Gardening Excetera Column 6/4/11

EPHEMERAL: lasting a very short time, fleeting, transient, passing, brief
Debbie Shepard

I take way too many photos of flowers for fear they will never bloom again, and I will never get a chance to see them again. Maybe if I were on vacation in some exotic locale with many plants and flowers that I don’t see around Flagstaff, my obsession with capturing them in a photograph would be justified. Now with digital cameras in tow and unlimited numbers of shots I can take (if my battery doesn’t go dead) I still find myself taking photographs of flowers. Why? Because they are just so pretty. They’re nature’s best performance. Even a photo doesn’t quite capture that translucent, glowing color, that elegance of form and function - so I snap away with abandon. I’ll have photos to help me remember and enjoy later, over again and again.

The following are things I am supposed to know and practice when taking photos of flowers, plants, nature. Maybe they will help you, too, or act just as a reminder.

Natural light is very important. Dawn or dusk are best. The mid-day intense sun washes out the color and flattens the scene. Overcast or even misty days are the best!

Try to avoid or block the wind (another reason to get out early).

Pay attention to the background and the foreground, the less editing you must do after the shot, the better. Sometimes there are terrific elements that add to the scene, or put your flowers and plants in context. A nice section of weathered barn siding is preferable to some hairy legs or a passing car.

Use the macro feature on your point and shoot camera. Get in close. Try using manual focus if that helps you capture what you want. TAKE LOTS OF SHOTS.

Move around, lean down, kneel down, get a bug’s eye view. Put the sun behind the plant and get a see-through effect. Move back, move closer. Using the zoom feature on your camera usually makes photos fuzzy unless you use your tripod or you want that effect. Experiment, have fun. Sometimes the unexpected, unplanned images are surprisingly good, fresh and different!

Look out for shadows, they can be good, but not if it’s an image of you holding a camera. You can provide the shade. break from the sun if it is too intense and is washing out the color in your subject.

Take a pruner to the garden with your camera as well as some twine and green stakes to ‘edit’ your shot before you press the shutter. Do you want that half eaten leaf or dead flower in the photo - maybe you do. Remember - adjust your subject beforehand and avoid post production time. Plan ahead.

Props are good. Wood or stone fences, our wonderful native rocks, garden art, birdbaths, sculptures, watering cans; they all add a piece of ‘hardscape’ to your soft plant material. If a bird, bug or butterfly visits the plant while you’re there, include them too - a critter adds a fleeting quality, a 'snapshot' of time - again take lots of shots cause the birds and butterflies move quickly and one minute they are in the frame, the next they are not.

Cats are great garden subjects.

When you see great color combinations refer to a color wheel to understand why - opposites add excitement; yellow in front of purple; red and green (think classic geraniums or poinsettias), blue with orange (the flax and poppies are blooming now).

A blend of analogous colors are soothing. They are neighbors on the color wheel. Think of the transition from yellows to oranges to reds.

White and yellow always add zing - some needed contrast and light to dark corners.

Don’t forget the great assortment of greens in stems and foliage; thick, fuzzy, silver, lime, jade. So many interesting plants now have maroon, orange and even black attributes that make a garden plant photo memorable.

Take pictures of wild flowers, weeds, vegetables: include the flower, fruit and foliage - all interesting and worth some shots!

Don’t leave home without your camera!

Debbie Shepard, a Master Gardener in New Jersey, is an artist and amateur photographer. She will be speaking at the Master Gardener Association on “Photographing your Garden,” June 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. Dana Prom Smith, editor of GARDENING ETCETERA, blogs at http://highcountrygardener.blogspot.com and can be emailed at stpauls@npgcable.com.