1. Drawing from a photo is both easier as the bird is still, but was more restricted as it doesn't always give the details I was looking for.
2. How the feet were wrapped around the twig was of interest to me. The photo allow me to pause and look more closely. Yes, I believe the detail makes a difference when nature journaling.
1. I have been nature journaling by fits and starts and want to become freer to experiment and become more fluid without self-judgment confining me.
2. The first natural journaler used open boxes that gave a more "finished" look. She also used what she defined as "zoom" to look at a detail on the specimen. I liked that she started with the drawing, used both color and black and white images on the same page, and let the process evolve. Further, I liked using two facing pages as a way to compare different ferns.
3. This was alluded to, but I sometimes will leave a facing page blank for add in the research info I've found in answer to a question.