Tag Archives | photo contest

Fill the Frame

macro photo of orange heirloom pumpkinSince I am the judge this month for our Picture This contest, I am taking the opportunity to expand on my theme – Fill the Frame.   Link to contest entry rules and previous post.  Whether or not you intend to contribute a photo to the contest or just want to take stronger photos you will want to be mindful of filling your frame as fundamental to your composition.

Think of your photo as an artist thinks of a canvas, every part of it is meaningful and contributes to the overall story.  Whether you frame up your photo in the camera or crop it later, think of the four edges as the edge of your canvas and find a composition to hold your viewer’s eye on your subject.

The gloriously scarlet orange pumpkin in the opening photo is all about color, there is no reason to show any edges.  Note I have composed it so that the stem is off center and I can take advantage of the striations that are part of this heirloom Cinderella pumpkin, ‘Rouge vif D’Etampes’. Continue Reading →

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Picture This Photo Contest – October 2011

This months theme is Fill the Frame.

succulent tapestry

We will be looking for photos that use the entire canvas with well constructed compositions.  The succulent tapestry above from Jeff Moore’s garden in Solana Beach, CA was carefully composed in the camera’s viewfinder to include blocks of complementary plant material, overlapping triangles with strong lines and shapes to achieve a balance that fills the entire frame.

Let’s look at other ways to consider the topic of ‘Fill the Frame’.

I well remember the first time I saw culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) flowering in a garden.  I could not believe that I had been so unaware of the spectacular flowers, nor could I believe my good luck in finding it in such a fine garden.  I knew I had a great photo opp.

herb garden with flowering sage

Like many of us when we know a good photo is staring us in the face, I quickly took a picture before the moment passed.  All I got was a snapshot of the garden, not a picture of the flowers.  I had not stopped to analyze what I was seeing and what I wanted to say.

Continue Reading →

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Photographer’s Challenge

pueblo pot mum

Find the Photo - Photographer's Challenge

When I attended the California Spring Trials this past April I ran into fellow photographers Ramon van der Reijden and Ted Langeveld of the Visions Pictures photo agency in Netherlands.  In my previous post about the Trials I mentioned the phototographer’s challenge – each of us would photograph the same flower and see what we come up with.  A flower photographer shoot out. Continue Reading →

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Picture This – Photographing Abundance

There is still time to send in your photos for this months contest.  The theme is Abundant Harvest which we kicked off with a smorgasbord of photos, all of which are interpretations of the theme.  Rules and prizes in the October 5 post. I should remind our readers that the photos do not have to be recent ones, nor do they even have to be in the garden.  A farmer’s market or a jar of homemade pickles can say abundance.

What does matter is good composition and a photo that has ‘abundant’ in its impact.  Extra points for color; and when I think of harvest I think of edibles, be it fruit, veggies, or herbs.

I thought it might be fun to analyze my construction of a photograph that was commissioned to show abundance, the lead photo in the original post. Continue Reading →

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GGW Picture This Photo Contest – September 2009

Schizachyrium scoparium on ice 3 Dec 14 07

 With September’s Picture This Photo Contest, we continue selecting the best of the best of our colleagues to judge what has quickly become a great place for budding and experienced photographers alike to share photos and in some cases, to be singled out as winners for the month.  And so it should come as no suprise to any of you that Nan Ondra, our judge this month,  has chosen ornamental grasses as the subject. Nan has written a widely read and highly respected book, Grasses: Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design. She is the ideal person to come up with the criteria upon which the photos will be judged, offer observations and select the winning photos. Nan is also the author of the recently published book, The Perennial Care Manual: A Plant by Plant Guide: What To Do And When To Do It, (as well as over a dozen other books), the co-creator and manager of GGW, a horticulturist, renowned gardener and can also be found writing on her own blog, Hayefield.

And the prize for this month? Our dear friend, David Salman at High Country Gardens, has selected  a collection of ornamental grasses that will have your fall garden  swaying in the breeze with texture, color and movement (photo and description to be posted soon).

Continue Reading →

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