Capturing Nature

Nature. Whether it’s the mountains and valleys or beautiful seashores there’s a lot of nature in the wild to capture for your scrapbook pages. Maybe a formal garden at a castle or estate is what you love to visit or maybe even your own garden becomes your photo focal point. I’ve a few tips on what to include next time you head out to your favorite garden spot.

Nature

The garden I’ve put into this page is a Japanese style garden within a larger garden. Some of the things I photographed will be important to include to represent that style.

There was a covered entranceway that frames a view into area. This acts as a frame in the photo. The photos to follow reveal that inner area.

The plant on the side is one I also take a close up and use in the 1×4 section and the 6-1” squares on either side of the photo. Repeating these elements on the page ties things together.     

The second landscape photo is a wide shot of the Koi pond and surrounding trees that wrap around this garden.

The sculptures at the ponds edge are a feature to include. The hut with the Shoji style windows is important to carry this garden’s theme. The red bush is also prominent in the garden and one I took a closer picture to use it in both the bottom 1×4 and 6-1” squares sections. It also adds color to the layout and repeats similar reds in other photos of the garden. Also, included in the 2×2’s are paths in, plants and stalks of bamboo.

In the Garden Collection of Mosaic Moments Grid Paper
Pattern #476

For my 2×2 and center 4×4 places I used black mats that stands out nicely against the Clear Skies Grid paper from the In the Garden Collection of Mosaic Moments grid paper.  My center element is a digital creation I made. The Pattern is #476 a pinwheel pattern.

Nature
digital scrapbook element

So next time you take photos get the wide shot and then close ups of plants and foliage within that photo to repeat in the layout. It helps to vary the size and details seen.

Get photos of sculptures, statues, signs, benches and features in the park. They add to your garden tale, so don’t forget them!

While these tips are geared specifically to a garden layout, the ideas of finding frames in nature to stage your photos, repeating elements found in your photo with close ups of them, is still a good way to fill your page with color, texture and interest.

We often only see the big picture and it helps to build a good page by adding in photos with details and varying views close and far away. Take lots of photos and give yourself lots to work with to build your nature layout!

Andrea Fisher