Fractals, Focus, and a Quiet Mind

I use photography to lower stress and sharpen attention — and the science behind it is stunning.

by Michael Hunter, MD

Even in places like Vatican City, fractals spiral beneath our feet and into our focus. Vatican City.

Most people reach for their phones when they’re overwhelmed.

I reach for my camera.

As a cancer doctor, I work in rooms that are often too bright, fast, and full of emotion.

Photography became my way out — not from the patients but the mental noise.

It offered stillness.

Structure.

A frame.

Only later did I learn that this instinct had a biological basis.

Looking through a lens doesn’t just change what you see.

It changes what your brain does with it.

The Science Behind the Stillness

“Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” — Destin Sparks.

When photographing nature, I unconsciously gravitate toward patterns — tree branches, cloud edges, cracked riverbeds.

These are called fractals: naturally repeating geometric patterns that appear at different scales.