While many photographers set out looking for the big landscape image, I find myself more drawn to the details. That’s right, I have a passion for patterns and color. Perhaps its because there is no shortage of variation and surprise in what nature shows us. Seeing these patterns requires one to simply slow down and look more critically at our surroundings. We have a natural ability to process thousands of details when we look out the window. But what happens when we break these down into individual elements? Magic!!

We have all passed by a lake and seen a duck float by. How many of you, however, have really looked closely at that duck? Take a moment to ponder the pattern and colors of feathers. And how about how those feathers shed a simple drop of water? Amazing.

How about a dragonfly? They buzz around on cool little wings. Imagine if we could really see what those wings look like? Patterns and colors abound. I seriously doubt an artist could make a more perfect and gorgeous combination of shapes and lines than what nature has already created!

Okay, I admit I do pull back from the macro to see life on a grander scale. But even then, I am continually drawn to patterns. Consider these dozing sealions. While I did shoot many closeups on this day, I was most taken by the confluence of rocks and mammals. How cool is this?

Once you start looking for patterns in nature, its like your eyes are opened for the first time. We may sense that a scene is beautiful, but it is the organized details that make it so. For those of you who follow me, you already know this to be true. So the search continues, one small detail at a time!