"Our difficult and very urgent task is to accept the truth that nature is not primarily a property to be possessed, but a gift to be received with admiration and gratitude. Only when we make a deep bow to the rivers, oceans, hills, and mountains that offer us a home, only then can they become transparent and reveal to us their real meaning.

"A friend once gave me a beautiful photograph of a water lily. I asked him how he had been able to take such a splendid picture. With a smile he said, 'Well, I had to be very patient and very attentive. It was only after a few hours of compliments that the lily was willing to let me take her picture.' "

To Practice: Try this approach to your next photographic subject in nature, and see how it affects the picture.