I have been absent from this space over the last few weeks. It felt as if the content I had planned for these past weeks just didn’t feel right under the circumstance and perhaps that isn’t the case, but things just feel so different right now. And as I set aside those topics, my landscape photography workshop, ‘The World Around You’ began and all my time was pulled into class and keeping my home running during this crazy time.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my photography, and photography in general over the course of this Shelter at Home. Reflecting on its importance in my life and in the world overall. And mostly with regards to nature photography in particular as it doesn’t document the pandemic in the same way as people photography. In that way it feels less important and yet as we see the way the world has changed with empty streets, empty stores, and people spaced out with masks, the nature is a steady presence and in my mind, feels almost more beautiful than ever before.

On a walk the other day I found myself reflecting on the ways my photography has changed and not changed, during the last two months. If you look at my Instagram these days, you’ll find more small wildlife and intimate nature scenes sprinkled among the landscapes that have historically dominated my feed. And certainly this is a change. I do have some birds and macro in my (huge) Lightroom catalog that I scroll past as I go digging for landscapes to edit or grab an image as an example for my blog or in teaching. Many are even given 3 stars in my system to designate images worth editing but rarely have they been edited and shared. They get passed over for the landscapes and nightscapes that I love and spend time teaching to others. In my time at home, which is the majority of my days, I spend time editing the collection of images that I have captured during my travels and retreats. In fact, I will much more often spend time editing those images than exploring my local landscape.

In the past, I would often find myself noticing moments in nature outside my window or on a walk and framing them in my mind. Less often would I actually grab the camera and capture what I was seeing. And some of it was because the beauty felt ‘inferior’ to the grander beauty I had already sitting unedited on my external hard drives. Certainly there is truth to that and the response to my local images on social media is much less than my travels. But that is ok as I do not create images for the response of others. But today, and in the last several months, I AM picking up the camera and capturing what my eye is drawn to.

A truth I realized is that whether the simpler beauty that I see in my everyday surroundings is less impressive than the views of my dream travels or not, observing and capturing that beauty brings me joy and gratitude for our natural world. So often I find I am wishing myself out of the flat Midwest instead of appreciating what is right in front of me. And while I will be so grateful to explore the world again and turn my camera to the mountains and ocean, I hope to continue to finding joy in capturing what is out my front door.

My approach to my photography certainly has not changed. Whether I am out in the mountains or walking along the pond beyond my yard, camera in hand, it is the experience of being in nature that brings me the greatest reward. The creative process and the quiet moments center and calm me. It slows me down and brings me gratitude. The resulting images are a wonderful bonus.

And wherever I am, I go out and observe without expectations. Open mind and open heart to be moved by both the simple and extraordinary moments that Mother Nature offers me.

My “Beauty in My Backyard” project is still going strong with my Sigma 150-600. You can read about the evolution of this project on Sigma’s blog here. I have expanded the project to include some macro with my Nikon 105mm macro lens and my Velvet 56. And as we ease the restrictions, I’m getting out to some local spots around me.

I’d love to hear about how this pandemic has influenced your images or how you think about your photography. Comment below or send me a message. Connecting with others in this passion is my second favorite thing about photography. Second only to the enjoyment of the creative process.

Looking forward to getting back to some sense of normalcy and adding more tips & inspiration in this space in the coming weeks! Stay well!

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape and fine art photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You.

Today’s blog post was meant to be some tips for getting the shot while embracing Mother Nature’s atmosphere as a follow up to last week’s post. But with the dramatic changes that have happened in the world since last week due to Covid-19, I’m postponing those tips to next week.

All of a sudden we find our schools and businesses closed and we’re all holed up in our houses. For some that may mean a lot of solitary time if you live alone or perhaps now your time will be more limited with the kids home and trying to juggle the new homeschool situation with your work & daily tasks. Regardless, it is a little daunting to feel the world shift on a dime. It is so unsettling and uncertain. Being home with the kids is not something I find difficult but the threat of loss & illness involved here strikes at the core of my anxiety.

If you live in the middle of nature or close to areas you can escape for a nature fix and still maintain your ‘social distance’, you are certainly fortunate. Right now, the Chicago suburbs are still pretty brown and blah. Travel was my avenue for photographic inspiration and that’s pretty much gone at the moment. That may be the same for many of you.

With the threat of serious illness for yourself or someone you care about, nature photography can seem insignificant in some ways, right? And maybe life right now does not leave extra time for this creative outlet. There are certainly other priorities unless photography is providing for your family. But if it’s not, it is still important to take care of our hearts, minds and bodies. Photography fills me up and in many ways it is a meditation for my whole body. We need our passions to channel our minds away from spiraling to negative places and to help us focus in on the beauty that still exists in this world. Photography helps us remind us of the beautiful moments & documents the way we see the world. This is important even at a time like this, and perhaps especially at a time like this..

As a couple of trips I looked forward to this month got cancelled, I am grateful for my recent travels and have been thinking of the ways I can fill up my need to photograph, create, learn, grow, and share with my friends who share this passion. If I’m honest, I know my ideas far exceed the time I will have even if this quarantine goes on far longer than currently set (& it seems it will) While these ideas aren’t all that different from my cooped up in winter ideas shared in early January, I feel they warrant reinforcing. Sometimes repetition is helpful and motivating. I know it helps me to have ideas of things I want to try or accomplish in these trying times.

1 ) Keep your camera out on the counter in an ‘easy to grab’ spot! - If you also have young kids, perhaps you want to keep your camera close for grabbing those family moments. But another idea is to keep your camera and telephoto lens close at hand to try some bird/wildlife photography in your yard. Our kitchen window overlooks a pond (surrounded by the neighborhood homes) and I have noticed that the birds are starting to fly around and land on the trees close to our house. After I missed a red cardinal the other day while I went to grab my camera, I decided to keep my camera with my Sigma 150-600 lens in the corner of the counter to grab quickly!

One of my nature captures with my Sigma 150-600mm lens

2) Work on a Printing Project - I recommend this often and honestly should do it more myself. Why not work on a series of images to print and hang on your wall or create a photo book. Bring all that beauty you have worked so hard on into your home during this challenging time.

3) Create a video/slideshow of your images and/or video clips from past vacations -This is something I want to do more of and so rarely can find the time to do it. Maybe this will be the time to get to this project! If you make one, share it with me and inspire me please :)

4) Explore a new indoor genre - Try some macro or still life photography. Explore video in additional to still photos.

5) Find an online class that interests you - That time you thought you didn’t have, perhaps you have it now. Even with landscape, there is so much you can learn and try in your local area to nail techniques for when those travel opportunities come again. If you don’t want spend money on a new class, pull out some old class materials and reread them. Surely you’ll find some tips that you missed the first time around.

6) Fine Tune your Post Processing - Post processing options are endless and building your creativity in editing can be just what you need to take your images to the next level. There are so many classes and free tutorials out there to learn about the many tools of Lightroom, Photoshop, Luminar, etc. Experiment and play, ask your friends or a mentor for their feedback. Dig into that backlog of travel images that you likely wouldn’t get to if you could still be out shooting! Lose yourself in the beauty on your screen.

First and foremost, take care of yourself & your family. The camera will always be there and if you need to put it down for awhile, there is nothing wrong with that!

My online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You, is now open for registration! Sign up at Click Photo School. This will likely be the only run of 2020 as my fall is filled with retreats.