Shane Sakata

The Mindful Photographer: Awake in the World with a Camera

Can you imagine my surprise when I got an email from my mentor and photography instructor David Ulrich asking for permission to use one of my images in his upcoming book? That email arrived in July of 2021. Fast forward to May 2022 and I got a complimentary copy of The Mindful Photographer: Awake in the World with a Camera in the mail from the publisher Rocky Nook.

The book is a group of 55 short, instructional essays on photography and my image, Shoe Display, from the series, Glass Walls, heads the essay titled “Experiment” and David described it as follows:

“From the series, Glass Walls, by Shane Sakata. Sakata tirelessly experimented with exploring both people and objects to find images that best reflect consumer longing and consumption.”

David begins the essay with these words:

“Fresh discovery forms the key to successful photographs. Wide and broad experimentation can lead to spontaneous insight and discovery. Try this and try that. Try something now and try it again. Be insatiable in your willingness to search for new solutions, innovative techniques, and heightened ways of seeing.”

I am humbled and honored to have been asked to have an image published in David Ulrich’s book The Mindful Photographer: Awake in the World with a Camera.  As the essay expounds, I remain both curious and willing to experiment but still have to remind myself that sometimes the road to a photographic solution is often circuitous. I think that there is something for everyone in this book whether you are new to photography or looking to fine tune your vision.