Today 
RSSGardeners' musings
Garden photography
Posted by: Adam Pasco, 03 March 2008, 11.12AM
There is never enough time to get out in the garden, but I have to count myself lucky in making gardening my work. For the past 25 years I've been editing one gardening magazine or another, launching Gardeners' World Magazine back in 1991. And what does every good publication need? Top quality pictures.
So, probably once a month a specialist garden photographer joins me in my garden to capture the moment, or many moments. The What to do now section of the Gardeners' World website and magazine are full of pictures of me gardening, or sometimes just my hands pruning, sowing, picking and nurturing.
My local photographer Tim Sandall has been a faithful friend for many years, joining me to take pictures month in and month out, regardless of the weather. This gives me a day in the garden to get jobs done, but also creates content ... the lifeblood of every good magazine. Sometimes we're blessed with a bright but overcast day, the perfect weather for photography, but on others it's:
1. Too bright (sun, shadows and contrast)
2. Too windy (lots of movement and hard to focus)
3. Too dull
4. Too wet ... and so on.
With the right pictures the story tells itself, then who needs the words? Clear, step-by-step images help give people the confidence to follow projects precisely, while stunning close-ups can capture those moments of perfection for posterity. Then there are the problems and garden pests. Oh yes, my garden is full of them, each being photographed and displayed with pride in print, getting its 15 minutes of glory!
Digital photography is opening up new opportunities for us all, especially my son Luke - my home-grown photographer. Following Tim and I around the garden like a shadow, he loves capturing moments that captivate him to provide images for my blogs. So that's what's going on behind the lens.
Comments
St. George's School Gardening Club, Hertfordshire
31 March 2008, 06.49PM
Adam Pasco
07 April 2008, 04.12PM
Thank you for your comment
Thank you for your comments. All comments will be looked at by a moderator, however, due to the numbers of comments we receive, we can't promise that all will be posted on the site.