A nudge from Nature

From noticing to creating

What have you been noticing this week? I hope last week’s prompts helped you to think about what interests you in nature. This week I want to nudge that noticing into creating. Again, don’t worry, we’re not going to launch straight in with a canvas and paint, not even paper and pencil.

We carry a wonderful creative tool in our pocket - the camera on our phones. Yes, I know, encouraging people to use their phones, even more, can be contentious, some think that taking photos means less engagement with the situation and location. I think if we are mindful, we can use the act of considering the photo to deepen the noticing and connection. For me, constant noticing and thinking about what might make a good photo means I am looking around me more. I am entirely in the moment, not thinking about anything else. The act of taking a photo is creative because we are choosing what to take and what to leave out. If we are purposeful about what we focus the lens on, the creativity increases.

Taking a photo of this blossom meant I noticed the droplets on this fading blossom and could focus in on that.

First step. It does take a bit of willpower to not get drawn into the distractions our phones are famous for. My phone has quick launch buttons for the camera so I don’t need to unlock the screen. I don’t have many notifications on my lock screen that might suck me in. My phone is usually on silent or vibrate only anyway, but that’s because I hate the beeps and pings. You could put it on flight or do not disturb mode if you are going out for a purposeful nature-noticing walk.

So, armed with your knowledge from last week, once you are ‘in nature’ start noticing, and keep in mind that you are looking for something to take a photo of. If you haven’t yet worked out what you are drawn to, this process of being mindful of what you want to take photos of can help with that.

I don’t want to give a photography lesson, that’s not what this is about. Our phone cameras have so much capability and automatic functions we don’t need to know much about the nuts and bolts. I think the best route to taking good photos is to take photos, lots! With the wonder of digital storage, you can just delete them after. What turns this into a mindful creative activity is the looking, the considering. Rather than just quickly snapping a photo, or looking at the world only through the phone screen, take a moment to pause. Look carefully, from different angles in real life, then get your camera out. I’m often crouched down, or even lying down to get a photo. The only technical bit of advice I will give is to tuck your elbows in! Yes really! Most phones have image stabilisation but this really helps with camera wobble.

Last thing, even if you have decided you are more drawn to landscapes than details, I would encourage you to sometimes go small. Seeing the wonders of the insides of snowdrops, or the intricate details of moss, amplified even more through a photo is guaranteed to give a big dose of nature joy and make you want to go back for more.

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So, my invitation this week is for you to go outside and take photos of nature. One of my proudest moments as a nature/creativity facilitator was during a walking and coaching retreat. While we were out walking, I encouraged the group to take photos of things they noticed. At the review session, one participant said prior to this, he’d only ever taken photos of people but now he had a camera roll full of pictures from our walk to extend the power of nature once he was back home. It had given him a new window on the world around him, a new way of looking.

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