinking making the image.
Let the process play out. See where it goes. Trust our instincts. Believe that the skills we have built will form the image. Let our subconscious run. And enjoy the ride.
Our photography is not defined by some obscure Japanese Zen term like mushin. But it is comforting to see smart people in different disciplines coming to similar conclusions about important things.
June 3, 2026
Outside the Frame
I have written about using the frame to our advantage. But it is important to also be aware of what is happening outside the frame.
The frame
The frame is one of the most powerful drivers in photography. We need to learn to use it, to compose within it, and, as I said, to dance with it.
An image can only be what is in the frame. That is all our viewers can see.
But I don’t want to leave the impression that nothing else is important. As artists and people, we also must be aware of what is happening outside the frame. We often can use it to our advantage. The image is finalized within the frame, but it often depends on a larger area.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Context
Every image has context. We may isolate an image to reduce the specific context and make it more universal. But context is there, and it is important.
The scene we photographed was part of a context. The context gave locale and meaning to the scene. We must be aware of that and decide how to use it.
Sometimes we use part of a scene to represent something more universal. A shot of half dome in Yosemite is a shot of half dome. It is so unique and recognizable that that is all it will be. But a picture of a mountain cascade can represent the idea of mountain cascades almost anywhere in the world. Depends on your intent.
Do you want to represent this specific scene or are you making a statement about things like this in general? Part of that is managing the context.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Action path
Sometimes action is happening out of the frame that is significant to the composition we are trying to make. If we are shooting sports, we could set up the desired shot with the background or lighting we want and wait for the runner (or bicyclist or race car or football player or whatever) to move into the position we anticipate. For this to succeed, we must be very aware of the action that is happening. And we must be familiar enough with the activity to expect to be able to predict the path of the action.
I have heard many street photographers talk about setting up the shot they want then wait until someone moves into the perfect position. That takes anticipation and awareness of the movement of others around us. And an understanding of the paths people are likely to take within a scene.
And patience.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Danger
Let’s not overlook that there are potential dangers outside the frame that we need to be aware of.
Say I am concentrating on setting up a landscape scene. I am completely focused on the viewfinder as I perfect the composition and decide on exposure. But if a mountain lion is stalking me, I need to know about that. The reality is that it is unlikely, but it is part of the awareness I need to maintain.
A more realistic example is a street photographer. Is the location safe? Am I annoying people and starting to attract unwanted and potentially dangerous attention?
Or take a sports photographer. They must stay aware of the action happening on the field or the track. There is a normal flow to sports action that allows us to anticipate situations. But there are those rare and exciting moments where something unexpected breaks and we must be ready. Maybe a pass interception in a football game, maybe a runner missing a hurdle and falling, maybe race cars crashing. The breaking action could lead to the signature picture of the event, or it could be dangerous to the photographer. Or both.
This is generally called situational awareness. It is important for keeping us safe and it is useful for making better pictures.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Interacting outside the frame
I said that a viewer can only see what is withing the frame. That’s literally true, but not the end of the story. Some creative photographers have subjects deliberately looking out of the frame. As viewers, we know from experience that they are interested in or interacting with something unseen. That can bring a heightened engagement. It arouses our curiosity about what is going on.
Our subject could be staring intently at something out of the frame. A quarterback could be passing the ball to an unseen receiver. An archer could be at full draw, ready to release the arrow. But at what?
These are examples of action outside the frame influencing what is going on within the frame. It makes the viewer guess what is happening.
©Ed Schlotzhauer
Better images
Many images happen in a context. Understanding the context and working with it instead of against it often leads to better pictures. We create the image within the frame, but events or context outside the frame can strongly influence what we do.
Action happens and moves into our frame. Often that is what we desire. We must anticipate and plan for that action and be aware of it happening.
We must also maintain situational awareness of what. is happening outside the frame. This helps to keep us safe. If we get run over by a truck, we will probably stop making creative new pictures.
These ideas only discuss the physical situation when we are shooting. Many, many other things outside the frame influence us. Our attitude, how we feel, our knowledge, our curiosity, and our life experiences all impact us.
It is hard to overstate the importance of the frame, but the frame is not the universe of everything significant to a photographer. There is a world outside the frame that impacts the world inside the frame. We must balance them.
May 27, 2026