Drying Onions

Garden Photography

Part of my recent tour down South West, Garden Photography with the National Trust was a visit to Knighthayes in Exmoor, The house is a very dark and moody building, just on the edge of the moor. The walls were covered with Stags, that had been hunted over the generations, and it felt like this would be the perfect location for an Agatha Christie novel. We were tasked to get some photography of the visitors going around the house. But due to the poor light we did not really succeed in this. The second part of the day was garden photography.

However the weather improved over the day and by the afternoon it was much better. We went out into the walled garden to get some lovely shots of the plants and potting sheds. They have a wealth of produce from the beds, and it made my life very easy. They were drying their onions in the glass houses, and sitting on the old wood, the textures and tones were truly beautiful. Their potting shed was very tidy and with the recently harvested squashes made great subject matter.  I rarely use a tripod, which I know a lot of people would disagree with. The reason for this is because I find it slows me up and stops me getting the shots that I need. I am an impulsive photographer and rely on the flexibility that going hand held offers me.

The flowers were in full bloom and the insects very busy collecting the pollen. They even have banana trees growing outdoors here as the walled garden seems to have its own micro climate. All of this made for a lovely afternoon. Slightly marred by the truly awful traffic on the M5 going home. I love working for the National Trust and always meet great people when on their properties. There standard of photography is high and I feel honoured to be a part of their team. You should check out their picture Library. http://www.nationaltrustimages.org.uk/