The Photographer in the Garden
A call for summertime pictures
It’s that time of year.
The light is warm, and the gardens are blooming. I love it because seeing a lush green garden makes my heart sing. This Sheron Rupp picture is one of my all-time favorites and represents the secret magic gardens contain. Do you know her work? She’s on Instagram, and her feed is consistently excellent. I love her vibe.
Many of you know I’m a walker, and part of the pleasure is moving through my neighborhood and seeing the plantings in people’s yards and terraces along the sidewalk. I’m getting soft in my middle age and have become a guy who stops to smell the roses and photograph them. I don’t show my pictures here often, but I post them in my Notes all the time, and it’s fun to see how they resonate with people. I was out the other night, and these flowers caught my eye. Aren’t they beautiful?
That made me think it would be fun to curate a mix of summertime garden pictures. Photographing gardens is a funny habit, but many people do it, and I’ve recently joined their ranks. I suspect people have been making images of their gardens since the dawn of photography. Do you do this, too? Please drop me a line and show me your stuff. I always say photography is good for you, and looking at natural beauty like this can’t hurt, especially in these trying political times. I’m eager to see your work. Email me!
I’d forgotten about it, but as I was brainstorming this post, I remembered that Aperture published a book on garden photography back in 2018. I made a picture of my copy in our garden (clever!) and put it on the shelf shortly after reading it. This is why print matters: you remember a book you bought years ago and can easily retrieve and enjoy it anew. Here’s how Aperture describes the book:
From famous locations to the simplest home vegetable garden, from worlds imagined by artists to vintage family snapshots, The Photographer in the Garden traces the garden’s rich history in photography and delights readers with spectacular images. Picture commentaries by Sarah Anne McNear and an informative essay from curator Jamie M. Allen broaden our understanding of photography and how it has been used to record the glory of the garden. This sublime and beautiful book brings together some of the most stunning photography in the history of the medium.
The Photographer in the Garden is a lovely book filled with all kinds of photographs I’d never seen before. If garden pictures are your thing, you need this book. It’s out of stock in the Aperture bookshop, but you can find copies used online. If you want a taste, The Guardian published some of these pictures in 2018. Enjoy!
Are you in the Midwest?
This too: I’m still looking for Midwest photographers to feature in a small group show I’m organizing at the Arts + Literature Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, this fall. This will be an intimate flat file print exhibition, and I’m excited to put eyes on some of the talent in this part of the world. You can read about the PhotoMidwest Festival here. Please email me if you live in these parts so I can see your work.
One more thing…
Greta Rybus sent this lovely image last night. I can’t think of a more perfect visual summation of the season: green grass, juicy watermelon, and those lovely flower blooms. Greta’s selling prints of this picture as part of a Community Fundraiser for Palestine. All proceeds will be donated to World Central Kitchen to provide mutual aid to nonprofits working in Palestine. You can read more about the print options on her website. Thanks, Greta!
Was just doing some Edward Steichen research for the newsletter and I learned he was a master delphinium gardener. He was president of Delphinium Society of America and spent years cross breeding and growing acres of the flowers. He even had a show at MoMA, filling the galleries with his flowers.
I took a snap of a blooming dogwood last Spring on the walk from my car to my office. It was such a good reminder to be present in the moment, to acknowledge the beauty and drama around us. So many times I've wished I had a camera - or even a cell phone - with me, but haven't. Luckily I have captured those in my mind's eye.