Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

More Ruth Bancroft Gardens

Last weekend I visited the Ruth Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek, CA. The last post I shared a few of the photos I took of this amazing place, and there are more to edit. I found myself passing over the meta photos. Though they showed the beauty of the place accurately, I was more excited by others.

While a photo of one cactus flower is breathtaking, one way to add diversity and variety into the mix is by combining 4 different photos of cactus flowers together, placing the images so that they refer to one another:

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I used the app ShockMyPic to add contrast and a feeling of drawing to this image. While the subtle pinks, greens, and yellows are a delight, converting the image to black and white is another way to add interpret this series.

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Snapseed made the switch easy to do.

Doing this experimentation made me think. Ansel Adams said you should judge a print by the negative. Make a good neg and you can make a good print. Now, the image capture is really just a jumping-off point. From there you can take the image in so many directions, and many good versions. Not only that but if you make a good capture or a lousy one with today’s apps you can still create something amazing. The tools of photography have really changed what it can be about and changed operationally where you can invest time – while taking the photo and / or while editing it.

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7 comments

  1. Adams was quite the technician and rightfully stressed that you can’t make something out of nothing. He also said “the negative is the score and the print is the performance”, and you have performed very admirably. (:- D

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    • Hi KC! Thanks for the compliment! Thank you too for adding local color around Ansel’s point of view. Such an amazing photographer! Thinking about his legacy, I wonder whose voice(s) today will emerge as strongly as his and I wonder what that point of view will be.

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