What Remains: The Beauty of Winter in the Garden

[Ola_Jovall]

Anne, thank you for a great postning. I agree fully that there are a lot of small details and scenes to be found during the late autumn deterioration and the cold winter period if you just get out there with an open mind (and good clothes!). I almost forgot to say that your images are wonderful!

[phil_crean]

Lovely work… You’ve captured something very beautiful in these images.

[Cheryl_Kaiser (Cheryl)]

Anne, what a beautiful article and images. this has been very inspiring for me as I’ve resisted the nudges to go out into the snow and wind any longer than photographing from an open door or window or within the boundaries of my yard. Your gentle words and quiet images are encouraging and I am curious now to explore in a new way. Thank you!

[Bill_Reichhardt]

Anne, Welcome to NPN and thank you for your terrific post. I have been inspired by your work over the past year, learning from videos and your lectures in the Out of Chicago series. This winter I have also learned to take my camera along for those long walks in wooded areas. Well done and Thank You! Bill

[Ed_McGuirk]

Ann, welcome to NPN, what an inspiring set of images and a thoughtful, well written essay. There is such an elegant simplicity in your images. And thank you for reminding us that there can be beauty in even death and decay, if you have the imagination to look for it.

[Shirley_Freeman]

Ann, what a great collection of images. I will have to think outside the box a little better when I get to go out and shoot again. You have certainly put a challenge on me, as I had resolved that between the pandemic, winter, and caring for my husband, I have nothing to shoot. Well, turns out I have lots of old dead flowers and seed heads on some that I might can isolate into something that is worthy of some pixels. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be revisiting this article again, I am quite sure.

[Anne_Belmont]

@Ola_Jovall

Anne, thank you for a great postning. I agree fully that there are a lot of small details and scenes to be found during the late autumn deterioration and the cold winter period if you just get out there with an open mind (and good clothes!). I almost forgot to say that your images are wonderful!

Thank you, Ola! Appreciate your comment and love your thought about having an open mind. The pandemic has forced many of us to rearrange our thinking and come up with new ways to be creative and that can lead to good things.

[Anne_Belmont]

@phil_crean

Lovely work… You’ve captured something very beautiful in these images.

Thank you, Phil! Appreciate your comment.

[Anne_Belmont]

@Cheryl_Kaiser

…Anne, what a beautiful article and images. this has been very inspiring for me as I’ve resisted the nudges to go out into the snow and wind any longer than photographing from an open door or window or within the boundaries of my yard. Your gentle words and quiet images are encouraging and I am curious now to explore in a new way. Thank you!

Cheryl, I am so happy that my article got you thinking about photographing in a new way. That was exactly my intent. As someone who hated winter and being cold, taking on this project and learning to embrace the winter and the subjects it offers has truly been transformational. Keep me posted on what unfolds for you!

[Anne_Belmont]

@Bill_Reichhardt

Anne, Welcome to NPN and thank you for your terrific post. I have been inspired by your work over the past year, learning from videos and your lectures in the Out of Chicago series. This winter I have also learned to take my camera along for those long walks in wooded areas. Well done and Thank You! Bill

Thank you so much, Bill! I will look forward to seeing you at other Out of Chicago events and would love to see what you are capturing on those walks. Although many of these images were captured at Chicago Botanic Garden, I quickly learned that my neighborhood and a wooded area not far from my house held equally beautiful subjects. It has been such an eye-opening project!

[Anne_Belmont]

@Ed_McGuirk

…Ann, welcome to NPN, what an inspiring set of images and a thoughtful, well written essay. There is such an elegant simplicity in your images. And thank you for reminding us that there can be beauty in even death and decay, if you have the imagination to look for it.

Thank you, Ed! So glad you enjoyed the article and that it was a valuable reminder of the beauty found in winter. I appreciate you kind words!

[Anne_Belmont]

@Shirley_Freeman

… and shoot again. You have certainly put a challenge on me, as I had resolved that between the pandemic, winter, and caring for my husband, I have nothing to shoot. Well, turns out I have lots of old dead flowers and seed heads on some that I might can isolate into something that is worthy of some pixels. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be revisiting this article again, I am quite sure.

Shirley, thank you so much for your comment! I’m so glad that the article made you rethink what’s out there in winter. I am amazed at what I have found . This has been a difficult year in so many ways but we can use our photography as a respite and a time of healing. I hope you get out there and find the beauty!

[sheila_reeves]

Thank you for this article. I, too, have felt a need for wintering this year!

[Jean_Drummond]

I absolutely love these images! So beautiful and inspiring! You really captured the personalities of these plants and their last “dances.”

[Anne_Belmont]

@sheila_reeves

Thank you for this article. I, too, have felt a need for wintering this year!

Thank you for your comment, Sheila! This has been a challenging year in so many ways and I think many of us feel the need to winter and rest. The combination of taking some time to rest and working on this project has been very healing for me.

[Anne_Belmont]

@Jean_Drummond

I absolutely love these images! So beautiful and inspiring! You really captured the personalities of these plants and their last “dances.”

So nice to see you here, Jean! Thank you for your comment and I’m so glad the images resonated with you.

[brenda_tharp]

@Anne_Belmont

We are a culture that values youth and vitality, but we must also embrace the beauty and wisdom of age. Photographing in winter helps me to see that more clearly. There is such incredible beauty and grace in the garden in winter.

Welcome to NPN, Anne! This is a lovely article! It is wonderful to see something focused on the dying/aging process as something that is also beautiful.

[Anne_Belmont]

Thank you, Brenda! I appreciate your comment. It has been a meaningful and transformative project. We still have a lot of winter ahead of us, so I hope to keep going until the first flowers poke their heads out of the ground.

[Jean_Drummond]

@Anne_Belmont

So nice to see you here, Jean! Thank you for your comment and I’m so glad the images resonated with you.

I’m curious, did you use backgrounds or textures backgrounds on some of these? The tones are perfect.

I just switched to Fuji XT3 so I need new Lensbaby lenses. What do you think of the Trio?

[Anne_Belmont]

Jean, all these are natural backgrounds - the backgrounds provided by nature. The nice thing about shooting in winter is less plant life is in the way - backgrounds have been easier to control. In some cases I had to clone out some areas or add further blur but for the most part they are SOC. The Lensbaby lenses do a great job of creating beautiful blur. I have the Trio for a micro 4/3 but I don’t use that camera much. It’s a fun lens, but you are limited to a fixed aperture of f/3.5. Shoot me an email and we can talk more about it.