Photography and Mindfulness, Full Manual Mode

… a few days ago i switched the controls on my Nikon to full manual…

… i taught myself to photograph in full manual mode years ago, but haven’t done it routinely in quite a while… my preferred ease-of-making-the-picture setting is shutter priority… being older and my hands being a little shakier, i like to know the shutter speed is fast enough to freeze the scene in sharp detail… i suppose equipment with image stabilization helps a great deal in that department these days, but most of my Nikon gear doesn’t have that feature…

… if you are photographing sports, rapidly moving wildlife or other quickly unfolding scenes, full manual is not the way to go… otherwise, it is very useful in giving complete control of how the scene is rendered… shallow depth of field, deep depth of field, creative over or under exposure… these have their uses in making an artful image…

… what also happens when shooting in full manual mode is that you are forced to slow down… you have to continuously check the light meter in the viewfinder and make adjustments to shutter speed, aperture and ISO… you can’t just point, compose and make a picture… the… whole… process… slows… down… you are more careful in composition… you are more considered in the exposure… you are more present to the moment… that’s a good thing…