Embracing Nature's Beauty

As an art photographer, I am often asked if I am ever at a loss for a subject to photograph. I can honestly and emphatically say no! 

There is always something to inspire me to grab my camera and take a photograph, especially when outdoors amongst nature.

It does not have to be something new to catch my attention as I find that each day brings new light, new colour and new angles to the same subjects. In fact I have often photographed the same flower, tree or ocean scene quite a few times in a week with totally different results each time and I regularly revisit favourite locations time and time again.

Perhaps that is why so many therapists encourage their patients to treat each new day as a beginning, as a start to a new life with no preconceptions or negativity left over from the day before, only positive expectations with which to move forward.

For my blog today, I decided to walk up my street and photograph the flowers and plants in my neighbours’ yards, just the ones growing along the fence-line that were reachable from the street.

At first glance I thought I might have embarked on an extremely ambitious project, but after a minute or two down at ground level I could see that I would not have to walk much further to get the shots I wanted.

Even in this heatwave, the flowers are out there, showing off their vibrant colours and intricate designs.

Some of them are so small and simple, probably just colourful weeds trying to be noticed …

While others are large, elaborate and showy … like the bright yellow Lilies I found leaning over the pristine white picket fence of a property a few houses up from ours.

Or intense … like the deep purple and magenta leaves of a plant that I have never seen before enjoying the cooling shade of a huge gum tree. 

Or exquisitely beautiful … like the tiny delicately coloured blooms peeking out from their hiding places on the Ginger plants.  

Or definitively alien … like the budding pink Gerbera that looked exactly like a space-ship's periscope through my lens as I crouched on my haunches to frame it.

Though I do not profess to be anything of an expert in all things botanical, through my photography I have managed to collect quite an impressive vocabulary when it comes to flora - mostly due to my very knowledgeable friends who are continually receiving emails from me containing numerous images with question marks! 

Nature is so incredibly diverse, even in our cities!  Each time I venture outside with my camera, I come across some plant or flower that I have never seen before. 

And today, as always, I am amazed at just how much natural beauty there is along a suburban street. I cannot help but think that in nature, lies the salvation of our world.

As Albert Einstein so eloquently states: 

"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us, "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us."

"Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."