Nature in Detail, or Nature Porn 2

Go big or go home. You’ve heard it before, but let’s just let that go for a moment. I want you to go outside and go small. What in the green gables am I talking about? Nature porn!

Nature porn has made it to video folks, and I’m so excited. Today I’ll be sharing some visual reasons for why you should go small, think small, look for the details that make life grand.

I went out for a walk in the woods on Tuesday– actually, I went out to get some exercise but kept stopping every two feet to take pictures, videos and generally stare at ants busying themselves on trees. For as much as I love to workout in nature, I’m starting to think I’m too much of a hippie to do it effectively. How am I supposed to keep jogging when all the pretty things are calling out to me?

Since I barely got my heart rate up, I thought I’d make good use of all the beauty I documented by sharing it as well as giving you some tips on how to make the most of your time outdoors. Today’s slogan: Go small or go home. I know, so cheesy, right?

There are places I’ve visited whose landscapes dwarf me– masses of land rising from deep seas, mountains breaking the skyline, trees masking the sun. These are beautiful and awe-inspiring. But I’d like to challenge you to go out and discover the small things. If you ask me at any given time whether I’d like to travel somewhere, the answer would be yes. You’d probably say the same. But what is it about travel that we love so much? Novelty, freshness, a new and broader way of seeing the world.

There’s so much beauty all around us, and it would be a shame to not experience it as deeply as we can. I know that some of you, my dear readers, wouldn’t touch the outdoors with a ten-foot pole, and while that breaks my heart, I can’t save you. This is for the folks who are looking to feel more connected to the natural world around us and who are also looking for a creative outlet. Let’s start with the basics.

On the day I went out, I made a few unforgivable mistakes. I didn’t bring my Canon camera, just my phone, which isn’t horrible, but it did prevent me from getting a closer look at tiny things, like this little guy whose iridescence would be gorgeous when magnified.

This insect is half the size of my fingernail but would make a great subject for a macro shot.

But not everyone has a high-powered camera with a zoom lens anyway, so this post will show you that even a decent phone camera can capture some great shots.

Other rookie mistakes I made: The battery on my phone wasn’t fully charged and I didn’t bring my charger pack. Not that it would’ve mattered since I got a message that my phone was running out of storage space just as I was really starting getting my knees dirty.

[YouTube just put a block on my account because of the name violating their terms or something. Literally can’t post anything until August. Tear. Also, I feel like the sleaziest person ever. ] But now it’s back and eating up my data. Thanks, WordPress. I would say, please like and subscribe to my channel…

Pause and Approach. I’d like you to notice in the video that there are moments when I draw the camera back to show you what a scene might like to our eyes. At the very start, I’m walking past a pair of trees. They don’t look like much, but how beautiful when I approached and could see the pink and purple flower buds swaying in the breeze. The branches of this tree, which reminds me of something Japan for some reason, are thin, springy and soft. It’s so easy to overlook the magnitude of beauty in the things around us when we’re just focused on getting through life.

Btw, none of these photos have been retouched in any way. The day was just this beautiful.

Get Down and Dirty. This is nature porn after all. Your knees should get some use or you’re not doing it right. What? Who said that?!

I’ve been falling madly in love with this species of fern in recent years. They always seem to be the perfect shade of green to play with my heartstrings. These ferns are another example of a plant that when seen from our perspective don’t always make a big splash. Getting down to eye level helps us notice the intricacies of their design, like the way the stems are all curled up before unfolding.

Be a Scientist. Studying can actually be fun when there isn’t some high stakes pressure cooker of an outcome on the other end of it. If you love science like I do, approach nature as a scientist. Make notes of how many varieties of leaf shapes you can find in a given area. Or study the way that plants look at various stages of life. Notice how there’s beauty in every stage.

Looking down this trail we see lots trees. We can simply walk past them, or we can study the variety to be found in tree bark.

 

When you look closely, you’ll find that trees are entire ecosystems unto themselves; they’re so much more than just a pretty face.

Get Creative. I freaking love making videos and taking pictures. You all know that. Did you know that nature is my favorite subject? If you want to expand your creativity while connecting with nature, I recommend you start today. I’ve been known to spend entire lunch breaks photographing squirrels in the parking lot of my job because beautiful things are all around us! We just have to slow down and look. Have fun out there!

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What’s your favorite way to spend time in nature?

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My name is Lyz-Stephanie and I want to inspire you to be more connected to yourself and the world, to find beauty in simple pleasures, and to have more adventures. Every day we can do something to make our lives happier and richer, make our minds more active and engaged. I’m on the journey. Will you join me?