Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Get It Scrapped: Documenting a Nature Story

I take nature photos all of the time. I love capturing images on birds and flowers. Most of the time I don't know what I should do with them. The photos often end up as part of my project life spreads. Though I am perfectly ok with that, I was invited to do more with the photos than just share them. I was asked if I could associate a personal story with a set of nature photos.

Now I Just Photograph Little Birds by Christy Strickler |Supplies Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye, Bella Blvd.; Letters: American Crafts, Studio Calico; Die Cuts: K and Company, Girl's Paperie; Metal, Resin: Prima; Paint: Studio Calico;Photo Template: Traci Reed Designs; Other: Doily, Ribbon; Based on a sketch from the Get It Scrapped membership






These are some of my most recent bird photos. I sometimes feed the sparrows and bananquits we encounter around the island. That was the immediate story that came to mind. However, as I thought about the story a little more, I realized I had an opportunity to document some bird stories without photos. There was a time, before I used the camera much at all, in which I worked at a wildlife refuge. Caring for birds was something I did regularly. I knew at that time that I would like to be a biologist but I considered specializing in ornithology.I worked with birds of prey as well as hand raising hundred of orhaned baby animals( many of the song birds) This is something about me that my son probably knows very little about. I also recalled a time in which I fed the sparrows seeds from my hand. I was working at Sea World and one of the older gentleman had been hand feeding the birds for quite some time. It was a joy to help him feed them. Both are stories I had never documented and here was my chance.

I chose to create a grid of my favorite recent bird photos. One bird sits proudly facing toward the camera, while the rest of the birds are arranged to look towards him ( with one other exception). The paper choice may seem odd. Most people would choose a variety of nature themed or bird papers. I chose the hearts because of the great joy I derive from these small creatures. The pink chevrons reminded me of little bird prints in the dirt. There are a few trees and birds in the green toned patterns. Just enough, along with the resin bird and branch to bring thoughts of nature to my layout.

Additional Resources

An article from the Get It Scrapped Blog

The Get It Scrapped Membership 
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1 comment:

  1. I love your paper choices -- they are happy, like little birds :)
    I too love taking nature photos but never scrap them. I love that you were able to tie your love of taking bird photos together with a personal story. :)

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