In the last few years I’ve read quite a number of articles about the healing power of nature. While this might be one of the least interesting ‘discoveries’ of the last decade, I’ve realized over the last few months it’s also easy to overlook. It’s not enough to just be in nature. I go to the park and gardens that are just a few blocks from my apartment several times a week. And yet, when I took two hours to walk around the botanic gardens alone when it first opened, I felt healed in a way I deeply needed.

And there’s no doubt - having a camera helps. It helps to slow down and notice the details that the landscape architects and nature worked hand in hand to create. The camera also helps me to look at old things in new ways - trees with deeply expressive faces, plants with rich vein structures, roses that are lonely and out of place.

So yes, it’s cliche. But find your nature. Slow down. Touch it, smell it, soak it in with all of your senses. And then maybe turn your aperture.