It’s understandable that visiting a new place is a great stimulus for photography, but so can taking a fresh look at what’s around you… and even, quite literally, in your own backyard. Gardens can be full of different things to photograph, from the large scale, such as trees, to the tiny details of flowers and plants. A well-established garden is also a haven for insects and birds and possibly, depending where you live, wildlife such as possums, echidnas and wallabies.
If you don’t have a garden of your own, there’s a good chance you’ll have a public park nearby or, even better, botanical gardens or a reserve. You could even ask your local nursery for permission to photograph their flowers and plants, perhaps providing them with a few prints in return. Open gardens are another possibility and are typically available to visit in spring and autumn when they are at their most colourful. Open gardens are generally privately owned and created by enthusiasts who are keen to show them off. In areas where there are a number of these gardens, they may all open as part of a local garden festival. An entry fee is usually payable, but then you’re free to wander around and take as many photos as you want. Some of these gardens will be quite formal, while others are thematic in style – such as English, Italian or Japanese – while others will be more typical Australian with an emphasis on native plants. All will provide plenty of scope for photography and the subjects can extend beyond just plants and flowers to garden ‘furniture’ such as statues, pots, pergolas or water features. Large, landscaped gardens will also allow you to use paths, hedges, terraces, walls and mass plantings (for example, emphasising one colour or shape) as more graphical elements.
Easy Start
The good news is that to get started with photographing gardens and flowers, you’ll almost certainly be able to use the camera equipment you already own. A standard
