Vernon Chalmers Phenomenology of Photography

Vernon Chalmers’ phenomenology of photography thus bridges philosophy, aesthetics, and practice. His photographic pedagogy encourages students to cultivate awareness rather than technique alone.

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 subject and world in the photographic moment.

Phenomenology and the Lived Experience of Perception

Phenomenology, as formulated by Husserl (1931), is concerned with describing the structures of experience as they present themselves to consciousness. It is an attempt to return “to the things themselves”—to apprehend phenomena as they are lived rather than as they are explained by scientific or theoretical abstraction. Within the context of photography, phenomenology foregrounds the perceptual and experiential dimensions of seeing. Chalmers’ photographic philosophy resonates deeply with this orientation: his writings often emphasize the photographer’s awareness of the present moment and the embodied act of perception as central to photographic meaning (Chalmers, 2021). The camera, in this sense, becomes an extension of consciousness—a medium through which perception is heightened and stabilized in an image.

Husserl’s concept of intentionality—the idea that consciousness is always directed toward something—provides an important philosophical foundation for understanding Chalmers’ phenomenological approach. Every photograph, for Chalmers, is an intentional act: it is a directed experience where the photographer’s consciousness reaches outward toward the world in a moment of encounter. As Husserl (1931) argued, perception is never passive; it is always structured by intention, expectation, and meaning. Similarly, Chalmers’ photographic gaze is guided not by the search for external beauty alone, but by a desire to encounter the essence of the moment—to “see photographically” as a mode of being (Chalmers, 2022).

Embodiment and the Photographic Act

Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s (1962) Phenomenology of Perception deepens this discussion by introducing the body as the primary site of perception. For Merleau-Ponty, perception is not an abstract cognitive act but an embodied engagement with the world. The photographer’s body—its movements, gestures, and spatial orientation—shapes the act of seeing. Chalmers’ reflections on the act of photographing, especially in his writings on bird and landscape photography, reveal a sensitivity to this embodied dimension. He often describes the photographer as being physically and emotionally attuned to the environment, perceiving through the totality of bodily awareness (Chalmers, 2020).

In this embodied relation, the camera functions as a phenomenological tool rather than a mechanical device. As Sobchack (1992) observes, the camera extends the body’s perceptual field, allowing for a form of seeing that is both mediated and immediate. Chalmers’ practice exemplifies this mediation: his use of light, texture, and motion is not merely technical but expressive of lived bodily engagement. The rhythm of breathing, the steadiness of the hand, and the alignment of the eye through the viewfinder constitute an intersubjective relationship between photographer, camera, and world. The resulting image, then, becomes not a static representation but a trace of embodied perception.

Existence, Presence, and Temporality

Photography, for Chalmers, is also a meditation on temporality and existence. In the existential phenomenological tradition, particularly in the works of Heidegger (1962) and Sartre (1943), the experience of time and presence is central to human existence. A photograph, by freezing a moment, paradoxically reveals both the presence and absence of being—it captures the “now” that immediately slips into the past. Chalmers (2023) often writes about photography as a form of temporal awareness: the image is not merely a record of what was seen, but a phenomenological encounter with impermanence and memory.

Heidegger’s notion of being-in-the-world (Dasein) offers a way to interpret Chalmers’ understanding of presence. Photography, in this sense, is not about objectifying the world but about dwelling within it—being open to its unfolding. Chalmers’ coastal landscapes and studies of light at dawn exemplify this dwelling. They do not assert mastery over the scene but invite a contemplative attunement to its existential resonance. In his view, “the photograph is a place of stillness, not as escape but as presence” (Chalmers, 2021). This stillness reflects what Heidegger (1971) calls aletheia, or the unconcealment of being: through the photograph, the world reveals itself as phenomenon.

The Phenomenology of the Image

The phenomenology of the image, as articulated by Sartre (1940) and Barthes (1981), also informs Chalmers’ photographic philosophy. Sartre proposed that the image consciousness is distinct from perceptual consciousness—it is an act of imagining that posits its object as absent yet present. Barthes, in Camera Lucida, elaborates on this by exploring how the photograph evokes both the studium (the cultural or intellectual interest) and the punctum (the personal, affective detail that pierces the viewer). Chalmers’ images often operate within this duality: they engage the viewer intellectually through compositional clarity while simultaneously evoking emotional and existential reflection.

In this regard, Chalmers’ photography can be read as a phenomenology of seeing and feeling. The punctum in his work—perhaps a fleeting bird in flight, a glimmer of reflection on water, or the gentle dissolution of light—invites the viewer into a reciprocal relation of seeing. The photograph becomes a site where the viewer’s consciousness re-enacts the photographer’s perception. As Walden (2019) notes, phenomenological photography “is not about what is seen, but how seeing occurs”—an observation that aptly characterizes Chalmers’ approach.

Toward a Phenomenological Aesthetics of Photography

Chalmers’ phenomenology of photography thus bridges philosophy, aesthetics, and practice. His photographic pedagogy encourages students to cultivate awareness rather than technique alone—to experience photography as a reflective act of consciousness (Chalmers, 2022). This aligns with a phenomenological aesthetics that values perception as both subjective and intersubjective. The photograph is not merely an object of art but a moment of lived experience made visible. In this way, Chalmers contributes to a growing body of thought that regards photography as a philosophical inquiry into being, perception, and meaning.

Through his writing and practice, Chalmers demonstrates that photography, when understood phenomenologically, becomes a form of meditation—an encounter with the world that transcends representation. His images embody the philosophical principles of intentionality, embodiment, and presence. They invite viewers to dwell within the perceptual and existential dimensions of the photographic act, illuminating how photography can reveal not only what is seen but also how we are in the act of seeing." (Source: ChatGPT 2025)

References

Barthes, R. (1981). Camera lucida: Reflections on photography. Hill and Wang.

Chalmers, V. (2020). Phenomenology in flight: A reflective engagement with perception and movement in photography. Vernon Chalmers Photography.

Chalmers, V. (2021). Photography and presence: On being and seeing. Vernon Chalmers Photography.

Chalmers, V. (2022). The phenomenology of photographic seeing. Vernon Chalmers Photography.

Chalmers, V. (2023). Temporal awareness in photographic practice. Vernon Chalmers Photography.

Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). Harper & Row.

Heidegger, M. (1971). Poetry, language, thought (A. Hofstadter, Trans.). Harper & Row.

Husserl, E. (1931). Ideas: General introduction to pure phenomenology (W. R. Boyce Gibson, Trans.). Allen & Unwin.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of perception (C. Smith, Trans.). Routledge.

Sartre, J.-P. (1940). The psychology of imagination. Gallimard.

Sartre, J.-P. (1943). Being and nothingness. Gallimard.

Sobchack, V. (1992). The address of the eye: A phenomenology of film experience. Princeton University Press.

Walden, S. (2019). Photography and phenomenology: Seeing meaning. Routledge