I’ve long sang the praises of getting out in nature and enjoying what you find.  No matter what brings you to the natural world, the benefits, both physical and spiritual are great.  One great reason is to just have fun.  Something like seeing which flowers or birds you can spot will give you an actual stated reason for getting off of the couch and exploring the natural world.   A hike or a picnic can be special when you get away from the crowds of the city.  For me nature photography rules the lists of reasons to walk the hills and valleys of nature.

No matter what drives me to nature, it has always been photography that has driven me back to the source.  It provides for me an intimate involvement with nature that nothing else ever has.  Nature and I have a friends agreement.  I will treat her with love and respect, and she will answer me with the opportunity to create.  I will create those images that contain my own personal vision.  I have the unbelievable privilege of joining nature in a partnership.  One that will hopefully benefit both of us.  She surrounds and respects me, and I promise to share her story with the world.  I promise to put her above my own worldly desires and ego.  She provides me with a clear and obvious path to meet with what I believe to be both her Creator and mine.   The mist and fog that clouds my vision with the words of so many human interpreters, simply disappears.  It is the perfect relationship!

For those of you who already hike the hills and valleys, do so at every opportunity.  Imagine if you lost the ability to do that.  Savor every moment.

With today’s pictures I made no attempt to search out spectacular images, or my personal favorites.  They are in no particular order and are self-explanatory.  None of today’s pictures were planned events.  In each case I was hiking and exploring in nature, with cameras of course, and finding very little.   I took whatever nature blessed me with and was all the better for it.   Through my life whenever I was out and not finding subjects to make pictures of,  I just asked for nature’s blessings and have always been provided for.