Colour, Light and the Aesthetics of Awareness

Vernon Chalmers’ photography stands as a luminous testament to the union of art, philosophy, and lived experience

White-Breasted Cormorants Fishing in the Diep River, Woodbridge Island

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. His work is grounded in presence and the aesthetic of encounter: the meeting between the self and the living world, mediated through the camera yet unconfined by it. The bird in mid-flight, the quiet rhythm of coastal light, and the subtle shifting of colour across water — these are not just subjects for Chalmers; they are events of consciousness that affirm his being-in-the-world.

The Camera as Consciousness: Technology and Presence

In an era where digital technology often distances us from experience, Chalmers’ practice exemplifies how the camera can serve as a medium of presence rather than distraction. His relationship with photographic equipment — from the Canon EOS 7D Mark II to the EOS R6 series — is one of intimate familiarity, but never fetishization. The camera is not an idol of precision but a companion of awareness.

This philosophy reflects a nuanced understanding of the technological as existential. The camera extends perception; it translates the fleeting movements of light into a language of stillness. Yet, for Chalmers, this translation is never mechanical. It is guided by intuition — that “inner lens” through which meaning emerges. The photograph is thus not the product of automation but of consciousness extended through technology.

The disciplined technical mastery that underpins his work — his attention to exposure, autofocus tracking, and compositional balance — is always in service of something larger: the pursuit of attentive seeing. In this synthesis of technique and presence, Chalmers embodies the ideal of the photographer as both craftsman and philosopher.

Colour, Light, and the Aesthetics of Awareness

Vernon Chalmers’ use of colour reveals another layer of his reflective vision. His palette — often subtle, balanced, and resonant — mirrors the tonal quietude of early morning or late afternoon light. Colour here is not decorative but ontological: it expresses the being of the world as experienced in lived perception.

To encounter one of his coastal photographs is to enter a chromatic atmosphere, where blues dissolve into golds, and shadows breathe rather than obscure. The reflective surface of water becomes both mirror and metaphor — a symbol of consciousness reflecting upon itself. The harmony between light and tone evokes what phenomenologists called intentionality: the directedness of consciousness toward its object. Every hue becomes a note in the symphony of perception.

Chalmers’ sensitivity to natural colour also gestures toward a deeper ethical awareness. His work invites viewers to rediscover the quiet dignity of the environment — not through dramatization, but through attentive witnessing. In this sense, his colour photography is not merely aesthetic but contemplative: an invitation to see the world as it appears when one truly attends.

Common Waxbill in the Table Bay Nature Reserve, Woodbridge Island

Photography as Existential Practice

At the foundation of Vernon Chalmers’ photographic philosophy lies the conviction that photography is not only an art form but an existential practice  - a way of orienting the self toward meaning. To photograph is to engage in an act of self-world relation; it is to affirm that perception itself can be an ethical stance toward life.

This understanding situates Chalmers’ work within a broader lineage of existential aesthetics. Like the existential thinkers who sought authenticity through lived experience, Chalmers finds in photography a practice of grounding — a way to inhabit the present without abstraction. The act of photographing, especially in nature, becomes an affirmation of presence as being. It is a quiet resistance against alienation and distraction.

Every image, then, becomes a trace of lived mindfulness. Whether in the flight of a bird or the gentle movement of water, Chalmers’ photography gestures toward what Søren Kierkegaard called the “subjective truth” of existence — truth not as proposition but as being-experienced. The photograph becomes a mirror for the photographer’s own awareness, a visual meditation on what it means to be alive.

The Reflective Dialogue: Between Self and World

What distinguishes Vernon Chalmers’ body of work is its dialogical quality — the sense that every photograph is part of an ongoing conversation between the self and the world. This dialogue is not about mastery but reciprocity. The photographer listens as much as he sees.

In moments of solitude along the coastline, the boundary between observer and observed begins to blur. The landscape gazes back. The bird’s flight becomes an echo of the photographer’s own breath. The reflective surface of the sea becomes a metaphor for consciousness — simultaneously receptive and expressive. In such encounters, photography becomes a phenomenology of presence: the direct, embodied experience of the world as meaningful.

This reflective dialogue extends beyond the act of image-making. Through teaching, writing, and sharing, Chalmers transforms photography into a community of awareness. His educational work — in guiding others through both the technical and philosophical dimensions of photography — embodies the belief that to see more deeply is also to live more deeply. Thus, his practice becomes both personal and communal: an art of seeing that nurtures others’ capacity to see.

Speckled Pigeon Flying Over the Diep River, Woodbridge Island

Time, Memory, and the Image as Trace

In Chalmers’ photography, time is both subject and participant. Every photograph contains the paradox of temporal suspension: it captures a moment, yet the moment immediately recedes. What remains is a trace — an imprint of existence, both visual and emotional.

This temporal dimension infuses his work with poignancy. The sea’s shifting surface, the fading horizon, the vanishing bird — all become emblems of impermanence. Yet rather than lamenting this transience, Chalmers embraces it. His photography affirms that meaning resides not in permanence but in awareness. The camera, paradoxically, both freezes and liberates time: it allows the moment to speak in its own silent continuity.

In this sense, each photograph becomes a phenomenological relic — not a possession, but a reminder. It reminds both artist and viewer that life unfolds only in the present, and that to see is already to participate in time’s fragile unfolding.

Toward a Philosophy of the Ordinary

Vernon Chalmers’ photography invites a revaluation of the ordinary. His subjects — water, sky, birds, light — are not extraordinary in themselves, yet through his attentive lens they become portals to meaning. This elevation of the everyday reflects a deeply existential insight: that transcendence is not elsewhere, but here.

In choosing to photograph the ordinary, Chalmers challenges the modern obsession with spectacle. His work insists that beauty is not a matter of novelty but of attention. The stillness of his compositions becomes an act of resistance against the speed and distraction of contemporary life. Each image whispers: look again — this is the world you inhabit.

This philosophy of the ordinary situates his photography within a contemplative tradition that values simplicity as depth. It suggests that to live photographically — to see as Chalmers sees — is to rediscover the wonder that lies within the familiar.

The Ethics of Seeing: Responsibility and Reverence

Finally, at the core of Vernon Chalmers’ reflective practice is an ethic of seeing. To photograph, in his vision, is not to take but to receive. The image is not a conquest but a gift — one that carries with it the responsibility to honour what is seen.

This ethical stance reveals itself in his deep respect for the natural world. Every photograph becomes an act of gratitude — a quiet acknowledgement of the fragile interconnectedness of life. Chalmers’ photography reminds us that to see truly is also to care. His lens becomes a moral instrument, teaching that perception is inseparable from empathy.

In this way, his work transcends both art and technique. It becomes a way of being-in-the-world — a lived philosophy of reverent seeing. To engage with his photography is to encounter an ethos of attention: a way of looking that heals the distance between humanity and nature.

Purple Heron in Flight : Table Bay Nature Reserve 

Conclusion: Photography as the Art of Being Present

Vernon Chalmers’ photography stands as a luminous testament to the union of art, philosophy, and lived experience. It is a practice grounded in attention, shaped by presence, and illuminated by awareness. Through his work, the camera becomes not a barrier between self and world but a bridge — a means of encountering reality as a dialogue of perception and meaning.

His images remind us that photography is ultimately not about capturing the world, but being captured by it — by its light, its silence, its endless becoming. To see through his lens is to rediscover the sacredness of the everyday and the transcendence within the ordinary. It is to learn that art, at its highest form, is an act of presence — and that presence, in its deepest form, is an act of love." (Source: ChatGPT)

Images: Copyright Vernon Chalmers Photography