Through the Lens: Photography for Wellbeing

This photo is called Circle of Life. I photographed this last spring while laying on my back in the middle of a majestic forest in BC. I was out with a group of other photographers getting eaten by mosquitos and taking photos of the area. It was very enjoyable, (well not the mosquito biting part) and of course that is therapeutic being with and enjoying other people. What I really wanted to share with you tonight is an awesome website that I stumbled across. In an article called "7 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health" by Danielle Hark  on the Beliefnet website, I read the suggestion to "try art" and even take pictures with your cell phone. "The key" Hark states, "is not what you create, it is how you create it. Its about being in the present moment and enjoying the process of creating."  Of course this caught my interest because I have also been encouraging this.  Hark provided a link to her website Broken Light Collective. I'd encourage ...

Photographer Freeman Patterson wrote, in  Photography of Natural Things  (1982), "The growth of cities has increased interest in nature photography as an antidote to the pressures of urban living, a readily available therapy, and a stimulating creative outlet". I totally agree with this statement as I have experienced this for myself. Stepping out into nature, with camera in hand, can provide uplifting and therapeutic experiences. While driving along the highway recently I noticed Trumpeter Swans flying and landing on ponds and streams in fields within the interior of British Columbia. So as soon as I had the chance took the opportunity to pull over to observe and photograph these magnificent creatures. Witnessing these beautiful birds, ones I have rarely seen before (except in photographs made by others), got my blood pumping and although I could have easily rushed over to start snapping pictures, that would have scared them away and would have been disrespectf...