Loving Things That Don’t Move

In a single moment…everything about the past, present, and future can be known.
Fazang (643-712 CE), commentary on Flower Garland Scripture

When dew hangs
on hosta heart,
marsh grass blades
angle red,
startled deer faces
freeze—

you can let a little light
creep
across the camera’s eye—   

one thousand one
one thousand two
one thousand three
one thousand four

and that little, long light
floods your film—

in those slow seconds
you can trap
a moment—   

live forever—

—Libby Falk Jones

Libby Falk Jones: A brief photographic history

Journey as a Photographer

1954: Got my first Brownie camera.  Made many photographs of teachers, my cat’s kittens, and stone gnomes at Rock City on Lookout Mountain,Tennessee.

1974: Working as a Dean at Columbia College in Chicago, studied black and white photography. Got my first single lens reflex camera, an Olympus OM-1 (film). In the college’s darkroom, experienced the magic of the image’s gradual birth in the developing fluid.  Made many photographs of snow.

1988: Moved from Knoxville, TN to Berea to join Berea College faculty.  After my camera bag was stolen in the Lexington airport, replaced my Olympus with a Nikon 2002 (film, full frame).  Made many photographs of family and friends, cat, bicycles, and landscapes.

 2004: On retreat in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, began focused work with contemplative photography.  Studied Thomas Merton’s photographs.  Produced a collection of contemplative photographs and poems. 

 2005-06: Planned and taught a course in nature writing and photography with colleague Alan Mills.  Big leap forward in landscape photography concepts and approaches!  Learned modern darkroom techniques, i.e. PhotoShop.  A joy to have control again over my art!

2007: With some members of the newly-formed Kentucky Women Photographers Network, made a retreat at Kentucky Foundation for Women’s Hopscotch House.  At a sunrise photo shoot, one of the women took a photo of me—it was used on the postcard advertising the group’s first show, in Louisville.

2008-09: Got my first digital camera, a Nikon D-80.  Planned and taught my first contemplative writing course, incorporating contemplative seeing.  Many students produced final projects combining images and texts.  Photograph of mine from the course published as the back cover of Berea Magazine.

2011: On sabbatical, studied contemplative photography with George DeWolfe and Lydia Goetze in Acadia National Park.

 2013-15: Made presentations of contemplative photographs locally and nationally.  Had solo shows at St. Joseph Berea and Madison County Public Library, Berea.  Contributed cover image and 17 photographs to a collection of essays on contemplative pedagogies.  With Randall Roberts, taught a general studies capstone course in imagined landscapes. Began using a full-frame digital camera, a Nikon D-600.  Began doing portrait photography of my grandchildren.

2018-20: Published four book chapters on the pedagogy of contemplative seeing.  Photographs continue as part of collections at three regional hospitals and in local and regional shows. Two-year show of Louisiana images opened at Baton Rouge General Hospital.  Began producing books of contemplative and travel photographs. 

2020: Begin Beneath Your Feet: A Photographic Journey Through Four Countries opened in January at the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center, Berea College.  The exhibit includes 115 of my photographs from Japan, India, Ireland, and Iceland as well as local photos.  Other photos and writings featured at Gallery on Main, Richmond, KY February-April 2020.  Photos included in Lexington Camera Club’s 2021 show at Loudon House. 

2022: Presentation, photos from Antarctica, Berea College Geology Club.  Solo show, “Contemplating Nature,” at WUKY Studios, Lexington. 

2023: Photos included in “Conjure,” Lexington Camera Club’s Biennial Show, Loudon House, Sept. 1-October 14; and in “Through the Lens,” Berea Arts Council, juried photography exhibit, August-September.

So this rewarding journey continues….

Libby Falk Jones – an Artist’s Journey - Richmond Register, Sept. 30, 2021

https://www.richmondregister.com/news/libby-falk-jones-an-artist-s-journey/image_5dd75276-644e-5144-9f94-3a78dd92dab8.html