Tracing Mother Nature

There are certain moments in time when you can feel the intensity of Mother Nature – the weight of her breath and the boom in her voice.

Severe storms and a string of tornados danced across the southeast on Mother’s Day morning. And as my husband and I ventured home from a weekend trip to the coast, Mother Nature’s devastating effects humbled us. Elderly trees uprooted from the earth. Pines arbitrarily snapped – their branches littering the roads and swaying from power lines. A crumpled barn. A tin roof wedged within a stately oak. As we slowed our pace through the small rural town, I quickly pulled out my camera on instinct to capture the moment. The scene. The effects. And after I snapped the first image, I stopped myself.

As we continued to journey home, I realized that much of my joy in photography is capturing the beauty of Mother Nature and her precious creations. New blooms. Plump raindrops. Aging leaves drenched with color. Thick blades of grass.  I like the way she sprinkles light like gems on water. How she breathes life into leaves as they whisper in her wind. And I love that she restores peace to the sky without fail and sets the sun to rest.  

How do you seek Mother Nature with your lens?

Comments

[Teresa]

It seems I'm always trying to get all of Mother Nature in the frame at once:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beatlequee/2485922354/in/set-72157605013781913/

or, when she's simply too vast for that angle and my tiny self to do her justice (which is usually), I fall into the itty-bitty things, which may be the best way to capture her entirety anyway:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beatlequee/2485102057/in/set-72157605013781913/

[Carol]

By taking endless photos of flowers, insects, the moon and of course my beloved son :) All encapsulates nature for me!

[Marcie]

I like to photograph what is...whether it be weather:
http://marciescudder.blogspot.com/2008/05/pool-of-white-light.html
or life beginning:
http://marciescudder.blogspot.com/2008/05/follow-leader.html

[DanaB]

Oh, let me count the ways! Whether at large or wee macro, nature makes me speechless so! I'm thankful for the lens to remember, to convey even a wee bit of the feeling...

I couldn't pick just one...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/windowswideopen/

~~

[pooky]

That photo is amazing.

[Shelli]

Mother Nature & my son are about the only things I seek these days. I'm posting this one again because it's one of my favorites:

http://www.mamaofletters.com/Mama_of_Letters/Camera_Happy.html#9

[Shelli]

P.S. Your photo and words are just beautiful!

[Tony]

well captured

[kris]

It's hard to do her (mother nature) justice, but here are some attempts:
http://lkpage.blogspot.com/2008/05/mothers-day-mother-nature-that-is.html

[Leslie]

This time of year it's all about the flowers:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westieluvr/2437806517/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/westieluvr/2465855044/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/westieluvr/2467722281/

[camerashymomma]

beautiful photo! i love being humbled by mother nature, she makes me feel small. i think it's important for someone to feel small every now and then.

here's some spring rain
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2450257141/

and some texas tornado weather from last february
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2270365862/

[Madeline]

Beautiful. My sister, who is a photographer, often shoots the darker, more destructive side of nature and I feel glad to see her photos in that it shows the whole story. But like you, I have had trouble pointing my camera there myself.

[Ashley]

gorgeous photo....i love capturing the sky right before or after a storm. lately i've been fixated on flower petals and trying to capture the softness of them

http://thelightersidephotos.com/archives/10888_1332777616/291524

[Stephanie]

Beautiful beautiful beautiful! I love to photograph so many things in nature bugs, lizards, clouds, flowers...I have about 60 pix of the same lemon growing on my lemon tree....crazy. Here are a few older posts of my "nature" photography:
http://slsmithphotgraphy.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/02/zen-photography.html

http://slsmithphotgraphy.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/10/wide-texas-sky.html

http://slsmithphotgraphy.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/01/winter-sky.html

[Sierra]

For me it's all about the tiny details or the big, sweeping landscapes.

Here is a shot of a rosebud after the rain:

http://heyitssierra.com/blog/2008/05/05/raindrops-on-roses/

[psumommy]

I love photographing nature and wish I had the know-how to get the shots that my minds eye sees. Some day...I've only been playing seriously for a few years now! Here are a few I've taken recently.

http://psumommy.livejournal.com/114898.html?mode=reply

[Connie]

For me it is all about the animals! Here are two of my favorite shots!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mini-mrs/2406017012/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mini-mrs/2406017178/

[cotterpin]

lovely post

http://cotterpinhouse.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/miles-to-go-before-we-rest/

[LivinginChicago]

We were just discussing this last night - while photographing close-ups of roses. It's all about the flowers, the clouds, the landscapes and, for me, trying to do justice to the sunsets:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/livinginchicago/2485917745/

[LawyerMama]

Usually I take pictures of the good side of mother nature:

http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2479960728/

[Elizabeth]

Mother nature is an eternal source of inspiration--especially since she changes from season to season and place to place.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/esabet/2285429520/in/set-72157603988509446/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/esabet/2384339698/in/set-72157603988509446/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/esabet/2338817394/in/set-72157603988509446/

[Kacey]

Love, LOVE that photo! I'm into capturing clouds too, but recently it's been all about the birds:

http://www.wineonthekeyboard.com/2008/05/12/indigo-bunting-hunting/

[Gloria]

You take gorgeous sky photos, here is a water one I got this weekend....

http://gloriaruggero.blogspot.com/2008/05/weekend-snapshot.html

And a few more of mother nature....

http://gloriaruggero.blogspot.com/2008/05/weekly-winners.html
http://gloriaruggero.blogspot.com/2008/05/camera-critters.html

[giggletwig]

Gorgeous photo!

I'm often drawn to the sky...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/giggletwig/2487120508/

As well as details of flowers, leaves...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/giggletwig/2485852025/

And even animals...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/giggletwig/2453664280/

There are so many amazing things in nature.

[Sarah - Ji]

Whenever I see a sky like that one in your photo, I happen to be without my camera! That is awe-inspiring!

Living in the big city, I don't get a lot of "nature" shots. Every now and then, though, I take what Mother Nature gives me, combine it with my urban setting and come up and image that captures both the natural and the urban:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraromeo/2454955695/

[laura]

This post speaks to me as I am feeling so crushed by all the devastation caused by "mother nature" on the other side of the world! Burma and today China. My heart hurts to think of the tragedies... of the individuals both lost and left behind. Makes me realize what the truly important things are in this life.

I don't have a lot of nature photos yet and all your photos are so inspiring! I hope to capture more soon! Here's a quick shot of the Sakura trees lining our street. Already the seasons are changing and the blossoms have fallen since.

http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/sakura/

[julie]

Very cool photo!!! Here's mine!
Julie
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Juliestew/531054/

[Kathleen]

Here on the east coast, things are blooming, blooming, blooming! Mother Nature, renewing herself in all her glory. (Could do without the allergies, though!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23630286@N05/2484277723/

[mary]

That's a gorgeous sky photo! By far, most of mine are flowers or leaves:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9068078@N05/sets/72157601529462268/

[Michelle]

Beautiful image. Clouds - I love clouds.

I also love water. There's a photo in this entry that I took from a bridge over the creek by my house. My daughters both insist that they've seen fairies in the bushes there.

http://askewtoyou.blogspot.com/2008/05/one-of-my-favorite-spots.html

[Ginny]

I really enjoy getting close ups. I've been very lucky lately to get some great nature shots. I loved these weeds in my backyard-

http://monkeymemories.blogspot.com/2008/05/who-knew-weeds-could-be-so-pretty.html

I recently raised caterpillars with my kindergarten class and got some great shots when we set our butterflies free-

http://monkeymemories.blogspot.com/2008/04/spread-your-wings-and-prepare-to-fly.html

And then there was the little lizard one of my students brought me-

http://monkeymemories.blogspot.com/2008/05/our-new-little-friend.html

[Abra]

I have so many shots of mother nature because I am in awe of the talent that God gave her in making things beautiful. I have recently been much enamored of buttercups. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for them and think it is a shame they are disregarded as mere weeds. Are they not flowers too? I am including here a few shots that I got to showcase their beauty.

http://artistryinfocus.blogspot.com/2008/05/catching-up-is-hard-to-do.html

http://artistryinfocus.blogspot.com/2008/05/weeds-need-love-too.html

[Molly]

I've actually been thinking a lot of being in the out of doors, especially now that the snow has finally melted and the world is becoming green. Two of my sets are dedicated just to that:

Refuge:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acertainslantoflight/sets/72157605006699290/

Verdant:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acertainslantoflight/sets/72157605007177098/

[Naomi]

My mother nature:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2474776705/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2342093779/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2249425009/

[ioninoviG]

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