About a year back, on Amazon Prime Day, I bought a 3-pack of clip-on camera lenses, which clip onto you phones front or back camera and create these amazing effects. It wasn’t until recently when all of the snow had melted away when I decided to use them.

I realized I was missing out for a WHOLE YEAR!

Like many others this time of year, I have been trying to spend as much time outdoors as I possibly can. I decided a while back to explore a research garden that my campus has. I parked my blanket down and stared at the sky. Because I am not one to lay down and relax, I was instantly bored and decided to break out and use my camera lenses.

This garden is filled with various types of trees, flowers, animals, and even a small pond. With that in mind, I decided to start taking photos of everything. And I mean EVERYTHING!

The first one I used was the “Wide” Lens, which puts more area into the photo compared to a regular camera. I did a close-up of a few trees, a beautiful walkway, and a sitting area.

Next, I used the “Macro” lens, which magnified the shot by about 10 times. My focal points were small flowers, bees (as long as I didn’t bother them), and close-ups of people’s eyes.

The Fish-eye lens was only used once during my adventure, but I am learning what landscapes are best used with it, since it’s so sensitive, but also distorts the image.

I realized that taking these photos was very peaceful and I had forgotten about the stress that came with Finals Week. This one adventure of mine had flipped a switch in my mind which causes me to now take pictures of every trip I go on. Snapping that one perfect photo requires so much patience, its, in a sense, calming for me. I recently went to the ocean and took pictures of the waves, some shells, a lighthouse, and the islands off in the distance.

When I’m home, I take pictures of items I find in my room, little areas of my yard, and other scenes that catch my eye. Pictures that any photographer would never print, but it’s enough to get my mind off of things

Once I become more skilled, or when I want to buy myself a present, I am going to buy new lenses, to photograph images with different effects than the three I have now. At this point, I am thinking about this clip-lens set. This set has the three that I currently have, but also new ones such as telephoto, radial, and kaleidoscope, which would make my photographs even more unique than before!

While I may not be the best photographer in the world, my photographs mean so much more than just images. They stand for me finally having an outlet; a hobby that takes my mind off of the stress of life and lets me see the beauty of the world.

You may now eye-roll at my cliché.