"Fragile, Fun Guy" by Lydia, 17 | Prairieview Nature Photography

Balance is something that is sought by so many; the desire or need for balance is reflected in governments, economies, and religions all over the world. For this reason, I believe nature to be the most impressive, inspirational and admirable part of living on this Earth. Nature is the definition of balance. In it, there is no faltering and no lack of moderation. Everything that exists naturally does so in balance with any other natural existence. Only when the human race, which exists with the tendency to take too much and give too little, gets involved, is the balance disrupted. Every picture I take reflects this. The mushroom in this picture was easily uprooted, by me, exposing its fragile gills and leaving them unprotected. I know that nature has a way of re-centering itself and of making up for the damage done by outside forces. Like nature, I believe as individuals, we have the power to create balance in our own lives, and that, if the balance is disrupted, we have our own ways of healing and restoring ourselves, and in turn, becoming stronger.

About Lydia: "My name is Lydia and I am 17 years old. I am from the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. I came to Northwest Passage looking to learn the skills that would enable me to be successful in life; to find ways of working on things I struggle with, in order for my strengths to have the chance to help me achieve that success. The In a New Light Program has helped shed light on my strengths and how I can use them to my advantage. It has also helped me identify the things I struggle with. You know that saying, “How you do anything is how you do everything?” Well, it applies to photography as well. Photography is something I struggle with on a smaller scale than just life itself. I have experienced this for the first time by participating in this program. "