LESSIONS

1: Introduction

2: Why Mindful Photography?

3: Why Smartphone Photography?

4: Follow the Light Guide

5: Chase Things That Sparkle

6: Face Towards the Sunshine

7: No Matchy, No Matchy

Keep your face always towards the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you.
—M. B. Whitman, 1903

Howdy Friend,

There’s a reason we feel better when we lift our heads toward the sun. Light reminds us we’re still alive. It warms our face, opens our chest, and whispers: “You made it another day.”

But that act of turning—toward the light—isn’t always easy. Especially when old regrets, heavy emotions, or just the dull weight of life pull us inward. That’s why today’s practice is so powerful.

It’s called Face Towards the Sunshine, and it’s all about learning how to shift your attention from the darkness to the light—not by faking positivity, but by noticing what’s already glowing all around you.

This isn’t just metaphor. It’s photographic technique. You’ll be using backlighting to illuminate everyday moments—from pine needles and sidewalks to your dog’s ears or your friend’s smile. You’ll also capture shadow play with intention and peace.

You’ll be practicing the spiritual reflex of turning. Toward hope. Toward presence. Toward God.

Face Towards the Sunshine—Mindful Photography Practice

Join Frankie the Doodle and me in the beautiful surroundings of Redstone, Colorado, as we practice turning our faces towards the sunshine. We’ll explore the interplay of light and shadow in this stunning location, from capturing the backlit beauty of objects to the striking shadows they cast. This practice is not just about photography; it’s about developing a habit of seeking light in all areas of life.

1. FOCUS on body and surroundings

Hand on Heart
3 Belly Breaths
Note Your Level of Inner Peace
Open Your Eyes

With your eyes closed or gazing softly, gently place your hand on your heart and take three deep belly breaths. Simply feel your various body sensations. Note your level of inner peace. Open your eyes wide and take in what is surrounding you. Just “be” for a few seconds—without commentary or categorizations.

2. CAPTURE the present moment

Act Opposite to Emotion
Turn Smartphone
Photography Mindfully
Note Your Level of Inner Peace

Note your resistance to this practice and choose action anyway. Demonstrate your aim to experience inner peace by turning your smartphone into a camera, with airplane mode on. Wipe off your lenses and get your body to the best place to capture a few mindful shots.

Backlighting is magic—and it’s simple. Put your subject between you and the sun. Shoot up through pine needles with sunlight sparkling through. Photograph your animal friend with the bedside lamp directly behind. Backlight a person so that the sun forms a rim around their hair and shoulders. Grab a sheet of paper and bounce light back into their face. Imagine yourself blessing your subject by your presence.

Now, check out the shadows cast by the powerful light of the sun. Snap the shadow of a walker on the bright concrete. Experiment photographing the hard shadows of flowers, removing color as the allure. Notice hard shadows and soft shadows.

You can see beauty in the shadows if you choose that perspective. Can you embrace your present shadows as part of the human experience? Can you see the inseparable mixture of light and shadow, joy and sadness? The presence of God is everywhere, even in those places that are hard to accept.

Remain present while editing, capturing the look of the moment. Were you capturing shadows? How about converting to black and white? Try adjusting your black point and shadow sliders until the shadow becomes the most prominent part of the photo. Are you editing a back-lit portrait? Try raising your shadows a bit. Try a light vignette. Notice how you can get lost in the present moment while editing.

Delete all but a sacred few. Pronounce your collection “complete” and do another hand-on-heart check-in of your inner peace.

3. SHINE your light on someone

Love Someone
Stay off Social Media
Note Your Level of Inner Peace

Ready to transcend the enticing familiarity of self-pity and fear? When you shine your light and bless others through mindful photography, you create the loving connections that each of us so desperately wants. You deepen your immersive photographic experience when you create images destined to touch others.

Refrain from putting your mindful creations on social media for ego-validation. Instead, directly bless someone with your thing of beauty through a message or print. How can you share a photo or two with someone that makes them notice the warm sunshine in their face? What about sending a trusted friend a note about what mindful photography is teaching you about yourself?

Notice how you get lost in the moment when you connect with someone’s heart. Do one last check-in of your inner peace with your hand over your own heart.

Visual Meditation Prompt

In hard-light environments, shooting in black and white and cranking up the contrast is a great way to notice the interplay between dark and light. Take a moment, squint your eyes just a little, and focus on the shadows in these shots. Just notice the shapes created by the dark areas. Now, do the same with the highlights. Focus intensely. What shapes do you see? Your mind has an amazing capacity to change perspective if you will it to.

Ask yourself, “What is the darkest, heaviest concern on my mind right now?”

And finally, “How can I flip this mental fixation and focus, even for a moment, on the brightness in the picture instead?”

I'm so thankful that you've come this far. Get ready for a zany practice next to loosen you up for the road ahead.

Shine Your Light,
Joe

Next Steps

Set Your Intention
Airplane mode. Hand on heart. Three belly breaths.
Commit to God
You only have one more practice to go. Offer all of your creativity up to God who made you in his image.
Watch the Video
YouTube: Face Towards the Sunshine
Read the Chapter and Support Materials
Face Towards the Sunshine- spreads.pdf
Face Towards the Sunshine- singles.pdf
Do the Practice
Don't overthink it. Let yourself feel the joy in this active, immersive form of mindfulness.
Integrate
Write by hand in your journal. Use the prompts in the chapter to deepen the experience.
Your Next Lesson Will Arrive Soon
Savor this lesson. Keep practicing, keep noticing.

Photo Tip: Dynamic Range

Check out these photos shot with the same iPhone. It was late evening when I snapped the top one, and the shadows came out pure black. The tiny smartphone sensor needed more light to properly expose the shot, and instead created a silhouette. The next shot, taken at a brighter time of day, shows plenty of highlight and shadow details, straight out of camera.

In the evolution of photography, the dynamic range of an image from lightest to darkest has come a long way. Think of film. If you photographed Aunt Gertrude in front of a sunny window, you might need a bright flash to expose her jolly face.

Nowadays, digital cameras do an amazing job of keeping image detail, even in a scene with the brightest of highlights and the darkest of shadows. Smartphones, using HDR (High Dynamic Range) software, often beat out high-end dedicated digital cameras in their ability to handle previously impossible shots, like these “Face Towards the Sunshine” practices.

See you in the next lesson. Keep turning toward the light.