Botanical Gardnes - Using the Top Ten Tips

Prior to going to the Botanical Gardens with Tony, I did some research on the internet to ensure that I got the best from my time there. However, prior to going the weather turned wintry and we enjoyed an element of snow. Add to this the fact that I was trying to compliment my images of Autumn for my portfolio and the opportunity to take appropriate images became more and more of a challenge.

However, using the tips that I had researched I took numerous images of plants and leaves and tried to apply the techniques reviewed.

Take Pictures from Different angles

ISO 200: f/10: 1/20: lens 18-55mm

ISO 200: f/10: 1/40: lens 18-55mm

These two pictures were taken from two completely different angles. The image on the left gives a much greater depth of field, as the leaves in the background create perspective. However, you lose the full impact of the leaves in the image on the right. In this instance therefore, I have chosen the image on the right as part of my final selection, although I have modified the final image slightly in Photoshop.

Use a good Quality Tripod

ISO 200: f/10: 1/40: lens 18-55mm

To take this shot I had to really lower my camera on the tripod and stand back. The light is not brilliant, but I had to stand away from the leaf, in order to shed as  much light onto the subject as possible. Using my remote trigger, I took the image as seen.

Get Close to the Image, Use a Macro Lens and A remote trigger to reduce camera shake.

ISO 100: f/5: 1/40: lens 18:55mm with 4 x Magnifier

In this image I adopted the advice as above. Using the magnifying filters and the tripod I was able to get very close to the subject.  Add to this the wireless trigger and I was able to close-up images with the minimum of movement.

ISO 100:  f/5: 1/80: lens 18-55mm with 4 x Magnifier

Use Backgrounds for constant colour: Use the smallest aperture size available

I got very close to these seeds and used the widest aperture available given the light conditions. Hence the seeds themselves are very clear, but the background is completely blown out. The clarity of the sed heads is exaggerated by the almost non-nonsensical background which is just a blur of colours with no detail whatsoever. Whilst this will not sit in my final portfolio, I do really like this image.

Tony Howell

Based in Somerset, Tony Howell is one of the most well known landscape photographers in the UK. He chooses a simple and uncluttered style to create a sense of peace and stillness in his imagery.

He has been published in numerous books and magazines and regularly works for the National Geographic, The BBC, The Tate, The Forestry Commission and more.....


Unlike many other well known photographers, he has no formal training and no degree. Rather, he has been essentially self taught, learning his craft by trial and error. It is his sheer dogged determination and his love of all things natural that has driven him to succeed.

I have been particularly looking at his pictures of flowers and it is interesting to note that his floral photography only really took off when he purchased his Macro lens. The range of colours and the textures that close up photography opened up, changed his view. This element really opened up his mind to the smaller things in life and since then he has been a prolific taker of macro images.

This is a delicate image with two small flowers surrounded by a bed of green. You cannot help but be drawn to the flowers as they are the real contrast in the image.

 I love the colour in this image, which is a riot of many shades of purple.

The clarity with which he has taken this crocus really makes it stand out from the background, even though it is very much within a complimentary colour range.

Gold on gold - this daffodil almost bleeds into the background. Yet again though, a very well set aperture completely blurs out the background, leaving the detail in the areas of specific interest.

How close can you get?

I believe that the interest point of this image is the yellow part of the petal. It is however, not the section that is in focus. The actual focal point seems to be just to the edge of the yellow on the right third segment of the image.

You are drawn to focus on this and then, with the lines in the flower exaggerating the effect, you are drawn to the yellow centre of the petal.

I absolutely love the way that this flower looks like it has been 'stick' on a backdrop!

Simlar to the above image, this flower is so clear compared to the background, that it almost looks like it has bee superimposed onto the backdrop!

Rich, red, and luscious.

This picture has everything going for it. It could almost be a berry falling into a bowl of 'not set' red jelly or something.

The harshness of the stamens is in complete contrast to the softness that he has managed to achieve with the petals.

A more simple image, this photograph works  because of the contrast between the bright red flower and the pale greens in the background.

The colours in the back of this pitcure is what makes this work so well. Just a simple, delicate, yellow flower against a mess of purplues and blues. Had the background been green, as with the previous photograph, then this would definitely not have worked anywhere near as well.

Yet again, perfect clarity in the flower vs a blurred out background, creates a superb contrast.

The way that this flower droops from left to right allows your eye to flow thoughout the image.

It is not especially bright and there are no massive shadows in the image, but this has enable him nto to 'blow out' the white in the petals.

With just two colours he has created a great image that keeps you looking.

Charles Binns

Born in 1965 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. Charles is a landscape photographic artist now based in Hertfordshire. With a Spanish mother he spent much of his holidays in Spain and got into photography to record his travels.

He draws a lot of inspiration from the early English landscape artists of the 18th and 19th Century. In those days, artists documented the changing landscape and he likes to think that he is doing the same with his photogrpahy, for future generations. In addition however, he is interested in Macro-photography as he is drawn to the textures and the shapes that can be seen when looking at things close up.

Whilst not averse to digital cameras, he likes to use a Holga camera. This is a simple Camera that relies heavily on the choice of film and the framing of the subject to create the image. With only one shutter speed and one aperture, it surely must be a challenge to use.

Holga cameras are, apparently, prone to create quite a lot of vignetting, blur and 'light leaks' and this can clearly be seen in a couple of the macro images indicated hereafter.

 The grainy quality of this image works really well as it adds to a the blur effect. Looking at the edges you can clearly see the vignetting of the image too.  Hence one woudl assume thatthis was taken with a Holga.

The focal point sits right on the stamen of the flower and the soft lite draws you this too.

The image is 'dark' and velvetty, rich and warm.

Centre stage, two bright red berries, contrasting heavily against the green leaves.

I love this picture, which I haard a guess was also taken with a Holga camera as it has many of the qualities of the red flower at the top.

A soft texture is created by the blur and yet again there is vignetting of the image, drawing our eye away from the edges and into the middle of the image.

 The contrasting yellow leaves and the brown background in this image give a simple look.

I am not sure what lense was used to take thisimage, but it must have been taken with a very wide aperture. the tip of the rose is in focus, but the remainder is out of focus.

With the light background the dark red/black rose really stands out.

Bill Atkinson

"Photography begins not in the camera but in the mind and the eye. The real work is one of noticing and appreciating, seeing things clearly and differently, and sharing that vision with others."

Bill Atkinson has spent over 40 years in the world of photography. From an early age, he began taking clips out of magazines and appreciating the way in which images are created.

He attained an undergraduate degree from the University of San Diego (California) where he met Apple Mac developer Jeff Raskin. He continued his university studies as a Graduate at the University of Washington.

Bill was a pioneer within the digital imaging revolution having originally been a computer engineer, working for Apple between 1978 and 1990. As a member of the original Macintosh team at Apple Computer, Atkinson designed much of the initial Macintosh user interface and wrote the original QuickDraw, MacPaint and HyperCard software.

After spending years developing software to assist others in their creativity, he is now furthering his own art, increasing his control and the accuracy of his work through enhancements in digital processing.

His passion is to explore 'nature' in all it's giuses, from mountain ranges to deserts to the intimate nature of macro photography, using animals, insects and flowers. He especially likes to get the light right, to make full use of all of the colours available to him. This is especially prevalent in the selection of images I have chosen to review hereafter.


The vibrant colours in this image are amazing. Whether they have been enhanced or not is difficult to tell, but the clarity of the blue sky and the gold of the leaves creates a striking contrast.

Conversely, this image doe not need to use shockingly vibrant blue sky. Rather it uses softer tones to create a  very colourful image.

Whilst this image is taken into the sky, it is not the vibrancy of the blue sky that wins over this image. It is the use of the light through the leaves, which creates a mess of colours that all bleed into each other.
Contract this with the dark lines created by the branches and the image is subdivided into numerous segments, each of which has strengths of their own.








I am especially interested in this image as it contrast yellow, reds and blue all in one image. Yet again, the sunlight shining on certain areas exaggerates the golds in the leaves.

I am not even sure if there is a focal point in this image. It is just such a riot of colour that your eye runs riot across the image.






Finally, with this image you get the very best of all worlds. Fantastic use of light in the gold leaves, highlighted in the centre of the image.

Darker greens and blues surround the outer edges, enhancing the lightness and the sunlight. Indeed even the tree trunks draw the eye towards the centre of the image.

Wave Motion

Influenced by Jonathan Chritchley, I took the opportunity to get to the coast and to take some very early morning pictures of the sea. It had to be early in order to enable me to take long exposure of the water, but it had to be light enough to get some light reflecting off the rocks in order to create the contrast in the rock structures.

ISO100: f29: 1/25

This photo was taken with a very small aperture and a long exposure. This allows the water to blur and smooths out and flattens the harshness of the sea.
I tried to find the ideal spot and actually climbed onto some rocks, in order to gain the right view. Armed with my tripod to steady me I took a variety of photos, on continuous shooting, rather than tying to wait for the 'right' wave.
Timing is everything and whilst this was taken very early in the morning, already the  ambient light was getting too strong to allow me to continue taking long exposure photographs as the sun had actually come up over the horizon.
I will ultimately aim to crop this image and convert it to black and white in order to exaggerate the contrast.

The final picture

Jonathan Chritchley

I have researched, via the internet again, another UK photographer, Jonathan Chritchley. Jonathan was born in Wimbledon, but moved to Lymington on the south coast at the age of 14; where his fascination of the sea developed. In 1998 he moved to Biarritz, southern France, which has enabled him to continue to develop his work not only taking on all things related to the sea, but also has allowed him to work in the mountainous region of the Pyrranees.

This picture is typical of his style. Working extensively in black and white he creates a mystique all of his own.

What makes this picture so enthralling? I don't really know. It is merely a fishing hut, on its own, out at sea, connected via the walkway adjacent to the hut.

But there is nothing and it is the 'nothingness' that makes it so intriguing.

The use of light, or rather, the darkening of the top and bottom does draw you towards the horizon and the fishing hut, which itself seems shrowded in a bright light.

As for the horizon, it is almost non existent, with just a hint of contrast between the sea and the sky.

Having the post sitting on the left, off-sets the loneliness of the hut and does balance the view, but this is a cold and lifeless image that is haunting in it's solitude.

The small aperture and  longer exposue in this image has ensured a milky quality to the waterfall. The eye is drawn from right to left and over the edge of the rocks. There is a contrast between dark and light, with the motion going for the dark towards the light.

The eye is drawn into this image through the hardness of the rock line moving from right to left, towards the centre of the image. The contrast between the dark sky and the lighter water keeps the eye down onto the sea. The sea has taken on a misty form which in itself contrasts greatly with the harshness of the rocks.

The sharp edges of the rocks and the cracks in those rocks add an aditional quality to the rocks themselves.

With nothing in the picture apart from six sticks it is difficult to understand how Jonathan was originally inspired by the initial view. The milky water is softened and gives the sticks a harsh reality against the flatness of the sea. The dark sky keeps you looking doawn towards the sticks and to the light milky water.

I absolutely love the way that these sails billow in the wind. Being a black and white images enhances the quality of this image. The contrasts here are between the solid sail on the right and the soft billowing sail on the left. Yet again, this is a picture of contrasts.

Paul Forgham

 I discovered Paul Forgham by searching through Google. However, I am very interested in his work, especially his seascapes and the way in which his photographs are finished.

As he is a UK based photographer, I think there will be more opportunity to see some of his work displayed somewhere and will be looking over the coming weeks to see where that may be. Having been on his website I have also emailed him to establish where he may be exhibiting and to gain more information about him and his work.

The image below is a classic example of his technique. The line of the rocks draws you into the distance and pulls you into the  picture, as do the clouds. The rocks themselves stand out, looking hard and sharp against the soft, milkiness, of the water.

I assume, but have no data to support, that this has been taken on a wide angle lens with a slow shutter  speed to flatten the water. To exaggerate the centre of the picture, it also appears that a vignette may have been applied, darkening the edges.

I really like this picture. It is  clear and to the point. It draws you in and has depth. The sky gives it warmth and the lightness of the rock detail contrasts nicely with the dark blue of the skies.