Carol Chapman | Carol Chapman

Both the Creative and Psychic Draw on the Subconscious or Unconscious Mind

“Sub” means under. Therefore, the subconscious mind, which is also called the unconscious mind, is under the conscious mind. It is hidden, underneath.

The fact is, you can go only so far with the conscious mind in creative endeavors. You have to connect with the un- or subconscious mind.

Carol Chapman —

In creative endeavors, and also with the psychic, information, hunches, feelings and promptings come from the un- or subconscious mind.

Therefore, ideas that arise from the un- or subconscious mind often come in a flash or a “still small voice“ rather than the ideas that come from the conscious mind.

The Unconscious Mind Comes to the Fore in the Creative Process

The fact is, you can go only so far with the conscious mind in creative endeavors. You have to connect with the un- or subconscious mind.

The operative word is consciously. Now, I’m going to describe a technique I use to bring in the unconscious or subconscious mind to help you choose the best photographs.

Carol Chapman —

As it’s name implies, the unconscious mind is not part of our conscious thinking processes. When you like something, you like it–that’s it, just that simple. You don’t say, well, it’s got something in the foreground to give it depth, the colors are vibrant, or the colors are muted which works with the scene. You just simply say, “I like it.” Sometimes, you say, “I don’t know why, but this is the one that does it for me.”

The unconscious is connected with feeling not thinking.

Intuitive Photography Choices Enhance Your Psychic Development

This technique of choosing photographs intuitively are a way of developing your psychic abilities. I actually learned the “Yes/No” technique from the Edgar Cayce readings.

Ask yourself, “Yes or No.” You might even hear “yes” or “no.” Most likely you’ll have a feeling for which ones you like and which ones you don’t. It is an intuitive choice–one that comes out of the unconscious.

However you experience it, you will have a sense, a knowing, of which photographs to choose.

Carol Chapman —

Using Your Intuitive Faculties to Choose Photographs

Here’s a technique I learned from Dave Heath, my professor at Ryerson University in Toronto where I studied Photography and Filmmaking. I use it to help me choose which photograph to feature, whether it’s part of a slide show or whether it’s used to illustrate a book or whether it’s used in a calendar such as the Edgar Cayce Calendar.

If you can let go of the “idea” of what the photograph should look like, you may find a few images that are actually better than what you consciously tried to take photographs of.

Carol Chapman —

The operative word is consciously. Now, I’m going to describe a technique I use to bring in the unconscious or subconscious mind to help you choose the best photographs. Simply look at the photos one after another. You can even switch from one to another.

Ask yourself, “Yes or No.” You might even hear “yes” or “no.” Most likely you’ll have a feeling for which ones you like and which ones you don’t. It is an intuitive choice–one that comes out of the unconscious.

However you experience it, you will have a sense, a knowing, of which photographs to choose.

Choosing the Photograph is Also an Art

The process of going through the photographs you have taken and choosing which ones to use is as much of a creative process as is the finding, framing and taking of the photographs.

Second, choose the best one(s). Sometimes, choosing the best one is the hardest part because you loved the “idea” of the photograph while you were taking it.

Carol Chapman —

If you can let go of the “idea” of what the photograph should look like, you may find a few images that are actually better than what you consciously tried to take photographs of. However, for this to happen, you need to be open to the possibility that your conscious mind, which set up the photography shoot,

Two Important Photography Processes

Again, I’m talking about the process I go through to take my photographs, such as the photographs used in the Edgar Cayce Calendar and in last year’s Divine in Nature Calendar.

There are actually two processes:

Taking the photograph
Choosing the best one(s) out of the photographs you’ve taken

Carol Chapman —

First, find, frame and take the photograph.

Second, choose the best one(s). Sometimes, choosing the best one is the hardest part because you loved the “idea” of the photograph while you were taking it. But, when you see the way it turned out, you don’t want to give up on the “idea” even though the actual photograph just does not work. It may be out of focus or confusing or bland–even though it seemed to be perfect when you took it.

Two Processes: Taking and Choosing Photographs

There’s a temptation to eliminate the photographs that don’t look exactly the way you expect the subject to look.

Even if you’re taking a portrait, don’t expect the photograph to look exactly like the person sitting before you. After you take all your pictures, choose the one(s) that look the best—not necessarily the ones that look exactly like the real image.

That’s how to you get great pictures . . . choosing from what you have.

Especially in sunrise photography, sometimes your best images will be the ones that look more exotic or more out of focus or more dramatic than the actual real thing.

There are actually two processes:

Taking the photograph
Choosing the best one(s) out of the photographs you’ve taken

Carol Chapman —

Photography: Some Examples of Depth

Take a look at the images in the Edgar Cayce Calendar. This is the Divine in Nature: with Inspirational Quotes from Edgar Cayce 2009 calendar. Notice how in so many of the images, there is a sense of depth because the images include something in the foreground and the background.

Don’t you love the photograph of that little lightning bug peering over the edge of that huge magnolia petal? That’s the photograph for the month of May 2009.

Even in this photograph, that contains only one large flower, some of the petals are in the foreground and other are in the background giving this photograph depth.

Carol Chapman —

Sunrise Photography: Your Photograph Is NOT Going to Look Exactly Like the Actual Sunrise and That’s OK

You’ll wear yourself out if you try to get your photographs of the sunrise to look exactly like the sunrise you’re viewing with your naked eye. For example, last week, I was taking sunrise photographs of the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean at the beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. There were these beautiful dramatic clouds. And the sun peek over the horizon through the clouds. The sun was cherry-red colored.

Now, you don’t often get a cherry-red colored sun. And, I wanted to show that beautiful sun in my photograph. However, every photograph I took showed a white sun on the play-back screen of my digital camera.

Why was that? I believe it is because the sun is so very bright, even when it’s red-colored coming through all that atmosphere at the horizon, that it photographs white–it’s so bright.

So, should I have deleted all the photographs I took that morning? No way. There were many gorgeous photographs. Instead, I dealt with the actual photographs when choosing which ones I might use.

Even if you’re taking a portrait, don’t expect the photograph to look exactly like the person sitting before you. After you take all your pictures, choose the one(s) that look the best—not necessarily the ones that look exactly like the real image.

That’s how to you get great pictures . . . choosing from what you have.

Carol Chapman —

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Photography: Analyze Your Photographs

Look at your photographs of mountains. Do you have trees, branches, flowers, a totem pole, a flying bird, a couple arm-in-arm surveying the scene . . . something in the foreground . . . to create depth and make the photograph interesting?

Take a look at the photograph of Mount Rainier which I used for the month of February in the 2008 Edgar Cayce Calendar. The many people who “oo” and “ah” when they see this Mount Rainier photograph, likely do not analyze that one of the reasons the photograph is so special is because of the silhouetted dark trees in the foreground.

Does your image look flat? Next time find a place to take the photograph where you can get something interesting and complementary in the foreground. It could even be a lake or road curving around on one side of the image or even a couple of boulders at one edge of the image. Play with this. It’s fun.

Carol Chapman —