Nature photography is good for you

We’re unpacking why nature and photography can be the best of therapies when it comes to managing what goes on in our heads. Whether you’re shooting on a Nikon or a Nokia, beginner or pro this blog post is for you.

Taking a closer look at research at the Mental Health Foundation in the UK, we discovered that spending time outdoors is one of the key factors which enabled people to cope with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, nearly half (45%) of people in the UK said that visiting green spaces, such as parks, helped them to cope. On average, people need to spend 67 minutes outside each day in order to feel refreshed, according to new *research in the US this year. This delivers physical and mental benefits. OK so that kind of confirms what our grandparents probably told us; “get outside and play”.

Then when you look at activities that involve the senses, well these can help us to develop our connection with the natural world. As can activities where we feel emotions such as compassion, perceive beauty or find meaning in nature. And this is where nature photography comes in handy as it combines all of these factors in a super accessible way.

Nature can generate many positive emotions, such as calmness, joy, and creativity and can facilitate concentration. The more beautiful and unpolluted the location, the more it boosts our sense of contentment and happiness. The reality of life means that we can’t always go bouldering in the wilderness or climb that alpine mountain. We can however capture a budding flower in a balcony pot, or admire the green grass of the local park or look up to the sky to capture an orange, mauve sunset.

It can be therapeutic too, when we get intentional about the way we interact with photography from taking the pictures to carefully editing them, viewing and reviewing them and sharing them on friendly platforms like Flickr.

How photography can start the conversation about mental health

Bryce Evans’ Ted Talk about How Photography Saved My Life explains that as a kid he wanted to be an artist but as he grew up anxiety and depression took hold . He asks a valid question, “Why are we so focused on verbal conversation?”. Why not use photos to start the conversation when words are impossibly hard to find? Thoughts and emotions are released without stigma or judgement through photography. It’s a safe space. It can calm your state, take yourself out of negative thought patterns so you see and connect with the world differently. Could the first step for getting support start with sharing and talking about your perspective through the photos you’ve taken? We’d like to think so Bryce.

A picture tells a thousand words

We all have unique stories to tell whether it’s poetry, prose, painting or photography. Finding your photographic voice comes through practice. Daily missions to feel and photograph nature can just help us feel more optimistic. You could call it journaling through imagery or the 365 daily photo challenge solo or with friends. Make time to have a conversation, firstly with yourself through photography and then share far and wide.

In the spirit of optimism, celebrating life. We’ve collated these stunning photos from our community that remind us of how connecting with nature, framing and capturing that moment can deliver all the feels.

Now be off with you, get outdoors, kick some autumn leaves and look at the sky.

If you’d like to find out more about how Skedr.io can help you share your photos faster in Flickr Groups, check this: https://skedr.io/#checkout-video

Source: * Data from a random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 Americans was commissioned by RVshare between April 18-23 2024