Waterlillies

Earlier in the year I visited the Monet Gardens at Giverny to photograph the waterlillies. Prior to the shoot, I was asked to make some test shots for a few ideas I had, and these are the results. Shot at my local, Kew, the ideas weren’t adopted in the end, but a few days ago I finally made some high res scans.

I love using square format. Unfortunately most art directors worry when you mention it. To fit a page, a crop is almost inevitable, making its use irrelevant.  And why shoot a beautful garden in black and white? The area around the lake at Giverny is green. And then there is a lot more green, which is not surprising really, as it’s largely a  woodland type planting. There are occasional splashes of colour, but I wanted to capture the tonality. My darkroom instincts come to the fore in these situations!

Colour was eventually decided on and I shot some lovely graphic images – once these have been published next spring, I’ll post these too. And waterlillies – they’re absolute devils. If they decide to open, it’s a long wait. I timed one and it took 2 hours and 15 minutes. I’d normally have better things to do than standing around with a stop watch, but when you are planning a ferry trip home, it was essential. But worth the wait!

water lilies at Kew Gardens

water lilies at Kew Gardens

water lilies at Kew Gardens

water lilies at Kew Gardens

water lilies at Kew Gardens

water lilies at Kew Gardens

roots in glasshouse at Kew Gardens

roots in glasshouse at Kew Gardens

Urban and Guerrilla gardening

A gallery of a few folk I have photographed over the last 18 months. Guerrilla gardeners, urban gardeners and plot holders.

Michael - allotment holder

Michael - allotment holder

Sarah - designer and urban garden volunteer

Sarah - designer and urban garden volunteer

Anna - gardener and urban garden volunteer

Anna - gardener and urban garden volunteer

Heather - Landscape architect, urban gardener/ environmentalist

Heather - Landscape architect, urban gardener/ environmentalist

Jason with his 1959 El Camino urban garden

Jason with his 1959 El Camino urban garden

Les - working on the restoration of the grounds and landscaping at Fulham Palace

Les - working on the restoration of the grounds and landscaping at Fulham Palace

Lewis - urban garden volunteer and organiser

Lewis - urban garden volunteer and organiser

Richard Reynolds - guerrilla gardener with his Austin Maxi

Richard Reynolds - guerrilla gardener with his Austin Maxi

Stephen - garden volunteer

Stephen - garden volunteer

Nate - guerrilla gardener

Nate - guerrilla gardener

Land Girls

During the  autumn of 2010 I started photographing a few people I knew for a personal project, initially inspired by a Land Girls poster from WW2. Like the Gardeners’ Hands project from a couple of years ago, it gathered momentum, slowly at first, but by word of mouth it has grown from the original six portraits taken last year, to a surprising 30 portraits. And I only seem to have scratched the surface!

Not a literal interpretation of the original poster, the connection with everyone is that they grow edible plants or plants for cropping in some form – whether in a few pots on a balcony, in an allotment or in a vast garden and who are actively involved in writing, blogging, broadcasting or campaigning.

I plan to put up some of the images on the blog, maybe on a weekly or fortnightly basis, now I have a wide selection of folk. So a few recent portraits, in no particular order!

Beth Chatto, author and one of the UK's most respected plantswomen.

Beth Chatto, author and one of the UK's most respected plantswomen.

Jekka McVicar, plantswoman, organic expert and author, in her herb nursery

Jekka McVicar, plantswoman, organic expert and author, in her herb nursery

Alice Bowe, garden designer and author, making a start on her new veg plot.

Alice Bowe, garden designer and author, making a start on her new veg plot.

Helen Babbs, author, on her balcony in Central London

Helen Babbs, author, on her balcony in Central London

RPS photography course at Mill Dene Gardens


Mill Dene Gardens in Autumn

Mill Dene Gardens in Autumn

After the success of the flower photography course Jason Ingram and I ran last May with the Royal Photographic Society, the follow up was held last weekend. This time it was for two days,  with detailed assessments and plenty of time for practical experience in the beautiful gardens at Mill Dene, in the Cotswolds.

Photography student at Mill Dene gardens

Photography student at Mill Dene gardens, June 2011

Again we had a full house with 10 students who all appeared to enjoy themselves, despite the fact that at 6am the expected beautiful morning light was, in fact, rain! Plan B came into play and a daylight studio session was held instead.

Our next planned course will be a one day event at Batsford Arboretum on 30th October 2011, photographing the beautiful Autumn colour in the extensive grounds.

Acer at Batsford Arboretum

Acer at Batsford Arboretum, Autumn 2010