How do we develop our own artistic voice? Is it something we create, or something we gradually discover? In this episode, I wander through questions of artistic voice—how it forms, why imitation is both a teacher and a weight to shed, and why stepping into uncertainty is essential. From the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock to the color fields of Mark Rothko, the path of self-discovery in art is long, often unclear, and deeply personal.

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

The path of art is not hurried. It asks for time—not just to create, but to see, to listen, to grow. Like a river carving stone, our artistic vision forms through rhythm and dedication. This episode explores how to integrate art into daily life, the importance of conscious engagement, and the necessity of letting go of distractions to make space for artistic growth.

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

Titles carry weight. They shape perception, offering insight or mystery. In this episode, I reflect on my own struggles with naming images and portfolios, and how a simple change transformed my connection with a body of work. Through personal experience, I explore the role of titles in art—how they can deepen meaning, shift narratives, and enhance visual storytelling.

Link to the Shadowlands portfolio:

https://www.verseoflight.com/2024/shadowlands

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

Photography has been a lifelong journey—beginning with childhood experiments in the darkroom, evolving through years of digital excess, and finally arriving at a place of intentional simplicity. In this episode, I share my personal struggles, insights, and transformations in photography, hoping they may help others find their own artistic path. I discuss the shift from quantity to meaning, the realization that "less is more," and the ongoing process of refining creative vision.

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) photography is often described in purely technical terms, but does that name truly capture its essence? In this episode, I reflect on the history of ICM, its artistic roots, and why the term feels inadequate. Is there a better way to describe this approach—one that honors the painterly, expressive nature of the images it creates?

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

In this final episode of the Photography of Nothing series, I reflect on Shadows of the Outer Hebrides—a moody, low-key triptych that emerged from my evolving relationship with darkness in photography. From early struggles with confidence to embracing deep shadows and bold red hues, this episode explores artistic limitations, the power of scale, and the delicate balance between restraint and expression.

Links to the portfolios:

https://www.verseoflight.com/icm/2024/shadows-of-the-outer-hebrides

https://www.verseoflight.com/icm/2024/whispers-of-the-outer-hebrides

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

A photograph is often expected to contain something—an object, a subject, a story. But what if we let go of this need? What if emptiness itself could speak? In this episode, I return to Whispers of the Outer Hebrides, a collection of high-key images that breathe with light and space. A meditation on absence, simplicity, and the quiet resonance of images that whisper instead of shout. What happens when we begin, not by filling the frame, but by leaving it open?

Link to the portfolio:

https://www.verseoflight.com/icm/2024/whispers-of-the-outer-hebrides

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

There is a moment when the horizon blurs, where the sky folds into the sea, and presence dissolves into absence. In this episode, I share the journey behind Whispers of the Outer Hebrides—a shift toward abstraction, the surrender to emptiness, and the quiet pulse of an unseen voice guiding the way. It is about letting go of what we think a photograph should be and embracing the beauty of nothingness.

Link to the portfolio:

https://www.verseoflight.com/icm/2024/whispers-of-the-outer-hebrides

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

We live in a world that measures worth by output, by how much we accomplish. But somewhere beneath this relentless pursuit, life pulses with a rhythm of its own—waiting to be felt, waiting to be lived. In this episode, we explore the subtle shift from striving to surrender, from productivity to presence, from forcing action to allowing it to arise. Here, in this stillness, true creativity is born. 

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made. 

Why do we take pictures? What drives us to capture fleeting moments? In this episode, we explore the subconscious feeling of ownership that arises when we take a photo—the illusion that we can possess a moment, a landscape, or an experience. But in doing so, do we actually detach from the very thing we seek to hold onto? Reflecting on our habitual ways of seeing, this episode invites us to pause, observe, and question what it truly means to be present.

Link to the website:

https://www.verseoflight.com/

Audio Credit:

"The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan" by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: chriszabriskie.com

Changes: No changes were made.