Garden photographs

We have included photographs for about half the gardens in Gardenvisit.com and would like to illustrate the other half (indicated by the words 'Photograph requested' in the garden descriptions). If you are a garden owner or garden visitor, please send a photograph (postcard,  print, or slide), which will be returned to you. We will be pleased to acknowledge you as the photographer and, if you wish, put in a link to your website. We do not pay for photographs but more of them will make the Garden Finder more useful to you and to others. The most suitable pictures are those which show the character of the garden, rather than a feature in the garden. If you are willing to supply a photograph, please make it about 270x380 pixels and please give us permission for electronic publication. We will be pleased to credit the authorship to you.

Those who are new to garden photography may find the following notes useful.

1. Take pictures when the light conditions are 'luminous'. Dull gray skies produce dull pictures. Bright sun and blue sky produce pictures which are too contrasty (white for the sky, black for the shadow, only a few greens in the vegetation). You will often see portrait photographers using reflectors and flash to soften the light. Since garden-sized reflectors are impractical, outdoor photographers wait for 'cloudy-bright' conditions - preferably when the sun has just gone behind a cloud, or when the the sun is pushing through a morning mist. The light is luminous.
2. If you let an automatic camera decide on your exposure, be careful not to have too much sky or water in the view. The camera will expose for the sky or water and the vegetation will be too dark. If you can set the camera to manual, take an exposure reading from the most important area of vegetation in your picture.
3. Slow films (25ASA to 100ASA) are less contrasty than fast films (200ASA to 1600ASA), and produce better results. But if the exposure is less than 1/60th second, you need to put the camera on a tripod. A tripod also helps you to compose the picture better.  Wind-blown vegetation is a problem with slow exposures. Large apertures (f1.4 to f 3.5) result in only a short range being in focus.
4. Print films are less contrasty than slide films, and produce better results. Professional photographers tend to use slide film for pictures to be reproduced in magazines and print films for other purposes. Digital cameras can produce good results but one needs a large image size for reproduction in print and there are serious concerns about fading with prints from inkjet printers.
5. If you are scanning a photograph for use on a web page, set the resolution to 72dpi and the size to about 400 pixels by 200 pixels (140mm by 70mm).
6. Recommended cameras for garden photography

We thank the following people for supplying photographs

Nigel Marchant 
John Andrews
Paula Simpson 

The following article on flower photography is reprinted with permission from the NewYork Institute of Photography website at http://www.nyip.com. The comment on taking pictures in dull light conditions apply to other types of close-up pictures taken in gardens.

How to Photograph Flowers

 It's spring in many parts of the world. For those of us who spent the winter trapped inside, spring means, among other things, an irresistible chance to grab the camera and start capturing the first blooms of the season. Yet, how do you turn those shots of your favorite blooms into something special? Here are some tips on how to take better flower pictures from the world's largest photography school, New York Institute of Photography (NYI).

First, walk around the flower to see how it looks with light coming from different directions. Watch carefully when the light (usually, the sun) is behind the flower, coming toward the camera. Often, the petals will glow with beautiful iridescence. This is called "backlighting" because the light is coming from the back of the subject (in this case, the flower). Backlighting is often the best type of lighting for translucent subjects like petals.

However, don't despair if there is no sun. Gray and overcast days provide great opportunities for flower photography. The lighting is more even and there are no shadows. Rain turns colors more intense. You can even carry a spray bottle to create rain droplets on the sunniest of days. Even night photography is an option. You'll be surprised at how attractive a flower photo can be when illuminated by flash.

Second, to make a flower picture come alive, wait until something adds life to the flower - for example, a bee alights, or a spider crawls into it, or a hummingbird pays a visit. It takes patience, but it pays off if, for example, after you wait a few minutes, a butterfly lands on your flower. Shoot! The picture you get will be great.

Three, try interesting angles and backgrounds. Consider getting down low on the ground or shooting with the wide angle setting on your lens. Don't despair if the background behind the flower is unattractive. Try replacing it with a colored piece of paper or fabric. There are lots of different ways you can experiment when photographing flowers!

For the complete article on photographing flowers plus some great flower photos, visit the New York Institute of Photography website at http://www.nyip.com.