I recently had to spend an extended period of time visiting someone in a cancer treatment facility. By accident I found out that on the premises was located a space devoted to “art therapy”. The person in charge was a professional artist who was almost spiritual in her approach to art and life.

Basically, the idea is that taking the time to make art, even if you are not very skilled, provides therapeutic benefits to the body and soul in many ways. In fact there is a growing amount of medical evidence to support this claim.

We had a very nice chat and it certainly provided a much-needed break from the many hours spent at the hospital under much less happy circumstances. I even tried my hand at painting a watercolor. It wasn’t very pretty (no surprise there!), but doing it gave me a lot of enjoyment. What I was being told and in fact was experiencing, was that this type of activity enabled you to “get into a zone”, far removed from the problems and stresses of your normal daily life. My wife, who was with me, smugly confirmed this notion based on her experience as a multi-talented quilter, crafter and paper artist.

All of a sudden, I realized something very important. I had that same feeling when being out in the world, away from the daily grind … making photographs … even if I made only a few, or none at all.

Think about it … you are away from all the junk, all the pressure; you’re not connected to your cellphone (if your smart!), or your computer. You’re out there on your own, thinking creatively and enjoying yourself, capturing images of the world that impact you and no one else. When this happens I am in “the zone” … and apparently a healthier and better one at that!