Expand your nature connections |
Texture: Marigold foliage is angular and spiked, but the blossoms are smooth and fluid. Opposing textures adds variety. We can imagine marigolds as hosting a party where all are welcome! | Color: Analogous colors (colors next to each other on the color wheel) typically lend a sense of restfulness, but marigold's bright hues create a more vibrant and youthful quality. We can imagine marigolds as childhood friends who stick together. | Shape: Circles offer a feeling of connection, wholeness, timelessness, and cyclical movement. We can imagine the marigold community as an endless ring of belonging. Read more on shapes here. |
Mindfulness through photography helped me engage with a subject I'd typically avoid, the marigold taught me to listen deeply and my camera allowed me to see complex beauty where my eyes/brain/nose felt displeased. Channel the message of the marigold in your own practice by photographing something that disgusts you. Try deepening your curiosity about something you might initially overlook or be turned off by. As you photograph, notice both the subject and your own feelings, for better or worse. Stay attuned to subtle shifts that create an opening, a softening when you turn your attention to how your camera sees this subject. |
What "disgusting" object will you connect with through mindful photography?
Nourish your LIfe and Photo Practice
Kim Manley Ort and her 2021 project "Seeing Clearly" prompted me to listen for sounds out in the woods on a winter afternoon. With that intention, I heard the woodpeckers.
Specifically, I heard a Pileated Woodpecker. For a more biological and ecological perspective on this amazing bird, please read this creatively written blog by Ken Bevis, a DNR Stewardship Wildlife Biologist, "Just About the Coolest Bird Around: the Pileated Woodpecker."
Specifically, I heard a Pileated Woodpecker. For a more biological and ecological perspective on this amazing bird, please read this creatively written blog by Ken Bevis, a DNR Stewardship Wildlife Biologist, "Just About the Coolest Bird Around: the Pileated Woodpecker."
In the woods, I heard the knocking first and, when I froze on the path to locate the source, I heard tree bark raining down directly in front of me. And there was Woody, pecking away! Side note: I do not have the gear or the skill for bird photography. Please enjoy this playful image by Jeanette Mayo. See more of Jeanette's work here. |
I watched this woodpecker continue to peck at the exact same spot. Sure, there were micro-movements, but this bird never jumped trees or even to a new spot on the same tree.
Woodpeckers don’t move when nourishment is being received and, when nourishment ends, they fly away, laughing joyfully!
During my photo practice that afternoon, I followed the woodpecker's lead and made micro-movements between exposures. Here's an example of how minor movements can change an image. What do you notice about how the micro-movements changed these two?
Woodpeckers don’t move when nourishment is being received and, when nourishment ends, they fly away, laughing joyfully!
During my photo practice that afternoon, I followed the woodpecker's lead and made micro-movements between exposures. Here's an example of how minor movements can change an image. What do you notice about how the micro-movements changed these two?
Here are additional perspectives to consider:
- What happens when you get closer or zoom as mentioned in the simplicity blog?
- What do the shapes tell you about your subject as mentioned in the lines blog?
- What is your subject trying to tell you and how can you use the rule of thirds blog to communicate that message?
Spending the afternoon learning from the woodpecker, I've decided to experience 2021 with greater woodpecker-like intention put effort into experiences that provide (more often than not) nourishment. And when it's time to move on, I will do so with (at least a little bit) of gratitude and laughter.
What nourishing situations will you put your effort toward in 2021?
Staying open to simple pleasures offers opportunity for rejuvenation.
Nature can hold us during Dark times, and she will also be there when we are ready to rediscover Light. She allows us the opportunity to reconnect with our inner desires, to move in and out of connection with others, to stay aware of the present moment, and to explore our relationship to the environment. If we can accept her gifts, we will rediscover our joy and return to our daily lives rejuvenated.
Here are a few ideas for rejuvenating your life and photo practice:
- notice colors and textures in your environment
- photograph nature without passing judgement
- converse with nature, ask your subjects permission and offer them thanks
- notice your body and breath
- explore a new location
- listen to the sounds around you
- enjoy nature's company by noticing your place within the ecosystem
- notice how you feel before and after
What simple pleasures rejuvenate you?
Nature can teach us valuable life lessons.
Getting into nature with a camera can have some unexpected consequences. In addition to feeling refreshed, there are lessons to be learned from viewing the world through the lens of a camera - more than how to use a camera, and more than how to make a great composition. There are deep life lessons available when one becomes still and learns to see in a new way.
Here are three life lessons I've learned by experiencing nature through the lens...
Here are three life lessons I've learned by experiencing nature through the lens...
Lesson 1 - Letting Go
Just as trees freely release their leaves, so can we choose to freely release that which the mind stubbornly holds as truth...even when the heart knows differently. Freeing our imagination helps us to reconnect with our heart-centered, intuitive selves.
Through the lens of a camera, we have an opportunity to slow down and shift our attention to the shapes, colors, and textures of life simply by relaxing our focus. Look at the image below. With a relaxed focus, we can ask: What does my heart see?
Through the lens of a camera, we have an opportunity to slow down and shift our attention to the shapes, colors, and textures of life simply by relaxing our focus. Look at the image below. With a relaxed focus, we can ask: What does my heart see?
Lesson 2 - Impermanence
When witnessing nature, we can see that there is exquisite beauty to be found in the cycles of life and death. We can find beauty in imperfections, in the cracks, in the decay, in the slow unfolding. When we accept change within nature, it's easier to accept our own impermanence.
With photography, we use our cameras to freeze a moment in time, but nature doesn't stop cycling. Look at the two images below. What has changed?
With photography, we use our cameras to freeze a moment in time, but nature doesn't stop cycling. Look at the two images below. What has changed?
Lesson 3 - Embracing Shadows
We are taught that light and dark are in constant battle with one another. When we clear out those conditioned thoughts, we can look at our experiences and we begin to understand that life is more nuanced, that we are not all one thing.
When we step into the shadows, it becomes easier to see the nuances that makes your subject unique. Look at the image below. What textures are seen from within the shadows?
When we step into the shadows, it becomes easier to see the nuances that makes your subject unique. Look at the image below. What textures are seen from within the shadows?
What nature photo experiment will you try?
Nature-based art supports a mindful life.
When I go into nature, I am fully alive, energized, and in-tune with the world. Noticing beauty in nature has been my most consistent practice in mindfulness.
When we practice mindfulness, there are beneficial opportunities. We have a chance to:
Since the term mindfulness is an abstract concept, here are a few ways one might describe the experience.
When we practice mindfulness, there are beneficial opportunities. We have a chance to:
- find inner joy
- know ourselves better
- focus on authentic values
- generate love and compassion
- find insight and wisdom
- deal with difficult situations clearly and fairly
- embrace the process of life, from birth to death
- overcome greed, selfishness, negativity, and worry
- feel intimacy and closeness with ourselves, and life itself
- experience freedom and commit to freedom for all
Since the term mindfulness is an abstract concept, here are a few ways one might describe the experience.
- I feel more aware.
- I feel more receptive.
- I feel more present.
- I feel more grounded.
- I feel more connected.
- I feel more centered.
- I feel more focused.
Nature-based art is a wonderful tool in helping us to simply secure our connection to a meaningful, healthy life. Bringing nature-based art into our homes, offices, and social media spaces, we can receive the benefits of a mindfulness practice as we go about our day-to-day lives.
Here are three ideas for beginning a nature-based art mindfulness practice:
Here are three ideas for beginning a nature-based art mindfulness practice:
Choose a nature image that brings you joy. Explore every aspect of the image. What do you see? What might you hear? Smell? Feel? Taste? Now, close your eyes and continue to experience the scene in your mind's eye. This practice can help develop imagination. As you continue to practice, notice if you see colors and forms, or hear the calming sounds of nature. See if you can tap into a brightness and sense of well-being. Practice regularly to experience deepened awareness. |
Choose a nature image that brings you joy. Explore every aspect of the image. What do you see? What might you hear? Smell? Feel? Taste? Now, close your eyes and focus on your connection to and place within that nature scene. Listen, reach out, move around, and touch, smell, taste. Nurture your connection to everything by noticing how things respond to your movements. Practicing this way will bring your full attention to and acknowledgement of what it means to be within this world of interconnection and cause/effect. |
Choose an image of your favorite flower and put it in a space where you need a gentle, persistent reminder to stay present. Let the love of these flowers become its own meditation. Let your eyes take in every detail, expression, color, and shape with love. This meditation will attune you to the beauty of this world and, when practiced regularly, you will begin to pay more attention to the beauty that is always around you, giving you an experience of the mystical and magical every day. |
Mindfulness is a practice; it becomes easier and more beneficial over time. Nature imagery can make your mindfulness practice simple, accessible, and stress-free.
How have you used art + nature to stay mindful?
Beauty.
Courage. Curiosity.
Love.
Courage. Curiosity.
Love.
Nature photography has helped me become more aware of my values. I keep these values in focus by regularly exploring nature with my camera.
Yes. It’s absolutely possible to make great images using your camera on automatic and pointing the lens at nature’s stunning beauty. To tell your story through images, though, takes self-awareness, thoughtfulness, an understanding of the way your camera sees, and an ability to navigate manual settings - even on a cell phone.
I’ve found that by taking on the challenges of making meaningful images with a camera, I've also been presented with ample opportunities to become more aware of my surroundings, which has slowly changed the way I see the world.
Being thoughtful, understanding, and capable in making images has transformed not only my photographs, but also my life.
Being thoughtful, understanding, and capable in making images has transformed not only my photographs, but also my life.
How has your life been impacted by nature photography?
Author
Kristin Perry is a nature photographer navigating life's complexities by focusing on beauty.
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