Explore The Elements - Photography

The fine folks at Thomas Cook have put together a photography contest focusing on the elements of nature. If you've been reading through our blog, I'm sure you've picked up that I love photography so I couldn't resist putting a few of my favourite shots up. Being nominated by Charli and Ben from Wanderlusters gave me much-needed the kick in pants to set aside the time into digging through our treasure trove of beautiful shots from the last few years. Here's my 4 favourites that encapsulate the essence of nature's elements: Earth, Fire, Air and Water. Enjoy!

Earth

Climbing the majesticRothorn mountain in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, was a breathtaking experience in more ways than one. It's known as the "mountain of 1000 peaks" for very good reason. Standing in awe at the summit imbued a sense of one's place in the world, unlike anything else. I felt more grounded at 2,351m above sea level than ever before, and can confirm without a doubt this was a life-changing experience.

Fire

Easily my #1 favourite photo of 2014. Captured on the island of Ios in Greece, this sunset was unlike anything else I had experienced before. The sky lit up like wildfire on all horizons, not just west. The bright, vivid colours melted into each other like a painter's palette - hot amber, creamy gold, and deep indigo. The sky was alive, and so was I after watching this magical performance by Mother Nature.

Air

Capturing the invisible essence of air creates a unique challenge to photography. But this scene in Switzerland, watching the misty clouds float by, made the unreachable freedom of air almost tangible. 

Water

Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is considered by many as the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. The vast network of pristine lakes reminds me that as humans we are all connected too. These waterfalls change from year to year, month to month and even week to week, depending on rainfall. They navigate the terrain like they're alive and blaze new trails at their discretion. I felt inspired at this memorable destination, inspired to be more like these powerful, yet flexible falls.

Passing on the love, I'd like to nominate the 5 wonderful travel bloggers listed below to share their favourite photographs of the earth’s elements with us:

Hai from Notes of Nomads

Oren from 42nd Class

Laurence from Finding The Universe

Pete from Hecktic Travels

Caz & Craig from y Travel Blog

To find out more about the competition and how to enter, take a look here.