I've walked a few gardens with my camera this summer. I can't really think of better therapy.
I was thinking about how you photograph a garden. It's a bit of a tricky subject. A garden is more a collection than a thing, and when you're looking at a photo, your eye wants to know what to look at and where to go. When I photograph a garden from a wide angle, it helps if there is something of interest in the foreground and background (or a path moving from front to back) that helps your eye move into and through the frame. The buildings in these first two photos provide sort of an anchor, and the trees in the second one frame the scene.
Here the garden is playing its favorite role as Best Supporting Actor, providing beautiful surroundings for the star of the show. Gardens are humble like that. This one is in front of the St. Louis Art Museum.
I like to get close up when I photograph a garden. Often a single blossom or cluster of flowers makes a good subject. There is really nothing quite like a clump of coneflowers.
This yellow clump has some other colors and varieties around it, but it's the clear star of the show because it's in focus, and it's the brightest part of the photo. They're just so happy.
What's really great is when some lovely creature shows up to tell you where to focus.
The flowers and the creatures that fly love to show each other off.
Same with water, it's like jewelry for the plants.
Next time you're in a garden, be still, watch for movement, walk around and look for a true subject.
Not just "flowers". Something specific.
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