Everything in nature has a life-cycle, a beginning and an end. Death doesn’t always have to be ugly or gruesome. Sometimes vegetation can be just as pretty in its final stages as it is when it blooms. Unfortunately living animals reach us emotionally once their lives have ended.

No matter how sad it may seem, nature always has a purpose in life and in death. Turkey vultures are dependent on death in nature. Their acute sense of smell allows them to find and feed on dead carcasses. They play a valuable role in accelerating the process of decomposition.

Some death occurs through the actions of a predator. In this case a Great Blue Heron harpoons its prey, a fish so that it can feed itself and maybe its young.

In other cases death may just be the end of a cycle as this leaf from an Oak Tree falls in early spring as part of a cycle of life.

Death may also be symbolic, as in pollution slowly killing off the environment, becoming inhospitable to living creatures.

Nature is not always kind, passed its beauty it can sometimes be cruel. This fish reached the end of the line and will probably be scavenged by Gulls as part of the ongoing cycle of life.

Your Challenge is to document Death in Nature as part of the Cycle of Life. There should be no hand of man involved, keep the setting as natural as possible. There’s always a deeper meaning, a new understanding of nature when we go out in search of death. Feel free to document in a short paragraph the nature value and the impact of your image.

This is not an opportunity to destroy vegetation, kill animals or abuse nature in any shape or form. You must document what you find as an editorial or artistic image. Keep your mind and your eyes open as life and death takes on many forms in nature. (If animal cruelty is detected in any shape or form, it will be reported to authorities.)

The rules are pretty simple:

• Post one original photograph (Your Image) shot each week per theme posted on this blog to Google+, Facebook, or Flickr (or all three). Tag the photo #photochallenge.org or #photochallenge2016.
• The shot should be a new shot you took for the current weekly theme, not something from your back catalog or someone else’s image.
• The posted image should be a photograph, not a video.
• Don’t leave home without your camera. Participating in the 2016 PhotoChallenge is fun and easy.

Amazon Basics Micro SDXC Memory Card with Full Size Adapter, A2, U3, Read Speed up to 100 MB/s, 128 gb, Black

(73955)

$18.38 (as of 19 April 2024 02:58 GMT -04:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

WIDE COMPATIBILITY: Compatible with smartphones, tablets, cameras, GoPro/action cameras, laptops, desktop computers, DSLRs, drones, Nintendo Switch/other portable consoles and much more. Includes SD adapter. Note: Please refer to compatible devices l... read more

SanDisk 256GB Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter - Up to 150MB/s, C10, U1, Full HD, A1, MicroSD Card - SDSQUAC-256G-GN6MA [New Version]

(138423)

13% Off $25.99 $22.38 (as of 19 April 2024 02:58 GMT -04:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Ideal storage for Android smartphones and tablets Up to 256GB to store even more hours of Full HD video (1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes. Actual user storage less. Full HD (1920x1080) video support may vary based upon host device, file attributes, and other ... read more