If you’re on Facebook or Instagram you may have seen the “Nature Photo Challenge” pictures that are being posted recently. Here’s how it works – you receive an invitation to take and post a nature photo for 7 days and tag the person who nominated you and also select a new person to join the challenge. Two of my Facebook friends challenged me (on the same day) to participate in mid-January and I gladly accepted.

When I did the Nature Photo Challenge, I chose to take the photo on the same day I posted it. This meant many of my pictures were near the building where I work during the week. After my 7 days of pictures had been posted on Instagram and Facebook, I reflected on what I learned by doing this challenge. Here are my insights and the photos I took…

• Awareness – Taking at least one nature photo each day requires awareness of ones surroundings. Looking at nature with mindfulness and appreciating all of it – cherishing each precious day.

• Intention – One of my personal mantras is: “Live everyday with intention.” Doing this nature photo challenge helped me practice this attentiveness and living with intention. “Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

• Reminders – I found that it was helpful to set a reminder on my phone each day to prompt me to take and share the nature photo. Even with the best laid plans, our lives tend to become so busy that we sometimes need a gentle nudge to keep us focused and on track.

• Perspective – Each day I looked for different angles or viewpoints to take my nature photos. At the halfway point of the challenge, we were having lunch with our 9 year old grandson and he took an interest in the nature photo challenge. He suggested I take a picture of a tree. As we were leaving the pizza place, I looked at one of the parking lot trees from a new perspective and took a close-up of the leaves.

• Texture / Color – The natural world around us is filled with texture and color that is often overlooked. When I first noticed these river rocks and took this picture, the rocks all appeared to be in the same hue or color. Upon closer inspection, the different colors and texture of the rocks became more evident.

• Details & Big Picture – Sometimes I am intrigued by the details of nature. Other times I am captivated by the big picture. Both viewpoints – close-ups and sweeping landscapes – are fascinating to me and I delighted in the opportunity to seek out these scenes during the nature photo challenge.

• Nature is all around us if you look for it – During the nature photo challenge I found myself feeling like a detective who was on the hunt for the “perfect” nature picture each day. Some days the nature photo was easy to spot yet other days it seemed like more of a struggle. By paying attention to my surroundings I realized that nature is truly all around us.

There are some settings where taking nature photos are obvious – a day at the beach, a hike in the woods, or a stroll through a garden. My favorite part of participating in this Nature Photo Challenge was seeking out nature in my everyday life – at an office park, at the mall, and even in a parking lot.

Taking part in the Nature Photo Challenge has had a ripple effect that reaches around the world. Each day I nominated a friend to participate in the challenge and now I’m enjoying the nature pictures that my friends are taking. Many of the photos are being taken in California, but others are being taken in Minnesota, Ohio, and Japan. One of my nominated friends even took her challenge on vacation and has been taking pictures of the nature surrounding the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Sunrises, sunsets, ocean waves, snow, icicles, flowers, trees – these are just a few examples of the nature photos we’re sharing on social media.

Have you taken part in the Nature Photo Challenge yet? What are some of your favorite parts of nature to photograph? If you choose to participate, be sure to tag @ladybugblog (on Facebook) or @kamescook (on Instagram) so I can see your nature photos too!

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