First let me define the word “garden.” It’s planet Earth. Well, maybe that’s a little too broad. Let’s say it’s anywhere that something is growing or has grown or will grow. Also anything living or dead that sprang forth from the ground. This blog is all about photographing the wide and macro view of the garden.
While I will offer technical advice, the focus will be the image - without massive amounts of Photoshop touch-ups. My standard equipment is a Nikon D200 camera, a Nikon 17- 35 mm zoom, a 35-70mm with macro, a 70-200 mm zoom and an old Vietnam era 55 macro tough enough to withstand a fall from the top of Liberty One.
That being said, not all the pictures will be made with that equipment. I’ve found that the flatbed scanner makes a pretty good camera. More on that later.
Here are the first two offerings for this week.
The first image is the bottom of a Gerber Daisy floating in water. It was a centerpiece of a friend's wedding and has been on the patio table on my back deck since last weekend. It was backlit by the sun and taken with my old 55 macro, hand held at 1/30 second at f/22. ISO was 100.
The second is an oak tree with the Delaware River in the background. It was taken while I was on assignment at Pennsbury Manor in Morrisville, PA. I used my 17-35 mm set at 1/250 at f /22, ISO 200. I converted it to grayscale in Photoshop then applied a duotone. Pennsbury is a great place for landscape photography. No only are the grounds beautiful and serene but the whole area around Falls Township in Bucks County is packed with lakes and wildlife.
Please let me know if you have any questions about your photography or send your best photos to rtarver@phillynews.com.
