Winter Wonderland

This is a shot of the Main Borders at RHS Garden Harlow Carr just outside of Harrogate in North Yorkshire.

I was working for the RHS and staying on site in my van, which meant that I had the garden all to myself and could photograph it before anyone else arrived.

It helps to have the garden to myself at other times of the year but it really makes a difference in winter, especially after it has snowed! Being able to work before the snow is covered in footprints is a great opportunity, and I was keen to make the most of it. I did have to plan my way around the garden though, so I didn't tread anywhere that I might have wanted to photograph.

Luckily there was also a pleasant sunrise on this particular morning, nothing very dramatic but it added a touch of colour to the sky. It also helped that there wasn't a breath of wind, which meant that the plants were nice and still, not blowing around.

I composed this shot with the grass in the foreground and the large tree roughly according to the rule-of-thirds. I could have included less sky but I like the colour there and my hope is that the RHS will use this shot as a cover photo in the future. Having lots of sky to work with makes it easier for magazines to add titles. There's also quite a bit of snow to add text over.

The snow wasn't deep enough to cover the borders, which was useful as it means the curving line makes a good lead-in to the rest of the photograph.

The whole experience of being in the garden alone on such a beautiful winter morning really was something special. I hope this photograph captures something of that magic.

Canon 5D MKII.

Canon EF L 17-40 @ 19mm.

0.4sec @ f11 @ ISO100.

Brand:	Canon
Camera:	Canon EOS 5D MkII
Lens:	EF17-40mm f/4L USM
Recording media:	RAW (digital)
Date Taken:	5 Feb 2012 - 7:47 AM
Focal Length:	19mm
Lens Max Aperture:	f/4.0
Aperture:	f/11.0
Shutter Speed:	0.4sec
Exposure Comp:	0.0
ISO:	100
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
Flash:	Off, Did not fire

Title:	Winter Wonderland
Username:	lee beel
Uploaded:	9 Feb 2012 - 6:17 PM
Tags:	Beel, Flowers & plants, Landscape / travel
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Votes:	24