Beginner’s Mind – 2015 version

Today was our first morning up Willisville Mountain this year and while preparing for the early morning I once again revisited Shunryu Suzuki’s wonderful quote “If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few. ”

I have taken thousands of analog and digital photographs from the Mountain over the past 35 years and every morning is new adventure thanks to the ‘beginner’s mind’.

First Photo

It will take a few early mornings to get back into the groove of photographing in the dark with a hot cup of coffee and so much to enjoy.

Today another Shunryu Suzuki quote ( an excellent book ) seemed quite appropriate “When a bird sings, you feel the calmness of the mountain…more than when you did not hear any sound.”

I enjoy other photographer’s work and we (Kerry & I) visit many galleries and exhibits over the course of a year, however, with all of the computer enhancement being experimented with by others I am very satisfied capturing and sharing natural colours.

Second photo

The best part of my early morning photography is having someone to share it with! You can enjoy Kerry’s (my wife and best friend) photography at Perivale Gallery on Manitoulin Island.

Kerry

There are still a few of the ‘La Cloche Spirit’ portfolio left and you can purchase them at Turners in Little Current or contact me at lacloche(at)gmail.com

Each ‘La Cloche Spirit’ package includes a signed limited edition book ‘La Cloche Spirit: Contemplating Beginner’s Mind’. This is a signed limited edition of 150.

Each ‘La Cloche Spirit’ package includes a signed and matted limited edition photograph. Each photograph is a limited edition of 10 and it is from the La Cloche Spirit portfolio; however, it may not have been included in the published book.

The ‘La Cloche Spirit’ package sells for $180. The signed books and matted, limited edition photographs are not sold separately. Framed photographs may be available for some of the photo series.

About jonbutlerphoto

Jon Butler is a Zen practitioner, haiku poet, photographer and retired newspaper executive who changed his clothes to enjoy the passing seasons of life. He has been capturing and enjoying the natural light of La Cloche for more than 35 years. He concentrates on solitary, contemplative landscapes, natural colour and atmospheric effects. In 2015 Jon began creating a series of Photomontage prints using his original photographs. It is an opportunity to explore a sequence of dreams or dreams of a sequence. Jon and his wife Kerry summer on Charlton Lake located in the heart of the La Cloche Mountains. They are founding members of the La Cloche Mountains Preservation Society and the Willisville Mountain Project, dedicated to preserve Willisville Mountain and the beauty of La Cloche. The books ‘Visions of La Cloche, Contemplating La Cloche with Words and Photographs’ and 'La Cloche Spirit: Contemplating Beginner's Mind' are still available online at www.blurb.ca/user/lacloche. Jon’s exhibit ‘La Cloche Spirit: The Equivalent Light’ was part of the Toronto international photography show CONTACT2012 before exhibiting in Gore Bay and Sudbury in 2012. Jon’s photographs are available at Turners Gallery of Little Current, The Art Gallery of Sudbury shop and the Killarney Park Store.

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