Fall At Filoli
September 2021
Having spent most of August on Quesnel Lake in British Columbia it was nice to return to Filoli and see the changes. When I got back to Filoli in mid-September, it was clearly Fall and some plants were pushing their colors forward while others were retreating for the change-in-season. As had been the case with every visit, there was again no shortage of things to shoot. Click on an image to view a slideshow.
October 2021
Pumpkins. Pumpkins everywhere. But, the flowers kept coming as well. And, the roses were having a third (or fourth) bloom. Everything looked a bit like a last stand before Fall sets in. Finding “the shot” or a shot was a bit harder. I had to shift my perspective and had to seek out selective beauty among large profusions of colors. Chaos of colors. But, in a great way. The colors exploding together felt like energy radiating out to hold back the frost and impending Fall. Click on an image to view a slideshow.
November & December 2021
November was all about strands of lights going up everywhere and the preparations for the holidays throughout the garden and the house. The days were shorter, the weather colder, and the bones of the gardens were starting to really show. December was the month of lights and holiday cheer. The air at dusk and in the evening was cold but the tens of thousands of lights create a warmth fitting for the approaching holidays. Finding the sweet spot between dusk and dark to shoot the light displays was the challenge for December. With so many lights everywhere it was fun to find the patterns and tapestries in the lights and their reflections. Click on an image to view a slideshow.
Christmas In The House
While the gardens have always been the attraction for me at Filoli, Christmas decorations in the house are spectacular every year. So, I did a whirlwind, one-hour trip through the rooms and captured the essence of the household holiday spirit. The time of day wasn’t great, and it would have been nice to stage the rooms a bit. But, given the opportunity to get into the house in advance of the crowds of public, this is a chronicle of what I saw as opposed to an Architectural Digest photo shoot. Click on an image to view a slideshow.
About this project: 45 Minutes At Filoli
This project originated because my wife and I were looking for a pandemic-friendly afternoon outdoors and we visited Filoli in Woodside, CA. Spring had just begun to coax the blossoms and blooms along and I thought it might be fun to revisit the gardens every week and create a pictorial record of the changes. I decided on two guidelines. First, get in and out in 45 minutes to an hour. Second, go ultra-light by picking a lens from my old lens collection and sticking with that throughout my visit. Mostly, sometimes, I was able to stick with these guidelines. While my visits often stretched longer, trying to keep things simple and work fast gave the project an energy I enjoyed.