The Doors on Perception. How we began

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.”

                                                                                          William Blake

This quote was the starting point for the development of this photography seminar series. The three teachers of this course, Bill Gardam. Simon Henson and Greg Klassen, which is running concurrently on line and at the Saltspring Island BC library through 2014, were looking for a starting point for a new approach to photographic education. As photography is really more about seeing or being aware than narrowly about mechanical things, the idea that one can develop as a photographer by broadening ways of seeing and understanding rather than narrowing ones viewpoint through a 'how-to' or a rule based approach was attractive. We did change the emphasis somewhat by calling our series of seminars and workshops the 'Doors on Perception' thereby indicating a slight change in viewpoint. We would present the doors and invite our students to explore what lay behind them. We present the vehicle, but it is our students responsibility to do their own exploring, to enter the world of ideas through doors and not to peer through the 'narrow chinks of his cavern”.

This course can be attended in person throughout the year, at the Saltspring Library from 2pm to 3:30 pm every second Sunday. It is free! By also putting a version of it on this blog it is also available to anyone in the world.