Mindfulness Based Photography with Jenna Tessler — Aug 30

Dates: August 30, 2025
Times: 11am-3pm
Level:

Workshop Description:
By placing emphasis on the process, students will discover a new angle on their own photography. With a mindfulness-based approach, we realize it’s not about the number of pictures but the awareness you bring to each one. Slowing down, while difficult to do, can lead your attention to things you would otherwise overlook, things that are seemingly mundane or uninteresting. With this method, you will make photographs you might never have expected. I aim to bring people a moment of pause in this fast-paced world. Mindfulness-based photography has given this to me. A simple switch in language, “to make” versus “to take” can transform our ways of seeing. Suddenly, photography is about image-making rather than images for our taking. This course will give a fresh lens to any person at any point in their photography journey.

—- Students can expect a photography workshop with aspects of being on a Zen retreat. Throughout the day(s), there will be instruction in both mindfulness/meditation and photography. A few lessons include. —What is photographic mindfulness and how to make a mindful photograph? —Set an intention and intend your (camera) settings Reviews/teaches the technical aspects of image-making

• Exposure, shutter speed, aperture… —Involve your body: Making an image with your breath. We will sometimes sit together in a group and there will also be independent time to create. Students will walk away with a few images that they feel embody a mindfulness-based approach, along with numerous resources to take with them. With time and continued use, the learned and felt connections between mindfulness and photography will deepen. As it goes with any practice, they can make it what they choose. This will be unique to the individual and I encourage that diversity and variation!
  
  About the Instructor:
  Jenna Tessler (She/They) is a photographer and writer based out of the Bay Area, California. She earned her BFA in Photography in 2021 from Lesley’s School of Art & Design (formerly Art Institute of Boston, MA), along with a minor in Expressive Art Therapy. She has done residencies with InCahoots (Petaluma, CA), Alchemy Art Center (Friday Harbor Island, WA), and Kala Art Institute (Berkeley, CA). Through teaching, she shares her passions for fine art photography, art therapy, mindfulness, and the natural world. Currently, Jenna works with senior artists with disabilities at the Textile Arts Collaborative in San Rafael, CA.
  
  Required Materials:
  - A camera of some sort (could be a phone camera
  - DSLR, film/analog), whatever the student has access to. Notebook (and preferred writing utensil).
  
  Optional Materials:
  - A cushion or blanket for comfort. Useful during mindfulness exercises/meditation.