As I think about topics for The Perceptive Photographer, I spend a lot of time thinking about how we see not just with our eyes, but with our awareness. And oddly enough, as we approached May 4 which is Star Wars Day I keep finding those same ideas is in Star Wars. In many ways both photography and Star Wars are about perception from a certain point of view.

I often talk about the idea that the camera doesn’t create meaning we do. It’s about paying attention, noticing what others might pass by. “Trust your feelings” is really about shifting perception.

Light is everything in photography. It shapes mood, reveals emotion, and creates contrast. Star Wars does this visually in a way that’s hard to ignore. Darth Vader lives in shadow, while light literally becomes a symbol of hope and tension. It’s a reminder that every photograph has a frame and how we use the frame tells the story. How we use what we see and feel together tells the story.

One of the hardest lessons in photography is simply being present. You can’t force a meaningful image. you have to recognize it when it appears. That idea always brings me back to Yoda and his insistence on awareness and presence. Not the past, not the future but it’s just what’s in front of you.

So what I keep coming back to is this: photography isn’t really about the camera, and Star Wars isn’t really about space battles.

They’re both about learning how to see and tell a great story. Whether I’m watching the movie, recording a podcast episode or out with a camera, it’s still the practice of slowing down, paying attention, and letting the moment reveal itself.

Because in the end, the Force and photography start with awareness.