Have you ever found something while out on a walk -- a stone, a shell, a feather -- and taken it home only to realize what a tiny treasure you really have? Outdoors it may have appeared to be such a mundane find, but in the surroundings of your own home the item takes on a new look and feel. I found this random feather in the park near my house and brought it home and just as the sun was setting last night I admired it resting on the table near the window and thought that I should capture it with my camera (my husband gave me his Olympus DSLR so now I am officially learning how to use one, yay!). As I shot, I placed it on a few different surfaces to see how it would affect the mood and these are my favorite three shots.

Sometimes we need inspiration but have very little means of getting any whether that be lack of money to travel far, lack of motivation to change something in our life, lack of energy -- the list goes on. Perhaps on your next walk outdoors you can look for something small and seemingly simple and bring it home with you and photograph it showing the object in three different moods. Think of what you are trying to show, a story you are telling, as you take the photos. Here I thought about how birds can represent so many things, freedom and wisdom (the wise old owl!) but also how very delicate and precious they are. And then I just clicked away and found something in the end that made me feel inspired and myself all over again.

(images: holly becker for decor8)