Close your eyes. Imagine a place where the world is peaceful and calm. What do you see in your mind’s eye? Is it something of nature? What do you hear?
If you are having trouble find a place of peace and calm, I can take you there. A place with tall trees whose leaves are beginning to fall. A place with gently running water over stones. A place where you can walk and see something beautiful every way you turn.
The place I will take you is the Garden of Gentle Breeze, which I visited yesterday as part of the Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. This garden was created, is still being created, by homeowner Jay Gray in the forested hills near Corvallis. We arrived in the morning and started our visit with Jay explaining a bit about the philosophy of the two different types of gardens he has, the Zen or Tea Garden and the Strolling Garden. Everything is symbolic in the gardens, he says, with analogies for life. He also mentioned that the strolling garden is “edited” from it’s natural state, adding and subtracting elements to create the garden. That idea captivated me, as we do the same in our photographs.
While wandering the gardens I felt a sense of peace and calm. I had made a choice for simplicity this rainy morning, bringing only my 35mm lens, to see what I could see from that single field of view. I enjoyed both the wider scenes and the close up views.
I was fascinated at the artistry and interaction of the built elements with the plant elements. All are so intentionally chosen. They are a work of art.
Even the potted plants on the deck are arranged intentionally, with beautiful symmetry yet interesting contrast.
I was especially drawn to the lanterns, so I asked Jay about them. He said that when they are lit, they throw light in distinct directions. They are often at a stairway or a fork in the path, reminding you that you are making a choice. They are symbolic of the choices we have to make in life, making them obvious and intentional.
Partway through my visit, I started to play with my images. I wanted to create something that captured the impressions of the garden, rather than a literal photograph. I set the camera to longer shutter speeds and experimented with motion during exposure. I got a lot of terrible images, they just look blurry or are unintelligible. But I also got two that I loved, that really captured the feeling of the natural beauty of the garden in a powerful way.
This is my favorite photograph from the day. It feels like a painting, and just seems to captured the delicate beauty of the place in a way the other photographs did not. This was created in camera, with only minor edits in Lightroom.
Everything seems to draw me back to intention, which I also mentioned in Friday’s Exploring with a Camera post. We have choices in how we create our photographs. We have choices in how we live our lives. Whether it’s a beautiful garden or an artful photograph, when we are intentional about what we create, amazing things result.
October 14, 2012 9:27 am
Your favourite photo (which is also mine – I just love it!) not only looks like a painting, but it reminds me of Japanese painting/calligraphy where just a few simple brush strokes make the most amazing images. It’s a long time since I tried experimenting with long shutter speeds and moving the camera and you’ve nudged me to have another go.
October 14, 2012 9:35 am
Ooooh, I love that type of Japanese painting so it thrills me to receive that comparison! I hope you will share images when you experiment with long shutter speeds. Don’t get discouraged if most of them don’t turn out though, you will not believe how many I had to throw away to get these two. It’s not a predictable technique in the least, but when it does work – it’s magical!
October 14, 2012 11:13 am
What a beautiful photo you captured (tree). An inspirational post. Thank you for sharing.
October 14, 2012 5:46 pm
Just looking at these images sooth my soul!! I love your experiments, the leaf is amazing. It made me think of a Japanese painting, also! Thanks for letting us share a little of the peace you found!
October 14, 2012 9:08 pm
Kat, I’m reading a wonderful book now called The Garden of Evening Mists. Your post and photos remind me of some of the book’s lush descriptions. The moving leaf photo becomes in my imagination calligraphy or birds in flight. I see serenity in your photos.
October 14, 2012 9:13 pm
I immediately thought the same thing as Angie when I saw your gorgeous leaves shot. That should be a framer, for sure. It is so simple, yet so full of movement and life and colour.I also admire the painterly tree, which is so impressionistic. I agree wholeheartedly with what you say about intentional creating. Thanks for sharing your trip to the gardens.
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October 15, 2012 7:25 am
Wow! Your images are fantastic.Your motion shot is so much depth of feeling it draws on the soul.
Vi
October 15, 2012 2:02 pm
Love your experiments with motion blur – both are amazing images with a painterly quality that captures the essence of the gardens in a unique and creative way.
October 26, 2012 11:25 am
Oh that last one caps off a magnificent collection! I not only take photos myself but I also paint and that photo is one I would have liked to have painted! Beautiful!
From one Kat to another
October 26, 2012 11:27 am
Oh that last one caps off a magnificent collection! I not only take photos myself but I also paint and that photo is one I would have liked to have painted! Beautiful!
From one Kat to another