Nature Connection
And why it is important for landscape photography
Hello, I’m Gill and I write a photography blog inspired by the landscapes of Suffolk and beyond. Please subscribe to read more of my writing and visit my website to view my images.
The sun is shining as I jog along the quiet country lane that leads from my home to the river. Side by side with my Dad we run past a scruffy area of woodland and join a track that meanders through the grounds of a large 18th century manor house. Running between green pastures fringed with oak trees we reach the river where we take a breather on a white painted wooden bridge and watch the water gush underneath. This is our favourite stopping place, about a mile into our run, and is the perfect bridge for playing pooh sticks. I am already casting around on the ground unable to resist the challenge of finding the perfect stick to cast into the dark rushing water. Suddenly out of nowhere a flash of blue streaks along the waterway and darts into the undergrowth on the opposite bank. ‘Kingfisher’ shouts Dad excitedly as he runs over to the only other person near the bridge to point out the brightly coloured bird. I have no idea if this stranger is interested in Dad’s observations but we all stand for a while watching the Kingfisher as it sits patiently amongst the leaves watching us back.
The year is 1978, I am 10 years old and this will become one of my favourite memories of time spent with my Dad.
Fast forward 46 years and I often think about that day. It may not have been the most extraordinary thing to have happened in my life but the excitement of seeing a kingfisher for the first time was a moment of real joy and connection and it is one that has stayed with me ever since.
‘The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only paradise we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need, if only we had the eyes to see.’
-Edward Abbey
As a landscape photographer I spend much of my time outdoors in the countryside. I have a deep connection with the natural world which began in childhood and has grown stronger as I have grown older. I feel it is this connection that has helped me develop a personal style within my photography and ultimately given me my voice.
Nature connection engages our senses and our emotions and it is what drives my image making. Photography for me is not just about seeing, it is about feeling.
I will try and explain this a bit more using some of the images that I took on a recent visit to my local heath.
The forecast promised still conditions with a hint of frost and some possible mist so it felt like a good morning to head out with the camera. I wanted to capture the faded colours of the heath. The carpet of heather had lost its vibrant hues and instead it radiated with a soft pallet of pale pink, ochre, and brown, that I prefer to the more shouty colours of summer.
As I made my way towards a favourite spot within this landscape the natural world was beginning to stir. Small birds flitted between the young Scotts pines and a chorus of song began to fill the air. A quick look at my Merlin app identified the following birds; stonechat, coal tit, long tailed tit, wren and wood lark.
Walking around amongst the heather I spent some time looking for a landscape composition that would convey the feel of the heath. I was drawn to the variety in the colour and texture of the heather and grasses and decided to build my composition around this. The first image I took is the one at the top of this post. This shot was taken about half an hour later when the sun finally broke through the clouds.
The feelings that resonated with me while I was looking for these shots were based around awe, beauty, tranquility and stillness and these were the things I was hoping to portray within my image.
My favourite way to connect with this landscape is to use my macro lens. This is when I feel that I really start to open my eyes and ‘see’ my surroundings. In this case I was drawn to the variety of plants and the colour and textures within them. While these things may be present in my landscape shot I think there is a greater beauty when we take the time to look more closely.
There is a lot of debate these days about mans disconnect from the natural world, an issue that is perhaps compounded by the fact that 55% of the world's current population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050.
In the UK we also have to live with the knowledge that we reside in one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth. Without getting too deep into the debate it seems that modern life has tipped us so far away from our connection with nature that it feels difficult to rebalance.
I find this a sad state of affairs as I know from my own experience how beneficial nature connection can be on a personal level, for my heath and well being but also for my landscape photography.
I really feel that a knowledge of the natural world and a connection with it leads to more considered, thoughtful and in depth images. After all it is much easier to represent a landscape in a photograph if we understand it.
We may not all have access to wild landscapes on a regular basis but there are small pockets of nature everywhere and I feel that photography is a great facilitator where connection is concerned. It opens our eyes and allows us to be see the world in all its detail and the more we look, the more we understand and ultimately the more we care. That has to be a good thing for us, for nature and for the world in general.
The joy of seeing my first kingfisher has never left me. It is a moment that I shared with my Dad, a moment that helped foster my love of nature and that love and knowledge is something I have tried to pass on to my children.
‘If you lose that first wonder, you've lost one of the greatest sources of delight and pleasure and beauty in the whole of the universe. Caring for that brings a joy and enlightenment which is irreplaceable. That is one of the great pleasures of life.’
- David Attenborough
For a while now I have been following a blog by Professor Miles Richardson who, in conjunction with Derby University, has come up with 5 pathways to nature connection. They are:
Contact - engagement through all our senses.
Beauty - appreciating the aesthetic qualities of the natural world.
Meaning - what does nature mean to us and how do we interpret it?
Emotion - finding happiness and wonder.
Compassion - what can we do to protect it?
I think these are especially relevant when we think about photography as they encompass the things many of us respond to when out with my camera.
What are your thoughts on nature connection and landscape photography - do you think it is important to have a strong connection to place to create good images? Or has photography facilitated your connection with nature? I would love to hear your thoughts along with any of your nature connection stories. If you would like to share please leave a comment below.
I am currently away in Scotland running some workshops so I will be taking a break from blog writing and there will be no further posts until 4th November.
Thank you so much for reading and until next time enjoy your photography
Gill
I would echo you completely on the value of nature connection – how important it is personally and for successful photography and, in turn, how the process of creating images can strengthen that bond. Interestingly, at the WildPhotos symposium in Bristol last weekend, one of the speakers pointed out that quite the opposite can happen in some situations – you can concentrate so hard on getting the picture that you miss the chance to see something special with your own eyes; it can be hard to put the camera down and just watch an animal, for example, but doing so can create a stronger connection and better memory than trying to document the behaviour and taking away a card full of, possibly not great, images. That said, I never walk without my camera and love how it shows me things that otherwise I wouldn't have noticed.
A lovely memory there Gill. It did occur to me when reading your blog how people generally seemed to appreciate nature more during Covid, probably because of our desire to get out, but also perhaps because animals ventured nearer to us as our towns and cities were so relatively quiet. So I think it’s there under the surface for people to seek nature, but unfortunately has probably become less of a priority again for some since - a missed opportunity. Personally having grown up in East London I always enjoyed finding green spaces. Bringing up a family in Loughton on the edge of Epping Forest encouraged this further, but it’s only after moving to north east Essex I’ve found some relatively remote places where you can feel even closer to nature. Enjoy Scotland - I’m currently enjoying your book “At The Edge of Permanence”!