I recently found out that for many years I’ve been practicing wabi-sabi in my photography.

Wabi-sabi is a philosophy and aesthetic that sees value and beauty in the imperfect, mundane, everyday, damaged, and cast-aside; objects that are most often avoided or not considered as worthy subjects for photography.

A photographer can incorporate wabi-sabi in their work by taking intentionally-flawed photos. For example, by using camera movement or shooting out-of-focus.

Another approach is to photograph subjects that demonstrate wabi-sabi; a wilted flower, a rusted hunk of metal, junked vehicles, a garden hose. Such subjects are everywhere, waiting to be noticed and appreciated by an aware and observant photographer.

Here are some of my favorite wabi-sabi photographs.