Vernon Chalmers Photography

Vernon Chalmers’ Applied Existential Photography represents a synthesis of art, philosophy, and psychology. Kalk Bay with Simon's Town in the Background : False Bay "Vernon Chalmers’ photographic practice can be understood as a philosophical and psychological inquiry into being, perception, and meaning. His work—rooted in the lived experience of the Cape Peninsula—extends photography beyond aesthetic or technical representation toward an applied existential philosophy . Through reflective engagement with the self, the environment, and the camera, Chalmers constructs a phenomenology of seeing that integrates the existential dimensions of human consciousness. This essay examines Chalmers’ Applied Existential Photography as an intersubjective framework that merges the act of photographing with self-reflection, philosophical awareness, and ontological presence. Drawing from existential philosophy, phenomenology, and cognitive psychology, this paper argues that Chalmers’ photograph...

Kirstenbosch Garden with Canon EOS 6D Mark II / EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens  Double-Collard Sunbird : Kirstenbosch Garden, Cape Town There are days when the world slows just enough to hear the calling of birds, the hush between flowers, the hush between thoughts. Today at Kirstenbosch Garden became that space - a sanctuary of light and leaf where gratitude took root. I walked not to capture, but to feel. Each image below is less a photograph, more a pause - an invitation to presence, to the quiet unfolding of self beneath the canopy of ancient green. Once again the Canon EOS 6D Mark II did not disappoint. This combination is my go-to pairing for Kirstenbosch Garden. With a beautiful blue sky, over-exposure was about the only risk - the rest were special moments in the making. Arum Lily Photography, Cape Town Birds, Flowers and Butterfly List Double-Collard Sunbird (Top) Helmeted Guinea Fowl Arum Lily Flower Coral Wildflower Gazania Wildflower Close-Up Citrus Swallowtail But...

An observational essay exploring the Peregrine Falcon’s geometry of arrival through timing, flight precision, spatial awareness, and photographic perception in the natural environment. This morning, the Peregrine Falcon returned.   Adult Peregrine Falcon in fast low-level flight with extended wings and open  beak photographed against a blue sky in Cape Town Not once. Not twice. But many times. From the front, the left, the right. A geometry of arrival. A choreography of presence. I’ve seen this behaviour before. My neighbour. But today, it wasn’t just a sighting. It was a visitation. A ritual. A reminder. The Peregrine does not linger. It arrives with velocity, with precision, with no need for permission. It does not ask to be seen. It simply is. And I stood still. I did not reach for the lens. Not at first. I received the moment before I captured it. I let the presence arrive before I named it. This is the shift. From striving to stillness. From performance to presence. From...

Photography reveals the profound interconnection between time, perception, and consciousness. "Time in photography is not merely a measurement; it is the very fabric of perception, memory, and presence. Vernon Chalmers’ work engages with time as both medium and subject, revealing its poetics through the deliberate act of seeing. This essay explores how photographic practice can embody temporality, mediate between past and present, and evoke the fleeting, transformative nature of experience. Through the lens of coastal landscapes, changing light, and subtle motion, Chalmers’ photography becomes an inquiry into the phenomenology of duration, the ethics of attention, and the reflective consciousness that inhabits the act of image-making. The essay meditates on photography as a philosophical practice that captures not only what appears but how it appears in time. Introduction Photography, in its essence, is an encounter with time. Each image bears witness to a moment that has alread...

Phenomenology of photography bridges philosophy, aesthetics and practice.   Reed Cormorant in Flight : Diep River, Woodbridge Island Introduction "Vernon Chalmers, a South African photographer and photography educator, approaches photography not merely as a technical craft but as an existential and phenomenological engagement with perception, consciousness, and being. His photographic practice and writing explore how the act of seeing, experiencing, and capturing images reflects a deeper philosophical inquiry into human consciousness and the lived world. Through this lens, Chalmers’ work can be situated within the broader philosophical tradition of phenomenology, as initiated by Edmund Husserl and developed by Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Jean-Paul Sartre. The phenomenology of photography, as articulated through Chalmers’ philosophy and practice, emphasizes the intentionality of perception, the embodied experience of the photographer, and the intertwining of subjec...

Vernon Chalmers’ photography exemplifies the deep interplay between existential philosophy and artistic practice. Grey Heron in Flight : Over The Diep River, Woodbridge Island "Vernon Chalmers’ photographic philosophy and practice are deeply rooted in existential and phenomenological traditions that focus on human perception, being, and the lived experience of presence within the world. This essay explores how existential philosophy - particularly through thinkers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty - has influenced Chalmers’ approach to photography. Through an interpretive framework, this discussion examines how Chalmers integrates phenomenological awareness, authenticity, and the notion of becoming into his visual representations of nature and birds in flight. His work serves as a visual meditation on existential themes, rendering the act of photography not merely as documentation but as a mode of being and understanding. Exi...

Unlocking Precision in Flight: How Manual Case AF Settings on the Canon EOS R5 Mark II Empower Wildlife Photographers to Track Motion, Maintain Focus, and Capture the Essence of Every Aerial Gesture.   For photographers capturing birds in flight - where motion is unpredictable and moments are fleeting - the Canon EOS R5 Mark II offers a powerful customization tool: Manual Case mode. Unlike the default AF presets, Manual Case mode allows you to fine-tune three critical autofocus parameters - Tracking Sensitivity, Accel./Decel. Tracking, and AF Point Auto Switching—to match the dynamic behavior of your subject. The table below presents recommended settings specifically for wild birds in motion. These values are optimized to maintain focus lock, respond to sudden changes in speed, and smoothly track across the frame. Whether you're documenting symbolic gestures or seeking technical precision, this configuration offers a reliable foundation for expressive, high-performance wildlife pho...

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Photography stands as a luminous testament to the union of art, philosophy, and lived experience. After Sunset : Milnerton Beach, Cape Town Introduction: The Photographer as Philosopher "Photography, at its most profound level, is not merely an act of representation but an act of being. It is both a gesture of observation and a declaration of existence — a moment in which the world and the observer converge in a fleeting yet infinite intimacy. Vernon Chalmers’ photography occupies precisely this space: between seeing and being, capturing and experiencing, art and awareness. His practice, situated in the luminous coastal environments of South Africa, transforms visual encounters into existential meditations, where the act of photographing becomes inseparable from the act of living attentively. To reflect on Chalmers’ photography is to explore a deeply phenomenological journey — one where perception is not simply a mechanical response to stimuli but an opening toward the world. Hi...