THE MINDFUL PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD GUIDE
— FOLLOW THE LIGHT COURSE —
7: Course- No Matchy, No Matchy
The artwork doesn’t have to match the sofa.
—God
I once had an art professor with oversized black glasses, dramatic gestures, and an even bigger opinion about color. “No matchy, no matchy!” she would say, waving her arms like a conductor. At the time, I thought she was just eccentric. Now, I realize she was onto something much deeper than fashion or aesthetics.
This practice isn’t just about color—it’s about permission. Permission to loosen the grip on rules we didn’t even know we were following. Permission to see the beauty in what doesn’t quite fit. Permission to be present with what is, rather than what we think should be.
If your life feels a little jumbled right now—like things don’t match—then you’re in the right place. Let’s take a walk, look for what stands out, and allow those so-called mismatches to lead us into presence.
Watch the No Matchy video and I’ll guide you through how this practice can be used to not only notice the beauty around you but also to reflect on the challenges and mismatched moments in your life that might be blocking your peace.
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
Ready to get your freak on? Note your resistance to this silly 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 let’s notice how color affects us.
Dig into the back of your dresser, rifle through your closet, and grab an outfit or two that hideously does not match. Think: Cindy Lauper, early 80s. Take a few photos of those cringe-worthy color combos. Feel how your body responds to color. Snap that pink tu-tu on a toy poodle against granny’s sable coat. Take some risks and break some color rules.
Now, go out into nature and photograph things that do not match. Judge the heck out of them too. Expose how much that purple flower clashes next to the blue-green grass. Notice how ugly that red berry is in the brown mud below. Look at that atrocious bird wearing blue, white, and black—doesn’t he know that went out of style years ago?
Do you get where I’m going with this? In truth, the Creator didn’t create color-rules for nature. Notice how all colors and tones and shades fit together in God’s world.
Now my friend, go forth and shoot. Start to ponder how color affects you. Notice the rules you create around color. Are any of your “creative rules” actually serving to hold you back? Photograph things that go together and things that don’t. Then, ask yourself “Why?”
Remain present while editing, capturing the look of the moment. Oversaturate your colors. Crank up the contrast. Get funky. Delete all but a sacred few. Pronounce your collection “complete” and do another hand-on-heart check-in of your inner peace.
Dad took “no matchy” to a whole new level. Color-blind and a golfer to boot, his outfits usually needed sanctioning by Mom before heading out the door.
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.
Who do you know that could use a good laugh? Well, send them a photo of your poodle wearing a pink skirt and a black top-hat. Go for it. Shoot them a note too, exclaiming “No matchy!” 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.
Journal Prompts
Does the idea of wearing clothes that don’t match make you cringe? When did you pick up those rules?
Were you able to photograph any colors in nature that don’t match? Why is this a trick question?
What benefits come from remaining in self-pity and fear? Can a selfless gesture bring love to dark thought patterns? Why?
Congratulations
You've completed the third and final practice of the Follow the Light section in The Mindful Photography Field Guide. I'll be in touch soon to check in on you and offer next steps for your journey.
Shine Your Light,
Joe
Next Steps
Set Your Intention
Have you started doing it instinctively yet? Airplane mode. Hand on heart. Three belly breaths.Commit to God
What is the Holy Spirit nudging you to do next? Keep listening.Watch the Video
YouTube: No Matchy, No MatchyRead the Chapter and Support Materials
No Matchy, No Matchy- chapter spreads.pdf
No Matchy, No Matchy- chapter singles.pdfDo 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.Check-In
I'll be in touch in a week or so to see how you are doing. Keep shining your light my friend.
Dad took “no matchy” to a whole new level. Color-blind and a golfer to boot, his outfits usually needed sanctioning by Mom before heading out the door.
Ready for a deeper dive with a beautiful printed book? Purchase The Mindful Photography Field Guide: 15 Smartphone Photography Practices for Inner Peace.
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