Saturday, June 15 2013 was Nature Photography Day. This is an annual event started in 2006 by NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association.) Per the Nature Photography Day page on the NANPA web site “this day was designated by NANPA to promote the enjoyment of nature photography, and to explain how images have been used to advance the cause of conservation and protect plants, wildlife, and landscapes locally and worldwide.”
I’ve been an active member of NANPA since 1999. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to attend two of NANPA’s annual summit meetings and through this organization I’ve gained many great friends and valuable contacts.
It’s a great thing that June 15 has been set aside as a day to promote nature photography. The event builds a sense of shared commitment and enjoyment while bringing awareness to the need to protect and preserve those places of natural beauty, whether it be the metro park down the street, the wildlife preserve across the state or the National Park in the Western United States.
Last June 15 (2012) I was living on Hilton Head Island. For some reason I was preoccupied and not able to get out that day to capture and image or two. This year was different. I awoke in the pre-dawn darkness on Saturday morning thanks to some howling wind and booming thunder. A storm was blowing through my area of Texas, just north of Dallas. It lasted perhaps an hour and then the clouds started to break in the east for what I knew would be a spectacular sunrise. I love working on the backside of storms at sunrise and sunset because the last of the storm clouds can often be illuminated by the low sun and cast dynamic shapes and reflect beautiful color. I am also fortunate to live close to one of the few open fields remaining in the high-growth suburb of Frisco. This field is land owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers and is relatively undeveloped. What I also enjoy is that it is one of the few views here at sunrise where, if I position myself just right, I can eliminate the usual clutter of power lines and rooftops on the horizon line.
Two of the images below are of that sunrise this past Saturday, Nature Photography Day. The third was at sunset, from the parking lot of Wakeland High School in Frisco (once again my daughter Chloe waited patiently in my truck while I jumped out with camera and tripod). I’m thankful for the opportunity to capture these images and to share in the celebration of the day. The lesson learned is that no matter where you find yourself there is always natural beauty worth celebrating through photography, whether it be landscape, wildlife, plant life or the quite simply some amazing light int he sky following a passing storm.
And where will I be on June 15 2014 ? Back home on the farm in Ohio !
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