Vernon Chalmers’ 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.
IntroductionPhotography, in its essence, is an encounter with time. Each image bears witness to a moment that has already passed, yet through the act of seeing and framing, it becomes a site where past, present, and possibility converge. For Vernon Chalmers, the photographic act is inseparable from a reflective engagement with temporality. His images - often coastal landscapes illuminated by the subtle transitions of dawn and dusk - invite contemplation not only of what is seen but of the duration in which it is seen. Time in Chalmers’ work is lived, extended, and rendered visible through light, motion, and attentiveness.
This essay examines the poetics of time in Chalmers’ photography, understanding his practice as a reflective philosophical engagement. It explores how temporality is experienced, represented, and felt through image-making, situating photography as both a method of meditation and a conduit for existential awareness. The discussion unfolds in five interwoven reflections: (1) the temporality of perception, (2) memory and the trace of time, (3) duration and the slow unfolding of experience, (4) light and the movement of the moment, and (5) photography as philosophical meditation on impermanence.
The Temporality of PerceptionTo photograph is to inhabit time attentively. Chalmers’ practice reveals that seeing is never instantaneous but always extended, a conscious dwelling within the flow of experience. The act of framing a scene, waiting for the light to shift, or noticing the subtle movement of a wave or bird is a form of temporal immersion. Each photograph becomes a chronicle of perceptual duration: not merely a frozen instant, but the echo of the unfolding moment.
Time, in this sense, is inseparable from consciousness. It is through patient attention that Chalmers’ images attain their quiet power. The viewer is invited to share in this temporal awareness, to sense the rhythm of tides, the slow drift of clouds, and the subtle interplay of light and shadow. Through the lens, perception becomes a dialogue with temporality: an acknowledgment that every moment is fleeting, and yet each contains its own fullness.
Photography thus transforms time from an abstract measurement into a lived experience. It captures the texture of duration - the way light lingers, recedes, and returns - and offers a phenomenological meditation on the human engagement with the passing of moments.
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| Milnerton Beach and Lighthouse After Sunset |
Chalmers’ images are imprinted with memory, both personal and collective. A photograph is a residue of lived experience, a trace of what has been. Yet memory itself is temporal: it folds past into present, interweaving recollection with perception. Each captured scene carries the duality of absence and presence, the echo of what has already slipped beyond reach, and the lingering presence that the image preserves.
In this reflective mode, photography acts as a form of temporal archaeology. Chalmers excavates moments from the flow of experience, preserving them not as static objects but as living traces that continue to resonate. The viewer is drawn into this dialogue with memory: the image becomes a bridge connecting the immediacy of perception with the recollective depth of time. In Chalmers’ practice, photography is not simply a record of the past but an active engagement with the fluidity of memory itself.
Through repeated visits to familiar coastal sites, subtle shifts in light and tide are recorded. These variations, though minute, reveal the mutability of experience and the ways in which time shapes perception. The familiar becomes unfamiliar as temporal nuance emerges, reminding both photographer and viewer that time is never fixed - it is always relational, contingent, and alive.
Duration and the Slow Unfolding of ExperienceChalmers’ work often embodies what Henri Bergson described as duration: the qualitative, continuous flow of lived time. Unlike the quantitative measurements of clocks, duration is experienced, felt, and intuited. It is in this temporal unfolding that Chalmers’ philosophy of photography resides. His long exposures, patient observation, and deliberate pacing transform the act of image-making into a meditation on the slow passage of being.
The photograph becomes a vessel for duration, rendering visible what the eye alone might perceive fleetingly. Waves blur into motion, clouds stretch across the sky, and the subtle arc of sunlight across sand or water traces the continuum of time itself. Chalmers’ images are thus not merely static representations but dynamic articulations of temporal experience.
This attention to duration fosters a form of presence that is both contemplative and existential. By dwelling within the moment, the photographer cultivates an awareness that extends beyond the frame: an attunement to impermanence, to the continual unfolding of life, and to the ethical responsibility of seeing attentively.
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| Woodbridge Island, Milnerton After Sunset |
Light is the medium through which time is made visible in Chalmers’ photography. It carries the movement of the day, the subtle shifts of season, and the ephemeral qualities of atmosphere. The interplay of light and shadow becomes a temporal language, conveying change, motion, and the passage of moments that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye.
In Chalmers’ coastal landscapes, dawn and dusk are particularly significant. The slow emergence of light at sunrise or its fading at sunset reveals temporality in a manner that is at once precise and poetic. The colors, textures, and rhythms of these hours carry the weight of duration, rendering visible the movement of time itself. Each photograph is therefore a record of light in motion - a visual poem in which temporality is enacted, not merely represented.
This poetics of light underscores the philosophical nature of Chalmers’ practice. The camera mediates between perception and temporal reality, translating fleeting phenomena into forms that invite reflection. The photograph is a gesture toward understanding temporality: a recognition that time is inseparable from the act of seeing and that the subtle shifts of light are the markers of existence itself.
Photography as Philosophical Meditation on ImpermanenceAt the heart of Chalmers’ work lies a contemplative recognition of impermanence. Each image is an acknowledgment that moments cannot be possessed; they can only be witnessed, attended to, and remembered. Photography becomes, in this sense, a philosophical meditation: a practice of awareness, reflection, and reverence for the transient nature of life.
Through repeated observation of coastal sites, tidal rhythms, and light transitions, Chalmers cultivates an intimate understanding of the ephemerality of experience. The camera becomes a companion in this meditative practice, enabling the capture of fleeting truths and the articulation of temporality in visual form. The image thus embodies both stillness and movement, presence and absence - a duality that mirrors the human experience of time itself.
This reflective engagement transforms photography into an ethical and existential practice. To see temporally is to inhabit the present fully, to attend to the details of experience, and to recognize the fleeting nature of being. Chalmers’ images encourage viewers to slow down, to perceive attentively, and to participate in the poetics of time - a process that nurtures both aesthetic appreciation and philosophical insight.
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| Sea Point, Cape Town After Sunset |
Vernon Chalmers’ photography reveals the profound interconnection between time, perception, and consciousness. Through his reflective engagement with coastal landscapes, light, and movement, he demonstrates that photography is not merely a tool for representation but a medium for experiencing and understanding temporality.
The poetics of time in Chalmers’ work invites a reconsideration of how moments are perceived, remembered, and valued. Each image is a meditation on duration, a record of memory, and a reflection on impermanence. In this way, Chalmers transforms photography into a philosophical practice: a lived inquiry into the nature of time, consciousness, and the act of seeing.
His work reminds us that photography is not only about capturing the world but about inhabiting it full - attending to the subtle movements of light, the rhythm of tides, and the quiet unfolding of each moment. Through this attentive engagement, Chalmers’ images become more than photographs; they are meditations, reflections, and poetic acts that illuminate the temporality of human experience." (Source: ChatGPT 2025)
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