Research - Heligan. A portrait of the lost gardens

Melanie Eclare

When finding other ways to research nature photography for my first theme I came across a book titled 'Heligan. A portrait of the lost gardens'.

It sounds just as beautiful as the photographs inside the book, of which I have selected a few of my favourites and I have displayed these a bit further on. All of the images in the book are taken by photographer Melanie Eclare who worked alongside her husband to produce the book.

This book concentrates on the story and images of Heligan located in Cornwall and really does show off how beautiful these gardens are and why it is one of the most visited gardens in Britain....

I love the hints of colour in this first image and the photo is quite busy. Even though at first my eyes are first drawn to the tree trunk that is running just off centre I find that my eyes move around alot when looking at this image as there is quite alot going on.

This second image is different for the fact that the first two trees are out of focus slightly and the trees in the background are more in focus. I really like this effect and also how the natural light from the sun streams through trees and plants creating shadowing.

I love this close up image of the flower. The photographer has really shown off the brilliant white of the plant by choosing the right exposure and shooting closely displays the detail in the petals and the centre of the flower.

The above image is my favourite close up image in the book. It's a really simple composition but effective because the tones are quite neutral and then you have the pop of colour in the centre and the detail is brilliant.

This is another nice close up image in the book. Again, the composition is really simple with just the main pop of colour coming from the flower itself. I like how the camera has focused on the flower and the background is blurred.

This image above shows how the photographer has used a short depth of field to draw your eyes into the flowers at the forefront of the photograph. She would have done this by using small f numbers. Not only this but she has used the natural light to bounce off the main subject to show it off even more.

The image above uses the lake and the sweeping tree as the main focal point and the photographer has used a larger depth of field to capture more distance in the photograph. She has also captured the reflection in the water which has added more depth and life to the image. I love how the light is shining through the branches on the tree.

My favourite element of this image above is the use of natual light. Melanie has thought of the position of the light and the strength of the light when taking this photograph and how that will be used to her advantage. The way that the light shines through the trees and gives it an almost hazy effect is beautiful. This is something I would like to try and capture in my own images.

This last photograph is beautiful to me because the photographer hasn't just cocentrated on colours or tones, she has thought of the position of the light, the depth of field and the textures on the bark and plants. She would have used a lower ISO number to make sure the image is not grainy and more sharp so that the camera can really pick up on those textures. I feel this is why your eyes are drawn to the most.

I can take alot away from all of these images above and take the skills and techniques Melanie has used and encorporate those into my own images for my assignment. I want to experiment with depth of field, use of light, close up images and textures.