Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
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Photos courtesy of Ruth Palmieri
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The Fairchild Gardens, south of Miami, is named after David Fairchild, 1869-1954, who was an educator and scientist. Fairchild traveled the world, every continent except Antarctica, and brought back to Miami, hundreds of tropical plants and flora, which were provided for Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden to open to the public in 1938.
Not surprisingly the scenic destination, 83 acres, is a popular choice for weddings and an ideal setting for photographers who want to capture waterside scenes, landscape photos, macro depictions of colorful flowers and fruit trees as well as a variety of wildlife and butterflies. Ruth Palmieri, a Digital Photo Academy Workshop loyalist, generously provided the images for the slide show on this page.
Your DPA instructor will demonstrate and supervise a variety of composition techniques to showcase your shots of the grounds, various lakes, trails and garden structures, not to mention the dizzying array of trees, flowers, bushes and wildlife. With a number of basic and easy to learn strategies, you will see that one scene in front of your lens can be visually interpreted in many different ways, and each approach conveys a different visual dynamic, emotion, energy and overall story.
You can frame a lake scene, 11 lakes to choose from, with palm fronds at any or all of the edges of the image and achieve a story-book sensibility, creating the impression that one is quietly observing without being noticed.
Use a Leading Lines composition to direct the viewers of your image from one spot of the photograph, all around the scene and back to the starting point. It draws in the viewer in a dynamic way that transcends the snapshot result that one prefers to avoid with their photos.
Rule of Thirds placement is great for close-ups of flowers, butterflies and other photo ops at the gardens. Highlight the subject, employ an Aperature Priority control to blur the surroundings of the flower for a painterly appeal.
Your DPA instructor will explain how you can capture moving water in different ways by controlling the Shutter Speed Priority on your camera, to create a velvety smooth depiction of the flowing water, similar to old impressionistic paintings, or go for a crystal clear shot, stopping the water at a split second moment of its constant movement.
With trails, bamboo gardens, stone terraces, quiet areas with wooden benches, your portfolio of images is endless and you may find yourself returning with your camera to the gardens over and over again.
The basic and easy-to-learn composition strategies demonstrated and supervised in the workshop will make your photos more compelling and be a guide line for all future photo endeavors, whether a casual family gathering, a stroll in an urban park or a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience.
Meet your instructor at the John duPont Shehan Visitor Center at 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, Florida, 33156. There is a $25 entry fee and when you pay the person at the entry point you can be directed, about a block away, to free parking next to the Visitor Center.
10901 Old Cutler Rd, Miami, FL 33156
Call Digital Photo Academy at 1 877 372 2231. Lots of people seem to hang up if our welcome recording comes on instead of a live voice, but we promise to return your message within a day or two if you leave one with your name and number. It would be even better if you included your e mail address as well as the date and city of the class you are considering. If leaving a voice mail message is not your thing, please email us at [email protected].
