Find Nature's Treasures Hidden in Plain Sight
Nature Watching
The Question
I was on the Questions page reading the questions when I saw this question asked by Jackie Lynnley
Do you watch the sky, the clouds, the trees, the seasons changing?
Or do you not pay attention to these things?"
and I decided I would like to write a hub in answer to it, as I wanted to do more than just answer "Yes I am" I wanted to explain and to also show why I am.
So, here is my Hub in answer to the question 'Are you a nature watcher?'
I hope that you will enjoy sharing my love of nature and that you will also like seeing some of Nature's treasures that are hidden in plain sight and often overlooked.
Am I a Nature Watcher?
Yes, I am a nature watcher and I think this comes mainly from my passion for photography. I am not a professional photographer and I don’t have an expensive SLR camera but I do love taking photographs with my point and shoot digital camera.
Because I love to take photographs, I watch the sky and the clouds as light is very important to me. I like working in particular kinds of light and because bright sunlight does not always give the best results, I like to keep an eye on the sky.
Clouds themselves often add a bit of drama and impact to a shot and can enhance some landscape photographs. I personally like the big white fluffy clouds though most of our days seem to be clear blue skies and bright sunshine.
I have two photographs taken from roughly the same place (I could not find exactly the same try to ignore the boats) one was taken on a cloudless day the other when we had some lovely fluffy clouds. I think the clouds made the photograph a much more interesting photograph.
With Out and With Clouds
Treasure hiding in plain sight
Most of the photographs that I take are of flowers or insects so of course what is available differs from season to season. I have found that since I have taken an interest in photography I have become more aware of what the weather is doing and of what sort of things I am likely to run into on my walks as the seasons change.
Some parts of the year are much richer than others in subject matter for my camera but because I now watch nature much more closely, I have found that even in lean times you can always find something interesting to shoot.
For example, in the spring and summer, there are many flowers in the various parks around our town for me to photograph and because there are lots to pick and choose from, nothing less than a perfect example will do as a subject for my camera.
However, in the winter months like now when there are hardly any flowers at all in the parks and almost no insects I have to look more closely to find things to photograph
I went out with my camera the other day and at first sight, there seemed like there was nothing to photograph. As I walked through a piece of wasteland on my way down to the Port I noticed the odd dash of colour here and there and when I investigated I found dandelions.
The lowly dandelion is a weed that most likely would not have had any attention from me had there been lots of flowers in bloom but this day I was grateful for the splash of colour. Here are some of the shots of those dandelions that I came home with and I think you will agree that these dandelions are treasure that was hidden in plain sight.
Treasure Hiding in Plain Sight
The other hidden treasures that I found.
I normally would not have spent time looking at or photographing weeds but weeds and wild flowers seem to be the only things showing a bit of colour now. The few weeds and wild flowers turned out to be treasure hiding in plain sight, which I normally would have overlooked.
Here are some of the other results of my walk through the wasteland and the other hidden treasures that I found.
The Other Hidden Treasures
The Sea Gull
Next, because there was very little insect activity (it was too cold being early February) I headed down to the port in search of something to photograph.
The first thing I saw was a seagull, which normally I am not interested in because they have this tendency to fly away when I get my camera out. Even when I do manage to get close enough for a good photograph they usually don’t wait long enough for me to get in focus before they move as I seem to alarm them as I approach.
Lacking the patience to wait for good shots of birds I don’t normally bother even to try, but this seagull however, was not flying about but actually swimming around on the water in the Marina and so it was easy for me to get a good shot of it.
I am so glad that the lack of my normal subject matter forced me out of my comfort zone because I am so pleased with how these shots turned out.
The Sea Gull
Cormorants
Spurred on by my success with the seagull I tried my hand at photographing some cormorants that were waiting for the return of the fishing boats.
I had never noticed these beautiful birds before down at the port but my friend told me about them and showed me where to look.
I was very happy with the resulting photographs here are a few of the best ones.
Cormorants
The Duck and the Fishes
I noticed a white duck land in the marina and so I headed back over to where it was swimming. I had a little bread with me so I threw some in for the duck hoping that it would entice the duck to come closer.
I was lucky it did bring the duck closer to me but I got more than I bargained for and so did the duck. The duck sped towards the bread and just as it was about to get the bread two huge fish went for it at the same time and the fish won.
I was very fortunate because I caught this on camera. I threw in more bread trying to get it to the duck but fish came at the bread from everywhere. Soon the water was teeming with large fish I soon ran out of bread and the poor duck didn’t manage to get any. Next time I will take more bread.
The Duck The Bread and the Fishes
A Resounding Yes
In conclusion I have to answer the question “Are You a Nature Watcher” with a resounding yes and I find it very rewarding. I get a lot of pleasure taking my camera out and recording nature as it is happening in my little neck of the woods.
Nature is a constantly changing scene no two days are exactly the same and I never tire of photographing this moving feast. I hope that you have enjoyed sharing the fruits of my nature watch on this particular winter’s day and that it encourages you to become a Nature Watcher too.
If you enjoyed this Hub then you will enjoy my latest hub Byrd Park lots more stunning photos