October at Longwood – Part 2 – the Meadow Garden

When my friend Sarah and I planned our trip to Longwood earlier this month, one of the destinations I had in mind within the gates was its new Meadow Garden. Opened in June of this year, the 86-acre expanse was designed by Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects and boasts three miles of walking trails and boardwalks that take visitors from the edge of Hourglass Lake up to the Webb Farmhouse and Galleries. We covered a lot of territory (and continued to struggle with the strong sun, photographically) and marveled at how beautiful and wild the garden is. Some friends who had visited in September had been able to see goldenrod in flower, at the end of the summer season, and we were a bit early for strong fall color in the trees. But these images should give you a good idea of how magnificent the space is.

Steps leading down to the entrance to the Meadow.

At the edge of Hourglass Lake, the trees were starting to color.

Birdhouses everywhere – and in the distance a maple starting to color.

To our right as we walked, a bridge over a small stream

One of the paths through the meadow, leading up to the Webb Farmhouse.

At the top of the hill we reached the Webb Farmhouse and Galleries, where wall hangings explained the many ecosystems found in the Meadow Garden. (iPhone photo)

A view from the Webb Farmhouse across the Meadow to working buildings. (iPhone photo)

For more information on the Meadow, visit Longwood’s website and this excellent article published by the American Society of Landscape Architects earlier this year when the Meadow Garden opened.

70 Days of Photos (Part II)

Window Light on the Floor

Last week I gave some background on the photo a day project I began at the end of March. It’s been a fascinating journey and one I’m still pursuing. This photo, of afternoon light coming through a window onto my dining room rug, epitomizes what I learned from the “Naked Vision” class taught by Colleen Henderson: look around you. There are photographs waiting to be taken everywhere. Small everyday moments that make you catch your breath and reach for your camera shouldn’t be ignored.

Trust your instincts. There is a reason you wanted to photograph that chair, that shadow, that building. Maybe the subjects aren’t grand, but they speak to you, so don’t ignore the urge to capture the image. You don’t have to go somewhere exotic to work on your vision. Another lesson I learned: don’t be afraid of high ISO’s or feel you always need a tripod to capture an image. The opening photo was taken at a high ISO, hand held.

So here are some images I took that are some of my favorites from the workshop. Many of them capture light and shadows, shapes and stillness. A few – to my surprise – feature animals or people (not usually my strong suit). I like them all!

I’m still shooting daily, and will continue to do so until it no longer appeals to me or I feel I need a break. This weekend and next I’m taking an intensive Photoshop class (again with Colleen) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, so an iPhone image may have to suffice. The important thing is to keep looking and shooting.

City Hall Sights in San Francisco

For part of the time I was in San Francisco in July, I was on my own while my son toiled at work (or whatever he does there). One of the places I decided to visit and photograph was SF’s gorgeous City Hall, a Beaux-Arts structure that has been reinforced since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It’s a fantastically beautiful building, full of grand staircases and marble. Although I had my D600 with me, let’s start with an iPhone photo shot with Hipstamatic to set the mood.

Well, the writing speaks for itself. Captioned in Over.

Inside, I used the iPhone once more (same settings in Hipstamatic), then put it away.

A shot of part of the ceilings inside – glorious.

Without a tripod to steady my shots, I set the D600’s vibration reduction switch to “on” and cranked up the ISO. (In retrospect I should have set it even higher than I did; I was using my excellent 24-120mm f/4 lens but many of the shots are soft 😦 . . . . ) The architecture is outstanding but I also loved seeing the folks who were there to be married, check out the big staircase, or just attend to business.

Three teenagers strike a pose on the grand staircase.

And a small girl runs towards the top.

The Beaux-Arts ceiling.

A view from the side.

Posing for friends.

A wedding party waits in one of the side courts.

Such a gorgeous place.

Longwood, Take Two

As readers of my last post know, I had a small mishap when I visited Longwood Gardens in early October – my Nikon D600 and its 16-35mm f/4 lens refused to part company easily after about an hour into my trip. So for the remaining three hours I used my iPhone 5 with various apps (primarily Camera+ and Pro HDR) to take photos. You can see those here.

Then I headed home – only to have a much bigger mishap in the form of my car’s fuel pump giving out. Long story short, I ended up renting a car about thirty minutes south of Longwood while the car sat in a garage awaiting for a new Subaru fuel pump to arrive and be installed.

So the next Tuesday, I returned to Kennett Square before picking up the car and took along my D300 because the D600 and lens had been shipped off to Nikon for de-coupling.  I really missed the full-frame aspect, but the D300 is a trooper and I came back with some good shots. Here’s a sampling of them, and yes, I will take a DSLR over my iPhone any day when I’m after seriously good images. . .

This photo of the elephant ear’s annual beds shows how much more can be done with a good DSLR than a smartphone’s camera, in terms of color range and contrast.

Agave and red geraniums in a lead planter near the Flower Walk.

Chrysanthemums, salvias and agaves in an outdoor group of planters.

A view of the cannas from the other end of the Conservatories

Inside the Conservatories, a small water feature in front of yellow cannas.

Coleus brightening an evergreen inside a Conservatory walk near the orchid room.

A water lily in the water gardens next to the Conservatories.