The Beauty of Nature and the Outdoors

In the Spring of 2024, I took a photography class as an elective course for my major. I thought it would be a great opportunity to expand not only as an artist but as a graphic designer as well. I also just thought it was a fun hobby to try! I’ve always admired photographers and the way they see the world.

Throughout my photography class, I learned so much about how to use a camera and all the different types of photos I could take. I started looking at people and the world in a different way. Every aspect of life became a piece of art. Certain things stuck out to me more, and I wanted to capture those moments in a photo.

I started with the outdoors. My professor always began the class inside the classroom to take attendance. She would proceed to go over what she wanted us to focus on that day. Some days, there was an objective. Other days, she just wanted us to go outside and take practice taking photos of whatever we liked. But no matter what, we were always outside, embarking on a mini journey around the school or around the city of Hayward taking pictures with our rental cameras.

I loved her method of teaching. I loved the creative freedom we had. We took pictures of each other, of the ground, of the sky, of the blooming flowers, of anything that caught our attention. I spent a lot of my time in that class wandering around with my headphones on, and taking photos of everything in my vicinity. I can’t begin to describe how meditative it felt. Everything felt beautiful and wonderful and filled with life.

I learned more about Adobe Lightroom in this class. I can’t tell you how much joy I found in editing my photos. It was as if I found a way to enhance the beauty of what was already in front of me. I brought my photos more life and added to their pre-existing stories.

On April 20th, 2026, I ended up getting my own camera for my birthday—a Canon T7. I was ecstatic! I started taking my camera on every big trip so that I could take photos of my friends, my family, and the beauty of the world around me. I love existing in the moment, and I feel that a camera has really helped ground me. I remember trips more clearly now. I remember the tiny details of the nature I took pictures of. I consciously think about the little things a little bit more, because I want to capture them in a photo.

What a beautiful world we live in, and what a privilege it is to capture that beauty in our own little ways.

Below are only some of the photos I’ve taken of the outdoors. As I begin each chapter of my life, I hope to recognize and capture more moments of beauty in our wonderful, little world.