One Sunday morning during the peak of Winter out here in Beautiful British Columbia, I woke up to a gorgeous layer of snow covering the landscape outside my window. It was a stunning sight to see and a very welcome one, as it is not very often that we get snow where I live. Contrary to what many people believe, we don't all ride polar bears and live in igloo's up here in Canada. There are some parts of the country that hardly ever get snow, like Vancouver Island, the place that I call home just off the coast of BC. So, as you'd expect, it's always a very exciting time when we get snow here. And it's something that I must take advantage of since it doesn't take much time before that fresh snowfall begins to melt and everything starts to look rather gross...

This world is full of both beauty and ugliness. Nature though is never ugly, it's the most beautiful and majestic part about this world. Some places are full of forests, some with bodies of water, some with flat land for miles, some have hills that may turn to mountains and so much more. Most people don't take the time to appreciate true natural beauty. Sometimes the most beautiful things are right in front of you, you just need to look.

I believed for most of my life that I had been given a gift of creativity in the sense of written and performing arts. I would proudly own that label all the time, often identifying as dancer, writer, poet, singer. But scarcely would I explore visual arts. Quite the opposite - I would actively avoid any such expressions.

In August 2015, my parents and I flew over to visit my brother in Colorado. At the time he was living in place that was around 8500 feet in elevation, and since we come from a mere 800 feet above sea level, it took a little while to adjust to the thinner air. Our first night there I felt my heart beating super fast, and I was just trying to sleep!

March 2018, what a year full of surprises. Habana, what a beautiful place. A magical gem is full of beauty, from the people to the food, nature, the coffee. I love this picture. I have never seen before sunset so beautiful and peaceful. The sun is resting on the arms of the ocean dress of beautiful bright colors. The ocean is a large bed, made of waves waiting for the sun to lay and rest until the next day. I was there sitting on the Malecon Cubano, enjoying the view with my good friends. What a peaceful moment a perfect combination of happiness and relaxation. I was watching the water dance one side to another. It was like they were celebrating and waiting for the sun to come and rest—such a beautiful moment no camera can catch the perfection of this natural scenery. We are blessed mother earth gives us this view that makes us dream.

Being on 50 acres can be a great way to kill time and a great place to go explore. On and off the trails, the forest is shaped and is forever transitioning.

It’s not every day you see a double rainbow, even in paradise.

What is a gorge anyways? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is a narrow steep-walled canyon , among other things...we shall, of course, be talking about the canyon definition:)

Even though trees eventually stop growing in height, their trunks continue to thicken throughout their lifetime, and they add new rings each year to represent their ongoing changes. In this way, trees are similar to humans. Even though we stop getting taller, we continue to grow in a number of other ways. We develop language for communication, empathy and understanding, and emotions, like happiness, compassion, and love. We endure hardships and storms along the way, just like trees. We fall, we make mistakes, and we get back up. Humans shed that which is no longer needed for life, just as trees drop their dried, depleted leaves on the cold, damp ground each Autumn. We let go of negative energy, troubling memories, excess weight, carbon dioxide, and other unecessary items from our backpacks along our journeys. With this shedding, we begin to anticipate new growth and excitement about the future. We set off on a new path, and our branches continue to grow and change. Eventually, we do forge one last fall, and return to the Earth once again.

This is one of many photo’s I took when my family went on a nature hike. We were walking up Catawba mountain, headed to the Cascades water falls, when I noticed something about this particular spot. I did not take a photo right then but waited until we were making our way back down for a very important reason. At the very top of the mountain, in the presence of the water fall you can hear the roaring sound as the liquid pummels down in a never ending stream. You are captivated by the majesty of nature and the handiwork of the Almighty. Even when walking away the water roars as it speeds over rocks and cliffs. This is a beautiful sound but there is one even more special to me.

Let me take you on a journey through the lens of Tia Jones. I have created a submission that I recently enjoyed, it consists of hiking, horseback riding, and sight-seeing all in one. This image is a visual of Colorado Springs beautiful mountains, our friendly horses at Academy Riding Stables, and the amazing sight of rocks with many different forms and names. This memory was a date day that my husband had surprised me with, I had to choose this photo because it captures so many details and tells a million stories. This photo had now created a new memory to me and my husband's photo gallery, I could never forget this day. I don't have an explanation of how I edit the photo, I just took it and posted it here. I want everyone to enjoy the beauty in this image and share the same feelings I had while taking it. The trip began when we mounted the horses and I felt a sense of security and excitement. We began to head towards the trail, so many cars passed by us on the road waving and smiling at the sight. We approached the trail and as we entered the park, everything seemed so surreal, the mountains looked like green screen literally straight out of a movie, the rocks were forming objects you could never un-see no matter how hard you tried, one of the rocks formed a giant laid on a rock looking up at the sky, another rock formed two camels kissing which is known as The Kissing Camels history says its recorded as the longest kiss in history. As we continue through the trail we learned how you were supposed to lean going uphill or downhill in order to not hurt the horses back, going down you pointed your toes up heels down and slightly leaned forward and uphill you pointed your toes up heels down and slightly leaned back. This info makes me respect horses that much more, they put themselves in a position to be our transportation no matter the condition and that's a true sacrifice. I enjoyed the sunshine on this day and most importantly the group that I was on the trail with. The trainer was so intrigued with Colorado she couldn't stop saying how amazing the atmosphere was compared to Minnesota, she also asked us a lot of questions and seem interested in who we were and where we came from. My image is originally from Colorado Springs, I grew up here and when I say there's no place like home, I mean it no other place I've been compares to home. I would recommend anyone who comes to visit to stop by Academy Riding Stables and take a tour to see what Garden of the Gods has to offer and you'll never forget this place. The clouds this day were as white as snow so perfect and the sky was as clear as crystal lake water. The air was so crisp and clean made you feel as if you were breathing in life with every breath, the horse were so groomed and well behaved they knew exactly where to go every step of the way and we didn't have to pull them away from the bushes if they tried to eat. None of them were stubborn and so friendly and so gentle as if they could read exactly who we were. The dirt was calm didn't have to worry about dust blowing around getting in our eyes and helped the horses along the very path that took us through the trail. The trees were green some tall some short, the looked like they swayed back and forth as we passed by each one, they smelled so fresh and seemed to make you at one with nature. You could hear how the silence called you name telling you that everything was fine and you were safe here, it embraced you with a warm hug from the sun and a sense of security from the horses, trees, and rocks. I shared this beautiful moment with someone I truly care for and love and this memory plays like a recording I never want to turn off, he opened up and showed me a new side of him that makes me proud to see he isn't afraid to try new things with me. I opened my heart and eyes to a whole new world this day, it showed me that the simple things can really make a huge difference in your life and others, you perceive life the way you want to and it can be beautiful or ugly. I share my love for photos so that you can wear my eyes for a chance and get a feel of the goosebumps and heartfelt moment I felt on this very day at this exact moment.

Tobin Park