As part of @galenkp's #scenerycontest, I'd like to invite you on a journey through two decades of my nature photography in Japan. Whether it's witnessing the overwhelming power of mother nature or capturing the tranquility of a local shrine, each shot offers a window into my journey. (Find more about the contest here).

I have two young kids, so I don't get to go on trips too often. These days when we do go to the mountains or the ocean, I leave my camera at home and chase kids the entire time. Which is fine, I'm not complaining.

So instead of sharing a big majestic nature scene from a trip, I thought I'd share a handful of photos from my past 20 years here that kind of highlight the majesty of nature to me. Yes, there will be the obligatory cherry blossom photos, as well as the autumn leaves. But I will share some other nature photos of scenes that left me awed by mother nature.

Fair warning, some of these photos are from back when I had an obsession with HDR, so they are a little oversaturated. Back in the day I was known as the HDR guy; that fame carried me to being, at one time, the most followed photographer on G+ and all the connections that that entailed. Fun times, but my artistic tastes have definitely changed, and now I look at most HDR (including my own) with horror. Some others are from exhibitions I've done and so they are going for a certain uniting style (crop and border or texture overlay).

Let's start with one of my favorite shots.

This photo never fails to make me think of this line from Oscar Wilde:

I loved Narcissus because, as he lay on my banks and looked down at me, in the mirror of his eyes I saw ever my own beauty mirrored.

The line just seems to fit the photo. For a long time I lived along this river, near where I took this photo. When my first son was born, we lived here. At night when he wouldn't go to bed and his mama was too tired from dealing with him all day, I'd strap him to my back and walk back and forth along this river until he fell asleep. This river isn't rapid and loud, as the river that Siddhartha and Vasudeva lived along in the novel Siddhartha, but it was peaceful and did reveal truths to me, just as the river in that story did to them.

The greenery you see, the grass and bushes, grows extremely quickly in summer. Rainy season supercharges it and it just keeps growing at lightning speed for the rest of the summer. The city crew will come in and cut it all down to almost nothing, and a week later it will be so overgrown that it resembles a jungle. That always calls to mind the power of nature to me. Without us to tame it, this entire river would be so overgrown in a season that it would look like some undiscovered country.

But it's not just at the riverside here. At most hotels there is usually a shrine somewhere near the hotel. Often on the hotel grounds. Shintoism is hard to explain. Japanese people aren't especially religious, but there is some superstition in most people and they do like to stop in at shrines and pray before some events, such as business events. Shinto is a kind of Animism so shrines are often surrounded by nature.

This shrine you see above is right next to a hotel I used to walk past nearly daily on the way to a job. When I had time I would stop at this shrine and just entire the peaceful atmosphere. Nature does a remarkable job of blocking out noise so even though the road next to here is very busy, the shrine itself was nice and peaceful. I suppose still is. I should go there again sometime.

Like the above river, the nature at the shrine was always growing very quickly, so at least once a week I would see someone in there trimming or tending the area.

Going into the castle area is similar. This area is surrounded by quick growing nature. Those two trees flanking the bridge are huge. The things they must have seen over the years and the stories they must have to tell.

In autumn and spring nature also does her magic. You guys know about that. So a few photos without comment.

I think the thing about nature that awes me the most is the skies. I once did an exhibition titled Always Look Up and it included photos where the focus was always towards the sky. I still keep this theme for one of my projects when on photowalks. Clouds, sunsets, golden hour or twilight, there is always something interesting up there that makes down here feel so small by comparison.

Well, anyway, there we go. It's easy to feel nature in Japan, at least when outside of the concrete megacities like Tokyo, so even though I don't often have the chance to get away, I can still meet and enjoy nature on a daily basis. I posted a haiku yesterday summing up this attitude of amazement at nature, so go check that out if you missed it.

What are your own experiences with nature? Have you ever felt the immense power or tranquility it conveys? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

❦

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.