Worlds in Worlds

I must admit that this winter seemed particularly long and odd, but that's just how life can be at times. As a result, I am all the more eager for warmer weather to arrive. I am actively exploring macro photography possibilities as springtime welcomes in new life after the cold season. As you get closer, the scene gets more bizarre and it becomes clearer what's really occurring between the trees.

I've always wanted to try macro photography, but I never really did because I was surrounded by such beautiful scenery and wildlife. Since I no longer possess that, I had to alter my perspective and make the most of what I do have. The more I spend time outside with my camera wandering around the forest floor between dead trees and branches, the more I notice the tiny creatures that exist just below our typical field of vision. Even though it is a part of our ecosystems and is usually invisible to us, without it everything would be drastically altered or even cease to exist as we know it.

I often consider and reflect on the current situation of nature in our culture while I am outside. Fundamentally, what is working, what may be improved, and what is just horrible. And I have to be honest from my perspective and the little that I know—the future looks bleak.

Microorganisms, or microscopic living things and plants, are everywhere around us in our oceans and soils. They do a great deal of work to put it simply. They, in my opinion, merit the same amount of attention as stunning, expansive landscapes, tall mountains, amazing beaches, or significant fauna. How come most of us don't understand or see it that way? Isn't it past due? Is awareness the key? Is it a matter of knowledge and wisdom? Is empathy a factor? Is it due to urban living and how we currently live?

I believe it's probably a combination of all of them, each in their own unique way. A lack of awareness of these small details in our contemporary environment and a busy, hurried lifestyle that prevents awareness. Natural environments are very hard to come by and frequently overcrowded in urban settings, making it difficult for living things to even get by let alone have room to expand.

Last but not least, I believe a significant component is empathy with every living thing and the natural world on this planet, in a sense appreciation and understanding that they are a part of us and we are part of them and we can not survive without them, at least not for long. As everything has a right to life, not only us as the top predators, we shouldn't think that we are above anything. In general, we need to be more understanding and modest, and we also need to educate people about the interconnectedness of all life on planet earth.