Mindful Playful Photography: Strangers in the City

In this photowalk, we will be slowing down, getting curious, and trying to reclaim our attention in this bewildering city.

THEME:
In a city like London, we are surrounded by strangers. Random people, faint and out of focus, like extras in our movie. Each person living a life as vivid and complex as our own. They carry on invisibly around us with their own ambitions, friends, routines, mistakes, worries, triumphs, and failures. Our interactions are fleeting, and often near-misses. The freshly read and abandoned newspaper we find on our train seat. The three empty coffee cups quietly on the table as we enter the cafe. What troubles and inside jokes were shared? Perhaps we could notice our co-existence with strangers in a different way.

PURPOSE:
On our photowalks we entertain different philosophical thoughts to inspire our photography. This is to mindfully heighten our awareness and experiment with different ways of looking at the world.

SCHEDULE:
(from 4.30pm - Early arrivals and tea/coffee)
5.00pm - Kick off: Visual Mindfulness
5.30pm - Explore theme & technique
6.00pm - Silent photowalk in Moorgate
7.00pm - Share images and stories
7.30pm - Close

WHO IS THIS FOR?
This is for those with a curiosity about how photography can boost our mindfulness, and how being mindful can lead to more authentic creativity. Beginner and experienced photographers are all welcome.

PLEASE BRING:
- Camera / Phone camera
- Photo ID for WeWork sign in
- Thoughts on strangers (poem, quote, reflection)

INSPIRATION:
In the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a compendium of invented words to describe emotions that we all experience but don't have a word for, we find the word sonder - n. the realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

YOUR GUIDE:
Menka Sanghvi is the founder of Just Looking, a modern mindfulness project. She has a deep love for meditation and yoga. Over the past decade, her work in the social impact sector has been focused on facilitating creativity and innovation. Menka holds a degree in physics and philosophy from Cambridge University, and a belief in “anekantavada” which is the many-ness of perspective.

MAILING LIST:
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MORE INFO:
Website: http://wearejustlooking.org
Instagram: @wearejustlooking