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Gardens - A World Wide Panorama
G. Donald Bain 2006-Jun-20 22:00:00
Today is the first day of shooting for "gardens", so I spent my lunch
hour at the Berkeley Rose Garden.
Roses have beautiful blossoms, but are really pretty ugly plants
other than that. Fisheye lens to the rescue! With my 8mm full-frame
fisheye I could get very close to a group of blossoms, so it
dominates the panorama. The garden is laid out in semi-circular
terraces on a hillside, so it surrounds one, perfect to complete the
scene.
A close-up with a fisheye is dramatic, but how about a shot from
inside a flower? I am sure someone can figure out how to do that -
maybe a small mirror-ball. Something else I would like to see would
be a view from down amongst the flowers, almost at ground level. Or
between the rows in a vegetable garden. Eye to eye with a snail.
Here's another unusual point of view - water level in a pond or
fountain, half the frame below water, half above. Scott Highton did
this in a swamp years ago, time for a new version. Lure a goldfish up
close for drama.
Another exciting point of view - high above. We have some kite-
photography specialists in our group, including the master, Charles
Benton. I would love to see a maze from above, or a strictly formal
symmetrical layout of paths and beds and ponds. Landscapes reveal all
sorts of secrets when studied from above, such as traces of old paths
and building foundations under lawns. Looking out across a valley in
Oregon last week I suddenly realized that there was a 100-meter
diameter peace symbol faintly visible in a hayfield below.
Water in gardens opens up some creative possibilities. Reflecting
ponds, lily ponds, streams with footbridges, miniature waterfalls,
also dry stream beds. Fountains large and small, lawn sprinklers even.
How about people in gardens? Children playing on the lawn (under the
sprinkler), old folks relaxing in the shade, gardeners at work,
students studying at a botanic garden. And animals.
Just a few musings. Share yours, please.
Don