Web Search: Best Nature Spots Near Me

I'm pretty sure winter took the island.

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The best, and maybe simultaneously, the hardest thing about YouTube is watching videos from others, and become inspired by them.

Early Friday morning, I found myself watching one photographer's vlog about how getting a good picture is all about perspective. The equipment is only as good as your mind, etc, etc. Things I very well knew, so I was inspired to go out.

However, my day was deterred slightly when, in the words of my very realist best friend, "We don't have anywhere around us like that."

You see, this particular photographer had travelled to a remote mountain range in the middle of the Northwest, to a glacial lake, snowcapped mountain ranges, and even a canoe or two floating on the water. Yeah, that was hard to come by in the Steel City.

My instinctual response to her was, "We'll see." However, I knew that she was 99% right. But, having had watched this beautiful video, seen final shots, and after being hyped up about a good image can come from even the cheapest of cameras, I wanted to test it out.

So, I googled: Best nature spots near me. I stumbled upon a place called, Sycamore Island Conservation Area. And I thought, "Yes, that 1% of my doubting her words worked!"

After grabbing my cameras and said doubtful friend, we headed to this island about twenty minutes away. Lucky me.

The funny thing about choosing this location, I chose it based off of a picture. And what was today's lesson? The picture can make mediocre look amazing. Right? Well, that's exactly what I got when we arrived.

While I can say the picture that was posted as the location was accurate, it was also extremely edited and strongly an example of perspectivism. There was no sort of island. In it's place, docks that were partially underwater or closed off.

My assumption being that the heavy rains I had personally enjoyed earlier in the week may have flooded. And in its place scrapes of an island there may have been. So is life, and it's unpredictable challenges.

Ultimately, there we stood, cameras in hand. Mindset switched to how a change of perspective can make an average or less than expected situation turn into something amazing.

Your mindset, perspective, and what you do with what you're handed can determine whether something is great or not. It may not have been what I was expecting, but I made the most out of it.

This sentiment will lead me into the next phase of my life and career. Not everything goes as planned, but there is always a way to look at and change how you handle any situation thrown your way. Right?

Canoe? Check. Water? Check. Blue Skies? Check.