Appreciating Photography and The Beauty of Nature

I sometimes find that when I'm out, walking and I spot something out of the corner of my eye that appeals to me or looks interesting I kind of squint at it, imagining I'm photographing it. Now, in writing this I'm not trying to make out that I'm a photographer and I'm certainly not pretending I have any unusual talent in photography either. But, seriously, the fantastic thing about photographing something is that you don't have to show the full picture. When you're walking home for school or work and a small section of the sky stands out nicely against say a little tree in the distance, providing a little relief from the perhaps otherwise dull scenery, it doesn't look as if it fits. You almost feel as if you have glimpsed something rare, special; a small element of beauty in a very ordinary place. And that's where photography comes in because if you have a camera with you you can take the opportunity to direct the lens, at whichever angle you wish, towards the element of beauty and capture it. Thus, it becomes it's own unique picture as a photograph. A single stolen element from a bigger picture perhaps, but anyone who wasn't present at the capture may imagine freely what surroundings went along with the photograph's focus, which is what makes photographs art.
An idealist looking at a beautiful photograph may assume it was part of a larger landscape of beauty, perhaps in the countryside, likely a place they personally consider idyllic. I find myself guilty of this idealism when it comes to beautiful photographs but I do find myself trying to imagine more than one possible place or even scenario the photograph could belong to. Others may not look so deeply in to a photograph and merely appreciate it more it's physical beauty rather than considering where it came from. I would probably advice these people not to but it depend what inspires you and whether or not your imagination can take you so far.

I believe that carrying a camera around with you is extremely good practice for I regret the many times when I have glimpsed a unique moment of pure incredible beauty and haven't been able to capture it. Of course I can remember the ones I missed that have been recent but, inevitably these memories will fade and I won't be able to share the moment with those who missed it. The comfort is, however that the world provides so many of these unique moments of beauty that we each get to experience at least a few, provided we look and listen out for them. The saddest thing is that the best photographs are ones that nature created and as we watch our world become more and more concrete and human infested, the special moments of natural beauty will become even more scarce and will eventually leave us entirely. Then only photographs, from years and years in the past, will provide future generations with some understanding about the complexity, integrity and beauty of mother nature.

This problem is particularly relevant now due to the fact that the UK's government is looking to sell of Britain's forests; they wish to change the law to allow private companies to chop down the woods. We need to stop them and protect our trees for the conservation of wildlife and the enjoyment of the public. To sign the petition which is nearing half a million people click here!