Framing is connecting

We think of photography as pictures. And it is. But I think of photography as ideas. And do the pictures sustain your ideas or are they just good pictures? I want to have an experience in the world that is a deepening experience, that makes me feel alive and awake and conscious.
Joel Meyerowitz

I saw Joel Meyerowitz Retrospective in Vienna. I was profoundly fascinated by his work and his reflection, his approach and philosophy. A photographer is constantly choosing a frame. And as street photographer Joel Meyerowitz’ choice happens mostly intuitively in an instant of a second. The results presented in the exposition were astonishing to me. For Joel Meyerowitz framing is connecting.

What you put in and what you leave out are what determines the meaning on potential of your photograph.
Joel Meyerowitz

Designing a workshop is also framing and connecting. As process designers and facilitators we frame and connect. It starts with clarifying the intention of the workshop. Then we frame the whole and all the different parts. We connect people and conversations; we help link perspectives, information and idea.

It’s about enabling connections, with yourself, with others, and with information and ideas.
Viv McWaters and Johnnie Moore

I love how Joel Meyerowitz talks about the Leika, his Leika. This quality of focusing one eye and seeing the whole with the other eye at the same time is something I take with me for future workshops I help design and facilitate. It is a reminder to not get blinded by the workshop event itself, but also see what happens before, after and around it.

I will also remember the way he makes his quick decisions on what to bring into the frame. What to include and what to leave out are conscious decisions. We select and set a focus, we say yes and no while we set the agenda. We open the floor for conversation and reflection within a frame.

And yes: a workshop is also an idea. A workshop is more than an event. With each workshop we organize; we bring an idea into life.

Learning moments

For inspiration and change