The weather finally took a break and people coming to the meeting were able to travel in comfort and sunshine!
President Colleen Green opened the proceedings with a brief acknowledgement of new members and guests which brought 35+ people to the March meeting.
Hedy Campbell gave a brief presentation talking about upcoming workshops which the Society would put on to promote membership in our Society, as well as sharing some of her ideas about showcasing baked and homemade goods at the Garden Show and looking for volunteers to assist – details [here].
Colleen continued with announcements that the Flower Show brochure would be ready for the April meeting and would provide details of the show categories [nice tie-in to next month’s presentation from Penny Stewart], and possibly a silent auction at the show. After an advance thanks to Sheila and Dee for the ‘goodies’ for next month’s meeting, Colleen introduced the evening’s featured speaker – Nicolette McGraw on “Photographing Gardens”.
What followed was a dazzling array of garden and outdoor photographs in a slide presentation which Nicolette used to illustrate what she considers the key points for success is photographing gardens.
Key thoughts are to focus on texture, depth, pinch, and emotion. Lighting is a prime consideration and sunset and sunrise usually produce warm colours.
Composition – simplify, fill the scene, use ‘leading’ lines, look for complementary colours.
Perspective – look up, look down, look straight across. Some of the best images were everyday subjects seen from a different perspective for a powerful image.
Close-up – look for patterns, abstract images, and pictures with a ‘punch’. Patience really helps with these.
Weather – don’t be afraid to photograph on those not so nice days. Any weather will work with the right subject and composition. Sometimes the weather is the picture.
Action! – sometimes. Which plants attract critters and birds? Which seasonal plants ae favourites with bugs and insect visitors?
Indoors – use natural light, use fresh flowers as your subjects, and stand at a comfortable height.
Editing – start simple, look for free software, talk to friends, and – most importantly – save the original. Sound advice! As they say “he who laughs last, probably made a back-up”.
Mini-Show
The mini-show was two separate categories. As customary, the entries were judged by the members present at the meeting: Sheila Simmons [image upper row left] came first in the “All Green Arrangement” category, with Pat Stuckey second [image upper row right]. Mary Jenkins took third place [image lower row left] and also took first place in the “St. Patrick’s Day Arrangement” [image lower row right] with a beer mug container!
Click the images to see larger versions.
photo credits: Bert Jenkins
Announcements
Bob Simmons announced a couple of items of interest from the Stewardship Council:
- Wednesday April 16 at the Firehall, a talk about coyotes.Details here.
- Sunday May 4 beginning at 9:00 am, the Tree Sale at the Cattle Barn on the Picton Fairgrounds< - $2 trees for sale: conifers, maple, butternut, hickory, and nannyberry/li>
The beautiful images posted for mini shows, garden shows, and our meetings are from photographs created by member Bert Jenkins.
