God Is at Eye Level: Photography as a Healing Art

"God is at Eye Level" is a beautiful book--a moving book. Here Jan Phillips discusses the healing effect of photography on the personal and sociological levels. The design, photographs, quote-selections, and lucid writing are artfully woven together to produce an evocative read.Several sub-themes radiate, all reinforced with illuminating quotes from famous artists and thinkers. Among my favorite themes is the relevance of "the moment," or "the present." As Jan says, when embarking on an "excursion of seeing, the rest of one's life is temporarily on hold. There is nothing to reckon with but the moment at hand." When anchored in the present, one's regrets and fears tend to dissolve. You are treated with a "sweet joy" and the healing nature of a "now" orientation.Your photographs reflect who you are. As a result, you can discover as much about seeing inside yourself as the world outside. When you go out and shoot, Jan says, "honor your instincts, for the images that result are like clues to a treasure hunt," symbols which later tell you who you are, where you've been, and where you are going.Jan tries to develop a relationship with everyone she photographs. She strives to achieve empathy with all her subjects. For her, the relationship comes first. Her portraits grow out of this closeness and express the intimacy from which they emerge. As a result, a portrait reflects the authenticity of a person's spirit.Jan discusses the healing influence photography has upon society. She cites several photographers whose work evoked a national response and encouraged social reform. Among others, Jan includes the work of Dorothea Lange (migrant farmers) and Laura Gilpin (Navajos).And lastly, many photographers wait until they are inspired before they go shooting. Jan says that for her, inspiration comes while working, not before it. The key is to start working, then discover while underway. Once you do, you will experience the healing nature of photography.

I happened to notice this wonderful, soulful, book at a local bookstore and was moved by the deceptive simplicity of its title and peaceful image on the cover to pick it up and thumb through its pictures; I was floored by the sincere depth of its message.The book is a sublime gem that anyone who is interested in what photography is all about, what life is all about, and what their *soul* is all about, owes it to themselves to keep by their side! It will deepen and nourish your relationship with the world.Jan Philips is a rare creature who is equally well proficient, gifted even, in both effortlessly capturing the timeless beauty and spirit of nature in her photos and providing an eloquent written context for those images to help others find the sacred in the "ordinary." Leafing even through only a few pages will leave almost surely leave one with a sense of tranquility; reading over the entire book, a few times perhaps, depending on mood and temperament, cannot fail to leave even the most downtroden of souls feeling joyful at simply being alive and having the privelage at marveling at life's beauty. The book, in short, is all about how *everything that one looks at* -- and most of all the inner "I" that is always lurking somewhere in the mysterious depths of our souls looking outward through our "eyes" -- is nothing but God looking in.This is a small treasure of a book that is now on the short list of books I will never part with. Highly recommended.

In spite of its name and the identity of its publisher (Theosophical Publishing House), this book is NOT only for religious people or "believers". Perhaps the only requirement for the reader is being an idealist.The book, decorated by many nice and a few extraordinary photographs, can be summarized in a few words like these: Our lives have a purpose, so do the others'. Photography is a tool that helps making others' life better while making you feel better at the same time. Caring for others and, using photography both as a sort of meditation and as a public (universal) service are the two recurring themes. The chapter headings like "Looking for the Joy of It" shows what you might expect from Phillips.The authors' writing style is both mature and friendly. No technical details for the photographs are given and no advice on matters like exposure or lighting exists. However, there are quite useful little projects (some only as a mental exercise, some for writing down, some for shooting...) suggested at the end of all chapters. This is just one of them: "If you were called upon to document the homeless in your community, how would you go about doing this?" You also find words of wisdom by almost a hundred others (from philosophers to photographers) scattered on almost all the pages like Margaret Atwood's: "The act of making a photograph is less a question of what is being looked than how".I enjoyed reading the book and I recommend it to those who like to listen to a calm, slightly mystical voice on photography. For others, who think those may be boring, there are at least a dozen choices out there :)

A tender and personal introspection, asking the Why question of photography in the context of a populist Zen Catholicism (my description) more than tractile didacticism. She has some wonderful insights into street photography manners (connective versus stolen photography) and the changes that happen with self awareness: as the blurb says, it's as much about self-help as it is photography. There's little to nothing about technique, but this is potentially a book that will change practice and technique more than any other: a warm, loving and open invitation to a journey of discovery. Her images are great too, with nary a dud in sight...all monochrome (is that a production value? She uses Kodachrome in her Pentax K100?) with some absolutely lovely images..check out the three children walking into the sky on page 83, or the landscape on page 144..or take a sample, any sample, of the photographic quotes spread throughout the book...and marvel.

This book was well reviewed so I was surprise by its content. I bought it a a photographer seeking to add a spiritual element to my work. The photographic content is poor, exclusively black and white but not in a quality stylish way but in a cheap to print, make the most profit kind of way, some of the pictures were so dark they had unintentionally become silhouettes. The social commentary had some merit but only from an very American right wing conservative christian point of view, This is not necessarily bad but if you are looking for a broadminded and eclectic interpretation you will be dissapointed. The content is culturally diverse but only from a zenephobes view point.There is one positive note and it is the reason why I will be keeping this otherwise disappointing book. There are several places in the book where you are advised to look at the photos you have and consider how you feel about them, these sections called reflections are very good indeed.