Over the months since I discovered it, I have found Gardening Gone Wild to be quite an inspirational blog. GGW is a blog that is run by a group of garden professionals ranging from designers and horticulturalists to photographers, including people who have written and/or done the photography for books on the subject of gardening.
As a general rule, the posts are packed with information and ideas. It is evident that the people who are “in charge” of the blog are aware that their audience is made up of an extremely eclectic group, from other professionals to rank beginners in both gardening and photography. I have found them to be kind and willing to go the extra distance to answer questions when they are posed. Reading the blog and participating in the workshop posts and contests has made me a better gardener and determined to be a better photographer.
Recently we were invited By Debra Baldwin to share in a post regarding the role shadows can play in our garden photography. It is a surprisingly difficult subject, actually, because the strong light that is required for shadows to be cast often makes a great photograph difficult to capture. However, I am fascinated by the subject and have a few pictures I think are good enough to share.
I love the way shadows bring out the shape and texture of flowers. Here are a few where the shadows in the blossoms really make the subject sparkle. First is a moon flower, taken at sunset.
My next favorite flower is a Tulipa acuminata I had blossoming this spring. I have featured this picture in the blog before, simply because I just love the way the petal shadows illuminate the blossom.
I am fascinated by the bearded iris. I truly love them when they are sprinkled with rain or dew, but this afternoon shot of the rebloomer “Belvi Queen” I got a couple of weeks ago just leaves me breathless every time I go back to it.
I really like the shadow of the clematis seed head in the next shot. It brings out the spiral pattern nicely.
One day I noticed the shadows on one of the garden benches I have in the pergola. I spent a lot of time taking pictures of this, and every once in a while I come back to the subject. The shadows are different every day.
Last winter I was captivated by the patterns the shadows of grass and snow made in the labyrinth paths.
Grasses are a natural for shadow shots, but it is surprisingly difficult to get a really good one. This is from the Petite Prairie.
You can bet I’ll be looking for more shadow compositions after this exercise. It was amazing to me how often I choose not to go out and take pictures when the sun is bright. But the challenge of getting a spectacular shot when the light wants to wash out everything is worth taking up. I’ll be looking for more opportunities to play with this idea.
Thanks to Debra Baldwin for her great post and the inspiration.
Ellie, I am blown away by how you took the concept I introduced on GGW and interpreted it with your own brand of loveliness. How marvelous that you live a world away from me and your garden is entirely different, yet there are shadows that inspire you. I am over the moon about the moon flower shot, and am swooning over the clematis against the pattern of lattice. You have a good eye, you write beautifully, you sound like someone I’d like to know personally (a kindred spirit) and you take gorgeous photos! I look forward to seeing what you come up with next. (Will post this same comment on GGW and link from my FB page.) Debra
Gosh. Thank you. I love the moonflower shot too, it turned out better than I expected. But I have to tell you, you may be surprised at the next rant I post because this blog is not all about gardening all the time, or photography. We are very eclectic at the Havens, which I think might annoy some people some of the time. Anyway, I take your encouragement and compliments very much to heart because you are a professional and my earlier years as a musician trained me well (through master classes and juries) to want the approval of the professionals. . .
I was born in San Diego and spent the first seven years of my life there, still visit occasionally. So the comment about my garden being entirely different — boy oh howdy is that ever the truth! The Missouri Ozark Plateau vs. S. California Desert. Could there be anything more different? Maybe we could throw the Arctic in there somewhere.
Maybe someday our paths will cross.
Oh, just lovely! I especially like the grasses one and the bench.
The bench can become an all consuming subject if you let it. Especially since where it sits there are shadows from the cross bars of the pergola that sometimes enter into the composition. Thanks for coming by, Kylee.
Another great set of photos! The moonflower shot is really nice. I think it’s hard to shoot given the all-white blossoms and the fact they usually open late in the day in dim light. You make me want to rush out with my camera and look for shadows here at Happy Acres!
I have been very lucky with those moon flowers. This one was opening as the sun was going down so the afterglow from the sunset colors set it up to be “not totally white” and that allowed the shadows to show better. You would not believe how many blurry and out of focus shots I have of moonflowers. My experience has shown me that using the flash NEVER WORKS with moonflowers, you just get a scintillating white blob. This particular shot came out because I actually went to the trouble of getting my tripod out to eliminate the camera shake.
Good luck finding some shadows. If I went out today there would not be any because we are totally overcast here.
all beautiful photos – I love the iris
You always do, nursemyra — which is one of the reasons I put it in there. I knew you’d enjoy it.
Lovely photos, all of them. As others have said, it’s so hard to get a good photo of moonflowers. They’re so white! But that one is just beautiful. Nice stuff!
Thank you. Glad you stopped by.