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Photography and
Nature
By:
Nube Aguaiza
College Now Course - ENG W
When I was
a little girl, I was always surrounded by nature. Back then, my mom and I
lived on the countryside with my great grandparents, in Ecuador. The countryside
was beautiful with big tall trees that had bright green leaves, and the sun
shined so brightly every afternoon. The neighbors were nice and always helped
one another. Every morning, afternoon and evening we would run into one another
while doing our daily errands and say hello. The countryside was a place that
offered so much beauty to everyone; the waterfall by the small river was one
of the most fantastic places to visit. Small daises and roses surrounded the
waterfall. The water was crystal clear and the fish jumped out of the water
each time I threw a rock in.
Each afternoon I would go to the barn to feed the little chicks and my two
baby rabbits. The baby rabbits were so soft and fluffy. Each time I went,
I would sneak one in my coat pocket and bring it home. Eventually, my mom
would find it on my bed and make me bring it back. When I returned the baby
rabbits to their home, I would feed them carrots, lettuce and a red, juicy
apple.
The best part of all was that each evening my great grandpa and I would sit
together on an old bench. We would put a blanket over it so it wouldn't be
cold to sit on. From there, we would watch the sparkling tiny stars in the
sky and make wishes on them. My great grandpa loved the stars. Each evening
before we went to bed he would tell me a story. The countryside was filled
with beautiful flowers, small rivers and all types of animals like cows, horses,
bulls, chickens and pigs. Each sound was different; my favorite was the cows'
moo.
As I grew up this changed, and nature was never so close to me like is was
then. My mom and I came to live in New York with my dad. It was so different.
The houses were close to each other and when I saw people had dogs on leashes,
I felt it was cruel, since my dogs in Ecuador were always loose. The only
place I was able to see all types of animals was in the zoo, but I felt bad.
They were not in their natural habitat, where they could run and be free.
The birds were in a big crystal clear room, filled with leaves, rocks and
trees. I always thought wouldn't it be nice if they could be free in a forest
and fly as high as they want and see so much.
Over the years, I searched for nature in New York. I grew into loving photography,
because to me personally a picture reflected so many emotions and stories
that can be told. Each single picture became significant to me. This was a
way to have nature always close by me. One of my first photography experiences
was in a pet store. I took a picture of a parrot in a cage. I thought I was
with nature, but it made me feel so sad, because the parrot was just sitting
there and when you would look into its eyes you could see that he was not
happy.
For a photograph, a parrot has amazing colors. I realized they are very unique
animals that belong in the wild. We humans have made many species go into
extinction, because we take them away from their home and family. I see that
as a cruelty, like taking a baby from a mother. The pet store brought me no
closer to nature.
After much searching, I found Silver Lake Park, a park in Staten Island. It
is like a second home to me. Every Saturday morning, when the sun is still
set, I wake up at 5:30 am to eat breakfast. At 6 am my dad drives me and my
dog Poochie to the park, I always make sure to take my camera. On my way,
I see older couples taking a walk and others jogging and running with their
dogs. We drive past Clove Lake Park which has a beautiful pond filled with
turtles in them. When we pass the bank, I know we're almost there.
Finally, we arrive and my doggie is so excited that he jumps out of the car.
We cross the street and walk straight down a little hill instead of using
the stairs. While my dad walks my dog, I walk close to them, looking around
me to see if there is something nice to take a picture of. I walk over to
the small lake and spot a turtle, with its small little head out of the water,
and a bunch of fish surrounding it.
I look through the camera lens and make sure that the turtle is in the center
and press my finger on the button. The shutter opens and closes, and then
there's the familiar click; it's still dark enough for the flash to go off.
Then my dad, my doggie and I cross the small bridge over the lake. On our
walk, a dog with his owner go running past us. There she is, I spot my doggie's
friend, a black small ear down cocker spaniel who is walking with her owner.
I stop and wait until my dog and the cocker spaniel are finished playing.
Meanwhile, I take pictures of them, because I love dogs with all of my heart,
especially Poochie. Each way I look, there is always something new to take
a picture of, whether trees, turtles, ducks, birds, rabbits and even squirrels.
I'm always amazed by the beauty of nature, how each animal lives and hunts
for its food to survive.
To me, a camera is more than a machine to take pictures of things. It is very
valuable, because to me, the pictures that I take stay with me forever. Also,
it is a way for me to see that nature is always close to me no matter where
I am.
After about an hour, we have toured the entire park. We've traveled dirt paths,
sidewalks, and bridges. Finally, it's time to rest. My dad and I sit on the
benches and my dog lies down on the green grass. At 7 am, we can see that
the sun is rising up to the sky. The sky's deep blue becomes tinted with a
shiny yellow, a bright pink and fiery orange. It's common to see a bunch of
birds flapping their wings fly through the bluing sky. If you're quiet enough
you can actually hear them honking, quacking or chirping to one another. Too
bad they're too far to catch in a picture. For the meantime, I take pictures
of birds that are on the trees, they are so beautiful. Some are red with gray,
others are black, yellow and black and even a full red one too.
As much as I love the sunrise, I feel a little sad to see it come. This is
the signal that my dad is going to have to get to work. For me, it's time
to go back to my regular life. My dad and I get up from the bench, and Poochie
knows it's time to go too. The last part of our journey is about to come.
We have a five minute walk out of the park that leaves us at a big hill. Well
rested from our grass time, my dad, the dog and I run fast up the hill, and
we feel the wind blowing on our faces. Finally, we get in the car and drive
back home, until the next Saturday morning. I'm not that sad though, I have
my pictures to last me through the week.