Capturing good photos at home

This is an Ibis, the mascot of my University, University of Miami. You will commonly find Ibis's foraging the ground after it rains or early in the morning looking for food. This Ibis is actually quite young. Adults are fully white in feather color, but this one has some dark feathers on the neck. I took this photo on a walk 10 minutes away from my apartment. Many people think you have to go far away to get great images, but that fallacy will keep you from improving your photography. 

You do NOT have to travel far to take good photos. You also don't need to go far away to improve your photography or capture something amazing. Start with what is right in front of you. Use at home subjects to get to know your camera. Capture the beauty of nature anywhere, even if you live in the city. 

What about underwater?

Even if you don't live by the water, you can still get practice with your camera on land. Lighting underwater is usually done with stones, so I would practice photos with flash. Get to know your settings and preview before the photo so that you know what you like underwater. Often, your photo preview before the flash fires will look dark, relying on the flash to light or enhance the image. This is normal! Get familiar with this to make using strobes easier. 
If you live by water, jump in and practice! You may have some unique creatures near you that other people are traveling to see! I live in Florida. I used to think it was difficult with bad visibility and boring creatures. But after seeing other people's amazing photos captured in Florida, I changed my mind and my images have significantly improved. Show off your home! I promise it's cool too. 

A walking batfish taken under a highway bridge in Florida!