Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Explorations

Quote of the day: ““Every artist was first an amateur.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

MN Landscape Arboretum Using iPhone with Olloclip Fisheye Lens

Saturday I took an old friend out to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, one of my favorite places. It was a perfect day, sunny and bright, warm but not too warm, with a slight breeze. The summer flowers were in glorious bloom—day lilies, purple coneflowers, hibiscus, hostas, coral bells, roses, prairie flowers, zinnias, lilies, and more.

Summer Flowers

Although the day was bright and beautiful and I took my camera along and shot many photos, at the end of the day I found almost no photos worth saving. The bright contrasty sunlight was challenging. On top of that, I was focused on showing my friend the beautiful paths and flower gardens and reluctant to make her wait on me while I spent a lot of time setting up shots.

Klondike Kate Daylily

Today I returned to the Arboretum. After a good rainfall last night, the sky was overcast and cloudy all morning, perfect skies for photos of flowers and greenery.

I decided to limit myself to using my 60 mm Tamron macro lens today. Paradoxically I often find that limitation creates freedom. When I bump up against the “walls” of limitations, I often work and explore until I break through to a new understanding. I cannot say that I made any especially strong photographs today, but I bumped up against areas where I need to learn more. No matter how much I learn, I feel like an amateur.