Studiology

Photographs

On a quiet day, building a garden presentation, I am perusing my collection of photographs. Occasionally I come across something exceptional, but rarely garden related. I fall in love again and remember spending hours working or "processing" the image. Most are large Photoshop files, enormous in comparison to others, most of these have multiple layers. Many hours are required to build a few, they may even begin as a transfer and then re-photographed. For me this type of work is underappreciated, hence my decision to change mediums. 

Camera club competitions were my drive. After achieving "Photographer of the Year" for black and white in the advanced category, I felt I was done. That was a goal that took 11 years. 

So I'd like to share a few, these caught my attention today, some have never been seen by anyone else, for reasons I explain. 

This is shot with a color infrared camera. I have 2 such cameras, one for black and white infrared, the other color. The sensor is taken out and replaced. Photographers like to do this when they move to another camera body but keep the old one.  The location is Chatham Manor in Fredericksburg. 

For years I visited the Glade Creek Grist Mill in West Virginia at the height of fall color. This is a technique with many, many layers where you are essentially turning the photograph into something that looks like a pastel piece. I don't believe I ever put it in competition because I didn't think a judge would appreciate it.

This one was taken on a tour of the abandoned Lorton prison grounds, one of several that I attended with photographers. Never entered for judging because of the single, blatant error of cutting off the larger tower. The reason? I was being yelled at by the guard, I had ventered farther than permitted. Alas! You can see what I was trying to do, line up the second tower in the portal. Another color, black and white infrared, and HDR image.

I loved tweaking the photograph, creating a black and white but letting the color come back in, but only a hint. Many of these became the foundation of encaustic work, oil paint was used on the wax to brighten the color areas. 

Entered into competition and winning a ribbon, possibly first. The judge (Josh Taylor) thought it was a "Wowsa". I remember bowing my head when it came up, just not sure what the judge would think. It's so refreshing to have an open minded judge. The image is clearly a reversal, placed over itself again. Some come out very good, some don't, this one was exceptional. 

The original is a monstrous file, with many, many layers. I was trying to create something really moody from an old tombstone at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA. Color infrared. I am not sure why it speaks to me, but the layers include rusty metal and ivy from other photographs. 

Being in the right place at the right time with the sunlight doing what every photographer dreams it can. Tack sharp where it needs to be, this was another workshop for photography. An early morning on Chincoteague Island. 

A really large file, created after I finished competing but was still selling photography. Printed on cloth and paper, I love them both equally, but they are quite different. Someday I will frame one... or both. 

 

Native Ferns

Where trees live, concentrated enough to be a forest or a glen, there exists an understory, the space that occupies their feet. Herbaceous plants live here, as well as tree saplings. The second, third, fourth chapter in the evolution of a forest lies in wait. A habitat forms, a place of cover for small mammals, shade for tree roots, hunting grounds on a minute or medium scale.

Sadly our forests are in trouble, overgrazing my be the biggest problem, deer populations have grown. Many of the plants that remain, ignored by deer, are alien. Japanese stilt grass, barberry shrubs, and Japanese honeysuckle are the overbearing thugs of my forest.  I have watched them spread and the wild understory diminish. 

Christmas fern

An opportunity exists to make it better. A step towards improvement. In our geographical location, we have many native ferns. Diverse in their needs, rich in their attributes, they fill a niche. Some thrive in dry shade, a few are evergreen, and if you have a wet spot, your options are many. 

hayscented fern

For an expansive fern understory consider the hayscented fern. This running or rhizomatous species is tough, durable, yet delicate in appearance. In fall it blazes yellow and amber before it descends into dormancy. In similarly dry conditions, the Christmas fern is evergreen. Equally tough, as beautiful in January as it is in August. Goldie's fern reaches three feet, use the height to accent others. In the wild it will grow taller when its near water, although very reliable without.

ostrich fern

 In wet places, the choices are many. For a spreading, medium height fern (two feet), use the sensitive fern. A common native, adaptive to dry and moist, grow this species in a naturally moist area for luxuriant foliage, otherwise its sensitivities will show as fronds with brown tips. In your swampiest soils grow the ostrich fern. Spreading by rhizomes, the roots seek moisture and colonize the spaces they find agreeable. In winter they sport fertile fronds which are showy. New fiddleheads of spring can be eaten, cut when two or three inches tall, wash under cold running water and gently rub off the insulating hairs. Boil for three or four minutes and eat chilled in a spring salad or hot with butter and salt. 

Christmas fern

By planting these native ferns you are re-establishing a diminishing habitat, adding a layer of softness where trunks meet ground. They may be luxurient in summer and fall but in spring the emerging fiddleheads are equally enjoyable. 

 

 

Back to Work

The spring clean-up seems monumental at times, and so it begins this first week of March when it's still so chilly, but necessary. Weeds like hairy bittercress (Cardimine hirsuta) are just flowering, so smug with their tight little cluster of leaves. It's the perfect time to pull them, before this winter annual is pollinated and elongated seed pods develop and fling tiny seeds (hundreds of them) as far as 17 feet away. If you wait till April, I have no sympathy, by then it's way ahead of you. I might add that the seeds are viable for at least 10 years, and I say that from personal experience.

So my hands are already rough from pruning and weeding. Happy as a lark, I might add. Wear the right clothes, layers, a hat, and good sturdy shoes, the work is rewarding. Today I even cut some things to create a small bouquet. My first of the year, not as many choices as last year for the first week of March, but still plenty of lovely things to fill a vase.

The filler is buds of Viburnum macrocephalum, mixed with the earliest of forsythia, snowdrops, and the branches of the twigged dogwood 'Midwinter Fire'. After last years monthly chronicle of flowers to cut from my garden, I begin again this year, partly, or mostly due to 2 lectures scheduled for Merrifield Gardens. The first one is actually a workshop slated for Thursday, April 26th, at 5 PM at the Fair Oaks location. Myself and Wilson, the head flower designer, will help attendees on the basics of floral design and then help everyone create their own. This will require registration and payment of a supply fee of $40. 

On the 12th of May, I will lecture on the uncommon cut flowers that you can grow. This will also be at Merrifield Gardens, at 10 AM, the Gainesville location. It's free with no registration required and even the most seasoned gardener will find some unusual options for plants to include in their cutting garden, I'm certain of it.