“It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth
meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.”
[Art Wolfe, American photographer and conservationist]
What is wild? A dictionary definition includes living in a state of nature, untamed, uncivilized, not inhabited or cultivated, uncontrolled, unruly, and more. You get the picture. This week, I propose we reconnect with wild things like the landscape above. I will share six more examples of what wild means to me.
Wild is encountering a black bear while hiking in Big Bend National Park. The black bear population significantly declined in the park during the mid-20th century. Hunting, trapping, and habitat loss were the leading causes of that decline. When Big Bend NP was established in 1944, bears’ numbers were very low. Luckily, in the 1980s, the bear population reappeared as bears migrated from northern Mexico.
Wild is macro photography while volunteering at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It shows me details I can never imagine with the naked eye.
Wild is the life I witness daily when I raise the blinds and admire nature’s unexpected beauty at my doorstep.
Wild is going on a bike ride the day before Spring starts and seeing the first Giant Spiderwort flowers reappearing along the trail.
Humans are also wild. While hiking at Fisher Canyon in Utah, we saw a guy on top of that rock in the photo above. Take a look at the zoomed image.
So, I am curious about what you consider wild. Is it a place, a person, wildlife, wildflowers, or something else? I would love to see your wild side. Since it is a challenge, how about not posting more than eight images? In keeping with my challenge, I selected only seven images.
This past week, Tina’s challenge brought out many personal favorites. Beautiful responses all around! For this week, I’ll look forward to seeing what your wild imagination will focus on. Don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag when creating your post so we can easily find it in the Reader.
The first challenge for April will come from Ann-Christine. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in to find out more about the challenge then. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.
Those are the stories behind the shots. If you liked these photos, you might also be interested in other posts featuring Bear, Big Bend NP, Fisher Canyon, FOTD, Giant spiderwort, Great Blue Heron, Landscapes, Lens-Artists, Macros, Robber Fly, Teravista, Wildflowers, and Wildlife. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.
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PR
That’s wild 😉. Great shots Egidio..especially the one with the man on top of that rock structure and the robber fly!
Egídio
Thanks, PR. I almost missed seeing that guy on that rock.
Dawn M. Miller
Wow…these are incredible!
Egídio
Thank you, Dawn.
Wandering Dawgs
Egidio, thanks for this great challenge! I love all of your wonderful examples but the blue heron is my favorite. You captured the details of his feathers and his reflection. Just beautiful!
Egídio
Thanks, Beth. That heron is a regular here. I should probably name it. 🙂
Lens-Artists Challenge #342 – Wild | Travels and Trifles
Pingback: […] to share your own thoughts and images. Please remember to link to Egidio’s beautiful post here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to those who responded to last […]
Tra Italia e Finlandia
Wild qui in Finlandia è una vacanza in un cottage in Lapponia, presso un lago e fare hiking nei boschi, pescare, grigliare e andare in sauna ogni sera! Splendide foto, Egidio.
Egídio
Una vacanza in una casa di campagna, un lago con boschi e tutto il resto: che meraviglia! Grazie.
niasunset
WOW! Great post dear Egidio, Thank you, Love, nia
Egídio
Nia, thank you. I’m glad you liked the post.
JohnRH
Great theme Egidio, and great photos. Guy on a rock, NUTS?!?! 🤷♂️
Egídio
Thanks, John. If it hadn’t been for the sign along the trail, I wouldn’t have looked up. I almost missed him. Totally wild and crazy!
JohnRH
Mine: https://fairplay740.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/lens-artists-challenge-342-its-a-wild-life/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, John. I left my comments there.
Anne Sandler
Wild wonders Egidio! I especially like the wild you can see from your home. I’m jealous! The rock climber? Well……
Egídio
Anne, having wildlife so close is wonderful. I’m learning so much by watching them. I agree with you about the climber. One wouldn’t catch me there.
Lens-Artists Challenge – Scotland, the Wild – photographias
Pingback: […] Posted for Egídio’s Lens-Artists Challenge […]
Sofia Alves
Inspired post, Egídio. Your nature photos are always so vibrant, so full of life, unconstrainted and therefore perfect to illustrate this challenge. The heron is my favourite this week, the level of detail, the light is simply wonderful.
Here is mine:
https://photographias.wordpress.com/2025/03/29/lens-artists-challenge-scotland-the-wild/
Egídio
Sofia, having wildlife so close allows me to watch it daily and catch great morning light. I also love that heron shot. Thanks for your link. I’ll leave my comments in your post.
restlessjo
That’s the most beautiful photo of a heron, Egidio. How wonderful to have him on your doorstep xx
Egídio
Jo, thank you so much for these kind words. The heron is a frequent visitor. I have so many shots, but that one is by far my favorite, too.
sandyjwhite
Great topic! Love the landscapes especially. I think that climb would be way too wild for me (lol!).
Egidio Leitao
It was certainly too wild for me. It was enough to just photograph it. Thanks for the feedback, Sandy.
sandyjwhite
My pleasure, Egidio.
Tina Schell
OK, first of all that man is CRAZY!! Yikes – that IS wild Egidio! Loved the challenge and your images are perfect for it. That insect was much too close for my comfort though – did you use a big zoom? The detail is incredible.
Egidio Leitao
Tina, yes, one has to be crazy to climb those heights. The Moab area around Arches and Canyonlands is full of wild places — and crazy people. That insect I captured using my bridge camera in macro mode. So, yup, it was not very far from me. Thanks for the compliment.
Terri Webster Schrandt
I LOVE the wild landscapes and critters we see in our daily lives, Egidio! I can’t get over that shot of the climber on the rocks! How nice you can look out your window and see nature in all her glory. I reimagined my Sunday Stills post to better fit the “wild” prompt. It publishes tomorrow and thanks for the extra inspiration!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you for these kind words and feedback, Terri. I’ll be looking forward to your post tomorrow. I’m glad my post gave you a nudge and extra inspiration.
bushboy
What fabulous photos Egídio. I like them all. Seeing a Bear would be one of shock and awe. The Heron and Robber Fly are so good. I am not a fan of idiots who climb. Who know what significance that has to the indigenous people who probably used to live there but were driven out by “settlers”
Egidio Leitao
Thank you very much, Brian. I love seeing those bears at Big Bend NP. They keep their distance from humans and us from them. Thank Heavens for long lenses! It’s interesting you bring up indigenous people. One of the most disheartening thing I saw near that area, just outside Arches NP, was desecration of pictographs. It’s sickening what some people will do. Thanks for the compliment!
Lens-Artists Challenge for #342 - Wild - Joanne Mason Photography
Pingback: […] you’re interested in the Lens-Artists Challenge and would like more information, go here. Egidio posted this week’s challenge. Next week’s challenge will come from Ann-Christine. It […]
Vicki
What a great challenge, although I might be hard pressed to find truly wild in nature.
I love the robber fly and heron, but the first landscape and last rock formations are more than wild.
Egidio Leitao
Vicki, I’m glad you like the challenge. I think you have plenty of wildlife photos in your collection. I seem to recall what you see through your microscope. Those two landscapes are the places to get me in the zone. Thanks for writing.
Joanne
This is a great challenge, Egidio! I had such fun digging up the images and writing commentaries. Your first image conveys so well the combination of serenity and wildness in such landscapes.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you for this feedback, Joanne. I very much appreciate it. I loved your post and photos, too.
norasphotos4u
The heron is beautiful and that climber is quite brave!!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Nora. I’ve been watching that heron for some time now. I kept waiting to capture it with that kind of light. I’m glad you liked it.
Leanne Cole
Great challenge Egidio, great set of images from you. The last one makes me very nervous. Don’t think I could ever do that. That bear is amazing. I don’t think I would like to see one in the wild.
Egídio
Thanks for your wonderful feedback. About bears, I’ve seen several in the wild and once even had a close encounter with a grizzly. I tell the story in my blog, including a photo.
Attention: Wildlife – Geriatri'x' Fotogallery
Pingback: […] LensArtists Photo Challenge #342: wildlife […]
Traudel
https://geriatrixfotogallerie.wordpress.com/2025/03/30/attention-wildlife/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the link. I’ll leave comments in your post.
nesfelicio
A wide variety of “wild” interpretations.
The wildest for me is human, that guy on the rock “gone wild.” 😄
Egidio Leitao
I totally agree with you. Thanks for writing.
Ana
Wonderful images! A very wild challenge. I’ll see what I can find to participate in, even though I don’t have a wild side.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Ana. I appreciate your feedback.
It’s a Wild Life! – Anvica's gallery
Pingback: […] Posted as part of Lens-Artists: It’s a wild life! […]
philosophy through photography
Such a wild theme!
Love the wild guy on the top of the rock. He is up to….
Beautifully captured!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, my friend. The human is nuts!
philosophy through photography
Haha!
Stupidity Hole
These are all pleasant photos, the opening landscape especially.
That last one with the rock climber though… I mean, good on them for being willing to do that sort of thing, but I’m quite happy having a lot of ground immediately around me.
Here’s mine for this one:
https://stupidityhole.com/2025/03/30/coming-over/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the comment. I’ll leave comment in your post later.
photobyjohnbo
I’ll take the Hiker’s route, if you don’t mind. >grin< I love the landscape opener, and the egret (I think it’s an egret!)
Egidio Leitao
I also took the hiker path. hehehe. That heron is a regular visitor. Thanks for commenting.
Lens-Artists Challenge #342 – Wild in the suburbs – LEANNE COLE
Pingback: […] challenge this week from Egidio from Through Brazilian Eyes as he asks us to use the word WILD, I think it is the best description. To fully understand the […]
Tranature - quiet moments in nature
Wonderful images Egídio and you have moved to such a wonderful paradise! Our contribution for this week’s lovely challenge is here: https://tranature.com/2025/03/30/rewilding-the-land/
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Xenia. I appreciate your feedback. I’ll leave my comment in your post later.
Watching wild things: LAPC & FOWC - bend branches
Pingback: […] Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – It’s a Wild Life! […]
wrap – IN PRIMO PIANO – a photo blog
Pingback: […] Linked to Lens-Artists […]
marina
Gorgeous, gorgeous captures!!!
Here is mine: https://inprimopianophoto.wordpress.com/2025/03/30/wrap/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks a million, Marina. I’ll leave my comments in your post. Thank you.
Terri Webster Schrandt
Thanks again for hosting L-A this week with the wonderfully wild prompt! Here is mine:
https://secondwindleisure.com/2025/03/30/sunday-stills-take-a-walk-on-the-wild-side-in-a-park/
Egidio Leitao
Thank you for joining in the fun. I’ll comment on your post.
Wild! Nature in Unexpected Places – Off Topic
Pingback: […] I came across this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge, “Wild”, my first thought was images from an African safari—an adventure that’s […]
Off Topic
Great Challenge Egidio! Love your wild pictures. The heron was stunning! Here’s mine: https://offtopicmusing.wordpress.com/2025/03/30/wild-nature-in-unexpected-places/
Egidio Leitao
Thank you for the feedback and participation. I left my comments in your post.
Wilderness is the crack in a tame world – Don't hold your breath
Pingback: […] But not entirely. There are gaps and cracks in this taming. You can still fall through and see the wilderness that the world once was, and will be sometime. The beautiful scene above is not a garden, but a […]
I. J. Khanewala
Some truly wild photos in here. It must be wonderful to live so close to the wilderness that you can see a great blue heron when you raise the window blinds. That is something I would love to do.
My take here: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/wilderness-is-the-crack-in-a-tame-world/
Egidio Leitao
I.J., you wrote the link as wp-admin. I’m sure that was not your intent. I’ll edit it once I find the URL for your post.
Thanks for the feedback. We count our blessings for living where we are now.
I. J. Khanewala
Is it my browser or connection, or are you not showing pingbacks?
I. J. Khanewala
A clarification: I can see links embedded in comments, but nothing else.
Egidio Leitao
WP must have been asleep and kept pingbacks from showing up.
Egidio Leitao
It is neither. It is WordPress. I had also noticed the absence of pingbacks on Saturday and Sunday. Today, Monday, WP suddenly listed 13 pingbacks. Something was going on with WP.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Wow, I loved the macro of Robber fly, that is something. I really like the wide range of wild. You really covered many aspects and give out lots of elements for inspiration
Egidio Leitao
Ritva, many thanks for your feedback. I love what we see after macros. There’s always so much the naked eye does not see.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Here is my contribution https://sillarit.com/2025/03/31/lens-artists-challenge-342-its-a-wild-life/
Egidio Leitao
Thank you. I just left my comments there.
Brad
These are gorgeous images Egidio, especially the landscape, bear, and dragonfly. I think of our National Parks as the most wild places that I have been, where nature is mostly left alone to grow, flourish, and rebalance as needed. But as your post demonstrated, we can find touches of wild almost anywhere.
Egidio Leitao
Brad, many thanks. I wholeheartedly agree with you about our national parks.