inspiration #002 | nature

the wind and your breath your tears and the rain a moment of solace in that buzzing brain the echo of your voice in the valley be it of joy or despair none of it cares no one there no one around just the leaves on the trees the dirt on the ground the sky above the water below unconcerned for your worries or that you're taking up its space yet you always have a place

Nature, despite being a common, and potentially clichéd theme, is one I still love and enjoy utilizing in my work. Of course, anyone could take a picture of a tree. Not everyone does, though. That’s the point, and if you choose to take that photo, how you take it matters. It’s where your eye and artistic decisions play into showcasing the commonplace. If you’re not sure how to get started or want some tips on setting up photographs. Check out my blog post: How to create more interesting images. One of the reasons I’m such a fan of nature photography is because nature is a constant and extremely diverse source for visual inspiration and, on a metaphysical level, personal solace. I always find nature to be wonderful, and I mean this in the truest meaning of the adjective: full of wonder.

There is so much variation in the natural world and its phenomenon. From a delicate snowfall-- with every individual distinct snowflake to admire close up, to the power of the constant wind in a hurricane. There is always something going on, and nature has its ways of continuing on anywhere. Case in point: those tiny plants growing in concrete walls. I think it’s frequently photographed because it’s accessible: from flowers in a vase to a mountain range, the ability to be both minute and immense. The complexities of nature are astounding and these intricacies make for great places of artistic creation and inspiration. There’s so much to see, if you keep your observing eyes near.

Everything I've mentioned is “nature” but nature is not a person or a thing. Nature is its own adapting omnipresent entity. It has no ulterior motives. It is not good or bad in its efforts, despite cause-effect sometimes. It’s an innate occurrence. It doesn’t care about you—or your personal issues or woes. Yet it’s comforting, like a friend. There’s an apparent unspoken camaraderie. Nature puts you in your own place without saying anything. Though intricate beyond human design, it never passes judgment. It remains objective. It exists and it allows you to exist concurrently, allowing you a freedom that standard day-to-day conventions do not. Nature is something outside of our selves, both literally and figuratively. We coexist, with nature, it develops around us, separate to us, and remains long after us. Nature is unconcerned with you, but it always seems to have room for you-- a place to think, to document, to scream, to cry, to sit and stare and breathe, to simply be.

What does nature mean to you? Where are new places to explore, from the smallest details to the bigger picture? How does it evoke wonder or other feelings for you? Why do you care or don't care about it?

Keep creating.