DSP Meets A Flower Garden

Why a DSP blog post about a flower garden, you ask?

Let me explain...

Over the past five or six years, I have developed a love of gardening -- specifically vegetable gardening, but as I settle into my property in Lake Toxaway, NC (see lead photo) I'm now expanding into other facets of the botanical "art form", including berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries), fruit trees (cherry, peach, pear, plum, and fig), mushrooms, and, yes, flowers and other pollinators.

This gardening stuff has become such a passion for me that earlier this year I enrolled in the local Extension Master Gardener program, and I've completed all of the course work, passed the final exam with flying colors, and exceeded my required annual volunteer hours goal a few weeks ago. Soon, I will be officially knighted as a Master Gardener at the year-end ceremony! 

Setting the actual gardening skills and tasks aside, though I have spent countless hours and gallons of blood, sweat, and tears over the past year or so designing, building, planting, and cultivating my garden beds (and berry bushes, and trees, etc), not once have I taken out my Nikon to grab a few "proper" photos of my accomplishments. Every photo I've taken so far, including the lead photo to this blog piece, has been with my iPhone 11. 

I do have a fair share of floral photographs in my archives, most of which were captured at the Biltmore Estate gardens in Asheville, NC, although it's been a few years since I actively pursued any type of "flower" photography. Heck, I can't even remember the last time I dusted off my 20+ year old Sigma 105mm macro lens!

Fast-forward to mid-September of this year...

Out of the blue, I was contacted by a colleague that I know from the local Chamber of Commerce regarding a special photography project -- one that would focus, quite literally, on a garden.

But, it wasn't just any garden. It was the property of his grandmother who recently passed away, and with her having been quite the avid gardener, he and his family wanted to preserve its beauty and nostalgia via professional photographs prior to putting the property on the market.

Enter, DSP.

I was asked if I'd be interested in taking on such a special project, and given that I always like a challenge that I believe is within my skill set, if not pushing its limits, I gladly accepted (after we agreed to the scope and fee, of course). Truth be told, I had never before been hired for such a project.

A few days later, off I went to the property to meet my new client with a trunk full of camera gear, not knowing exactly what I had gotten myself into. After a quick scouting mission, it didn't take long to put together a strategy as to how I would document everything, and tell the story of this lovely property.

The plan was to work with one lens at at time before moving on to another lens. This would prove to be very efficient, while also allowing me to concentrate on "seeing" the garden through the characteristics of each lens, kind of like separate sub-projects within the overall project.

Here's the order that I used my lenses (with my Nikon D800, by the way):

Phase I: Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 - This would allow me a very shallow depth of field, bringing in creative blur in both the background and foreground in order to isolate subject matter.

Phase II: Nikkor 70mm - 200mm f/2.8 - The longer focal length would allow me shoot from more-distant angles, as well as work with background and foreground "compression".

Phase III: Nikkor 14mm - 24mm f/2.8 - Opposite to the previous lens, my super-wide-angle lens would allow me to go, well, super wide!

Phase IV: Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro - I would finish the shoot with close-ups, utilizing my Gitzo tripod and Really Right Stuff ballhead, allowing me to get up close and personal with the garden, while capturing details that were not possible with the other lenses.

NOTE: After all that, I did not see a need to take my Nikkor 24mm - 70mm out of my bag/trunk. Given that it was an overcast day, I also did not need a reflector / diffuser, nor my flash, but I was prepared to do so if needed.

With a such a range of lenses, I was confident that I could tell quite a story about the property, even though I had never met my client's grandmother, and knew little about her. That said, by the time I finished, I felt like I knew her! She was probably watching over my shoulder the entire time, providing divine guidance as I traversed the heaven-on-earth that she created over the course of many years.

The photo shoot took me about 90 minutes from start to finish, taking in the flower beds, trees, garden statues, figurines, and ornaments, a beautiful blue arbor with accompanying blue bench, parts of the house's exterior and sunroom interior, and more.

I was feeling good about the shoot as I keep circling the property with each lens, and just when I thought I had captured all I could without being repetitious, it started to rain. This was a sign from above, literally, to pack it in and get back to the office to process the files (in Adobe Lightroom, in case you were wondering). 

Over the course of the morning, I ended up clicking off about 200 shutter actuations, creating what I believe to be a diverse body of work -- a true story.

But, what would my client think? Did I meet his expectations, and that of his family? Perhaps this text message from him after I delivered over 100 files provides the answer to that question:

"They were absolutely incredible, and brought tears to our eyes. Thanks so much for capturing the property so perfectly."

Mission accomplished, I believe. :-)

I have to admit, this was one of the most gratifying photography projects that I've taken on in quite some time. It had so many dimensions, literally and figuratively: Diverse subject matter; Color; Depth; Integration of nature with manmade structures; Lines, shapes, patterns, textures, etc; Close-up opportunities; Generally, a creative challenge for me; and, most importantly, it had "purpose".

This wasn't just a photo shoot of a piece of property. This was the preservation of memories of a special person in my client's life. I am humbled that it meant so much to him and his family, and I'm grateful for having been chosen as "the photographer" to take on such a special project.

So, now what?

Well, given my own passion for both gardening and photography, I'm now brainstorming how I can combine the two into an actual DSP service. I have the winter months to mull this over and develop a marketing plan that will be kicked off in the early spring. And, given my own special garden, I'm also thinking about offering a niche workshop on my property: Garden Photography. Who knows? Perhaps sometime in the near future you'll be seeing a DSP garden photo on the cover of Better Homes & Gardens!

If you're reading this, and would be interested in having your garden property photographed, or would like to learn how to do it yourself, please contact me and we'll have a chat about your desires.