The Garden as a Reminder

Photographing gardens is a way to connect to the universe.

I take a LOT of photos of flowers, even though I don’t need more photos of flowers.

I’ve never even shown anyone 99% of the botanical photographs I already have.

Yet I still spend hours photographing them every week.

Lately, the doom monologue has been amping up in my head recently.

These internal thoughts keep me from living in the present, and I find myself experiencing reality somewhere between the fear of the future and the regret of my past. It’s not a fun place to be.

So I make myself visit a garden.

Nature allows me to breathe and move. Spending time in these spaces quiets my incessant inner thoughts.

These walks force me to remember that even life’s most common moments can be awe-inspiring.

I can’t help but be present and aware of my smallness in the universe.

Yet I never feel alone here.

I weave through the fields of wildflowers, trying to do as little damage with my footsteps as possible.

I pay attention to vibrant splashes of color.

Details that reveal hidden worlds.

Beds of softness.

And pastel dreams.

All of this: a reminder to rest.

And to see.

And to let go.

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(Photographers - these were shot within the last few weeks with a bunch of different cameras: the OM-3 and OM-1 MarkII, as well as the GFX100s and Sony A7Rv)

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