Nkosi Govinda

(Born 1994, St. Lucia, W.I) Chance Nkosi Gomez, initiated by H.H Swami Jyotirmayanda as Sri Govinda, walks an integral yogic path in which photography is the primary creative field of expression. The medium was introduced during the sophomore year of high school by educator Dr. Devin Marsh of Robert Morgan Educational Center. Digesting light, its nature, and articulating the camera was the focus during that time. Thereafter, while completing a Photographic Technology Degree, the realization of what made an image “striking” came to the foreground of the inner dialogue. These college years brought forth major absorption and reflection as an apprentice to photographer and educator Tony A. Chirinos of Miami Dade College. The process of working towards a singular idea of interest and thus building a series became the heading from here on, while the camera aided in cultivating an adherence to the present moment. The viewfinder resembles a doorway to the unified field of consciousness in which line, shape, form, color, value, and texture all dissolve. It is here that the yogi is reminded of sat-chit-ananda (the supreme reality as all-pervading; pure consciousness). As awareness and self-realization grows so does the imagery that is all at once divine in the mastery of capturing and controlling light. Over the last seven years, he has self-published six photographic books: Follow me i’ll Be Right Behind You (2017), Sonata - Minimal Study (2018), Birds Singing Lies (2018), Rwanda (2019), Where Does the Body Begin? (2019) and Swayam Jyotis (2023). Currently, Govinda is employed at the Leica Store Miami as a camera specialist and starting his journey as a practitioner of yoga ॐ

WHY I PHOTOGRAPH

I am grateful for choosing this medium as a career, for all the doors it has opened and the deeper human connections it has fostered. This year, I have come to realize the importance of achieving a sense of authenticity by documenting the everyday and capturing the rawness of life. From street scenes to intimate moments, I feel that each photograph is a reflective and visual exploration into a little, unique world. Ordinary moments become extraordinary once I create relationships between things within the viewfinder. In this way, I am actively training my eye and positioning the body to get a sense of scale to heighten the sensibility of a stage. In this respect, you never stop learning as a photographer. Every moment with the camera is creatively fulfilling. Even when I’ve experienced burnout, there is medicine there for the walls of my awareness to expand. The power of the photograph resides in the vision of the one with the camera. I have two main approaches when photographing. One is to build an atmosphere while manipulating light and evoke an emotion. The other is to closely observe emptiness and impermanence. I have a deep affection for the visible and overlooked. I see most things under the control of causes and conditions. So the more obvious the mundane appears, the more excitement I feel. It is a good reminder of who I am. Not this body, not this mind, but the one who observes and experiences.

Why do I photograph? As a practice, I often find myself returning to this question. It’s a formula to bring a change in attitude towards the medium. It enables me to work from a deeper center, with a clearer perception of ‘I am all this’. Whether it’s a conceptual series or an ordinary happening, photography is another activity in which I explore the regions of the mind. In Vedanta, it is taught that inner vision and elevated action are the two processes through which an individual realizes his inner essential nature. As I walk, camera in hand, I recognize the multiplicity of the one source presenting itself as a cosmic dance. Photography is a moving meditation illumined by that dance kindling the spark of creative spontaneity.

here’s just something about the Leica M6.

Four years of college were spent learning 35mm film photography. I didn't fully embrace the medium as I preferred pixels over silver-halides at the time. Because the subject matter and working-series that I pursued had a more conceptual nature to it, I needed the resolution to doctor the files as much as I could to achieve the vision. However, being in a darkroom setting, developing film, and creating water-based prints left a lasting-impression. Now, with a much clearer understanding of the self and the world around, I see a balance of purity, activity, and inertia. Analog photography is experiencing a great return,n which compels many to slow down and drop into the field of pure awareness. After reasoning with a few like-minded shooters and reviewing their work,k I realized that there is something about film that renders uniquely compared to digital imagery. Feeling into the realization, I decided to call-in the Leica M6 Re-Issue before returning to the East. The Leica M6 is an analog rangefinder camera with an integrated light meter. Its predecessor was introduced in 1984. Almost 175,000 units were built in different versions until 2003. Like no other Leica M camera, the Leica M6 is a tool that keeps evoking admiration from photographers around the world.

THE OBSERVER

Balance or staying centered is at the forefront of my awareness. I am actively learning to stop, pause, and notice. No decision or action can be made without first moving from the very center. So every day is an opportunity of learning to observe the mind and see what emotions are there as the witness. I understand that things done with a scattered mind reveal scattered results, so when I began to walk this path with true intention, it required that I be vigilant and aware that I am aware. Every morning, I set the tone of the day with Kriyas and stillness. At night, before I rest, I reflect, pray, chant, and listen again to the silence. This is my sadhana or spiritual practice. It keeps me grounded. There is no work-life or personal life. There just is. I am spirit experiencing life as a human. Everything is a meditation. There was a time before when I was deeply identified as the wave and not the ocean itself. I was completely consumed by every little hurdle life presented, only viewing the world through the lens of stress and tension due to a lack of awareness. Reacting instead of responding to life moved me away from the center. Integrating this teaching has shifted my focus, and now things continue to remain sound. It is a practice every day to let go of victim identity, be patient, and not take things personally. Everything coming up is strengthening and transforming this experience. I approach life with an open heart, seeing that all actions are of service to something greater than what we comprehend. In all actions, I have a choice: misery or joy, harm or harmony.

seer, seen, and sight

I have a deep urge for creative fulfillment and expansion within my medium. The camera is the tool I use when the feeling of creativity arises. Tony A. Chirinos, my college professor, taught that photography rewards those who wait and closely observe. I didn't fully digest that teaching until many years after graduating. Most of the work produced during my studies was conceptual and series-based. At that time, I labeled myself as a minimalist fine art photographer. Now, wherever I am, the camera is too. There doesn't need to be an idea to execute upon for the camera to come out of the bag. I've made this medium a practice. Like a moving meditation. This sharpens the blade of the seer, seen, and sight. I am the silent observer. A moment captured is a response of observation. The mind is quiet yet sensitive to the chaos and harmony inherent in the world. If I become too absorbed in thinking, I miss the shot, and the moment is gone. When I hear and see the great photographic achievements made by others, I become aware of the fact that what they've done, I can also do. After all, we are linked to the same universal field of intelligence. Lately, I've been shooting with 35mm film to better my understanding of metering light while composing. There's a deep affection for how realistic and dated an analog image renders versus a full-frame digital camera. Photography and videography is how I sustain practical needs and support my family. I am a one-man team. Commercial work presents its struggles when wearing both caps; however, I manage. I realize I am a teller of stories. My goal when working with others is to fully understand their desired vision and bring it across in a sensible way that moves the viewer intrinsically. I realize clients don't want to be riddled with hundreds of files to choose from; they want results and a project that creates meaning.