7 Photos of Nature That Brings Beauty To The World

#1: New Resie Partial View

If you have read any of my stories or know me, you would know that I am from southern Illinois. I never used to think of it as being so very different than other places in the United States until I started to see the world for myself. This picture is of a small lake that we call the New Resie. It's slang we came up with for the New Reservoir. When I went to write this, I realized I had no idea how to spell our slang word. Did it have an "ie" at the end? Maybe a "y"? What about a "z"? Did we just randomly add a "z" to it? So I did what all curious people do now a days and Googled it. I went through 5 different websites. Not one of them had our slang word. There were 10 different common slang words for Reservoir, but not one of them was what I grew up saying. One was pretty close, res, but it just didn't sound right to me. Google wasn't being of much help in that area, so I changed my search. I looked up this lake to see if anyone called it by it's southern name in google reviews, but do you know what happened? Google said that this lake didn't even exist. I grew up going to this lake and watching my dad leave for an early morning fishing trip here. It wasn't that far from our house and we had been out on it more than once on a boat. My dad would go ice fishing here. It's well known to me and I thought everyone else in this area, so why hadn't google ever heard of it? I still was determined to figure out how to spell our slang. My dad and mom didn't know, so I had to turn to Facebook. There I found out that we made it up so however I want to spell it is fine. So, this is a photo of the New Resie in southern IL. Do not ask me what town it is in, because I will have to go through the same research to find out that it is not in a town at all.

#2: Riding Lawn Mower on the Road

Okay, now this! This is hilarious. Have you ever seen a person driving their riding mower on the road? They are just cruising along looking at all the beauties of nature, not caring what people would think of their current form of transportation. Really, it is common to see someone driving on the road between their lands or to turn around to continue to mow, but driving down the back roads by the New Resie was a new sight for me. It was odd seeing this. Back in New York, I told all my friends that I was from the country. They didn’t understand how country I meant and truthfully I didn’t either until I was sitting in my car about to drive back home. I couldn’t help but take a photo of this man just riding his mower along the road. I went the opposite direction as him and eventually turned around and came out on the main back road. Yes, we do have nicer backroads. Do you know what I saw while I was driving the main back road? I saw this guy still cruising down the road. I lost it and couldn’t help laughing and staring in amazement. I thought that he must have lived by the New Resie and was just riding his mower for no reason at all. I did not even consider that he would ride the long narrow back road all the way to the main back road and head towards the main roadway up ahead. I did not follow him, so I do not know how far he got. I will always remember the day that I found out how southern my town really is.

#3: Framing The New Resie With The Beauty of a Tree

I always love framing the photos I take with a tree. I have no idea why I do this, but it is my technique. I love the way the water is behind the tree, but you don’t just see all the water. You see it through the gaps in the leaves and branches. It gives it a sense of color and movement that the water alone could not do. See the branch at the top of the photo? Doesn’t it look like it is draping over the New Resie? I think trees give photos more meaning than we give them credit for.

#4 A Different Perspective

We never really look at rocks, do we? They are bland and are not something we pay attention to very often. We think that they would not look good in a photograph, but what about when you use the rocks to frame the background of the photo? This photo brings the New Resie closer to view by using the grey rocks on the ground. It captures the beauty of the lake in a different way than most photos do. The lake looks simple and soft, but with the rocks where they are, it shows sharpness and contrast. I believe that the rocks in this photo actually make the New Resie look better than it actually does. I mean, who would bend over to look at this exact view from this exact angle? I don’t think anyone but a camera would do that. I love how pictures can capture real moments but in areas the eye would never think to look.

#5 Sun Peaking Behind the Clouds

Up above the New Resie the sun peaks behind one of the many white fluffy clouds. I love how the sun isn't fully out, but shines bright enough to light up the entire sky and lake. The bright green leaves of the tree frames the right side of the photo. The tops of the trees that go around the lake, frame part of the bottom of the photo giving it a sense of destination. By paying attention to these key details you could guess that this photo was taken in the same exact spot as the first photo. All I did was tilt the camera upward. It looks so different from the first photo yet it is practically the same.

#6 New Resie Full View

As the sun crept behind the clouds completely the sky dimmed. It dimmed so much that I had to adjust my camera settings for the new dim light. The clouds, fluffy as can be, are portrayed in a sharper manner here. The sky is more blue and holds more texture. The tree that framed the first photo sits on the left but looks different from this angle. It looks like it isn't as full or as green. By taking a few steps back and the sun behind the clouds the New Resie's beauty is captured in yet another way.

#7 Shoe Photography

While I was finishing up my photo shoot, I had to take a shoe selfie. You know me and my shoe photography. I really don't understand why I love taking pictures of shoes so much. I guess it has to do with the story that they tell or maybe it's just the way they look. These shoes, though, can tell more stories than any others I own. I have worn these flip flops everywhere in the summer for years. I remember the day I bought them. I don't remember when it was, but I remember the joy of finally finding the perfect pair of black flip flops at DuQuoin Walmart. They were only $19.98. Perfect shoes at a perfect price. This photo shows that all the places I have been, all the roads I have walked, the rain puddles I have carelessly trampled through with these beautiful shoes safe on my feet, they are still strong enough to sit on my feet at the New Resie looking good as new.

I hope you enjoyed my photography and the stories behind them. If you did, I would love it if you could give it a like and share with your friends. :)