Some are lucky enough to be bitten by the wildlife bug early on, so to speak, but I stumbled across an interesting example of someone acquiring a fascination with nature as an adult.
Based in Singapore Francis Ooi went running in the woods near his home to escape the hustle and bustle of his urban work life. He wanted to give his living room a face lift so he decided to take close up images of plants in the nearby reserve and mount them like 18th century style botanical illustrations.
The Bukit Timah Hill nature reserve in Singapore
This idea for tasteful interior design started the ball rolling. The more he shot, the more he saw. You can imagine him crouching with a camera pressed to his face trying to achieve the perfect photograph and noticing the multitude of tiny plants and animals around his subject.
What started as a recreational project grew into a blog and an online shop featuring his botanical prints. He summed up the process: “As I tried to refresh the wall [of my living room], the wall actually refreshed me”.
Wild carrot (Daucus carota), the less exotic can still make great images. You can probably find this chap in most UK fields.
Let us know how nature has inspired you, or if you now feel inspired to follow Francis' lead.
Oh wow, thanks for sharing this Maurice. Bringing a tiny taste of the natural world indoors - it's a great idea!
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