Assignment 3 - Nature in Unexpected Places

[Applespider]

The assignment for March is 'Nature in Unexpected Places'.

You must have taken the picture yourself between 8 and 31 March. If you took a picture that fits the assignment but was taken earlier, then post it in this thread instead.


Anyone can enter from those with (D)SLRs from P&S to cameraphones although they should be pictures that you think are good rather than just snapshots. The goal is not to 'win' but to share the enjoyment of taking pictures and learn from others.

Some basic rules on commenting (basically be nice!) are here. If you've got any suggestions on how the assignment rules/topics caved in future then post here

Post your pictures in this thread by the end of March with a title and we'll start commenting (make sure you title your comment referencing the pic you are commenting on)

 

[Clix Pix]

And then, having said that...

Don't know if this would really qualify or not as "Nature in unexpected places," but I was out having a walk and enjoying the delightfully warm weather that has blessed us over the past few days and came upon this:

 

[baby duck monge]

Here's one I took that struck me as rather odd. Wish I would have had a nice camera with me at the time instead of my 3MP snap-and-shoot, but it is what it is.

And yes, that is what appears to be a tree or a bush growing out of the top of that building.

 

[macattack5]

if only i had a picture of the grass ontop of the michigan avenue apple store...

 

[Abstract]

I have an idea for a photo, but it's rather ridiculous.


What does "nature" include? Is it only animals, plants, and water, or do "natural" things count? Nature and "Natural" are different. Do wood houses? They're "natural", but not nature. Where does "unexpected places" include? Certainly a tree in a forest is expected, but what about a plant in a bedroom? Is it unexpected because plants don't naturally grow in bedrooms, or is it expected because it's a house plant and......well......it's not THAT weird to have a plant indoors? What if the plant was sitting on top of your head? Yeah, ridiculous, but what is "unexpected"??

If the topic was "Natural things in unexpected places", or even "Natural things in unnatural places", I think that would be clearer.




Ok ok, stroke of genius. I have it. I don't know why, but when I was typing, it struck me. Brilliant, baby! Well, I haven't taken the photo yet, so wait. I'll be back within the week!

 

[Abstract]

Abstract's Submission

While typing out my last reply, I thought of beauty products, particularly natural ones. Then I thought "Body Shop!!" since I'm a guy and don't know any of the other beauty product stores. Over the past 90 minutes, I walked down to the nearest Body Shop, talked to 2-3 employees and convinced them to let me photograph something in their store (their policy is that nobody is allowed to photograph their stuff), wandered around, and found a small display on the women's side that seemed unbelievably fitting, while not being overly logo-laden or anything.

Anyway....

 

[whocares]

Anyway....

<pic>

Cleaver and aesthetic.

I'm:
a) Still stumped; and more importantly
b) Getting back from work when it's dark.

Easy excuses I know...

 

[Abstract]

I'm:
a) Still stumped; and more importantly
b) Getting back from work when it's dark.

Actually, I have thought of 2 more ideas. You have to accept the fact that someone's going to listen at your idea and say to himself, "I'm not sure if this qualifies," because all 3 of my ideas were like that. I just got lucky and found something that actually said "beleaf"", "minteva" --- things found in nature, because my original idea was to walk into the store and take a photo of any one of their fruity-looking products.


Anyway, I just thought of a 4th idea.......(hint in white text below)














....involving something cold, edible, and goes with what I just said about "fruity." Yeah, "frozen yoghurt" inside a freezer would be a good idea. I even have a "Hawaiian" shirt that's very flowery, and I have a pair of board shorts with lots of flowers on it as well, and was gonna take a photo of myself wearing it in a weird place.

 

[amateurmacfreak]

Anyway, I just thought of a 4th idea.......(hint in white text below)

Gosh! You don't tell somebody when you post white text!

 

[kwajo.com]

you can look forward to one of my photos for this assignment, but only after Wednesday, my Thesis is due that day and I'm working day and night on that. I'm just making this post because I'm sad I can't take photos right now

 

[Clix Pix]

An unexpected sight in the midst of nature's beauty (somewhat graphic)

Was walking around our little lake and saw this sad sight....

 

[Clix Pix]

While typing out my last reply, I thought of beauty products, particularly natural ones. Then I thought "Body Shop!!" since I'm a guy and don't know any of the other beauty product stores. Over the past 90 minutes, I walked down to the nearest Body Shop, talked to 2-3 employees and convinced them to let me photograph something in their store (their policy is that nobody is allowed to photograph their stuff), wandered around, and found a small display on the women's side that seemed unbelievably fitting, while not being overly logo-laden or anything.

Anyway....

It's a nice shot, very colorful and well-done, but I'm not sure it really meets the criteria of this assignment. ?? Not exactly "nature" as in the real world, nor is it in an unexpected place.... Maybe I'm being too literal but I interpreted this assignment as meaning that we should find some instance of nature (living or dead flora, fauna, etc.) in an unusual or unexpected situation or location....

 

[Clix Pix]

you can look forward to one of my photos for this assignment, but only after Wednesday, my Thesis is due that day and I'm working day and night on that. I'm just making this post because I'm sad I can't take photos right now

I hear you -- I would be VERY frustrated at that! Well, once you're done with your thesis, you'll be able to enjoy everything again. We'll be waiting for you!

 

[Abstract]

It's a nice shot, very colorful and well-done, but I'm not sure it really meets the criteria of this assignment. ?? Not exactly "nature" as in the real world, nor is it in an unexpected place.... Maybe I'm being too literal but I interpreted this assignment as meaning that we should find some instance of nature (living or dead flora, fauna, etc.) in an unusual or unexpected situation or location....

Me neither.

At first I was thinking the same thing you were, so I was looking for trees and flowers in places where I wouldn't normally see them, but then I loosened my interpretation of the assignment and thought, "Does nature in a bottle count?"

I mentioned that people would think "Does this qualify?" if you heard my ideas for this topic, and right now, I can see why it was a weird idea.

 

[Applespider]

At first I was thinking the same thing you were, so I was looking for trees and flowers in places where I wouldn't normally see them, but then I loosened my interpretation of the assignment and thought, "Does nature in a bottle count?"

Now you see, I think it might have worked but not in the Body Shop with lots of examples of nature. If you'd found a supermarket where the only thing on the shelf amongst lots of white, chemical-laden products was one of those shiny bottles, it would have fitted.

I've got a couple of ideas - just haven't had the chance to take the shot yet.

 

[Abstract]

And I still feel that way now in a way. Sometimes I don't agree with what you said, but right now, I agree. I'm sitting on the fence on what "nature in unexpected places" actually means. While I agree with you and Clix Pix right now, yesterday I really did think it was in interesting that you can bottle nature. I mean, they (think) they just bottled the essence of leaves, mint, and lemons in that clear glass bottle. Surely an unexpected place to find herbacious plant life.

Anyway, I had another idea right after I took that photo, but I won't reveal it yet because I may take the photo (or I may not.....it depends). This photo opportunity is at a friend's house who I'm not very close with, but am very social with when we're together. The other should be found at an upscale department store or decorative store, I think.

I think it might have worked but not in the Body Shop with lots of examples of nature.

Hindsight is 20/20. We have photos of pigs in snow right now, so maybe that very idea that nature was in the Body Shop wasn't so simple to come up with, but now that it has been posted, maybe you're right.

 

[dllavaneras]

I definitely didn't expect this!

Not exactly the first place I'd look to find nature...

Yep, that would be my head! (and yes, I'm going bald at 21! )

 

[Clix Pix]

Not exactly the first place I'd look to find nature...

Yep, that would be my head! (and yes, I'm going bald at 21! )

Oh, good grief! Did that tickle, or did you even feel him at all?

 

[Abstract]

My other "alternative" ideas may not fly with this crowd, it seems, so I'm not going to shoot them. I've thought about it, and if my last one isn't "nature in unexpected places", then neither are most of my ideas because they're a bit out there. You really need to stretch the idea a bit to accept them.

For example, I was going to take a photo of the ingredients list on a Coke can, and use photoshop and blur everything out except the word "water" in the ingredients list, since "water" and "nature" are extremely intertwined, and yet there it is in a Coke can...which is the last place you'd think of when looking for something "natural."

I have 2 new ideas, but I would have to drive 1.5-2 hours to get the shot, which I'm not willing to do unless I happen to be going there anyway.

If we loosen the idea of "nature" and "unexpected places", then we'd have more submissions. I mean, I can argue all day that the recent monkey photo and green bug photos qualify, since an insect crawling on a person isn't exactly "unexpected", and the monkey isn't really unexpected either in some strange sense.

It really depends on what you're looking for, and how stringent you make the definitions.

About voting: I say let anyone vote. Go ahead. I luuurve a challenge.

 

[yoak]

Lots of words and not too many pictures in this thread so far
Nice head shot btw

 

[law guy]

All right - this is a shot of nature inserting itself unexpectedly. This was one of my first shots with a new D50 as I was sitting at my home office desk making my first adjustments to the defaults and getting to know the layout. I shot through the window - through the glass and the window screen - and what should appear when I copied my card to my PM, but a forgotten and unexpected scene out back of the trees in the fog.

 

[yellow]

Meh. Parking where I work is a trip. Literally. It's a 15 minute walk from where I park to where my office is. And actually park relatively close. In this sea of parking lots and tar/concrete/steel/rubber, I noticed this (attachment 2) as I got out of my Jeep. I thought it was relatively interesting, even if it's not really what I considered "nature in an unexpected place". But in looking at the picture on my Mac after upload, I was more interested in the reflection of the tree off my Jeep. If I had noticed it while I was there I might have tried hard to pick it up, but it's probably one of those things that looks better to me if it's not a contrived shot.

 

[FritzTheWonderM]

I think I just stepped in some nature.

Talk about unexpected places!

 

[yellow]

Nice

 

[yoak]

lol, a classic.