Featured
It is an honor to have the National Trust for Historic Preservation feature my Filoli work in their Preservation magazine. It was great fun to see the images they picked and then how beautifully they laid out the spread. Looking through the magazine made me want to be there again!
My four years photographing the formal gardens and natural lands at Filoli were challenging, inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable. Typically I spent a morning or evening once a week photographing something new (or something different than the last time I photographed it). In the end, I amassed over 2,000 images. Of those, I have donated hundreds to Filoli for their use spreading the word of how beautiful and unique Filoli is.
If you haven’t already, I urge you to looking into the National Trust for Historic Preservation whose mission it is to preserve and make accessible beautiful places like Filoli.
Pleased As PUNCH
When PUNCH magazine reached out and said they wanted to do an article on my Filoli photographic journey, I was humbled by their enthusiasm for the project that I’d been spending so much time enjoying.
Working with PUNCH it occurred to me that this project had really become a way to bring the week to week, month to month, season to season and year to year changes to those who enjoy Filoli, but can’t enjoy it as frequently as I do.
I’ve Been Covered
Early in my time shooting at Filoli, it was a wonderful surprise to open our mailbox and see the July/August 2021 edition of Silicon Valley magazine. And, on the cover: one of my shots through the gate leading in to Filoli’s walled garden.
Filoli was recognized, and justifiably so, as among the Best of The Bay Area–and picked for the cover.
My Filoli photo project started as a fun way to spend time in a beautiful place taking pictures and chronicling the changes a garden goes through. At the time, I made no plans to sell my images. But, I did think all that I was producing could be put to good use by the Filoli marketing department. So, I licensed all of my images to them for no fee.
While it was very nice to see the Silicon Valley magazine cover shot, it is equally nice (or perhaps even nicer) to see how much use my images are getting in all of the Filoli marketing materials.
Picturing Tranquility
Before the pandemic, Leica did a nice feature on my images from our family’s summer sanctuary: Quesnel Lake, in British Columbia. Our family has trekked to a series of lake front, water-access-only cabins since 1949.
Most of the images Leica featured were shot with their first digital monochrome camera aptly named the “M Monochrom.” I loved that camera for the simplicity of it and for how it just freed me to concentrate on tones and light when composing an image.
While I sold that camera some time ago now, the latest medium format gear I am using has provided such accurate tonal information that creating engaging black and white images is straightforward and rewarding. I do still use Leica gear, sometimes–there just isn’t anything like Leica.