Fall has always been my absolute favorite time of year. As the days and nights grow shorter and the sun shines her glorious luminous light, the leaves ever so slowly begin to change. This year, fall has been coming at a snail’s pace given our Indian Summer. Yet during the last few days the leaves have begun to turn into their magical tapestry of colors. Hues from pumpkin oranges, to scarlet reds and golden yellows delight the eyes. It is nature’s way of rewarding us with beauty and preparing us for the long, colorless winter ahead.
“One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats”. – Iris Murdoch
Yesterday as part of my new role as a National Geographic Kids Insider, I participated in a fabulous one-hour video call with National Geographic Kid’s photographer Kelley Miller.
National Geographic Photographer Kelley Miller
Kelley has one of my dream jobs: Traveling around the world and getting paid to take pictures! As someone who absolutely loves to take photos yet has never had any formal training whatsoever, I learned a ton from Kelley’s basic photography tips on how to capture nature, specifically animals in the wild. Normally, I prefer to take photos of landscapes or objects and haven’t really attempted to photograph animals in the wild. It looks like now I will have my chance!
Starting today through September 29th, National Geographic is hosting “The Great Nature Project” which is a worldwide photography project to share plants and animals from your world while celebrating the immense diversity of our planet. It is National Geographic’s goal to set a Guinness Book of World Records title for the largest online photo album in the world of animals.
So now you’re all ready to go right? Well, not without sharing the dozen tips I received from Kelley. In a nutshell, here are Kelley’s 10 top tips for photographing nature:
Be observant. Look around and really, truly look. There are dozens of amazing things in nature that are just awaiting to be captured on film. All it takes is a willingness to truly seek the photo opportunities out.
Make eye contact with the animals and smile. Seriously this sounds rather silly but it is not. Capturing an animal on film looking back at you into the camera is bound to give you a fabulous picture. Yet it takes patience and persistence!
Don’t always frame your subject in the center of the picture. Instead, make the photos more interesting by positioning the subject off to a side.
Show animals in their natural environment as often as possible. The landscape and sense of space can truly give the picture a sense of scale and dimension for the animal. Also pay attention to graphic details.
Photo credit: Kelley Miller/National Geographic
Go for motion. If an animal is running, be ready and catch it on film in all its glory. Get as close as you can to the action. Timing is everything!
Pursue the personality of the animal. For example, we all love hippos basking in the mud or animals being playful.
Look for details and capture it. If the animal is a peacock, do a close up on its wings. Zoom in on a specific body part such as the eyes, ears, nose or mouth. You’ll be amazed how much detail can change the entire feeling of a photo.
Try for different angles of a shot. For example, why not capture a bug on a leaf looking down on it?
Experiment with changing from color to black and white. Sometimes the details of the photo will be more striking without color.
Make the animal stand out. Use a simple background or a shallow depth of field. The subject will literally pop off the page!
Photo credit: Kelley Miller/National Geographic
If only I could take such incredible photos! There is so much to learn. But if you are like me you are willing to keep at it and keep trying. Well, here is your chance! You can participate in The Great Nature Project and be a contributor of the world’s largest ever online photo collection of nature and animals.
All information below is used with permission from National Geographic’s website: The Great Nature Project (www.greatnatureproject.org). To see more details, click here.
The Great Nature Project
The Great Nature Project is a worldwide celebration of the planet and its wonders. People of all ages are invited to appreciate nature by taking pictures of plants and animals in their worlds, and then sharing those pictures with the whole world. Together we’ll create a global snapshot of the Earth’s incredible biodiversity—and try for a Guinness World Records® title for the largest-ever online album of animal photos!
The Great Nature Project is one of the largest initiatives National Geographic has ever created, but we need your help to pull it off. So get outside, explore, and connect, and join us for a project as big as the world itself.
How to Participate
With the Great Nature Project, you can share the plants and animals in your world with the whole world. From the national park to the parking lot, you can grab your camera and document the wildlife you see. By participating, you’ll help National Geographic celebrate the amazing and diverse life on our planet. You can also help us win a Guinness World Records® title for the largest online animal photo album.
To join in, snap a picture of a plant or animal in your neighborhood, and upload it to a photo sharing site like Flickr, Instagram, Twitter, or National Geographic Your Shot,making sure to tag it #GreatNature. To participate in the record, add #animal to any animal photo.
“There is a place where the sidewalk ends And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind.
One of my favorite places to savor the change of the seasons in my hometown is the Lake Harriet Rose Garden. Located just a short block off my favorite urban lake, The Lake Harriet Rose Garden always inspires no matter what time of year.
My two favorite seasons to capture the color inside the Rose Garden are Spring and Fall. Different perennials pop up each month and it is always exciting to see what I will find. After a hot couple of weeks, today finally felt a bit more like fall. The brilliant blue September sky cast its luminous glow across Minneapolis and I knew I’d have to go take some photos of the beautiful fall flowers at the Lake Harriet Rose Garden. Here is a peak at what I found. Enjoy!
The last two weeks have been extremely difficult. I found myself last Monday on an unexpected trip to address some very personal family matters. Throughout it all- the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the ups and the downs – I remembered one eternal thing: The power of being positive and how being positive impacts your life. How you view what comes your way can make or break you.
No matter how hard life slams you down against the ground, you’ve got to fight back. Life is all a matter of how you deal with the cards you’ve been dealt. Of course it is excruciatingly hard to remain positive when everything turns dark but I’ve learned throughout my forty plus years on this earth that you must. The power of being positive is the only power you’ve got against uncertainty and things you cannot change.
The most important thing I’ve tried to hold onto with all my might is the realization that no matter what —-you must never ever give up. The power of being positive will get you through anything and everything. No matter how hard life beats you up and knocks you numb to the ground. You’ve got to believe.
“Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth.” – Susan Taylor
Any trip to Delhi requires a stop at the spectacular Lotus Temple. Built in 1986 of pure white marble from the Penteli mountain in Greece, the Lotus Temple is a Bahá’í House of Worship where people of any religions can come to pray. What makes this temple so incredibly unique and awe-inspiring is its shape and form.
Inspired by India’s sacred lotus flower, the temple is composed of 27 free-standing marble “petals” arranged in groups of three to form nine sides forming a lotus flower. It is fitting that the temple is designed to look like India’s treasured lotus flower as the lotus symbolizes many important things in Indian culture: Long life, honor, and good forturne. Images of lotus flowers can be seen throughout India as engravings on temples, buildings and in art.
I am thrilled to announce my new partnership with National Geographic Kids as an “Insider.” In this new role, I will be a brand ambassador for their wide variety of fabulous products and also get an inside look into all the amazing work they are doing around the world. National Geographic Kids is a non-profit, mission-driven organization that inspires children to care about their planet and get outdoors. As an Insider, I will have access to sneak previews, exclusive photos and events, as well as access to National Geographic authors, photographers and international explorers. The best part of all is I will be able to share everything I learn with you!
For the last year I’ve worked with a lot of amazing NGOs whose mission is to save and improve peoples lives around the world. National Geographic is the perfect fit with my mission and I am so honored to get the opportunity to work with them and share their stories with you. I can hardly wait to take a step inside National Geographic’s “yellow border” and inspire you to explore the world in a new way.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Sir Winston Churchill
Perhaps one of my most memorable adventure travel experiences thus far has been my hike across a real live sea of ice. There is nothing quite like strapping on a pair of crampons and moving at a snail’s pace straight into unimaginable winds and icy cold rain across one of the world’s most beautiful and magical glaciers. Sure I’ve done plenty of amazing hikes around the world ranging to such far off places as Peru, Patagonia, The French Alps and Nepal. Yet nothing was quite like walking across a wide, moving sea of ice.
First steps onto the massive Myrdalsjökull Glacier. Unfortunately there was no way possible to show the enormity of it all. This is just the beginning.
Perhaps my favorite perched village in Luberon is the gorgeous, red-hued Roussillon. Known mostly for her abundant natural ochre that covers the steep hillside and paints the town red, Roussillon is quite a spectacular place. Medieval serpentine streets lined with red-hued buildings and terracotta roofs, meander all the way up to the top. A leisurely afternoon in Roussillon is bound to capture your imagination and soul.
As you approach Roussillon, you are struck by the dramatic scarlet red color of the rock and buildings which are perched high above the vast green plains of Provence.
“Stuff your eyes with wonder; live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury
Out of all four perched villages of Luberon that we visited during our day trip through Provence, the most spectacular and majestic one of all was Gordes. Built high atop the rocky slopes of the Monts de Vaucluse, the village of Gordes is the crown jewel of Luberon and is a magnificent site to see.
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
After visiting lovely Lourmarin, our next stop on our tour of the perched villages of Luberon was beautiful Bonnieux. Perched high above the lush valley of Luberon affording a spectacular panoramic view of vineyards, orchards and medieval villages, sits the village of Bonnieux. Dating back to before Roman times, this picturesque Provencal town is a wonderful place to explore for its simple beauty, tranquility and quintessential Frenchness.
One of my favorite ways to explore a new place is by taking a road trip through the countryside. I’ve been to Virginia over a dozen times and am always amazed by its greenery. Rolling country roads zigzagging through lush green pastures and woodland seem to bring me back to an older, easier way of life. The deeper you get into rural Virginia, the more interesting the drive gets. Old farmhouses and Baptist churches from centuries ago dot the landscape. Pastures of horses and cows and a sprinkling of pig pens remind you that you are far from home. Vineyards and orchards grace the landscape tempting drivers to pull off the road and pick a bag of fresh peaches or taste some local wines. The country roads of Virginia seem to take you home to a different way of life. Simplier. Calmer. And carefree.
